March 7, 1908. 
THE QARDENIHQ WORLD . 
»53 
Lilium longiflorum 
Grown in Moss Fibre Two Years in Succession. 
Viticella types require to be cut back to 
; strong buds, the montana group to be al- 
; lowed to depend where tnere is space. 
The lanuginosa section requires little 
pruning, merely the weakest wood re¬ 
moved ; the patens and florida section to 
ramble at will. Jasminum officinale, J. 
nuamorum, and J. triumphans must be 
■spurred hard back, the flowers being 
1 borne on new wood made during summer. 
Wistarias merely want any long growths 
regulated where extension is deemed 
necessary, the. remainder spurred back, 
the Pyrus responding to similar treat¬ 
ment. The Myrtles may be shortened a 
bit if extending too far from the wall, 
but it is only in the warmer counties 
where these thrive out-of-doors. Ever¬ 
green and deciduous trees and shrubs may 
be planted in favourable weather, secur¬ 
ing any against high winds by stake or 
cords if likely to get swayed to and fro. 
Fallen leaves likely to be blown about 
should be gathered up, and after two 
years, if stacked and turned over a few 
times during next winter, good leaf soil 
will be forthcoming, when it may be re¬ 
turned to beds, borders, or as a top¬ 
dressing to Conifers, flowering shrubs, 
etc. 
Bicton, Devon. J. Mayne. 
-- 
5wad ?aa ’YTiUAam Xu\$. 
The above Spencer type of Sweet Pea 
was shown in very fine condition at the 
National Sweet Pea Show in London last 
year by Messrs. E. W. King and Co., 
Coggeshall, Essex. The standard and 
wings are waved, and its general appear¬ 
ance may be conceived by comparing it 
to John Ingman, which is a very' dark rose 
when it comes true. This variety is 
guaranteed to produce go per cent, true 
to the type, and if this is so it must prove 
a very valuable variety. The standard 
has a shade of orange. The flower is 
also of large size and usually produces 
four together on a stem. 
-f+>- 
She ScoUh Shistte. 
Though the Scotch Thistle is by no 
means a novelty when seen growing in 
fields and waste places, o'r such other 
natural habitat as it might prefer, it mar 
be regarded as a novelty when seen in a 
nurseryman's catalogue. Seeds are be¬ 
ing offered by Mr. John Forbes, Buc- 
cleuch Nurseries, Hawick. The flowers 
'are described as purplish-red and hand¬ 
some, a description with which everyone 
from the “land of brown heath and 
shaggy wood” will agree. It is stated to 
grow 5 ft. high, but the height is largely 
determined by the situation in which it is 
growing. In an open, fullyr-exposed field 
of very good farm land it may form a 
very robust bush while only 2 ft. or 2 i ft. 
in height. It is, nevertheless, a handsome 
plant, and it would be worth while giv¬ 
ing ^ garden cultivation with the object 
of producing specimens of the finest 
stature and robustness. Surely, it is as 
ieserving of this treatment as the exotic 
cnown as the Cotton Thistle (Onopordon 
Wanthium), and sometimes, though er¬ 
roneously, named the Scotch Thistle. The 
Scotch Thistle as mentioned by Burns is 
-nicus lanceolatus, or Carduus lanceo- 
atns, thou eh by anv name it would 
00k as wel 1 - 
Our readers have now a pretty good 
idea of the method of growing flowers in 
moss fibre. The practice is annually in¬ 
creasing, being encouraged, no doubt, to 
some extent, by the fine exhibits made 
at various shows throughout England by' 
Mr. Robert Sy r denham, Tenby Street, 
Birmingham, who has been experimenting 
with this method of culture for the last 
five y r ears. There are two methods of 
growing bulbs and other flowers in moss 
fibre. The first is the simple method of 
using the fibre in flower pots drained in 
the usual way r . That method of culture 
offers little or no difficulty, even to the 
beginner. We have flowered several 
varieties of Daffodils for two y^ears in suc¬ 
cession, and some of them three years 
without changing the fibre. That, of 
course, puts the durability of the fibre to 
a very severe test. 
The other method of using the fibre is 
to put it in china vases of various orna¬ 
mental designs and of different sizes, but 
in all cases forming a vessel without open¬ 
ings for the escape of water, except, of 
course, by evaporation at the top. This 
is a somewhat more difficult method of 
cultivation, and the careless would be 
liable to destroy the bulbs or plants by 
producing a sodden or saturated soil in 
which the roots of land plants would fail 
to live. There is, however, a method of 
treatment by which all this danger can 
be avoided, and Mr. Sydenham may get 
the credit of having brought it to perfec¬ 
tion. 
The object of growing flowers under 
these conditions, we may state, is that the 
flowers may be placed upon tables or 
other furniture in the home without fear 
of wetting or spoiling the furniture in any 
way. No saucers are required, and 
herein lies the yalue of that particular 
method of culture. No one will deny the 
advantage of being able to grow and keep 
flowers in the home that do not spoil the 
furniture. Many bad results have been 
brought about even by the use of earthen¬ 
ware saucers, which are porous, and allow 
Uli 
Robert Svamham. 
Lilium long-iflorum for two years irs moss fibre. 
