April 18, 1908. THE 
GARDENING WORLD. 265 
made up of a number of sections so as not 
to press donna the grass more than can 
be helped. 
Other useful mowers include the “New 
Century” lawn mower, with side wheels, 
and intended for cutting close up to the 
edges of walks. In that case a small 
roller in front serves to support the ma¬ 
chine while the main wheel may be upon 
the walk, so that the grass can be cut 
close to the edge. 
Green’s Motor Roller is a powerful ma¬ 
chine, fitted with two speeds and a re¬ 
verse. The cast iron or sand ballast rol¬ 
lers have the cylinder in two parts and are 
intended to be dragged by hand. The 
above are amongst the more recent pro¬ 
ductions of the firm to meet modern re¬ 
quirements in gardens of various sizes. 
-f+4- 
The Oval Bed 
And How to Fill It. 
The oval form of bed is often very ap¬ 
propriate in certain situations, and is less 
formal than either the circle or the ob¬ 
long bed. Where a large one is required 
this form of bed would prove more suit¬ 
able than several of the other fancy beds 
which we have given. It would depend 
upon its size as to how it should be filled, 
but it should essentially be a bold one. 
It may be filled with either Roses, 
Hollyhocks, Paeonies, Delphiniums, 
Aquilegias, hardy Heaths, early Chry¬ 
santhemums, Dahlias, Sunflowers, Ivy¬ 
leaved Geraniums tied up to a height of 
2 ft. and thinly planted on a ground-work 
of Violas, or yellow and white Mar¬ 
guerites would be appropriate. If any 
edging is desired to such a bed a peren¬ 
nial one would be appropriate, and might 
consist of Nepeta teucrifolia, Lavender or 
Lavender Cotton. 
Some of the above beds could very ap¬ 
propriately be partly occupied with 
Gladioli of the Gandavensis type, so as to 
fill up the spaces between the main plants 
and to give a display late in the season 
when the other occupants have passed out 
of flower. The Cape Hyacinth (Galtonia 
candicans) might be employed in the 
same way. Either one or the other could 
be planted, for instance, between such 
things as Roses, Paeonies, Dahlias, 
Aquilegias, or Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums, 
if not too closely planted together. We 
make these suggestions, showing how an 
amateur may employ the strong growing 
plants which he may have in stock and 
which may have a ground-work of Violas 
and an edging so as to give the whole 
the appearance of some regularly finished 
bed. 
Border Carnations. 
With the frequent rains which we have 
had lately the ground is now very much 
beaten down and battered. The Carna¬ 
tions which were planted out, both in 
autumn and in March, will, therefore, be 
much benefited by having the ground 
run through with the hoe to aerate the 
soil, even if there are no weeds in it. 
Seedling Carnations require most at¬ 
tention during the present month. Those 
sown in March should be transplanted 
into boxes 2 in. apart each way. After 
the operation, return the boxes to the 
same house till the plants take to the 
fresh soil. They may then be transferred 
to cold frames where plenty of ventilation 
can be given. 
Show Carnations and Picotees. 
Those who are in any way enthusiastic 
about their hobby are almost certain to 
sow seeds of crosses which they may have 
made last year. A number should be put 
to each cross, so that the pedigree may be 
known for future reference in the endea¬ 
vour to get good varieties. A record of 
each cross should be made in a book. 
While there is no difficulty in rearing 
Carnation seedlings, care should be taken 
not to over-water them in the early stages, 
as they are liable to damp, especially in 
a moist atmosphere. As soon as the seed¬ 
lings are up, less heat will suffice, but 
they should be placed near the glass 
where they can get plenty of diffused light 
till they get strong. 
Collections of Carnations stood in the 
open air should receive timely attention 
for staking in the case of tall growing 
varieties. The wind and rain which we 
have recently been having is very likely 
to snap the stems of these loosely grow¬ 
ing varieties. The rain also makes worms 
troublesome, and care should be taken to 
have a clean bed of ashes to stand the 
pots on and thus keep down the worms. 
Tree Carnations. 
When the roots of cuttings struck in 
January' and February are getting round 
the sides of the pots, early rooted batches 
will now be getting strong and require 
repotting. As soon as the plants have 
taken to the fresh soil they should have 
all the light and air possible, even if it 
is necessary to remove them to a separate 
house from that in which they have been 
rooted. 
Here, again, seeds may be sown in 
boxes or pans of light sandy loam and 
leaf mould. Until germination is com¬ 
pleted the pans may be stood in a pit, 
propagating bed, or on a hotbed of fer¬ 
menting manure, where thev will have a 
temperature of about 60 degrees. As 
soon as this has happened they should 
be transferred to cooler quarters close to 
the glass. In the rush of work with bed¬ 
ding plants, Carnations must not be over¬ 
looked, otherwise they soon get irrepar¬ 
ably spoiled. 
Malmaison Carnations, 
Keep all stems well secured as they 
lengthen. Disbud as soon as it is pos¬ 
sible to get hold of the laterals with the 
finger and thumb without injuring the 
terminal bud which is to be left. This 
applies in those cases where the cultivator 
desires to get blooms of the largest size. 
Only the terminal bud should be left in 
that case, but those who are contented 
with flowers of smaller size may leave two 
or three on a stem. If there are more 
than this on the stem the intermediate 
ones may be removed. 
Marguerite Carnations. 
Batches sown very early in the year 
under glass and intended for planting out 
would derive much benefit by being es¬ 
tablished in pots, as they would not be 
affected or receive any check as they 
might if planted directly out of the boxes. 
With later batches, the plants would be 
smaller. Those reared early should, 
therefore, be potted up at once, and there 
will be good plants to put out some time 
in May. 
Later sowings now showing the first 
pair of leaves may be transplanted into 
boxes and transferred to cold frames to 
lessen the strain of crowding in the green¬ 
house, where some growers are obliged to 
rear them. The variety of colours, the 
fragrance of the flowers, and the ease 
with which plants may be raised to the 
flowering stage are sufficient reasons for 
tihe more extended cultivation of this 
class. 
American Carnations. 
The January rooted cuttings should 
now be fit for a second shift into 35 in. 
and 5 in. pots, according to the size of the 
plants. When they have taken to the 
fresh soil they must be placed like others 
under congenial conditions for making 
close, sturdy growth. Those varieties 
which are now running away with lanky 
shoots may be stopped to induce a more 
bushy habit of growth. 
Flowering plants raised last year are 
now making strong growth and flowering 
freely. Attend regularly to disbudding 
where large flowers are desired. More 
water will now be required by these plants 
than in the early months of the year. 
The paths may be damped down in the 
mornings of bright days with consider¬ 
able advantage to the plants. It also 
checks the increase of red spider and other 
insects. Ventilate freely on the lee side 
of span-roofed houses, so as to exclude 
the cold east and north-east winds which 
have been prevalent lately. It is better 
to let the temperature get somewhat un¬ 
duly high with sun heat rather than ex¬ 
pose the tender growing plants to cold 
cutting winds. J. D. F. W. 
