762 
— HARDY — 
Cyclamen. 
By SENTINEL. 
The alpine house during the spring 
months is extremely interesting, and 
among its many occupants, are batches 
of hardy Cyclamen. We also find others 
thriving in the open, and varieties of C. 
persicum flowering in the greenhouse, 
but I will confine my remarks to the 
hardy section. 
We read that C. hederaefolium was cul¬ 
tivated by Gerard in 15(36, and C. Coum 
is figured in the first number of the 
“Botanical Magazine.” Later in our own 
day, Robinson says “ that it was the sight 
of a grove nearly covered with C. hederae¬ 
folium . . . that first turned my at¬ 
tention to the -wild garden.” And yet 
they are not cultivated so much as they 
deserve. In many gardens there are 
nooks and corners where the hardy Cy¬ 
clamen would succeed, such as shady 
walks, round old trees, and along drives; 
in fact almost and' position where it is 
partly shaded, and well drained. 
These little gems look very beautiful 
when grown in frames and flowered in the 
alpine house, but I think they are seen 
to better advantage when naturalised. 
One mistake is often made by not 
planting the tubers deep enough. In 
their native habitats they are often found 
growing among debris of mountains, 
mixed with an accumulation of vegetable 
soil, the tubers being covered to a con¬ 
siderable depth. With some species a 
portion of the root issues from the top 
and sides of the tubers, this plainly indi¬ 
cating the necessity for deeper planting. 
Cyclamen are increased by seed, which 
is sown -when ripe, in pans of light soil, 
covering it with moss until the seedlings 
appear. When the first leaf is developed, 
pinch them off, and pot on when large 
■enough. The first winter they should 
be sheltered in cold frames, planting 
them in their permanent situations in the 
spring. 
In addition to those mentioned above 
are C. europaeum, reddish-purple (sum¬ 
mer); C. vernum, white and purple 
(spring!; C. ibericum, bright red 
(spring); also the fine variety C. Atkinsii, 
which was raised by Mr. Atkins ; but one 
of the most decorative is C. neapolita- 
num, with its white and lilac-tinted 
flowers, being succeeded with marbled 
leaves. It flowers in August and Sep¬ 
tember. 
-- 
Chrysanthemum Caledonia. 
At a meeting of the R.H.S. on Novem¬ 
ber 24th some flowers of this remarkable 
single variety were shown measuring 
about. 6 b in. across. The rays are rosy 
pink, with a white zone round the orange 
disc, and they stand out horizontally even 
after having been cut for some days. An 
Award of Merit was granted when shown 
bv Messrs. George Williams and Sons, 
Manor House Nurseries. Canton, Cardiff. 
They also had a First-class Certificate at 
Edinburgh, and one of the same flowers 
was shown on this occasion. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Lobelia Kathleen Mallard 
A Letter to the Editor. 
Sir, — It required not a little courage to 
find fault with a plant, so universally 
praised in the gardening press, but ex¬ 
perience compels us to speak the truth, 
and judging from this I do not think it 
will displace the single blue varieties in 
our bedding arrangements. 
What is rather an anomaly is, that its 
robust growth is its chief fault, for if the 
soil is at all heavy, or in any way shaded, 
all growth and not a single flower is the 
result. Given a light open soil and 
plenty of sunshine, I will not deny, that 
the plant possesses all the qualities 
claimed for it, being a brilliant compact 
mass of blue, it also makes a charming 
pot plant, but the single varieties give 
of their best in the back parts of the 
flower garden, and a plant that is good 
all round, is what is wanted in this work. 
H. Arnold. 
Carron. 
- 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’I 
decision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any way,! any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to eaoh oompetition should be care¬ 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short artiole 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 the .award. Mark envelopes “ Oom¬ 
petition,” and post not later than the Monday 
following date of issue. Entries received later 
than 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 oompetition 
are too long, and we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
A prize in the Readers’ Oompetition was 
awarded to “ Thos. Francis,” for the article 
on “ Zephyranthes,” page 748. 
The Prize Letter Competition has been held 
over on account of pressure on space. 
December 12, 1908. 
The Cultivation of . . 
Lilies in Pots. 
By SCRIPTOR. 
In the cultivation of Lilies in pots 
is far more common to see the pure whit 
varieties grown than those which ai 
parti-coloured, but this, not as man 
people think, because the others wr 
not “ do ” well, but because white flowe: 
are more in demand for church decor; 
tion, etc. This is the reason why florisi 
and nurserymen seldom grow any bi 
white varieties of Lilies, but most of th 
others will do equally as well in pot: 
as I will endeavour to show before th: 
article is concluded. 
Success depends largely upon the wa 
in which the bulbs are treated when the 
are received from the bulb grower. Goo 
results seldom follow if the bulbs hav 
been stowed away in a stuffy or dam 
cupboard for some weeks, instead c 
being potted up at once as soon as the 
are received, nor can one expeet to b 
successful if the soil used is in a sodde 
condition, for it is more likely that th 
bulb will rot instead of grow. 
The best soil, according to my expe 
rience, is a mixture of one-third gooi 
fibrous loam, one-third peat and leal 
mould, and one-third good sharp sand 
and dried cow manure rubbed through 
half-inch sieve; cow manure that ha 
been used as a mulch round fruit trees 
etc., is much the best for the purpose 
If it is possible, it is a very good thinj 
to bake the compost for two hour 
(especially the leaf-mould), to kill al 
insects that may happen to be in the soil 
for one often finds small white worms ii 
leaf-mould, and the dreadful stem ee 
worm (Tylenchus devastatrix), ma 
easily be in leaf-mould if it has been kep 
near to an infested crop, and once tha 
gets into the soil, there is an end of al 
thoughts of Lilies. 
The would-be Lily grower must, In 
some means, overcome the objections o 
the “lady of the house” to his plan o 
baking the soil, and it is a good plan t< 
bribe her by telling her of the beautifu 
flowers that she will be able to have if sh( 
will only allow him to bake his soil. I 
it is not possible to bake the soil, on; 
part soot to every twenty parts of com 1 
post had better be added, and it will b( 
Iretter if this is mixed a week or two be 
fore using. 
The size of the pots to be used i 
determined by the size of the bulbs, fo 
as a rule it may be taken that a space 0 
about one-and-a-half inches should bt 
between the bulb and the pot. Carefull; 
crock the pots, and it is of advantage t( 
have charcoal in the drainage. Fill u] 
about three or four inches (according t< 
the size of the pots used) w'ith soil, am 
place some sand for the bulb to stanc 
upon, and now cover the bulb with tw< 
inches of soil, the remaining space beinj 
left for top dressing as growth advances 
Remove all the pots to a cool frame an< 
protect them from frost, but give all. th 
air possible on fine days, and keep th 
soil just moist. As growth advances to] 
dress, for as most people know, Lilie 
throw out secondary roots from the stems 
hence the need of top-dressing and dee; 
planting. 
