June 6, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
379 
The Cultivation of the Leek. 
. . . Methods of Planting. 
K.n.a. .. . . r 
The usual fortnightly exhibition or 
flowers, plants, etc., of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society will be held at the So¬ 
ciety's headquarters, Vincent Square, 
Westminster, from 1 to 6 o clock, on 
June qth, when the price of admission will 
be 2S. 6d. 
-- 
Incredible Hybridising. 
A Letter to the Editor. 
I'm afraid that you will hardly credit 
the following story, and 1 do not think 
I could have believed it myself if it had 
been related to me by another individual. 
Last summer I was inspecting some ex¬ 
tensive Sweet Pea'trials in Essex, and 
was being piloted round by a smart look¬ 
ing young man in the absence of the pro¬ 
prietor. During the usual Sveet Pea talk 
I enquired of my guide if his firm had 
ever. attempted to cross the Sweet Pea 
with the hatdv perennial species, such as 
Lathvrus latifolius. The reply was, “ No, 
we-don't think that will ever be done, but 
for four or five seasons we have been try¬ 
ing to hybridise the Sweet Pea with the 
Nasturtium (that is Tropaeolum) to get 
good orange and yellow shades ! As 
you may imagine, the proverbial feather 
would have completely prostrated me 
after that. 
ERICA. 
-- 
- VERBENAS - 
As Pot Plants. 
This lovely flower is somewhat neglected 
nowadays as a bedding plant, and cer¬ 
tainly the difficulty of keeping it through 
the winter is one of the main reasons tor 
discarding it from our flower gardens. As 
a pot plant, however, I am certain that it 
has a future before it. It has only one 
serious drawback, and that is its liability 
to mildew. 
To ensure good cuttings in August a few 
plants should be set out in the reserve 
garden early in June. In August insert 
the cuttings firmly in boxes of light soil 
and set in a cold frame. As soon as frost 
threatens remove to a cool greenhouse or 
pit, and set close to the glass. Give 
abundance of air, but avoid cold draughts, 
as this is the main cause of mildew. In 
' spring introduce the plants into a little 
heat, and as soon as cuttings can be pro¬ 
cured insert round the edges of 4 in. 
pots. When rooted pot off singly into 
3 in. pots, and as soon as these are well 
filled with roots shift on into the 3 in. 
size. A few of the strongest may require 
a 6 in. pot. Syringe twice daily and en¬ 
courage free growth. Pinch two or three 
times to induce a bushy habit, and stake 
neatly with slender green stakes. After 
the pots are well filled with roots give 
weak doses of liquid manure or Ichthemic 
guano in liquid form. Verbenas require 
firm potting, and the compost should 
be of good quality and not too light. Two 
grand sorts for pots are Miss Willmott 
(pinki and Crimson King. 
C. Blair. 
Preston House, Linlithgow. 
Leeks are gross feeding plants and 
should be encouraged to grow as large as 
possible, as the larger the Leek the better 
the flavour, therefore the ground in which 
they are planted should be heavily 
manured and deeply dug, or better still, 
-bastard trenched. There are several ways 
of planting Leeks intended for exhibition 
purposes, usually being grown in square- 
bottomed trenches, as shown in Eig. 1 
herewith, the plants being earthed up as 
necessary in a similar manner to Celery. 
As this" method entails a considerable 
amount of trouble, Leeks grown for gene¬ 
ral use are more frequently planted as 
shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Triangular or 
V-shaped trenches some six inches deep 
and two feet apart should be got out, and 
the young plants be planted in the bottom 
nine inches apart, the roots being just 
covered with soil, as Fig. 2. 
To plant Leeks in the manner shown in 
Fig. 3, a stout blunt pointed dibber, say, 
three inches in diameter is necessary to 
make the holes to receive the plants. The 
holes should be about six inches deep and 
nine inches apart in .rows, with not less 
than fifteen inches between the rows, one 
plant being planted in each and the roots 
nicely covered with soil, as shown. As 
the plants grow the hole must be filled 
with soil, as shown, provided they have 
not filled themselves in, as they fre¬ 
quently do. 
Leeks require plenty of water at the 
roots, and the soil should be kept as 
evenly moist as possible, whilst when in 
fuli growth well diluted liquid manure 
twice a w T eek will considerably assist the 
production of a fine crop. 
Leeks must be earthed up in a similar 
manner to Celery, in order to blanch the 
stems, make them palatable and also to 
cause them to grow longer, the tendency 
of the plants when left unearthed being 
to spread their leaves and thicken their 
stems. The plants should be earthed up 
by first filling the trenches with soil, as 
Fig. 4, and afterwards, as they grow, 
forming a ridge of soil on the surface, 
care being taken to prevent soil getting 
between the leaves and down the centre of 
the plants. The tops of the long leaves 
should be cut off to give the plants a 
neater appearance, growth not being in¬ 
terfered with in any way by this treat¬ 
ment. 
Ortus. 
Planting Leeks. 
