January 25, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
47 
lax and C. squamatum are good stove 
shrubs, sending up large branching 
panicles of bright scarlet flowers, which 
last a long time if kept in a cooler tem- 
jperature when opening. 
C. disparifolium, a shrubby species 
from the -Malaya, is well worth a place; 
it is very much branched growing in a 
pyramidal shape, producing an abund¬ 
ance of pure wnite flowers. It is suitable 
either for the border or pots. The height 
is from three to four feet. 
Mealy bug and spider are the worst 
enemies of these plants, more especially 
the shrubby species, such as C. fallax and 
C. squamatum, the foliage being covered 
with small hairs on either side, which 
make it very difficult to eradicate them. 
| The best plan is to maintain a close watch 
and not let these pests get the upper 
hand; keep the syringe going, and should 
mealy bug make its appearance, take a 
camel hair brush and dress the leaves with 
methylated spirit, diluted with three parts 
to one of water. A. C. W/HIPPS. 
-- 
Sweet Peas 
And Superfluous Super. 
A Letter 
To the Editor. 
I am much obliged to your facetious 
correspondent “ Sunnyside (page 19) for 
calling my attention to the error on page 
13 of my catalogue. I had preened my 
feathers’ on the excellence of those 
praxims and decided in my own mind that 
the grower who followed them could not 
go astray*. I, however, failed to remem¬ 
ber the overwhelming penchant of the 
printer for joking, and, alas! allowed him 
to revise my 7 somewhat illegible copy with 
the re:ult that the maxim that I thought 
so good became hopelessly 7 bad. As all 
your practical readers will be aware I 
meant to say “Use 7 lbs. of superphos¬ 
phate per square rod,” ■which is a vastly 
different thing from the same amount on 
a square yard. Up to the present I have 
onlv heard of one man who has put on 
7 lb. to the square yard, and since some 
inlcrfeiing friend pointed out to him that 
the quantity 7 was excessive, he has been 
anxiously seeking a personal interview 
with me, hut at present my* motto is “Dis¬ 
cretion is the better part of valour,” and 
I do not intend to see him for a year. 
Horace J. Wright. 
-- 
Horticultural Register. 
Messrs. Protheroe and Morris, the well- 
known auctioneers of Cheapside, London, 
issue periodically a “Register of Nur¬ 
series, Market Gardens, Farms, Florists’ 
Seed Businesses, and Partnerships, to be 
let or sold.” The publication is excel¬ 
lently 7 arranged for ready reference, and 
should prove of great value to those wish¬ 
ing to let or dispose of property as well as 
to prospective purchasers or tenants. 
The list contains particulars of properties 
for sale or to let in all parts of the coun¬ 
try, a d undoubtedly constitutes a good 
medium between buyer and seller. 
Himalayan Knotgrass 
(Polygonum polystachyum). 
Polygonum polystachyum. [Maclaren and Sons. 
A very large number of species of Knot¬ 
grass are in cultivation for one purpose 
or' another, but the Himalayan P. poly¬ 
stachyum is found useful by a large num¬ 
ber of growers on account of its late 
flowering. It comes into bloom when 
there are few hardy 7 garden flowers, except 
Composites, such as Michaelmas Daisies, 
Sunflowers, and various others of the Ox- 
eye Daisy 7 type. It is valued, therefore, 
for the contrast it produces with these 
when our gardens are waning in the 
autumn. The plant varies from 3 ft. to 
4 ft. in height, and each stem terminates 
in a large branching inflorescence of white 
flowers. Individually, the blooms are 
small, but a large plant produces a great 
profusion of them, and not being arranged 
in dense spikes like P. Bistorta, they are 
useful for cut flower work in a variety of 
ways. Indeed, so light and feathery is 
the inflorescence that these stems may 7 be 
cut and used for mixing with various other 
autumn flowers of a heavy type, such as 
those above mentioned or may be used 
separately in vases. 
The plant is of the easiest cultivation, 
but the chief difficulty with it in small 
gardens is the size that it will attain in 
a few years. Those tvho delight in her¬ 
baceous plants can, however, always have 
a supply of small plants if they 7 so desire. 
This can be done by taking off small- 
rooted pieces, either in October or in the 
spring-time when growth is commencing, 
and plant these where accommodation 
can be found for them. It is an excel¬ 
lent subject, however, for wide borders, 
as it can then be seen in its glory when 
it has attained some size and produces 
flowers such as those shown in our illus¬ 
tration. Those who have some out-of-the- 
way* corner of the garden to fill could 
make a large clump or bed of it to ad¬ 
vantage, and the growers would be re¬ 
warded by 7 the effect during October. 
- ++> - 
Wallflowers 
AS POT PLANTS 
These make delightful plants for a 
greenhouse or conservatory, not only on 
account of their sweet perfume, which 
emanates from their flowers, but for the 
attractiveness which their colours pro¬ 
duce. Whether striped, dark red, yellow, 
or otherwise, a good plant covered with 
bloom is an object worthy of notice. 
When massed in separate colours, or for 
that matter mixed, they instantly com¬ 
mand admiration, by reason of the display* 
which they produce, an item to be desired 
during winter or early spring. Another 
point in their favour is the amount of 
cut bloom which they 7 provide, and this at 
a time when every* flower is precious to 
those whose duty it is to supply 7 large 
quantities of bloom for decoration. 
For this purpose some grow only double 
