run a a rdbms\ a world. 
February 8, 1908. 
78 
- Roses - 
At Christmas. 
There must have been many people last 
year among those who have gardens who 
were able to pick enough Roses to make 
very pretty arrangements for Christmas 
decorations. tor many years I ha\e 
brought in from the garden at that time 
ns many as I could gather, and the mild 
weather of December last enabled me to 
make such gay and summer-like arrange¬ 
ments for the Christmas table that they 
surprised all who saw them. My Rose 
garden has in it about 250 Rose bushes, 
and I have worked in it for a sufficient 
length of time for me to be able to give 
my fellow-readers of The Gardening 
W orld a few hints as to the best sorts 
to grow to secure a chance of a late 
supply. 
Among crimson Roses Gruss an Tcplitz 
is the most certain. I had several flowers 
from a standard tree of La Reine Marie 
Henriette. The climbing trees which I 
have on south and east walls do not give 
me such perfect or such late blooms. Cra- 
moisie Superieure was still doing well at 
the end of December, being in a sheltered 
corner. Reine Olga de Wiirtemburg at 
that date had on it many showy, loose 
and open blooms. The foliage of this 
Rose is remarkably full and green. 
Among yellow Roses 1 have Gloire de 
Dijon, the late flowers as well as early 
coming always on the tree planted on an 
east wall. Mme. Pierre Cochet in a stan¬ 
dard gives me charming pale blooms un¬ 
like its summer orange coloured blossoms. 
Duchesse d'Aucrstadt looks so flourishing 
and hardy that it is an ornament to the 
garden, but it gives no late Roses. I 
have two \V. A. Richardson climbers, both 
against south walls, but they give also no 
winter blooms, while a standard in the 
•open gives pretty half-opened buds. 
• I have few white Roses as a rule at 
Christmas beyond the long greenish-white 
buds given so abundantly by White Ma- 
man Tochet. These arrange very well 
with the other coloured Roses. Last year 
I had blooms from Niphetos, planted in 
a sheltered angle of a wall, from La- 
marque, a standard near a south wall, 
. and Mme. G. Bruant. 1 picked, as usual, 
some from the Wichuraianas 1 - rangois 
Foucard and Rene Andre. Almost the 
best Rose of all for late flowering is Vis¬ 
countess Folkestone. One year I picked 
a large open bloom covered with hoar 
frost. The delicate flesh pink of its petals 
under their icy veil was indescribably 
lovely. Lady Waterlow was blooming 
well with me at the latter end of Decem¬ 
ber. The tree out in the open did better 
in the way of late flowering than the more 
sheltered one. A standard Grace Darling 
had four fine open Roses on it and many 
buds. Mme. Lambard gives, with her red 
buds, such charming foliage that she can¬ 
not be'neglected. I must end up my list 
with the best of all winter flowering Roses 
-the old-fashioned Monthly Rose. It 
blooms abundantly" and late. It is only 
a severe frost that puts this lively little 
tree to sleep, and for those who want cut 
flowers in their garden all the year round 
it is invaluable. 
Chrysanthemum carinatum. 
Silver Queen, • 
In the most common garden forms of 
C. carinatum two or three distinct colours 
are observable in each flower, and for 
that reason many people name the species 
C. tricolor. The name Silver Queen has 
been given to a variety in which all the 
purple or red colours have been elimi¬ 
nated, leaving only the white ground and 
a clear zone of yellow near the- centre. 
The disc itself is yellow when fully ex¬ 
panded, but while the florets are still un¬ 
opened they appear to be covered over 
with a layer of silver. This peculiarity 
is common to all the varieties of C. cari¬ 
natum, but in the new white variety under 
notice the elimination of other colours 
gives to the disc or centre a beautiful sil¬ 
very appearance. This beautiful and dis¬ 
tinct variety is being offered by Messrs. 
Wm. Fell and Co., Ltd., Flexham. 
-- 
WITH a view to preventing another 
plague of wasps next season, the Hay¬ 
wards Heath Horticultural Society offer a 
penny for every queen wasp brought to 
the summer show. 
- 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 way,4 any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be -care¬ 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short article oo 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- 
petitim,” and post not later than the Monday 
folk wing date of issue. Entries received later 
than 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- 
jeot. 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best pnpers in this competition 
are too long, an<l we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
The prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to O. C. ” for the article on' 
“Specimen Plants for Lawns,” page 62. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize 
was awarded to “A. Dennett” for the article 
on “ Carnations in Winter” ; and another to 
“ Wm. P Hu.stwait,” for the article on “ Pre¬ 
venting Seedlings-from Damping,” page 64. 
The Balsam 
(lmpatiens Balsamina.) 
This well-known ornamental and tender 
annual is one of our showiest summer and 
autumn flowers, and deserving of a place 
in every garden. A native of India, it was 
first cultivated in England by Gerarde in 
1596. In these days, when the desidera¬ 
tum is flowering plants for cutting pur¬ 
poses, the Balsam has somewhat fallen in¬ 
to disrepute. Partial success only attends 
its bedding out in our northern clime. To 
its worth as a subject for pot culture the 
following remarks apply. 
Much heat is not necessary for the Bal¬ 
sam ; seeds can be sown, and the resultant 
plants grown through all their different 
stages m an ordinary greenhouse. For 
over a dozen years I admired an amateur's 
vigorous, sturdy plants at a village show 
not far from where f write. Year after 
year he had unqualified success with his 
Balsams raised and grown in his little 
greenhouse. He finds that by sowing the 
first week in May the plants will be in 
proper condition for showing on the first. 
Saturday of September. Instead of using 
pans or boxes, he puts two seeds in a 
small pot, using light, rich soil, and when 
they germinate the weak one is taken out 
and the strong one left. This avoids the 
first shift, and obviates the consequent 
risk of loss. 
If sown in pans or boxes, pot them off 
into 3 in. pots as soon as the rough leaf 
appears, making sure the seed leaves are 
close to the soil. Equal parts of good 
loam, leaf-mould, rotted manure and 
gritty sand mixed together make an ex¬ 
cellent compost. When the roots reach 
the sides of the pot, shift the plants into 
larger ones, repeating this operation until 
they are in 8 or 9 in. pots. By placing 
the plants as deep in the pots as possible, 
the stems emit fresh roots wherever they 
come into contact with the soil, thus in¬ 
creasing the further development of the 
plants. 
The Balsam, being a quick-growing, 
succulent plant, aim at producing condi¬ 
tions encouraging to free growth. To 
this end, do not leave the plants too long 
in the seed bed, or they will be spindly 
and jveak. Give t.hem a good, rich soil, 
and see there is no check through being 
pot-bound. Never allow the plants to be- I 
come dry at the roots, and provide a moist 
atmosphere and give air when opportunity 
offers. Keep the plants near the glass to 
get the maximum of light, and water them 
once a week with artificial manure when 
the pots are filled with roofis and showing 
for bloom. Do not pinch the leader to 
promote the growth of side" shoots, or re-1 
move the flower buds from the main stem 
and base of branches to increase the size 
of plants as recommended by some. The 
plants are never more elegant and effec- : 
tive than when grown naturally, without 
any pinching or disbudding. Grown under 1 
the conditions described above, perfect 
specimens will be the result, the 
wonder and admiration of all who see 
them. 
S. H. 
M. t. Greene. 
Stirling. 
