42 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 18, 1908. 
least one division of a frame should be set 
apart for the growing of seedlings requiring 
a fair amount of ventilation according to the 
weather. Some time in May they will be 
ready to plant out in beds where they are to 
flower, but previous to this they should be 
well hardened off for a week by free ventila¬ 
tion and finally removing the sashes some 
days before planting them out. If frame 
convenience is not sufficient for this, some of 
these hardy things may be stood at the foot 
of a wall that will shelter them from the 
north and east. This is a good method of 
hardening them off. We are pleased to learn 
you have been so successful hitherto in gar¬ 
dening. 
2518. Keeping; Show Auriculas. 
Would you please let me know if I could 
keep meally leaved Auriculas in a cold 
frame? Would frost hurt them in an un¬ 
heated frame? If so, would alpines be more 
easy to grow? I want to raise them myself. 
Any hints would be appreciated. (S. B. 
Dickson, Yorks.) 
Auriculas are really hardy if kept dry and 
cool. The chief danger is damp, which is 
so prevalent in our climate during winter. 
A good plan in your district would be to 
have a fairly deep frame, so that you could 
fix up movable shelves. Turn the frames so 
as to face the south during winter, and stand 
the pots upon the shelves so as to keep them 
dry. We do not mean that you should allow 
them to get dust dry, otherwise the young 
roots will suffer. Just sufficient moisture 
should be given to maintain the soil in this 
congenial condition. If they are properly 
attended to in autumn very little watering 
would be necessary, if any at all, during 
winter. The point is to keep them under ob¬ 
servation and prevent them from being dis¬ 
tressed by a too dry condition of the soil. 
In early summer, after the plants are out of 
flower, the frames can be turned round so as 
to face the north. The shelves should be 
removed and the plants stood on a bed of 
clean coal ashes that will maintain a genial 
moisture about them during the heat of the 
summer. When in flower and when making 
their growth show Auriculas must be care 
fully watered, while avoiding the wetting or 
splashing of the meally foliage. The leaves 
of alpines have not this meally covering, and 
are really easier to manage by beginners, 
but if you have experience in the cultivation 
of plants in pots, you should have no diffi¬ 
culty with either show or alpine Auriculas. 
ROOM PLANTS. 
2 519. Geraniums with Spotted Leaves. 
I have some Geraniums in the window 
that have grey or brown spots on the leaves. 
Can you tell me the probable cause or 
remedy? The spots have been more or less 
numerous all the autumn, but now they seem 
to be spreading and crippling the plants. 
(Thomas Jackson, Worcs.) 
The complaint is a common one amongst 
Pelargoniums during the winter months. 
It is probably due to the presence of bacteria 
in the leaves. This is a microscopical fun¬ 
gus which is fostered or encouraged by dull, 
damp weather during the winter months. 
The disease was probably contracted in the 
autumn when the mild, moist weather gave 
the bacteria a foothold. Your best plan will 
be to remove and burn the worst of the 
leaves, and although you may not be able to 
entirely get rid of it the plants will im¬ 
prove again when the light gets better and 
the days lengthen. We have never seen it in 
plants that were kept growing for the sake 
of their flowers in winter, but only on those 
plants which are kept cool and resting. 
There is not much cause, therefore, to be 
alarmed. 
FLOWER GARDEN . 
25 20. Malvastrum coccinoum. 
In your issue of January 4th “Erica” 
states that seeds of the above are readily ob¬ 
tainable. Will you kindly tell me the name 
of any seedsman who lists it. I have failed 
to find it in this year’s catalogues of Sut¬ 
ton, Carter, Ryder, and several others, in¬ 
cluding some German ones. The same state¬ 
ment was recently made about Gilia corono- 
pifolia. Can you also say where these seeds 
may be bought? Again they are not listed. 
(M. O., Worcs.) 
You are very nearly right about the plants 
you name, for we do not find that anyone 
has listed Malvastrum coccineum in the cata¬ 
logues for 1907. In the catalogue of Messrs. 
Thompson and Morgan, 5, Carr Street, Ips¬ 
wich, it is listed for 1906. The plant is also 
recorded in the Kew list, though that would 
scarcely help you, as they do not sell plants 
there. We find, however, that Messrs. 
Thompson and Morgan have listed Gilia 
coronopifolia under the name of Ipomopsis 
elegans in their catalogue for 1907 ; at least, 
if this is the plant described by Micheaux, 
then it is Gilia coronopifolia. There is a 
possibility, however, that it might be Ipomop¬ 
sis elegans of Lindley, and in that case 
the correct name of that plant listed would 
be Gilia aggregata. There cannot be very 
much call for seeds of these things, other¬ 
wise seedsmen would list them more fre¬ 
quently. G. coronopifolia has also been 
grown at Kew for the last two years. As 
both the plants in question are natives of 
North America we are surprised that they 
are not more readily obtainable in this coun¬ 
try. You could apply to the firm we have 
named, and possibly they may have one or 
both of the plants in question. 
2521. A Dozen Best Grasses for Drying. 
Would you please give me the names of 
the twelve best Grasses for drying in the 
next issue of your valuable paper ? I do not 
want tall ones, but something that would be 
neat and graceful in the cut state for mixing 
with flowers. (R. Whitelaw, Lanark.) 
We have selected what we think would be 
the most handsome and suitable dozen 
Grasses for cutting purposes. There are, 
however, several perennial forms not men¬ 
tioned here which are very handsome either 
for garden decoration or in the cut state. 
The dozen we have selected are :—Briza 
maxima, B. minima, B. gracilis, B. genicu- 
lata, Lagurus ovatus, Hordeum jubatum, 
Agrostis nebulosa, Eragrostis elegans, Stipa 
pennata (perennial), S. elegantissima (peren¬ 
nial), Bromus brizaeformis (biennial), and 
Setaria macrochaeta. 
ROSES. 
25 2 2. Archway for Roses. 
I am about to erect an archway for Roses 
over one of the gateways' to the garden. 
Which is the most suitable kind of material, 
iron or wood ? A tree shades it from the 
morning sun, but on all other sides the situa¬ 
tion is open. (T. Sands, Beds.) 
Iron would, no doubt, make the most dur¬ 
able. archway, though we are doubtful if it 
would prove the most suitable. In many 
cases where iron is exposed to the heat of 
the sun it gets very hot in summer time and 
that would serve to encourage red spider. 
Nevertheless, we have seen trellises and 
other supports of Roses consisting of iron 
rods and wires answering the purpose. No 
doubt, it would depend upon the thickness 
of the iron. We should he inclined to use 
wood, because it has a rustic appearance 
when made up of crooked branches, or the 
logs of unsawn timber, with or without the 
bark, though the latter would, perhaps, be 
the more ornamental form of the two. It 
would have the chance of harbouring ver¬ 
min, however, when the bark gets loose. In 
any case, wooden supports for Roses are 
not likely to get heated by the sun during 
the summer, and would, therefore, be not 
only ornamental and appropriate, but use¬ 
ful. Oak, Larch or Ash would make very 
durable supports. 
FRUIT. 
2523. Seedling; Apples. 
I saved some pips from a good class of 
Apples we had about four yeaxs ago and put 
them in our -garden, doubting whether they 
would grow. However, they did germinate 
and I have attended to them They aTe now 
from 3 ft. to 4 ft. high and 2 in. round 
the stem. I have twenty of them a yard 
apart. Some people say they must be 
grafted, others say if they have smooth stems 
they do not need grafting. I should be very 
thankful for your advice, as to whether they 
are worth keeping or what to do with them. 
I have no idea what their names are. I 
have had no experience with trees, but I 
should call these smooth stems. I should be 
much obliged if you will give an answer in 
The Gardening World. (Suburbs, Yorks.) 
We presume you have not asked a gar¬ 
dener about these trees, otherwise he could 
not have suggested anything about smooth 
stem trees not requiring grafting. It is un¬ 
necessary (and incorrect to imagine that 
trees will not fruit unless they are grafted. 
Quite other objects are served by the opera¬ 
tion of grafting in gardens and nurseries. 
What you will have to do is to grow your 
trees until they produce flowers and bear 
fruit. You will then be able to determine 
whether the fruits are worth preserving or 
not. They are scarcely likely to resemble 
their parents very closely. Seedling Apples 
seldom do. Many of them may be worth¬ 
less and some of them may be passable, but 
if you get one very good variety amongst 
the lot and different from Apples in culti¬ 
vation, then you will have got a prize. 
Your object then should .be to give them 
plenty of space and to thin out the branches 
in order to prevent crowding until they 
reach a flowering age and size. You cannot 
determine what they are worth until then. 
If you find any one amongst them that is 
really good, then you could have it grafted 
on to the roots of the crab stock or Paradise 
stock in order to increase the number of 
trees. New varieties, of course, require new 
names. It is scarcely likely that they would 
be exactly like any named varieties in culti¬ 
vation. If they are likely to be crowded at 
a yard apart your best plan would be to 
transplant them, giving them more space. 
This operation may be carried out at any 
time now or during next month, when the 
soil is. in workable condition. If you cannot 
afford the space and desire to grow all of 
them until they fruit you will have to 
shorten the branches, but be careful not to 
cut away any flower buds that may be pre¬ 
sent and which you can recognise by their 
large size and roundness. 
25 24. Border for Raspberries. 
I have a walk facing east and another 
north with a border, in front of each. I in¬ 
tend growing Raspberries on the one that 
would suit them best. At present I shall 
trench and manure both. Your opinion as 
to the best border would be esteemed. 
(J. T. W., Essex.) 
Both an east and a north aspect .border 
would suit Raspberries', although the re¬ 
sults may not be exactly the same. Never¬ 
theless, we have seen good crops of Rasp¬ 
berries on both those aspects. The princi¬ 
pal thing in connection with it is the height 
of the wall and the surroundings. For in¬ 
stance, the wall should not exceed 6 ft. or 
