THE GARDENING WORLD 
437 
June 27, 1908. 
Garden Tools. 
; BY AN EXPERT. 
Weeding the Lawn. 
Perhaps the condition of the grass plot 
>r lawn adds to or diminishes the beauty 
)f the house with which it is associated 
nore than any other feature of the gar- 
ien. A well-kept lawn is indicative of 
are and attention, and shows that its 
>wner not only takes pride and pleasure 
n his garden, but possesses at least some 
if the numerous accessories by which the 
awn may be kept in order. Weeds grow 
ipace, and Daisies and Dandelions, the 
memies of the horticulturist and gar¬ 
dener, require up-rooting as soon as they 
nake their appearance in order to keep 
:he lawn smooth and velvety. There are 
nany patent contrivances, besides the old- 
: ashioned Daisy-grubber, which is still a 
useful tool. Among these the “ Cham¬ 
pion lawn weeder,” a practical device with 
aandles some four feet long, by which 
.veeds may be extracted without leaving 
my of the roots in the ground. Then 
igain there are patent extractors for weed- 
ng lawns and bowling greens, which are 
sasilv used by ladies and even children, 
making tKe once difficult and tedious 
operation quite an easy matter. These 
latter extractors, which may be purchased 
from any tool dealer, by a simple down¬ 
ward pressure and a turn of the wrist, ex¬ 
tract the root or weed, withdrawing it in¬ 
stantly. 
Weeding Gardens. 
Weeds are always growing apparently 
faster than the plants they so quickly 
choke, and the gardener has to be con¬ 
stantly on the look-out for these unde¬ 
sirable visitors. It would appear that 
the makers of garden tools are equally 
alert, and, judging from the contrivances 
they have placed upon the market during 
recent years, recognise the need for 
labour-saving tools to remove weeds, both 
in flower and vegetable gardens. The 
strong five-pronged weed remover which 
has been retailed at 6d. is a useful tool, 
and together with the garden fork, is 
handy for removing weeds. The old- 
fashioned Dutch hoe or scuffle, as well as 
'the different types of hoes well known to 
our readers, are useful, and in many 
branches of horticulture are to be com¬ 
mended. 
More About Hoes. 
In addition to the ordinary garden hoes 
already referred to, there are hoes of 
special patterns, some with long necks, 
others with wide blades, suitable for the 
different kinds of garden work. It is 
well for the gardener to know that all 
these are valuable. The best rivetted 
|garden hoes are made in sizes varying 
from three to eight inches in length; the 
swan-necked hoes, too, can be had in all 
sizes. Again, a special hoe made of solid 
steel is adapted for Potatos, and the cast- 
steel “Canterbury” hoe, like a three¬ 
pronged fork in miniature, is useful too. 
The cast-steel “Bedford” hoe, a small 
handy tool with a wood handle, is found 
| very useful in hoeing up round shrubs, 
and in gardens where plants and flowers 
jare very thickly planted. So, too, the 
tong-handled garden spud will be found 
useful, not only for weeding purposes, 
but for digging up hard soil in awkward 
gardens. In addition to these, there are 
HAWS’S PATENT 
IMPROVED 
WATERING 
CAN.- 
The Original and 
Genuine Make. 
J. HAWS, 
10 & 25a, Lea Bridge Rd. 
Clapton, London, N E. 
of course the stamped steel weed hooks 
with side cutters and edge knives for gar¬ 
den plots. 
Flower Sermon. 
The annual flower sermon was preached 
at St. Katherine Cree Church, Leadenhall 
Street, London, on June 9, by the Rev. 
Joseph Miles, the rector. All attending 
this service are expected to bring either 
flowers or a pot plant. 
Gardens of England. 
In “ Gardens of England,” which 
Messrs. Black will publish early in June, 
the illustrations in colour by Miss Beatrice 
Parsons are its main feature, and show 
the beauty of the modern Rose garden 
when planned with taste, the flood of col¬ 
our that comes from rambling Roses over 
the pergola, and the brilliancy of the her¬ 
baceous border in summer. The text, by 
Mr. E. T. Cook, follows the same lines 
and as indicating the character of the 
book, there are chapters on “ Cottage Gar¬ 
dens,” “Rosemary and Lavender,” “The 
Rose Garden,” and the four seasons in the 
garden. 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution. 
The secretary of the above institution, 
Mr. George J. Ingram (175, Victoria 
Street, Westminster), sends us a copy of 
the Report of the Committee, etc., for 
1908. In the sixty-eight years of its exis¬ 
tence this worthy institution has disbursed 
over ,£113,000 in the relief of gardeners, 
market gardeners, and others. Over 
,£4,000 were disbursed last year in this 
way. The Committee announce that the 
Right Hon. Lord Aldenham will preside 
at the sixty-ninth anniversary festival din¬ 
ner in aid of the funds on Wednesday, 
June 24th next, at the Whitehall Rooms, 
Hotel Metropole. They hope his Lord- 
ship will be warmly supported by every 
lover of gardening and flowers, and that 
the Festival will prove as successful in 
furtherance of the cause of benevolence 
as those in previous years. 
— THE 
Guernsey Lily. 
Cultural Notes. 
In my opinion there is scarcely any 
flower that tor beauty'excels the Guernsey 
Lily. The flowers arise from a bulbous 
root; before the leaves appear, and are 
supported on a naked, firm stalk of about 
a foot high. At the top of this stalk is 
the spathe, or sheath, and out of this rise 
the flowers, which are very beautiful, red, 
and bespangled with gold. They are in 
their full glory in October, and after they 
are over, the leaves appear. These also 
are not destitute of beauty; they are of an 
oblong shape, moderately broad, of a 
beautiful green colour, and smooth. 
These bulbs arrive every year in the 
month of July or August; therefore, 
against the time of their arrival, let a 
compost be prepared for their reception. 
This should consist of soil from a fresh, 
light pasture, intermixed with sand and 
verv rotten manure. This compost 
should be turned over at intervals and 
well mixed, at least a year before use. 
Strong earth should be avoided, for Guern¬ 
sey soil is sandy, and there they grow and 
flourish to perfection. 
The bulbs having arrived, let a suffi¬ 
cient number of pots be in readiness ac¬ 
cording to the number of bulbs; fill a 
pot with the compost, and plant a single 
bulb in each pot. Make a bed of soil, and 
place the pots in rows, placed close to 
each other in this bed, and fill the cavities 
between with mould. By thus plunging 
the pots, the roots are kept cool and moist, 
and will require very little watering, 
which is very injurious to these subjects. 
In October, or earlier, the flowers will 
appear, but not all; this is the reason why 
they should be planted in pots, so that the 
flowering plants may be collected and 
placed together. Gentle watering should 
now be given. In hot weather also they 
should be screened from the sun, for this 
will hasten their decay. With these pre¬ 
cautions the flowers will last a long time. 
When the flowers are past, the pots 
should be put in their former place, where 
they may stand all the winter. They 
should be covered during great rains and 
frosts, instead of placing them in a green¬ 
house, where the roots become weakened 
and rendered less capable of flowering. 
The operation must be repeated each 
year. About the beginning of July the 
top earth should be taken out of the pots 
and replaced by fresh compost. In Octo¬ 
ber more flowers will appear. This work 
should be repeated for about four years, 
when the roots must be entirely taken up 
and divided. Offsets may be taken, 
which may be planted in the same com¬ 
post at four inches apart. These offsets 
may be expected to flower three years 
after, thus affording a large stock of 
flowering plants. 
Mayflower. 
- +++ - 
Carnation Snowball. 
The blooms of this variety measure 3 in. 
across and are pure white with practically 
smooth edges. It is one of the American 
section. Award of Merit by the R.H.S. 
on June 9th, when shown by Mr. H. Bur¬ 
nett, Guernsey. 
