294 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 2, 1908. 
as they do not mind being transplanted 
to their flowering quarters even when half 
grown or more, and therefore they can be 
put in after some early variety has ceased 
to flower. 
F. Norfolk. 
-- 
The Croton 
(CODIAEUM) 
Beautiful Foliage Plants. 
Amongst ornamental foliage plants, few 
are more useful or beautiful than the dif¬ 
ferent varieties of this genus. Excepting 
Dracaenas, no similar plants are so easy 
to cultivate as the Croton, and as they are 
very useful all the year round no stove, 
however small, should be without a few 
of them. 
When they are required for table deco¬ 
ration they should be grown with single 
stems. The best way to secure these is 
to top some of those that are getting too 
leggy- They can be struck by placing 
them in pots of a sandy compost and 
covering with a hand glass, in a strong, 
moist heat, when they will soon root with¬ 
out losing any of their leaves. There is 
also another way for rooting them, 
namely, by mossing. Tie a ball of moss 
firmly round the stem and keep them 
moist in a warm house; they root very 
readily in this manner. When rooted the 
moss can be removed, the plants potted 
in a compost of good fibrous loam, leaf 
mould, and a good dash of silver sand, to 
keep the whole porous. Those rooted un¬ 
der the hand glass should receive a little 
air when rooted by tilting the glass, 
gradually giving more until they can 
stand full exposure. 
The usual size of plants for table deco¬ 
ration ranges from 1 ft. to 18 in. high. 
When they are used for this purpose they 
very seldom keep their bottom leaves, but 
when they reach such a height they can 
again be topped as formerly mentioned. 
Crotons must be grown in a very warm 
and moist atmosphere, and well attended 
to both in syringing and watering, or the 
dreaded pests, red spider and thrip, are 
sure to appear. These are most trouble¬ 
some. To rid the plants of the first- 
named they should be hand washed with 
a sponge and soap and water, followed 
by a heavy syringing, and for thrip the 
plants should be dipped in tobacco water, 
which destroys both the eggs and the in¬ 
sects. The main cause of these pests get¬ 
ting a footing is lack of water at the 
roots of the plants and a dry atmosphere. 
Though Crotons can be grown for table 
decoration, they can also be grown for the 
warm conservatory or greenhouse in sum¬ 
mer and early autumn. But when they 
are to be used for this purpose they must 
be gradually hardened before venturing 
to place them out of stove heat, as by the 
sudden change they are apt to lose their 
leaves. 
Plants for specimens and for exhibition 
purposes should be encouraged to make 
plenty of side branches, pinching the lead¬ 
ing shoots if they do not start freely with¬ 
out. In order to bring out the fullest ex¬ 
tent of colour they should have as much 
light as possible by raising them above 
the surrounding plants on pots or pans. 
One advantage of growing Crotons is 
that they can be confined to small pots 
and kept to a limited size if desired, for 
a considerable length of time. For win¬ 
tering Crotons a temperature ranging 
from 60 deg. to 70 deg. will do, according 
to the state of the weather. Some of the 
best varieties are as follows :—C. Cooperi, 
C. lllustris, C. Neville, C. Queen Vic¬ 
toria, C. Veitchii, C. elegans, C. evan- 
siana, and C. Warrenii. 
W. Collie. 
Gartmore Gardens, 
Perthshire. 
-f+4- 
South-Eastern Agricultural College. 
The Principal of the South-Eastern 
Agricultural College, Wye, reported to a 
recent meeting of the Governors an at¬ 
tendance at the College of 122 students 
for the spring term, and stated that 123 
had already entered for the summer term 
commencing on June 1st. Members of the 
College staff are actively engaged in re¬ 
search work in mycology, soil bacterio¬ 
logy, frost protection of orchards, and 
other problems of importance to horticul¬ 
turists and agriculturists. 
- Q. W. - 
Prize Competitions. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS:—Competitors must 
write on one side of the paper only. Regular 
paid contributors to THE GARDENING 
WORLD or other gardening journals are de¬ 
barred from entering, but occasional con¬ 
tributors may compete. The name and ad¬ 
dress of the competitor must appear on each 
article sent for competition. The Editor’s 
decision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any wayjl any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be care¬ 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short article on any 
gardening subject, such as hints of practical 
interest to gardeners, notes on the propaga¬ 
tion or cultivation of flowers, fruits or vege¬ 
tables, eradication of pests, etc. The para¬ 
graph or article must not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making *Iie award. Mark envelopes “ Com¬ 
petition,” and post not later than the Monday 
follr wing date of issue. .Entries received later 
th in Tuesday (first post) will be left over until 
the following week. 
Two prizes of 2s. 6d. will be awarded each 
week for the two best letters, not exceeding 
150 words, on any interesting gardening sub¬ 
ject. 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best papers in this competition 
aie too long, and we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
The prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to. “ H. Stevens ” for the article on 
“ Sweet Peas," page 292. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize 
was awarded to “ 0. 0.,” for the article on 
“A Sweet-Scented Hanging Plant”; and 
another to " E. Miles” for the article on 
"A Useful Shelter,” page 280. 
W i n dow - = 
Gardening. 
How to Make . . . . 
Beautiful Window Sills. 
Everyone, whether possessing a garden 
or not, but especially the latter, should 
have their window sills a mass of blooms 
from early spring to late autumn. No¬ 
thing sets off a house front better, and the 
effect from the interior is very pleasing. 
The amateur carpenter can easily make 
boxes to fit the sills, a staple or other 
simple contrivance affording extra se¬ 
curity in rough weather. The sides and 
bottom should not fit too closely-, as a 
little space for drainage is necessary. 
Put a layer of crocks in the bottom, then 
fill up with good soil. The outside of 
the box may be faced with bark or cork 
or painted green. Those painted white 
are very pretty with trails of creepers 
hanging over. 
Plant the edge with blue and white 
Lobelia, and behind a few Geraniums, 
Calceolarias or Marguerites according to 
taste. In very sunny boxes Begonias are 
suitable with single Petunias and Ivy¬ 
leaved Pelargoniums over the edge; this 
makes a beautiful show. In. shady boxes 
Lily of the Valley intermixed with dwarf 
Ferns and Creeping Jenny at the edge 
will succeed where no sun ever reaches. 
For such positions as strike the happy 
medium of course there is plenty of 
choice, but perhaps Pansies should be 
omitted as they require a greater depth 
of soil than that afforded by a window 
box. The cheapest plan and one that 
makes a good show is to sow seeds of an¬ 
nuals. Virginian Stock or Nemophilia at 
the edge, with Tom Thumb Nasturtiums 
behind intermixed with Cornflower-s, 
Clarkias, Gaillardias, Candytuft, etc., 
sown in tiny pinches. Only dwarf kinds 
should be chosen, and when the plants 
are three inches high thin them out, re¬ 
serving the stoutest; the others may be 
planted in the garden, or if you have not 
one, give them to some friend who has. 
A little soot between the plants occasion¬ 
ally will be found very beneficial; it may 
be lightly forked in, adding a small 
quantitv of sand sometimes to keep the 
soil porous. The moisture in -window 
boxes evaporates quickly in dry weather, 
so water should not be spared. Every 
evening a liberal amount may be given, 
and in very hot weather both early morn¬ 
ing and evening. 
Once a week apply liquid manure well 
diluted. Cut off every faded bloom; if 
allowed to remain and seed-pods to form 
and ripen the process weakens the plant 
and flowering soon ceases. In the 
autumn plant dwarf evergreen shrubs 
with bulbs between and at the edge for 
spring blooming. 
E. Vyner. 
Roslin, N.B. 
-f+4- 
Oats, Wheat, and Peas have ger¬ 
minated after five days’ exposure to a tem¬ 
perature 345 degrees below freezing point, 
while other seeds and the spores of fungi 
have borne cold of 360 degrees below 
freezing. 
