228 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
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which the Editor considers to be the 
best. 
A Good Basket Plant. 
Many conservatories., both large and 
small, are by far too prim and stiff. 
Among other things fitted to improve 
matters is the introduction of a few hang¬ 
ing baskets, and I think a basket filled 
with one thing is preferable to a charac¬ 
terless mixture. A good many subjects 
are available, but I strongly'recommend 
Fuschia Wave of Life for this purpose. 
Root a plant in autumn, and grow on for 
a year in a 5 inch pot, then the following 
spring place it in a hanging basket lined 
with moss and filled with light rich soil, 
and the result will be a weeping plant 
covered with golden foliage, and a sprink¬ 
ling of flowers. Water copiously. 
C. C. 
Late Chrysanthemums. 
Having cut the last bunch of Chrysan¬ 
themum blooms, I thought a few words 
on their cultivation would not be amiss. 
Here, at the closing davs of February, to 
talk .about Chrysanthemums being in 
bloom seems rather strange, but true; the 
varieties are L. Canning and General- 
Hutton, the latter being noted as a No¬ 
vember flowering variety, and I must say 
that when I cut them I was most surprised 
at the form of the flowers, which were 
quite perfect. L. Canning was a little 
deformed, but nevertheless there were the 
pure white flowers. I grew them as bush 
plants, and since last Christmas I have 
kept them at the end of a cold Peach 
house, and have kept them rather dry. 
J. Nibbs. 
Hollington. 
Cucumbers. 
Those who possess a house adapted for 
growing them will have very little diffi¬ 
culty in producing fruit both in quantity 
and quality. The soil either for frame 
work or a house should be three parts of 
turfy loam chopped up in lumps the size 
of a walnut, and a fourth of fresh horse 
manure, with a sprinkling of soot and 
bonemeal. Well mixed together this will 
make a good compost to grow them in. 
Seed sown in the middle of February for 
house work will provide Cucumbers by the 
end of April and onwards. If grown in 
frames plenty of manure must be provided 
to reline the beds in order to maintain the 
bottom heat of somewhere like 75 degs. 
Daily sprinklings of tepid water and early 
closing will be. the routine work. Care 
must be taken not to get the young 
growths overcrowded, or to allow too 
manv fruits to be swelling at one time. 
For house work, growing them on the ex¬ 
press system is the most profitable. 
Weekly top dressing must be resorted to, 
and liberal supplies of tepid manure 
water be given them to keep up the 
supply. Lockie’s Perfection and Improved 
Telegraph are hard to beat for cropping 
and appearance. The fruits should be 
fairly large, firm, young, fresh, tender 
and uniform in size. 
J. C. SCAMMELL. 
Mossy Plants for Surfacing- Soil of Pot 
Plants. 
I very often notice queries respecting 
above, and have never experienced any 
harmful results from a surfacing of either 
Lycopodium in variety or the Carpet 
plant, Helxine Solierolii. Both are very 
pretty and useful. Tiny bits dibbled into 
the soil after top-dressing old and estab¬ 
lished plants soon grow, and do no harm 
if kept to the surface only and not allowed 
to choke the central plant. With too 
thick a growth a slight draping of the 
sides of the pot is allowable and in no 
way harmful. A good way to get a close 
even growth is to keep snipping the points 
of the creeping shoots out with sharp scis¬ 
sors as they grow, thus inducing the for¬ 
mation of side shoots and a beautifully 
even growth. 
D. V. E. 
Worthing. 
Achimenes. 
Aehimenes are a beautiful class of free 
flowering plants of easy culture. A com¬ 
post of a light rich character, composed 
of peat and leaf mould in equal parts, 
with a sixth part of well decomposed sheep 
manure and silver sand, will be found to 
suit them best. When required to flower 
for a length of time it is better not to start 
them all at once, for even when the plants 
are well managed they only retain a pre¬ 
sentable appearance for a certain time. 
A few tubercles should be started each 
month down to May. They delight in 
heat, moisture and shade while growing, 
but when in flower they may with safety 
be removed to the conservatory. There 
are few things that are - so effective when 
grown in baskets hanging over the paths 
like globes of flower, and if the different 
colours are mixed the effect is all the 
more striking. 
E. K. 
Hamilton, N.B. 
The Ubiquitous Snapdragon. 
No plant is more admirably adapted to 
fill up any odd corner of the garden than 
the much-improved Antirrhinum, whilst 
the dwarf varieties, or “Tom Thumbs,” 
as they are generally termed, are first 
rate for bedding purposes. They will 
grow anywhere, the common sorts being 
often seen in full bloom on old garden 
walls, where the tiniest crevice or irregu¬ 
larity affords them scanty roothold. The 
hybrids are a great improvement as re¬ 
gards both size and colouring, and make a 
beautiful, display in the borders of the 
April 4, igog. 
shrubbery or amidst rockwork, being b 
no means particular asAo soil so long a 
it is fairly dry and well drained. I; 
common with most other perennials, the 
benefit greatly if the seed-pods ar 
removed before they ripen, as left on the 
tend to weaken the plants and rende 
them less able to withstand the rigours c 
winter. 
Geo. A. Fisher. 
Enfield. 
-*+*- 
Glorious - 
Gladioli. How and Whi 
- — ■ to Grow. 
The seasons pass so quickly that 
really seems well-nigh impossible th; 
the season for planting Gladiolus corn 
is close at hand; however, such is th 
case, and I propose in the following non 
to deal with some of the newer and vet 
showy named varieties that have been 11 
traduced by an English firm famed f ( 
their culture and tar surpassing any 
have seen hitherto. 
Cultural directions need no: occupy n 
time and space now, because, no doul 
as the season advances, every detail v 
be fully dealt with on very broad ar 
comprehensive lines in these pages; bt 
I will just say from my own experieni 
how useful they are for pot work, ai 
how seldom one sees them so treated, 
single corm planted in a six-inch pot - 
rich but light soil (consisting largely 
loam, sand, and old leaf mould ar 
manure that is well rotted) at interva 
from the end of February until the b 
ginning of June will give a succession 
useful flourishing plants that will v 
with the choicest of the Lilies, Canna 
and usual pot plants. The long time 
spike will keep in good condition in eu 
a gas-laden atmosphere is little short 
marvellous, and the handsome Palm-li 
sword-shaped foliage is most decorative. 
Beds and borders amply filled wi 
f hese lovely flowers are too well knor 
by both amateurs and professionals 
need comment; but may I say 1 have si 
dom seen anything more elegant than 
saw last August, down a long carria 
drive, big wooden tubs filled with Ag 
panthus umbellatus and Gladiolus alti 
nating, each tub in a separate coloi 
Behind this mass of colour tall plants 
the Brugmansia arborea had be 
plunged in front of a belt of gold 
Euonymus. 
I will now deal with some of the b: 
named sorts, giving a short list. f 
course, some are rather expensive as y 
but the second half of the list will ; 
found very moderate in price. 
Argus, rose and white ; Escamille, cri- 
son and gold; Irish Ivy, -crimson ai 
maroon ; Lord Spencer, rose and whi; 
Omphale, rose and lemon ; Pinare, bri t 
scarlet; Scotch Cherry, rose and viol; 
Venillia, purple and yellow; Valdc, 
flesh ; and Lopyrus, maroon. 
Burgh Westra, rose; Claud Waite, 
fire; Carlyle, scarlet; Elea, alm-t 
orange; Dolabraj magenta; Flying F:, 
red-orange; Gerald, crimson; Hall.Car, 
Crimson; Juno, scarlet; and Simus, rc- 
purple. 
Of course these are only a very -y 
