March 28, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
213 
Cyclamen ibericum. Maclcircn cind Soils. 
A Hardy Cyclamen 
Those who have a difficulty in growing 
and flowering the ordinary greenhouse 
Cyclamen should grow some of the hardy 
ones. During summer they can be stood 
in a cold frame and then brought into the 
greenhouse during the period of flower¬ 
ing, which may be in autumn, winter or 
spring, according to their natural time of 
flowering and to the mildness or other¬ 
wise of the winter, which largely deter¬ 
mines the time of flowering of the plant 
under notice. 
The advantage of growing these hardy 
Cyclamens is that the same corms may 
be grown and bloomed year after year 
for a considerable time, whereas the 
greenhouse Cyclamen blooms best when 
raised from seeds every year. No doubt 
these hardy ones could be, and are, raised 
from seeds in greater or less quantity, but 
for the cultivator, who has little time to 
attend to the requirements of seedlings, 
or perhaps little convenience, full-grown 
or flowering corms of this hardy species 
will answer the purpose. 
Six-inch pots or even half pots, some¬ 
times known as Orchid pans, would 
answer the purpose very well, as it is 
width rather than depth that these shal¬ 
low-rooting plants require. A compost 
can be made up of fibrous loam and leaf 
mould in about equal proportions, with 
sufficient sand to make the soil porous. 
This could be done immediately after the 
plants have ceased flowering and the 
plants returned to the cold frame, where 
they will commence growing again in the 
autumn in preparation for blooming in 
winter or spring. In the summer time 
the, frame should have a northern aspect, 
as many of these plants like a cool or 
even half-shady situation. So long as 
they are cool and just moist, they will 
thrive. 
If raised from seeds, the flowers vary 
considerably in the depth of their colour, 
but our illustration represents one with 
rich dark rose flowers and a black spot 
at the base of each segment. By compari¬ 
son with the greenhouse one, the segments 
are short, but they are broad. In the 
open air this species would come into 
bloom in March if the weather had been 
fairly mild previously, but under glass, 
even without heat, it will come into bloom 
during February. 
-f+4- 
The Cultivation ^ j—r pr ^ 
. . of Culinary MUMS 
These will thrive to perfection in a 
rich, loamy soil. The ground should be 
well manured in the autumn and allowed 
to remain in a rough state till spring. If 
the soil is of a very light nature, throw 
out trenches wider and deeper than fcr 
Celery; heavy, well-rotted manure must 
be dug in, the bottom of the trenches 
filled in and well trodden down, after- 
three-parts filling the trench with the best 
soil. After making firm, the seed may 
be sown and covered with three inches of 
soil. If sown too thick when they are 
well up, they must be thinned out to two 
inches apart each way. Before staking, 
the earrth should be drawn up each side to 
form a sort of shallow trench, which will 
help when the watering comes on. If 
hot weather is likely to continue, a heavy 
mulch of manure, some 18 inches on 
either side, will greatly aid them. 
The time for sowing must be decided 
by the date when they will be required ; 
from 12 to 14 weeks may be fairly well 
taken for summer for the time for' them 
to mature and be fit to gather. Should 
watering be needful, it is best to water 
plentifully when it is done, in preference 
to light watering often. 
The choice of sorts to grow is very 
varied, and some do better in certain dis¬ 
tricts. but among good all-round varie¬ 
ties may be mentioned Duke of Albany, 
Gradus, Duchess, Stourbridge Marrow, 
Autocrat, and Captain Cuttle. 
J. C. SCAMMELL. 
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Croydon Chrysanthemum Society. 
We have received the schedule of the 
21 st annual show of this society to be held 
on the 27th and 28th of October next, at 
the Public Halls, Croydon, when a large 
number of prizes will be offered for com¬ 
petition, including the Champion Chal¬ 
lenge Cup presented by the president and 
vice-presidents, and a silver cup presented 
by Mr. Alderman Allen, J.P. We are 
sorry to hear that owing to inclement 
weather last October the funds of the 
society are very low, the balance sheet 
showing a balance of only is. in 
hand, whilst there is a small amount due 
to the treasurer. An appeal is being 
made for donations, and the Mayor of 
Crovdon, Mr. H. Keatley Moore, J.P., 
has subscribed ^5. 
