April 18, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
271 
low should 1 treat them? (J. Larcom, 
)evon.) 
The plants should be trimmed into shape 
y cutting back last year’s shoots to a good 
•ud. You can then re-pot them, taking 
.way the crocks and any loose soil about the 
oots. Stand the plants again in the green- 
icuse, and do not give them very much 
vater until they commence growing, and as 
eaves get developed and the shoots lengthen 
hey will gradually take more- water. Ai- 
hough we advise using care in watering 
ust at this stage, they should not be allowed 
o get dust dry, otherwise some of the roots 
,vill get killed. The first watering may be 
lone with a rosed watering-pot, to settle the 
soil. 
2778. Good Points of Calceolarias. 
Would you analyse the points which are 
to be looked for in judging Calceolarias for 
exhibition? (H. E. Staddon, Essex.) 
If you make a commencement with a good 
strain of Calceolarias, the good points are 
:hen largely dependent upon good cultiva¬ 
tion. The plants should not be too tall, but 
of a compact and-bushy habit of growth. 
Thev should have an abundance of clean 
and healthy foliage covering the stems and 
hiding the flower buds. The flower stems 
themselves should be stout, carrying the 
flowers quite clear of the foliage. The ; n- 
dividual blooms should be large and the 
pouch regularly inflated, but not indented or 
crumpled in any way, as that is very often 
due to green fly injuring the blossoms while 
still in bud. If the spotting is well defined 
and regular, this will have a telling effect 
upon the appearance and attractiveness of 
the flowers as a whole. In the case of self 
colours, the judges would look for a uniform 
shade prevailing throughout the greater part 
of the flower, if possible. The indefinite 
mixture of two colours, giving a cloudy 
effect, could hardly’- be regarded as a self- 
but if a little shading occurred, it would 
spoil the effectiveness of a self-coloured 
flower. For instance, a yellow flower should 
be as nearlv as possible of the same shade of 
colour throughout. 
COLD FRAMES . 
2779. Bulbs with Foots Decayed. 
I have a number of bulbs which have 
turned out unsatisfactory, and I should like 
your opinion as to the cause. The bulbs 
(Hyacinths, Tulips and Narcissi) were pot¬ 
ted about last September, placed in ashes for 
about six weeks, then taken out and put in 
a cold frame. They .appeared to be going 
on all right until about three or four -weeks 
ago, when I noticed a change in them. The 
leaves at the tips began to fade, so I took 
some of the bulbs out and examined them. 
I found that although the bulbs were in 
splendid condition the roots had all rotted 
away. The soil, I might say T , was a mixture 
of old loam, sand and decayed leaves. I 
have a tub of manure and socvt water with 
which I have occasionally fed them. Do 
you think that this might have caused the 
roots to collapse, or do you think it was 
caused by frost? (Puzzled, Lancs.) 
Ye are afraid you have over-watered the 
bulbs during the cold, damp weather in the 
cold frame. If they'- were standing on ashes, 
as we presume they’ were, the pots would not 
get dry so soon as if they were on boards. 
When not supplied with water, except when 
absolutely’ required, the bulbs should have 
made good growth and flowered perfectly 
under either conditions. Judging from the 
fact that the leaves turned yellow af the tips 
and the roots were all rotted away, it sug¬ 
gests to us that they had been over-watered 
arid were practically in a waterlogged soil, 
so that they could not perform their func¬ 
tions properly. This result could happen 
even in a greenhouse. The mere fact of over¬ 
watering is destructive to the toots, because 
they cannot get air to enable them to carry 
on their functions properly. If the soil ; n 
the pots did not get dry during the winter 
it was superfluous to use liquid manure for 
the sake of feeding them. It would have 
been all the same if it had been clear water. 
We have seen Fuchsias and other subjects 
drowned in the same way in a cold frame 
during a wet summer. The cultivator had 
the idea that liquid manure would act as a 
stimulant, forgetting that temperature, light 
and air to the roots, as well as the tops, are 
all equally necessary to good growth. We 
should advise you to avoid watering, there¬ 
fore, in the early’ part of the year in a cold 
frame unless the soil in the pots actually gets 
dry. Then they should have sufficient to wet 
all the soil in the pots, and no more given 
until they require it again. 
2780. Present Treatment of Auriculas. 
If you could give a series of articles on 
the Auricula in. your valuable paper, it 
would be much appreciated. (T. H. Hurt, 
Birmingham.) 
The month of April is an anxious time 
with the Auricula grower, as he begins to 
anticipate the results of his year’s labour 
amongst them from the time the first stray 
blooms commence to unfold. Being now 
in active growth, watering requires daily 
attention. The plants canpot suffer neglect 
in this matter at the present time, or the 
flowers will be relatively poor. A watering- 
pot with a long, slender spout is the most 
handy. No rose should be employed, other¬ 
wise the meal on the foliage and the paste 
on the flowers are liable to get spoiled. At 
the present time the frame should still be 
facing the south. The plants may have the 
benefit of the morning sunshine, while the 
temperature is still relatively low, but as 
the sun veers round to the south it would 
be advantageous to shade the plants with 
some thin covering laid on the glass. As 
soon as the sun beg’ns to lose power in the 
afternoon the shading must be removed. Ven¬ 
tilation is also of the utmost importance, 
and an abundance must be given at all times, 
especially from the early morning onwards, 
without allowing the cold north and east 
winds to play upon them. In that, case, 
when the wind is in- the east, for instance, 
the sashes could be tilted up along the west 
side, and the cold winds would thus blow 
over’ without directly affecting the plants. 
The ventilation will serve to keep them cool, 
and this is also of great benefit. When the 
temperature gets rather high the flowers 
soon pass out of bloom. Green fly ’begins to 
act upon this class of plants in March and 
April, and must be severely kept in check. 
The man who loves his flowers is always 
looking at the plants and ready to brush off 
the first colony of aphides he finds upon 
them. These insects very quickly cause the 
flowers to become curled and unshapely. Tie 
up those scapes which require it, and if the 
truss contains too marry buds for their proper 
development the smaller ones should be care¬ 
fully removed with sharp pointed scissors. 
Just how many flowers can be left in a truss 
will depend upon their size and the length 
of the stalks carrying the individual pips. 
The longer these stalks the greater the num¬ 
ber of flowers may be accommodated. This 
is looking at the matter from an exhibition 
point of view, but if the cultivator does not 
intend to exhibit a larger number of flowers 
may be allowed. 
2781. Compost for Seeds. 
In former years I have not always been 
successful in rearing seedlings without los¬ 
ing a good many of them. I sow them in 
boxes and place them in a cold frame, but 
somehow they damp off. Stocks, Zinnias 
and Wallflowers are the worst offenders in 
this respect Your advice will be appreci¬ 
ated. (M. Harper, Surrey.) 
For the raising of seeds, whether in frames 
or greenhouses, the soil should always be 
sifted to take out stones and lumps. The 
leaf-mould should also be sifted to 
take out sticks and leaves that are 
not sufficiently decayed. Loam, leaf-mould 
and sand in about equal proportions would 
make a very general arid useful compost for 
seed-raising. The Stocks and Wallflowers 
you probably leave too long in the boxes, or 
else keep them too wet by more frequent 
watering than is necessary. Damp and un¬ 
settled weather, like the past two months, 
renders watering very little necessary in 
cold frames. Ini your situation you may, 
however, get a greater amount of sunshine 
during the day. In that case ventilation 
has to be given, so as to keep the seedlings 
dwarf and sturdy. If once they are allowed 
to get drawn and delicate, they are more 
difficult to manage. Your best plan with 
Stocks and Wallflowers would be to trare- 
plant them into .other boxes of fre^h soil as 
soon as the seedlings have made, the first 
rough leaf, or even before, if they show signs 
of damping. Zinnias, like French Mari¬ 
golds, like a little coaxing during germina¬ 
tion. They really need a somewhat higher 
temperature to make them germinate freely 
than such things as Stocks and Wallflowers. 
They could be stood in a sunny part of the 
frame and a pane of glass put over the pots 
or other vessels containing the seeds. This 
will encourage a quicker and better germina¬ 
tion. You should not keep them too damp 
in this early stage, but exercise a little 
patience till they get stionger. They are 
much more vigorous after they get a start. 
FLOWER GARDEN . 
2782. Arrangement of Flowers. 
I enclose a small sketch of a side garden. 
Could you oblige by telling me through the 
columns of your valuable paper how I can 
plant to get the best show ? Should I cut 
the ground up into shaped beds ? I have any 
of the following plants to select from :— 
Chrysanthemums, Dahlias,- Antirrhinums 
(2 ft.) aod Tom Thumb, Phlox Drummondii, 
dwarf Stocks, Sweet Peas, French Marigold, 
Helichrysum, Scabious, Dianthus Hiedde- 
wigii, Asters, yellow Calceolarias, Carnation 
Margarita, Lobelia, Pyrethrum selaginoides, 
Viola and Gladiolus. Any advice will be 
greatly appreciated. (Lancashire.) 
We presume the Rose bed on your plan 
is filled with Roses. You omitted to put the 
cardinal points, such as north, south, east 
and west, as that would have helped us in 
the placing of the plants. Presuming that 
the long ’bed next the broad fence 9 ft. high 
gets a fair amount of sunshine, we should 
make that one bed or border and plant it 
with the strongest growing plants you have. 
It would ’be productive of very fine effect if 
the soil is in good heart and gets a fair 
amount of sunshine during the day. We 
should plant it in lines running the long way 
of that bed. For instance, you could have 
Dahlias and clumps of Sweet Peas alter¬ 
nately along the centre. Then a line on 
each side of this about 2 ft. from the line 
plant Antirrhinums (2 ft.), Helichrysums, 
Chrysanthemums, Scabious and Gladiolus. 
You would still have 3 ft. to fill on either 
side of those three lines in the centre. We 
should mark off that -ground into irregular 
patches about 3 ft. square or 4 ft. long, and 
plant them with Tom Thumb Artirrhinums. 
Phlox Drummondii. Stocks, French Mari¬ 
gold, Dianthus Heddewigii, Asters, Carna¬ 
tion Margarita, and Viola. We should not 
plant any of these in mixture, but each kind 
should form a separate patch and planted 
so as to completely cover the ground facing 
