THE GARDENING WORLD 
January n r 1908. 
16 
I am making a test of the hardiness of 
Diplacus glutinosus. A well-grown plant 
has been left in the border, and to-day 
(December 17th) 1 have covered the sur¬ 
face of the ground and part of the stem 
with cinder dust and ashes, and beyond 
this I mean to give it no protection. It 
has already withstood the frosts to the 
present time without a sign of distress. 
I mention my test with this plant to try 
to interest others in this fascinating phase 
of gardening. There is (it cannot be 
otherwise) an especial charm and interest 
in gardening matters that have the element 
of chance in them. My idea is that, with 
care, it is quite possible to increase the 
endurance of plants and to produce a 
strain a good many degrees hardier than 
the general run of the particular plant by 
gradually inuring it to harder and sterner 
conditions and propagating from it. 
Incarvillea Delavayi. 
Colonial readers of The Gardening 
World will be interested to hear that 
this plant grows and flowers very luxuri¬ 
antly and profusely in South Africa. It 
becomes like a wild thing, and self-sown 
seedlings come up like weeds. The In¬ 
carvillea is a decided acquisition to the 
garden both in England and abroad. 
The flowers are often described as 
Gloxinia-like, and the foliage is certainly 
distinct and handsome. The tallest 
variety I believe is I. Olgae, which 
reaches some three feet ;_and the dwarfest, 
and in some respects the handsomest, is 
I. grandiflora, which scarcely reaches one 
foot. There is a half-hardy variety, I. 
variabilis, that may be treated as an 
annual, as it flowers the first season if the 
seed be sown early in the year in heat. 
Striking Chrysanthemum Cuttings for 
the Border. 
The mild long autumn has ensured us 
plenty of early cuttings, and at any time 
during the next two months these may be 
struck. There is no hurry where this is 
done in a heated house, but where no heat 
is requisitioned and the cuttings are 
struck in a cold house, frame, or even in 
the dwelling house, it is just as well to 
take’ time by the forelock, as of course 
the process of rooting is prolonged. Cut¬ 
tings may be put round the pots, or, if 
preferred, smaller pots may be used and 
each may be raised singly. The soil 
should be kept just moist, but never satur¬ 
ated and water-logged. This can be 
prevented by supplying ample drainage in 
che pots, and using plenty of sand in the 
compost. A good watering should be 
given when necessary, and then not again 
until needed; that means that driblets of 
water are undesirable, and, where the cut¬ 
tings are raised without heat the moisture 
is not quickly evaporated and a thorough 
watering lasts for a considerable time. 
F. Norfolk. 
-- 
Primula obconica grandiflora Hayes Place 
Double. 
The flowers of this variety or strain are 
of large size, but vary in the amount of 
doubling and also in the colour of the 
flowers, which range from pink to a bright 
lilac. For those who like double flowers 
it is quite distinct, and may lead to some¬ 
thing better. Award of Merit by the 
R.H.S. when exhibited by E. A. Hambro, 
Esq. (gardener. Mr. J. Grandfield), Hayes 
Place, Hayes, Kent. 
Cypripedium Moonbeam. 
The parents of this fine variety were 
Thomsonii and Sallieri, the latter being 
the pollen bearer. The dorsal sepal is 
of great size, nearly circular, and white, 
tinted with green, at the base, with a 
splash of claret-purple in the centre. 
The petals are yellow shaded, and netted 
with brown, and the lip is of a similar 
colour without the netting. First-class 
Certificate by the R.H.S. when exhibited 
by Major Holford, C.I.E., C.V.O. 
(grower, Mr. H. G. Alexander), Weston- 
birt, Tetbury, Gloucester. 
Cypripedium cravenianum. 
The parentage of this hybrid was 
insigne Harefield Hall, crossed with nitens 
Ball’s variety. The dorsal sepal is nearly 
orbicular, suddenly narrowed at the base 
and pale greenish yellow with a broad 
white border, and splendidly blotched 
with purple nearly all over the surface, 
this spotting being due to the seed parent. 
The petals are lightly shaded with purple 
and the lip more so on a yellow ground. 
Award of Merit by the R.H.S. on 31st 
December when shown by J. H. Craven, 
Esq. (gardener, Mr. F. Corney), Beeches, 
Keighley, Yorks. 
- Q. w. - 
Prize Competitions. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS—Competitors must 
write on one side of the paper only. Regular 
paid contributors to THE GARDENING 
WORLD or other gardening journals are de¬ 
barred from entering, but occasional con¬ 
tributors may compete. The name and ad¬ 
dress of the competitor must appear on each 
article sent for competition. The Editor’s 
decision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any wayjl any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be care¬ 
fully read. 
4-M» 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short article on any 
gardening subject, such as hints of practical 
interest to gardeners, notes on the propaga¬ 
tion or cultivation of flowers, fruits or vege¬ 
tables, eradication of pests, etc. The para¬ 
graph or article must not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making the award. Mark envelopes “ Oom- 
petitihn,” and post not later than the Monday 
folk wing date of issue. .Entries received later 
th in Tuesday (first post) will be left over until 
t) ie following week. 
Two prizes of 2s. 6d. will be awarded each 
week for the two best letters, not exceeding 
150 words, on any interesting gardening sub¬ 
ject. 
♦♦♦ 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best papers in this competition 
are too long, and we desire readers to beep 
within a column. 
The prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to “ H. Thos. Kemp ” for the article 
on “Making Much of a Garden,” page 5. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize 
was awarded to “A. V. P.” for the article 
on “ Raising Minute Flower Seeds ”: and 
another to “F. A. ” for the article on 
“ Schizostylis coccinea,” page 4. 
_ 
Seashore Sand for . . 
- Lawns. - 
Its Value as a 
Spring Dressing. 
How often do we see, even in large gar¬ 
dens, lawns,.that have been mowed twice 
or three times a week. In many cases this 
mowing goes on year after yeaj: without 
the slightest particle of jrlant food being 
given in return. 
Eventually the lawn, which should be 
an object of beauty to the house or land¬ 
scape, as the case may be, becomes a dis¬ 
figurement, becoming, in time, patchy 
and weedy, affording neither pleasure to 
the owner’s eye nor credit to the one who 
looks after it. A more generous cultiva¬ 
tor would have considered that, although 
grass is by nature very hardy, it cannot 
stand the strain of being mowed regu- 
larly, without showing evident signs of 
starvation, if a certain amount of plant 
food is not supplied occasionally at cer¬ 
tain periods of the year. To come to the 
point, November may be considered a 
suitable month to commence feeding the 
lawn. A barrow load of fairly dry soil 
should be got ready, and to each barrow 
load should be added qlbs. of basic slag 
and 3lbs. of kainit. Mix well together, 
and apply at the rate of a. spadeful to the 
square yard. The diet may be changed 
every alternate year by giving the same 
quantity of steamed bonemeal in place of 
the basic slag. In spring another dress¬ 
ing may be given; for this I would parti¬ 
cularly recommend seashore sand. To 
many the value of this may not be gene¬ 
rally known, but anyone with a sense of 
observation, who has once used this, will 
make it the universal spring dressing in 
future. I may say with confidence that 
some of the finest lawns and bowling 
greens here, in the north, may be attri¬ 
buted to the general practice of using this 
as a spring dressing. 
March may be considered a suitable 
month to apply this. One spadeful should 
be made to cover one square yard. It 
should be used as soon as it arrives if pos¬ 
sible, for, if left for any length of time its 
stimulating propensities are washed away. 
If one has more than is wanted for the 
lawn it can be left out in the open till 
autumn, when it will come in very use¬ 
ful for mixing with the soil which is used 
for frames, etc. The expense of this 
dressing would be only the carting and 
carriage. Of course this would depend 
upon the distance one was from the sea¬ 
shore. It has also a tendency to keep 
down worm casts, and would be-of great 
benefit to those whose lawns were infested 
with worms. 
Thos. Francis, 
Bromley Cross. 
-- 
Kent, Surrey and Sussex Daffodil Society. 
The date of the annual show for igoS 
of the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Daffodil 
and Spring Flower Society has now been 
fixed for April 15th next. " It will be held 
in the Great Hall, Tunbridge Wells. In¬ 
terest in this society not only continues 
undimished, but increases, and its sup¬ 
porters, indeed, look forward to it as the 
most important spring floral event in the 
south-eastern counties. 
