184 
THE HARDENING WORLD. 
March 14, 
on account of the general lack of sun¬ 
shine and the frequent rain. Neverthe¬ 
less, where it was planted fully exposed 
to direct sunshine, it flowered well late in 
the season. Plants we noticed formed 
globular masses 3 in. to 6 in. in diameter, 
and as the shoots were very closely gradu¬ 
ated as to length, the flowers were seen 
to the best advantage. They are per¬ 
fectly double, the centre being filled up 
with smaller petals of a dark blue colour. 
jf or conservatory work, young plants 
might be shifted on from small pots to 
larger ones to encourage growth until the 
plants are of considerable size. Then 
they could be placed in a greenhouse or 
conservatory in situations where they will 
be fully exposed to sunshine. This will 
ensure their flowering freely. When the 
pots are well filled with roots, weak liquid 
manure may be used to stimulate growth. 
Out of doors, however, we believe rather 
light, or sandy soil would give more en¬ 
couragement to the production of flowers, 
and no doubt when the plant gets com¬ 
mon, it will be tried under such condi¬ 
tions. 
-- 
The Saturday Hall-Holiday. 
A Letter to the Editor. 
Sir,—I have from time to time wanted 
to venture upon this subject in the pages 
of The Gardening World, and trusting, 
Mr. Editor, that you will allow me a 
small space in which to ventilate it. I 
have read at different times a number of 
essays, some pleading for and others 
against the Saturday half-holiday; but as 
I am one of those who would like to push 
the movement, being in a place where the 
Saturday half-holiday is an established 
thing, and as I have been here since 1907, 
I think 1 can with confidence offer a few 
serviceable remarks. 
I am sure that employers would never 
miss the two hours from two o’clock till 
four, as in most establishments four 
o’clock is generally the leaving-off time. 
We find great benefit from our half-holi¬ 
days here, as this establishment is situ¬ 
ated about five miles from a town; the 
married men especially appreciate it, as 
they can go to the town shopping in the 
afternoon instead of in the evening, which 
has hitherto been the case. I should cer¬ 
tainly like to see it become a general 
thing in every establishment throughout 
the country, as I am of the opinion that 
the gardener highly deserves a half-holi¬ 
day once a week, as well as any other 
trade worker; and the single-handed gar¬ 
dener even more than others where a 
large staff of men is kept; also where our 
younger branches indulge in cricket and 
football, and where a large number be¬ 
long to the Volunteers. It therefore gives 
them a chance of seeking a little plea¬ 
sure, which I am certain is honestly 
earned. 
I hope some other readers of the 
“G.W.” will assist to forward this move¬ 
ment, and so help our fellow-men who 
are, so to speak, prisoners, and deprived 
of this Saturday half-holiday. The gene¬ 
ral adoption of this week-end holiday 
would without doubt strengthen, rather 
than weaken, the ranks of professional 
gardeners. ; . 
Yours truly, 
Hollington. J. Nibbs. 
The above is the name of the best 
known Edelweiss, which grows on the 
mountains of Europe. It is also as hand¬ 
some as any and more interesting from 
the fact that many people annually risk 
their lives in collecting it or trying to 
upon the Alps. It is not quite so bulky 
as the Himalayan species, and is there¬ 
fore neater for cultivation either in pots 
or on the rockery. The best plan of 
dealing with it is to treat it as a bien¬ 
nial. Seeds sown during March, April 
or Mav will make little rbsettes of leaves 
during the course of the summer, and 
may be established upon the rockery early 
in September or kept in a cold frame and 
planted out about the end of March. 
Some light soil, consisting of about 
equal portions of loam, leaf mould, and 
sand, may be made up and put in 6 in. 
pots after they have been well crocked. 
When the seedlings have formed little 
rosettes fit to handle, they may be potted 
off singly or dibbled in at equal distances 
all over a pan of light soil. In both 
of these instances the plants may be 
flowered in the pots or planted out, as the 
cultivator desires. 
During winter there is some liability 
of losing some of the plants out of doors, 
owing to the wet and changeable condi¬ 
tion of our climate, and not to the actual 
cold. In its native habitats on the moun¬ 
tains the temperature must often be very 
low, but that cold being continuous, 
keeps the plants resting, it may be,' under 
a covering of snow. In no part of this 
country, except on the mountains, would 
the plants be kept resting in this way in 
the average of winters, so that is where 
the difficulty lies in growing this plant 
out of doors. The best plan is to select 
a well drained situation, somewhat ele¬ 
vated and exposed to light and air from 
all quarters. This make's the plant 
hardy, and the elevated situation keeps it 
fairly dry about the roots. 
During the second season it throws up 
stems 3 in. to 6 in. high. The lower 
leaves are spathulate and greyish gfeen, 
while the leaves on the stem are still more 
grey, while the bracts surrounding the 
small flower heads are of a clear silvery 
grey colour. The specific name (Leonto- 
podium) is derived from the fanciful re¬ 
semblance of the clusters of the flower 
heads and their bracts to the woolly foot 
of a lion. The plants are short-lived in 
this country, so that if seeds are ripened 
they should be saved, but, in any case, 
it will be almost necessary to sow a few 
seeds annually to have the Edelweiss in 
flower on the rockery each succeeding 
year. 
Trees in Churches. 
The parish church of Ross, Hereford¬ 
shire, possesses some singular ecclesias¬ 
tical “ornaments” in two fine Elm tree? 
flourishing one on each side of the pev 
where once sat the famous “Man of Ross,' 
John Kyrle. They are fabled locally tc 
have sprung up as a token of Divine wratl 
against a profane rector of Ross, who hac 
cut down some trees which Kyrle hac 
planted in the churchyard. Trees in 01 
on churches are not uncommon. A 
Kempsey, in the adjoining county of Wor¬ 
cester, a large Horse-chestnut tree ha 
grown in the chancel from the tomb 0: 
Sir Edmund Wylde, who died about 1629 
On the tower of Fishtoft Church, neai 
Boston, grows ajusty Beech, and a simi 
lar tree may be seen on the tower 0: 
Culmstock, in Devonshire. Apart fron 
intrinsic beauty, the parish church 0 
Crick, in Northamptonshire, is, or wa: 
recently, remarkable for two trees grow 
ing out of the masonry about fifty fee 
from the ground. 
Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum). Maclaren and Sons. 
