THE GARDENING WORLD 
2 S 3 
April ii, 1908. 
it when about to put the plants into it from 
the seed bed. Give them 'about 8 in. from 
plant to plant, and 10 in. between the rows. 
In firm soil they should grow slowly, mak¬ 
ing them bushy and firm jointed. They 
should not be shaded by trees or taller plants, 
but fully exposed. They can be placed in 
their flowering positions in October, so that 
they may get established before the advent 
of winter. 
2764. Coreopsis grandiflora Dying. 
I had some nice bushes of Coreopsis grandi¬ 
flora which bloomed well last year, but they 
seem to have been killed by frost during 
winter. I had it for a hardy border plant, 
and cannot understand how it should have 
died after being so well established. Can 
you give me any explanation about this? 
(Wm. Goode, Gloucestershire.) 
Coreopsis grandiflora is hardy enough, 
and probably perennial, in certain climates 
and soils, but usually it behaves like a bien¬ 
nial in this country, and nearly always dies 
completely awaj r in the winter after having 
bloomed. ’ That, therefore, is the explana¬ 
tion of the disappearance of jx>ur plant. You 
should sow a few seeds every year, and plant 
out the seedlings in their flowering positions 
either early in the autumn or in spring of the 
second year. If you have a reserve part of 
the garden where this could be done, a patch 
or two of the seedlings could be coming on 
every year for planting. If you would like 
a Coreopsis that would stand, then get C. 
lanoeolatus, which produces very similar 
flowers, though somewhat smaller with 
shorter stalks. 
TREES AND SHRUBS. 
2765. Clematis for Climbing. 
Can you tell me whether Clematis davi- 
iiana or C. graveolens would make the best 
Timber for an archway over a patch leading 
nto the flower garden ? I have the choice 
>f the two, but am not acquainted with them, 
four opinion will much oblige. 
Clematis davidiana is not a climber, but 
nakes a bush 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, and pro- 
luces bunches of pale blue flowers not un¬ 
ike those of a Hyacinth. C. graveolens is 
. tall climber, with pale yellow flowers, net 
larticularly showjq but of vigorous growth, 
.nd suitable enough for covering an arch- 
vay. The flowers are not particularly 
•howy, and there are many varieties of 
Ilematis with flowers 3 in. to 4 in. in dia- 
aeter that would possibly suit you better. 
VEGETABLES. 
1766. Points of Good Asparagus. 
If you could take each week one flower, 
egetable, or fruit, and analyse the points 
■’hich are to be looked for in judging for 
xhibition, I feel it would give your readers 
leasure. (H. E. Staddon, Essex.) 
Asparagus is now in season, and might 
e considered at the present time from an 
xhibition point of view. The best Aspara- 
us, of course, is grown under favourable 
mditions out of doors, and will presently 
3 fit to cut. For exhibition purposes the 
icks should be of good size to have much 
eight with the judges. In other words, the 
ick should be thick, showing that good cul- 
iral treatment has been given. You should 
uard against their being too long, as the 
>wer and older portion is generally woody. 
11 the sticks forming a bundle should be 
: the same length and thickness. The cul- 
vator should, therefore, select them from 
us point of view. If some of the sticks 
ere of unusual thickness, others of unusual 
■ngth, and the bundle made up with a num- 
lr of weak sticks, such an exhibit would 
ive little weight with the judges. This 
(equality of length and thickness are points 
• be avoided in making a bundle. The 
ales on the top of the sticks should be w°ll 
closed, showing that they have been of rapid 
growth and are not too old nor have been 
long cut. The principal points, therefore, 
to be looked for in Asparagus are condition 
as to freshness and cleanness, also size and 
uniformity. 
2767. Raising Seakale. 
I have never before tried growing Sea- 
kale. Would you kindly let me know how I 
can raise it from seed, and say how long it 
would take to be fit for use? If you would 
give me some particulars I should be grate¬ 
ful. (H. Livesey, Lines.) 
We presume that your ground has been 
thoroughly prepared by digging or trench¬ 
ing and manuring. The roots of Seakale go 
down rather deeply, so that depth of soil 
and fertility are important points. You 
can now prepare the ground for sowing by 
having it made level. Take out drills or 
furrows r in. deep and about 16 in. asunder. 
Two seeds could be placed at intervals 1 ft. 
apart in these furrows. If both of them 
germinate, the weaker one should be re¬ 
moved after the seedlings are fairly well 
established. Keep the ground frequently 
hoed to keep down weeds, and encourage 
growth by the aeration of the soil. Next 
March the roots could be lifted and trans¬ 
planted to lines 2 ft. asunder and r8 in. to 
20 in. apart. Seeds sown now should give 
plants ready for forcing in the autumn of 
1909, after the leaves have ripened and fallen 
away from the crowns. These crowns will 
continue to be fit for forcing till well into 
the spring of rqio. New plantations can be 
made from the thickened fleshy roots usually 
spoken of as thongs. They should be cut 
into lengths of 4 in. when lifting crowns for 
forcing, and buried in soil, or else put in 
sand in a box to keep them moist until the 
usual planting time in March. 
2768. Rearing: Pumpkins. 
I would like to grow some of those large 
Pumpkins which weight 80 lbs., or even 
100 lbs. Do they require much heat to 
raise them? When should I put them out¬ 
side, and what treatment should I give them ? 
(T. Clark, Cheshire.) 
Seeds may be sown at the present time. 
Indeed, this is about the best time for sow¬ 
ing plants to put outside when the weather 
becomes sufficiently mild. Crock some 3-in. 
pots, and fill them with sandy loam. The 
seed should be covered with about J- in. of 
soil, as this enables the seedling to get clear 
out of the husk or skin of the seed when 
germinating. When the seedling has pro¬ 
duced one rough leaf or two "it may be 
shifted into a 6 in. or 7 in. pot. It is a great 
advantage having each plant in a separate 
pot to begin with. You can shift it on with¬ 
out molesting or breaking the roots, and 
therefore no check to growth is given. A 
temperature of 60 degs. would be an advan¬ 
tage until germination is completed, but to 
prevent the seedlings from getting drawn, 
they should be removed into a lower tem¬ 
perature. Standing the pots near the glass 
in the same house would often prove suffi¬ 
cient at this early stage. 'When the weather 
gets warmer you can transfer the pots to a 
cold frame. Keep the frame rather close 
for a few days until the plants take to the 
lower temperature, especially at night. After 
this they should be ventilated during the 
day to keep the plants sturdy and short- 
jointed. Towards, the end of May they 
should gradually get more and more air, 
untj the sashes may be left off during the 
day. After this time of the year the chief 
danger is to guard against late frosts, which 
may suddenly come in the night time. For 
that reason it would be well to keep the 
sashes on at night. In the meantime, you 
can be preparing places for the Pumpkins 
in the open garden fully exposed to sun¬ 
shine. Take out holes to a deoth of 18 in. 
or 2 ft., and fill them up with fermented 
manure. Tread it down, then cover it with 
8 in. of soil and plant the Pumpkins two 
to each stance if you cannot train them in 
different directions. This fermenting 
manure supplies a little bottom heat in the 
early part of the season, and thereby en¬ 
courages root growth. In the summer time 
it will furnish a better supply of moisture 
than the roots could get in the ordinary soil. 
If you have a number of hand-lights or 
bell-glasses you could plant out the Pump¬ 
kins at the end of May, covering them so as 
to encourage growth, and also to protect them 
from frost at night. If you have no such 
means of protecting them, delay planting till 
the first or second week in June. If the 
plants are getting large, it would be well 
to plant them out as early in June as possible. 
GARDEN ENEMIES. 
2769. Peas Being Eaten. 
My early sowing of Peas is being gnawed 
by small beetles. Can you tell me what they 
are, and let me know what is the best 
remedy? I have never seen them before. 
Some of the leaves are eaten clean away, 
and others have notches on the edges. (G. 
Parr, Beds.) 
Judging from your explanation of their 
behaviour the insects are some of the Pea 
weevils. There are at least two species 
which often prove destructive to early sow¬ 
ings of Peas and Broad Beans. These are 
Sitonia lineata and S. crinita, the former 
weevil being distinguished by lines on the 
wing cases, while the latter is more or less 
spotted. These weevils do not fly, though 
they can run quickly. If you get a narrow 
board and cover it with fresh tar you can 
lay it against a length of the Peas and shake 
the plants over it. The weevils dropping on 
the tar are held fast. Do this while the sun 
shines, and you will find the weevils more 
active than at any other time. You must not 
disturb the plants until the board is in posi¬ 
tion, otherwise the weevils simply drop to 
the ground and lay still. By shifting the 
board along the lines of Pegs in this way 
you can go over a considerable plantation 
in a short time, and get rid of a large num¬ 
ber of the enemy. This operation can be re¬ 
peated next day, but after having gone over 
your plants on the first occasion, you should 
syringe them to wet the foliage' and then 
dust them with soot or fine wood ashes. This 
is distasteful to the weevils, and prevents the 
leaves from getting entirely destroyed. By 
destroying the weevils at the present time 
you will be preventing their increase, and 
thereby saving a deal of trouble for next' 
year. 
2770. Destroying: Slug's. 
Can you suggest any way of catching slugs 
in a greenhouse ? I do not find the orange 
trap mentioned in your paper by a corre¬ 
spondent any good at all, and bran is no 
use, unless one goes out in the dark to find 
them while they are eating it. (A. E. C., 
Guernsey.) 
Fresh Lettuce leaves and young Cabbage 
leaves usually prove tempting morsels for 
slugs, and might be laid in places near the 
plants which they infest, this being done 
late in the afternoon. Then in the morning 
the leaves should be examined for slugs. 
That is, of course, an old-fashioned wav, 
but if you would try the recent remedy, 
“ Vapcrite,” it would save a deal of trouble 
in looking round at night with a lantern, 
or even going early in the morning. The 
wholesale way in which the remedy can be 
applied Is net the least important part of it. 
You can employ this “Vapor.ite” by dig¬ 
ging it into the soil in the open garden, and 
when about to pot plants or bulbs some of 
the “Vapor.ite” should be mixed with the 
potting soil, and that in the course of a short 
time will commence to give off fumes that 
