December 26, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Violas 
As a Groundwork for 
Rose Beds and Borders. 
It is quite evident that this system of 
treating Rose beds and borders is not so 
widely practised as its merits deserve, 
and I can only think of two possible 
explanations. The first is that many 
people have never seen it put into prac¬ 
tice, and consequently have no idea of 
the possible effects that lie in this direc¬ 
tion; the other possible reason is that 
some rosarians — and who is not a rosar- 
ian nowadays — fear to give the system a 
trial, lest their Roses should suffer by its 
adoption. As one who has observed the 
effects of the system carried out on a 
large scale for a number of years, and 
who has practised it on a moderate scale 
for a shorter period, I would say, “ give 
it a trial by all means.” 
Where a plantation already exists and 
the Rose trees are planted at the usual 
average distance of 20 inches apart, the 
Violas will succeed quite well, but where 
a new plantation is being made, the 
Violas will do better and the general 
effect will be improved if the trees are 
planted about 2 ft. apart, especially with 
vigorous sorts. In adopting this system 
it must be borne in mind that liberal 
cultivation must be the rule, as you have 
a double crop of gross-feeding plants to 
maintain in health and vigour. 
The cuttings of Violas can be put in 
any time during the autumn, and al¬ 
though they are benefited by cold frame 
treatment, they can be wintered at the 
foot of a south wall or hedge quite well, 
if some protection such as Spruce 
branches is afforded during bare frosts 
of some severity. 
As soon as the Roses are pruned in 
spring they should be carefully forked 
over, made comparatively smooth and the 
Violas planted 8 inches apart. Except 
the outer or front line, they should be 
planted irregularly, all appearance of 
formality being avoided. Throughout 
the spring and summer weeds must be 
kept down by means of hand-weeding, 
hoeing being impracticable. With this 
system of Rose culture the hoe is not so 
much needed, as the Violas act as a 
mulch, keeping the ground cool and 
helping to retain moisture in hot, dry 
weather. On the other hand, the Roses 
assist in keeping the Violas cool and 
shaded, and under these conditions they 
seldom “go off” as they often do in hot 
seasons under ordinary culture. 
Properly harmonised, the best effects 
are produced by planting a bed of one 
variety of Rose, but this is not essential; 
it is well, however, to keep the various 
shades as much together as possible. 
Space forbids giving a list of suitable 
Violas for this work, but pure whites, 
lavenders and heliotropes are, generally 
speaking, to be preferred, the whites be¬ 
ing associated with the deeper shades of 
Roses. 
C. C. 
-- 
The Potato Crop of Great Britain for 
iqo8 is estimated at 3,919,798 tons, com¬ 
pared with 2,977,4,83 tons in 1907. 
Good Apples for a Late District. 
Planting time having once more ar¬ 
rived, it may be profitable to give a few 
notes on varieties of this most popular 
fruit, that succeed fairly well in a cold, 
late district, in central Scotland. As a 
rule dessert varieties are hardly worth 
troubling with, unless a south wall can 
be given up to their culture. 
James Grieve is by far the best eating 
Apple here, and comes into bearing at a 
very early age. King of the Pippins 
fruits well, but is rather small. Cats- 
head always gives a good crop of fair¬ 
sized fruits. Among culinary sorts Ecklin- 
ville seedling does best, with Stirling 
Castle a good second. Warner’s King on 
a wall gives a fair crop of very large 
fruits almost every season. Lord Suf- 
field cankers badly, but gives good-sized 
fruits as a rule. Keswick Codlin gives 
large crops, but our trees are very old, 
and the fruits rather small in size. Our 
late district is not at all a good Apple 
one, but those named give a fair return 
in most seasons. 
C. Blair. 
Preston House, Linlithgow. 
—— a. w. —— 
Prize Competitions. 
OENERAL 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 oompete. The name and ad¬ 
dress of the competitor must appear on each 
article sent for competition. The Editor’s 
deoision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any wayj any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be oare- 
fnlly read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILUNC8 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 artiole must not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making the award. Mark envelopes “ Com¬ 
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 eaoh 
week for the two best letters, not exceeding 
150 words, on any interesting gardening sub- 
jeot. 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best papers in this competition 
are too long, and we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
A prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to “ J. W. Watson,” for the article 
on “ Shrubs for the Rockery” page 779. 
The Prize Letter Competition has been held 
over owing to lack of space. 
Greenhouse 
At Christmas. 
The greenhouse should be more attrac¬ 
tive at Christmas than at any other sea¬ 
son of the year. At other seasons it is 
possible to produce an abundance of 
flowers in the open air, so the advan¬ 
tages of a greenhouse are not so obvious. 
In the present article I will show how I 
get a nice display of blooms at the above 
season after cultivating Tomatos for 
three-quarters of the year. 
Greenhouse plants for winter blooming 
might be divided into two classes, viz., 
those that succeed in a temperature of 
3 or 4 degrees above freezing point, and 
those that require a temperature of about 
50 degrees. The former are the most 
popular, as artificial heat is only neces¬ 
sary' during severe weather. 
Special attention must be given to 
watering plants in winter, and a medium 
between wet and dry maintained. Water 
must not be allowed to lie about the floor, 
as anything that tends to dampness is 
detrimental to greenhouse plants at this 
period of the year. Ventilation is also 
important. Air must be admitted on 
every possible opportunity, except during 
damp and foggy weather. Remove all 
foliage as soon as it shows signs of decay 
so as not to encourage mildew or fungus. 
A little artificial heat during long spells 
of damp weather or frost is all that is 
necessary for the following plants. 
The following Chrysanthemums give a 
grand display at Christmas time :—Charm 
of the Winter, a charming white variety 
of a naturally late blooming character. 
It is very free, and blooms well on into 
January. Glory, flowers a beautiful 
golden-yellow on long foot stalks. It is 
very free, but must not be disbudded. 
Western King, pure white, massive 
flowers on any bud. The foregoing are 
propagated from cuttings taken in Janu¬ 
ary, and planted out in a moderately rich 
bed in May, and grown on out of doors 
until the end of October, earlier or later, 
according to the weather, when they are 
potted up and taken inside. Of course, 
thev can be grown in pots from the com- 
men'cement, which is undoubtedly the 
best procedure with those who have plenty 
of time on their hands. 
Mignonette is another old and accom¬ 
modating favourite, and a few seeds sown 
in pots of moderately lipht potting soil in 
July will now be producing spikes o! 
deliciously-scented blooms. Mignonette 
should be grown in a cold frame until re¬ 
quired for the greenhouse, onlv covering 
with the lights during frosty or inclemen 
weather. 
A sowing of the intermediate varieties 
of Stocks should be made in July, and th< 
plants grown on in pots placed in < 
cold frame ; these will come in nicely t( 
succeed the Chrysanthemums, and tid< 
over the winter until the Tomato season 
commences again. 
My greenhouse, instead of being empty 
during the most dreary months of the 
year has, by growing these flowers, beer- 
rendered beautiful at a very small cost. 
Cottager. 
