November 4, 1905, 
85iT 
They are in their freshest and best condition 
if used before the flowers are sufficiently ad¬ 
vanced to make their appearance. Indeed, 
the scales are useless if allowed to advance 
U* this stage. Practically our representation 
shows only a flower bud, but when it had 
reached a diameter of 41in. 
In the cultivation of Globe Artichokes the 
first point to consider is an open and sunny 
situation and a deep, rich, and rather dry 
soil, or, at all events, well drained. Indeed, 
there is no difficulty in cultivating it in any 
ordinary garden soil during the summer, but 
a little protection is necessary in winter to 
prevent injury to the crowns by severe frost. 
It is usual to give protection about this 
period of the year, during November, by 
heavily mulching the ground either with rank 
farmyard manure, bracken, or even straw. 
The point to be observed is not to coyer up 
the foliage, otherwise the crowns will be 
liable to become bleached and damp off in 
winter. 
There are two principal methods of propa¬ 
gating the plant, namely, by lifting the 
suckers which appear around the main crowns 
during April and May. Young plantations 
may be made of these root suckers, planting 
them at 3ft. apart in the lines and 3ft. or 4ft. 
from row to row. The great length of the 
leaves when in full growth in summer makes 
it necessary that such distances should be 
given. In some instances gardeners have the 
lines much closer, but this is particularly in 
the case where the plants are raised from 
seeds under glass early in the year, planted 
out in April or May, and grown on so as to 
flower during the same season. 
If a stock always depended upon the raising 
of seedlings, the young plants could be grown 
2ft. apart each way and still produce a fair 
number of heads during the same season. The 
variety we figure is considered by many much 
superior to the purple variety, thougn there 
are differences of opinion upon that point. 
The Purple Globe is grown to some extent in 
this country, but is more favoured in France. 
The green one is, nevertheless, largely grown 
for market purposes even there. 
Potato Sir John Llewellyn. 
At the lower right-hand corner of our cen¬ 
tral sheet is a representation of a Potato 
which has become a great favourite for an 
early supply in recent years. The tuber from 
which the illustration was prepared was 4tin. 
long and 2-tin. across the widest part. It is 
a white Kidney, with a smooth skin, only oc¬ 
casionally slightly ribbed or corrugated on 
the surface. The quality is also excellent, 
and while the variety has been frequently 
employed for exhibition purposes, it is, never¬ 
theless, a tuber of high quality for the table. 
It is fairly shapely in outline, and the eyes 
are very shallow, even in every part, so tUat 
there is no waste if the tuber is to be pared 
in preparation for cooking. It also crops 
heavily, and is not as yet particularly liable 
to disease. Indeed, it has only been relatively 
a few years in cultivation, yet it is now widely 
cultivated, and is likely to be more ex¬ 
tensively planted in future years for an early 
supply of tubers. 
For the specimens from which our illustra¬ 
tions were prepared we are much indebted to 
Air. E. Beckett, gardener to Lord Aldenham, 
Aldenham House, Elstree, who grows an im¬ 
mense variety of vegetables, including many 
of the more common. That he is a skilled 
grower of vegetables is now widely known over 
the British Isles, as his numerous successes on 
the exhibition table amply testify, the most 
recent being that at Edinburgh in September 
and at Westminster on the 24th nit. 
TUB GARDENING WORLD. 
A SHOWY = = 
Border Plant. 
Echinacea vurpitrea. 
See Supplement. 
The above plant is kept under the generic 
name of Echinacea, though it is very closely 
allied to the well-known Rudbeckias of gar¬ 
dens. Indeed, the chief or only difference 
consists of the hard and slightly spiny scales 
which cover the receptacle and project slightly 
above the florets in the centre of the bloom. 
The name is taken from Ecliinos, a hedgehog, 
in allusion to the scales just mentioned. All 
of the Rudbeckias proper coming under our 
notice have flowers of some shade of yellow, 
but the fine border plant of which we are 
speaking lias flowers of some shade of reddish- 
purple, as far as the rays are concerned. The 
high knob seen in the centre of the flower head 
is of a rich shade of bronzy-brown, and the 
contrast is both beautiful and interesting. 
In some forms of the plant the rays droop 
down rather badly, but in the illustration they 
are seen to project nearly horizontally. We 
presume these varying forms are produced 
by raising plants from seeds. Two or more 
forms may be gathered in a wild state in 
North America, where the plant is native. 
Some of the forms which have been raised in 
gardens have received distinctive names, and 
they generally show some improvement upon 
the average form in gardens in having 
broader rays of a deeper colour or standing 
out horizontally from the top of the stalk. 
Under good cultivation the plant grows 
about 4ft. high, but if allowed to remain in 
the same position for a number of years the 
stems may not exceed 21ft. to 3ft. When 
grown vigorously the flowers would be larger, 
and that would be certainly an advantage if 
the flowers are to be used in the cut state 
or even left for garden decoration. The 
plant flowers late in summer, say in August, 
and is very durable, while a succession of 
beads continues to be thrown up. Our illus¬ 
tration shows the whole length of the plant, 
so that even when 4ft. high it is quite hand¬ 
some as a border plant, even when the whole 
length of the stems is exposed to the eye. It 
may be grown in mixed borders, as the term 
is understood at the present day, and a large 
clump of it proves very effective indeed. 
When planted in good garden soil kept loose 
on the surface by hoeing, the plant increases 
freely at the crown, as well as producing a 
greater number of flower stems from year to 
year. In dry soils it would be highly advan¬ 
tageous to mulch the ground with something 
that would retain the moisture, in the south 
of England at least, where the plant and 
several of its allies are liable to flag during 
long-continued drought. 
There is no difficulty in increasing the stock 
of the plant in well-tilled soil, although in¬ 
crease is not so rapid as in the case of several 
of the Rudbeckias; nevertheless, a good num¬ 
ber of fresh crowns are produced annually, 
so that by lifting the plants they can be 
divided into as many pieces as there are 
crowns with a few roots attached. This may 
be done some time in September after the 
plant goes out of flower, and the plants will 
become established in their fresh quarters be¬ 
fore the advent of winter. The plant is 
of the easiest cultivation, therefore, and no 
garden should be without a clump or bed 
of it where herbaceous plants are cherished. 
Anti-Sparrow Cltjb. —At its annual meet¬ 
ing the Suffolk Anti-Sparrow Club, formed at 
Laxfield, was informed that during the past 
season 9.200 sparrows have been' killed by 
Supplementary Replies 
BY OUR READERS 
To Answers in the 11 G. W.” Enquire Within 
A Pond for Water Lilies. 
In excavating the hole for the pond make it 
lft. 9in. larger and deeper than you wish it to 
be when finished, this will allow for 12in. 
of clay and 9in. of loam; the latter will be 
none too much for Lilies to grow in, and cn 
the banks it will prevent the clay from crack¬ 
ing through exposure. Shallow-rooted plants, 
too, can be planted in it close to the water. 
For larger groups and deep-rooted waterside 
plants prepare places behind the clay wall 
before the latter is built up, there will then be 
less likelihood of injury to it. The depth of 
water should be, if it is possible, constant, and 
may vary from 3ft. on one side to 18in. on the 
other. Unless there is a larger pond, to which 
strong varieties can be moved as they increase 
in size, only the smaller kinds, such as N. pyg- 
mea helveola, N. pygmea, N. Laydekerii rosea. 
N. L. purpurata, N. odorata rubra, N, ellisiana, 
and N. lucida should be planted. If one ex¬ 
ception is made, plant N. Marliacea chromatella 
at the 3ft. side. Water snails deposit their 
spawn on the young leaves and cause them to 
curl. Neither fish nor snails entirely prevent 
green scum, a fountain jet playing for a very 
short time each day might. J. C. 
American Blight on Apple Trees. 
Some years ago I had to deal with a number 
of Apple trees which were in much the same 
condition as those complained of by “ C. New- 
combe.” The following was what ultimately 
proved to be a very effective method of getting 
rid of this very troublesome pest. 
Late in the season, after all the leaves had 
fallen, every part of the trees was thoroughly 
but carefully scraped with a dry “Heather 
Scrubber,” made by tying together a handful 
cf Scotch Heather, and 'cutting to a length 
of about 8 inches. This was very effectual in 
removing all loose bark, moss, lichen, etc., 
which is a splendid harbour for blight. The 
trees were then well washed with a solution of 
paraffin, soft soap, and water, and were then 
painted all over with a mixture of soot and 
lime in water. When this process was com¬ 
pleted an inch or two of soil for some distance 
round the stems of the trees was removed and 
burned, fresh soil being put in its place. When 
summer arrived it was found that the trees 
wei’e practically clear of blight. It was then 
easily kept in check by carefully going over 
the trees at intervals and painting any place 
where blight was noticed with a little paraffin 
or methylated spirit, either of these being 
instant death to blight. Dunn. 
How to Get Rid of Blanket Weed from 
Ponds. 
Having been -troubled with this weed until 
about three years ago, when we had a brood of 
wild ducks, and looking for a cure for the weed 
I turned them into the pond, and in about two 
months the ducks had cleared the weeds all off. 
So now every spring we get some young ducks, 
and the pond is kept nice and clean, and the 
ducks look very pretty and do no harm to 
other plants growing round about until they 
get full grown. They can be killed and used 
for table. L. Chantler. 
members and 2,000 sparrows’ eggs taken. 
The object of the club is to check the losses 
suffered in fields, orchards, and gardens 
through the depredations of these birds. 
