262 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 18, 1908. 
Square beds can, however, be so modi¬ 
fied as to be artistic and graceful when 
properly filled with bedding plants, 
whether in spring or summer. The ac¬ 
companying design is quite a simple one 
and intended to be so. It will be noticed 
that there are two pairs of beds, each pair 
being of a somewhat different pattern. 
They are modifications of a square. The 
top pair, it will be noticed, have a small 
circle drawn from the angle of the square. 
On the other hand, the two lower ones are 
first laid out in the form of squares, then 
a half circle is taken out of each side. 
These variations take off the formality 
that would otherwise be attached to plain 
squares. 
Although the two types of beds may be 
used in one plan, readers may use four 
of one type, or tw ; o, or one. Indeed, each 
of the beds we represent is suitable for 
being laid out in small gardens, where 
there is room only for one bed, and that 
may be either on grass or gravel. There 
should be a little more grass on the out¬ 
side of the beds than our artist has shown. 
We have not drawn the beds to any par¬ 
ticular scale, because they may be fitted 
into- the smallest or the largest gardens 
according to space. 
We believe in simple designs as being 
more effective than those that are unduly 
mixed, notwithstanding the recent taste in 
parks for making mixed beds of fine 
foliage plants. In this case, we presume 
the beds are small, and we should fill the. 
two uppermost ones with a standard or 
pillar Rose in the centre'. If this would 
be too tall, then a standard or pyramid 
Fuchsia or a Dracaena would serve to 
take off the monotony of a flat bed. The 
rounded or circular corners could be 
planted with Antirrhinums of medium 
height. On a very small scale they might 
be filled with the dwarf or Tom Thumb 
Antirrhinums. An edging of dwarf blue 
Ageratum all round the bed next the grass 
would complete those two beds. 
The two beds at the base of the design 
might be planted with Calceolarias and 
the outer angles devoted to Antirrhinums. 
Blue Lobelias could form the edging. 
We ourselves should prefer the Antir¬ 
rhinums to be of certain colours, and in 
that case two of the small circles could 
be filled with a white variety and two of 
them with a yellow variety, making the 
two beds alike, of course. The angles of 
the lower pair of beds could be filled with 
crimson and rose Antirrhinums. The two 
angles stretched diagonally across the 
bed would be more artistic than having 
them both facing one side. This, how¬ 
ever, is a matter of taste. 
The hon. secretary of the National Dah¬ 
lia Society (Mr. H. H. Thomas, 68, 
Shakespeare Road, Hanwell, Middlesex), 
reminds us that the annual exhibition of 
the society for 1908 will be held at the 
Royal Horticultural Society’s Hall, West¬ 
minster. on September 3rd. A meeting 
will be held at the same place on Sep¬ 
tember 29th, for the purpose of awarding 
certificates to seedling Dahlias. Mem¬ 
bers of the N.D.S. and Fellows of the 
R.H.S. are invited to send Dahlias to 
Wisley for trial ; two plants of each 
variety should be sent not later than the 
first week in May to be grown on. 
THE “SUCCESS” 
HOT AIR 
Propagator. 
Propagators intended for amateurs hav¬ 
ing little or no other means of heating 
are usually made on a design which keeps 
the interior of the propagator very damp. 
This may be suitable enough during the 
drier and warmer periods of the year, but 
very early in the season it is about the 
worst thing that could fall into the hands 
of the inexperienced. A moist atmosphere 
is generated and during the night there 
is great condensation, especially when the 
propagator stands outside the greenhouse, 
so that seedlings very soon get destroyed 
in the early months of the year. 
■Messrs. Charles Toope, F.R.H.S., 
and Son, Stepney Square, Stepney High 
Street, London, have now made a hot air 
propagator which they consider their most 
recent improvement. It is the only hot 
air propagator yet placed before the pub- 
The “ Success ” Hot Air Propagator. 
lie. It is made to suit the requirements 
of those who have a difficulty with the 
moist air propagator. When this has to 
be stood in the open air with the glass 
exposed to all weathers the advantage of 
a dry atmosphere inside the propagator 
must be apparent to most cultivators 
when work has to be done during January 
and February for instance. 
The lamp or gas burner is placed 'di¬ 
rectly underneath the seedling compart¬ 
ment, but the flame does not play on the 
bottom upon which the pots are-standing. 
On the other hand, it plays upon a radia¬ 
tor, which throws the heat out in all direc¬ 
tions and heats a cold current of fresh 
air which then passes up and into the 
plant compartment. Moisture may be 
maintained by the cocoanut fibre upon 
which the pots rest. The hot air cham¬ 
ber is made of the best quality coated 
steel. The cold air passing over the radia¬ 
tor is heated, and this air only passes 
into the seedling compartment. The 
fumes from the lamp, after being utilised, 
pass off into the open air. This propa¬ 
gator may, therefore, be used outside of a 
greenhouse as well as inside. A tube can 
be fixed to a hole in the propagator when 
this is necessary to carry'the fumes out¬ 
side the greenhouse. 
Messrs. Toope and Son will shortly be 
introducing several new styles of heaters, 
the principle of which will be to effect 
economy in the consumption of oil and 
gas. They are also devising a new 
method for disposing of the fumes-of gas 
and oil heaters. The firm has been study¬ 
ing this class of useful articles for so 
many years that they get orders from 
various parts of the world, from Holland 
to New Zealand and eastward to Japan. 
-f+4- 
The «* Andyo ” and Ridger. 
A Letter to the Editor. 
Sir,—Novelties are rare in garden tools. 
The “Andyo” is, however, something 
new, and fills a vacant place in the list 
of tools for use in the garden. It consists 
of a hoe on one side, and a triangular¬ 
shaped ridging blade on the other. It can 
be used to make drills or ridges for an\ 
kind of seeds so planted. The ridger 1: 
chiefly intended for ridging in and ridg 
ing up Potatos. On account of its shape 
it is less likely to injure the roots 0 
Potatos, and much easier to work than ai 
ordinary hoe, especially if the ground 2 
a little stiff. 
The only fault I can see in it is tb 
ridger is not wide enough, which woul< 
be likely to cause the Potatos to be ridge< 
in too shallow, and not ridged up higi 
e.nough — fatal mistakes in Potato grow¬ 
ing, a nine-inch hoe being generally re 
commended by experts for Potatos. " Th 
“Andyo” is some three inches less. 
I do not say the “Andyo” ridger shoul 
be nine inches wide; but that the exist 
ing ridger is hardly wide enough fo 
Potatos. P. C. Mullins. 
-f+4- 
Two New Insecticides. 
We use the above term for two wel 
known insecticides which have been ir 
vented, or rather improved upon to th; 
previously existing. “Abol” is we 
known to our readers and “Spimo" 
another. Messrs. E. A. White, Ltd., < 
Beltring, Paddock Wood, Kent, are n< 
satisfied even with a good insecticide whe 
they have got it, but are always on tl 
outlook for means of improving it. Tl 
above two have now been improved, ar 
will be put into commerce only. The ol 
ones will no longer be prepared nor pi 
on the market. They have practical 
been superseded by new preparatioi 
which are far superior washes to the 0 
ones. This is not merely the opinion 
the inventors, but it has been tested 1 
the practical tests of various people du 
ing the last twelve months. 
Readers should observe the new desi 
nation, namely, “Spimo White's S 
perior ” and “Abol White’s' Superior 
which are now being put into commer 
by the inventors. The insecticides w 
be found not only highly efficacious b 
harmless to the plants. After its use t 
plants look clean and invigorated fro, 
the healthy growth which " they alwaj 
make. 
The firm has various types of syringj 
for using these washes, and one of the 
has a curved nozzle with the object 
enabling" the gardener to apply the \va 
on the under side of leaves, especially 
those cases where it is impossible 
highlv inconvenient to lay the plants • 
their sides to get at the leaves. Indee 
the syringe would save this extra trouh 
