MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
For every dawn that breaks brings a 
i world, and every budding blossom a new 
1 ”—Lewis Morris. 
CONTENT B. 
tateur's Letter to Amateurs, An... 209 
iters, Webbs' Bedding (illus.) . 211 
llflower, A Caucasian (illus.) ... 214 
i nation. American Tree . 210 
.'rots, The Cultivation of (illus.) 219 
inpetition Awards . 210 
npetition. Prize Letter . 212 
iivolvulus, A Charming Dwarf ... 211 
Llamen, A Hardy (illus.) . 213 
i^uire Within . 220 
' wer Beds, Some Combinations in 215 
■'wer Garden, The (illus.) . 217 
nit Garden. The (illus.) . 217 
Lenhouse, The Amateur’s . 218 
vchen Garden, The (illus.) .. 217 
\ohrolepis exaltata Piersoni 
llus.) . 2I 5 
1 ;hids for Amateurs . 218 
Ns, The Culture of Culinary . 213 
net Pea Mrs. Hardcastle Sykes ... 210 
Let Peas: Work for March . 216 
Mk of the Week (illus.) . 217 
- +++ - 
>net, the old lure 
•' m windy nights of stars, and stealing 
scents 
crescent woodland aisles, and rain- 
fresh earth 
(pm in peeping firstlings—the old lure. 
s% the young year, with flushed and 
shining face, 
binds on the threshold of the greening 
hours 
Ml lifts his overmastering primal song, 
r ■ rioting chant, old as this round of 
earth, 
. new and sweet as in the first spring 
dawn, 
I king the joy-thirst through the house 
of life. 
of the blue-grey coppice the glad 
thrush 
Is back his fluted notes; song answers 
song 
m every swaying bough. Oh heart of 
me, 
low, come follow 7 ! Can our ears be 
deaf 
that insistent speech that bids us take 
■ share of the immortal heritage ? 
F. O’Neill Gallagher. 
In the “Daily News.” 
Rearing Freesias. 
I came upon a capital hint as to the 
cultivation of Freesia refracta alba the 
other day, and feel that my readers may 
like to put it to practical use. “ Let it 
be growm as an annual. I sowed seed in 
February of last year in a shallow 7 seed 
pan and had quantities of bloom in 
December.” 
So runs the extract, and this cultiva¬ 
tion is, of course, simplicity itself. 
Throughout the growing stage the plants 
should never suffer for lack of moisture, 
though the pots and pans containing them 
should not be allowed to stand in saucers 
or other vessels beneath them ; this is a 
habit greatly to be decried, as the soil 
in this saturated state soon sours. No, 
let water be given when needed, but let 
it drain freely away. In fact, especial 
attention should be given to the drainage 
of the pots or pans; it should be ample, 
and if a few pieces of charcoal are put 
in it helps to maintain the compost in a 
sweet and wholesome condition. 
When the seedlings are well through 
the soil, and growing freely, they must, 
throughout the year have access to- as 
much sunshine as possible, and I w 7 ould 
suggest as the best position for them the 
top shelf of a greenhouse w 7 ith the lights 
drawn down. Here they will have a 
free circulation of air, it is to be hoped 
but little or no overhanging shade, and 
plenty of sunshine. For if they are to 
flow'er within the year it stands to reason 
that they must be grown fonvarcl without 
any kind of check, I would even suggest 
that the seed be sowm so thinly that the 
plants are not disturbed throughout their 
first year’s growth. It strikes me that to 
grow these favourite flowers in this man¬ 
ner should prove a wonderfully inviting 
experiment well worth the trial. The 
pots can stand outside if preferred. 
Planting Old Walls. 
The present is- a capital time to take 
this in hand, and as it is work a little 
out of the usual routine it should prove 
doubly interesting. The older the wall 
the better, and care must be taken to note 
the aspect, for" if warm and sunny the 
plants that will suit it best will not be 
the ones we should introduce into a cool, 
eastern wall, for instance. For a warm 
sunny aspect the Dianthuses, Alpine 
Poppies, Achillea umbellata with its 
silvery white foliage crowned with white 
blossoms, Alyssum saxatile, Wallflowers, 
Corydalis lutea, Arabis rosea, Thrift, 
Sedums, Aubrietia and many other sub¬ 
jects will flourish. For a more shaded 
and cooler aspect small Ferns, Saxi¬ 
frages, l?oth of the mossy section, and 
such varieties as S. umbrosa — the old- 
fashioned London Pride, but never so 
well appreciated as when seen growing at 
almost the eye level, S. Andrewsi, and 
others, are suitable. Corydalis lutea 
flourishes as well in a cool aspect as in a 
sunny one, and becomes a veritable weed 
in an old wall, and we may well allow 
this, for it is wonderfully dainty, and the 
yellow flowers so beautiful in form that 
we enjoy them like the London Pride 
when near the eye level—enjoy them in 
the same manner as we do cut flowers 
at close quarters — and as we cannot, in 
the case of small blossoms, when glowing 
at our feet. Even the beautiful Gentiana 
acaulis may be made to bloom prodigi¬ 
ously in an old wall. At the foot of the 
wall (on this .cool side) a row of yellow 
Polyanthus Primroses is quite charming, 
and in such an aspect will flower an im¬ 
mense while. 
Bulb Foliage. 
As forced pots of bulbous plants go 
out of bloom and become untidy they 
should be placed either in a frame or 
greenhouse, and, for some time yet, 
watered as the need arises. Far too often 
the novice stands the pots out of doors to 
face all conditions of weather. This does 
not conduce to the after success of these 
bulbs. As they have been forced they 
are tender, although, under natural con¬ 
ditions they might be absolutely hardy. 
But forcing has made them tender for the 
time being, and they should be treated 
as such. They have important leaf 
growth to make at this stage, hence the 
need of water when the soil tends to dry¬ 
ness, and this growth should not be 
checked as it would be in severe weather 
•outside at the present time. Even outside 
the novice may make grievous errors with 
regard to bulbous foliage. I know a 
beautiful old garden that usually is a 
delightful sight in the spring with wide 
stretches of "Winter Aconites under old 
forest trees. This year scarcely any 
flowers were to be seen, and why? Be¬ 
cause last year, just- as the plants were 
going out of bloom an ignorant helper in 
the garden, under the idea of tidying up, 
took a scythe and cut off all the foliage. 
Double Violets. 
We ought to be picking grand bunches 
of flowers at this time from the Violet 
frame. I do not know how to account 
for it, but I have never known the stalks 
of those within the frames, and those out¬ 
side particularly, so brittle as they are 
this year. Although the plants in the 
frames want an abundance of air it does 
bring on a delightful crop to shut up the 
frames close for three hours or so during 
the hottest part of the day, though it may 
be bad gardening to do so. 
F. Norfolk. 
Dendrobium chessingtonense Gatton Park 
Var. 
The flowers of this beautiful variety 
are borne in clusters of two or three, and 
are large, light yellow 7 , with a broad crim¬ 
son-purple blotch on the disc. It may be 
described as a yellow D. Ainsworthii in 
form and colour. Aw'ard of Merit by the 
R.H.S. on 3rd March when shotvn by Sir 
Jeremiah Colman, Bart, (gardener, Mr. 
W. P. Bound), Gatton Park, Reigate. 
