THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 14, 1908. 
Chrysanthemums. 
Work for March- 
Where a good number of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums are required for decorative pur¬ 
ges, the single-cutting-in-a-thumb-pot 
■.-stem of propagation is often found to be 
ijo tedious. One of the simplest and 
Lsiest systems for striking cuttings is to 
;e flqi boxes about 18 inches by 24 inches 
nd 7 inches deep, covering the bottom 
ith about half an inch of fine rubble, 
nd over this about 4 inches of a mixture 
f sifted loam, leaf soil, and sand, in 
qual proportions. This must be pressed 
own fairly solid, and finished off with an 
/en surface into which to dibble the cut- 
ngs in rows, just clear of each other, 
iking care to make each one firm at the 
ase, and also to label each variety in 
jch a way that there will be no confu- 
on when the time comes for removing 
re young plants. 
Having watered the cuttings in by 
reans of a rosed-watercan, sheets of glass 
lould be placed on the boxes, and the 
etails of ventilating, removing accumu- 
ited moisture, etc., be attended to as 
dvised for pot-struck cuttings. 
When the cuttings are rooted and suffi- 
ientlv hardened to the air, they can 
asilv be taken up with a small hand-fork 
nd potted, when any surplus plants may 
e returned to the boxes in much wider 
ows until plantingout time, when, on 
he boxes being carried out to the border, 
he plants can be removed and set out 
.ith hardly any check to their growth. 
If these plants have the necessary at- 
ention in the way of staking, tying, weed; 
ng. etc., through the summer and .ape 
aken up in September and potted or re- 
>oxed, the single-flowering kinds and a 
;reat number of the Japanese decorative 
•arieties will produce a nice lot of good 
lowers for cutting, and in addition, a 
r erv healthy stock of cuttings for another 
eason. 
Any plants of the show varieties that 
lave been potted up a sufficient length 
>f time for the roots to have reached the 
1 ides of the 35-inch pots, should now be 
e-potted into those 6 inches in diameter, 
using soil that has been cut into rather 
arger lumps than that used for the first 
lotting, but having similar proportions 
if soils and manures. The potting must 
le firmly done and a small stick be put 
0 each plant before it is returned to the 
rame, where moister and closer condi- 
ions must be maintained for the first 
r ew days until they begin to get hold of 
he new soil, when a good watering should 
le given and more air admitted. 
The following Japanese exhibition 
/arieties should show a first or “break” 
lud about the middle of the present 
nonth, otherwise the points of the shoots 
must be nipped out to cause a break in 
:he growth at this season, as these varie- 
:ies are best flowered on a second crown 
bud :—W. A. Etherington, Miss Phyllis 
Chittenden, Mrs. R. D. Eves, Ben Wells, 
Charles Hickling, Mrs. Norman Davis, 
Miss Miriam Hankey, and W. Jinks. 
Among varieties that should make a 
break by the end of the month or be 
pinched for first-crown buds are: — 
Duchess of Sutherland, Mdme. Oberthur, 
Mdme. G. Rivol, and Mdme. P. Radaelli. 
These pinchings must not be done at 
potting time, but always when the plants 
are in full growth. 
R. Barnes. 
was to watch the larva of the lacewing 
fly at work holding the aphis with its jaws 
and sucking the juices from the body. In 
some respects it was unfortunate to the 
gardener that Nature had ordained more 
enemies in the insect world than friena-:, 
and means had to be found to eradicate 
many of these pests with the aid of fumi¬ 
gants and insecticides. It was in this way 
that many friends were destroyed. Un¬ 
like animals, insects had no lungs, but 
breathed through long tubes called 
trachiea, running through the body and 
limbs, and in many instances ways had 
to be found for stopping these tubes, 
whilst others were destroyed by poisonous 
juices placed in their haunts. 
-- 
The Double . 
Insect Friends and Insect Foes. 
Lecturing before the members of the 
Croydon and District Horticultural Mu¬ 
tual Improvement Society, Mr. H. 
Withers, of South Croydon, described the 
life history of some of the most import¬ 
ant insects found in gardens and fields. 
Often, he said, little friends in the insect 
world are destroyed through ignorance 
of their usefulness. Amongst those to be 
encouraged are the ladybird, whose larva 
feeds upon aphides, the golden-eyed fly, 
ants, and many of the Ichneumon flies. 
The lecturer remarked how interesting it 
- Lobelia - 
(Lobelia Kathleen Mallard). 
Last year some of our correspondents 
complained of the dearness of mis Lo¬ 
belia, but having been twelve! months 
more in cultivation it should now be 
cheape'r, and those who wish to grow it 
should have no difficulty in procuring it. 
It is a strong grower, making a very large 
number of shoots, but the plant is of very 
compact form, making globular masses, 
and for this reason may not be suitable 
for ever)- purpose. Last year was not 
verv suitable for it flowering out of doois 
Lobelia Kathleen Mallard. 
Maclaren d'nd Sons. 
