IO 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 2 , 1909. 
Address : The Editor, The Gardening 
World, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which may 
cover any branch of gardening. Questions 
should be as brief as -possible and -written on 
one side of the paper only; a separate sheet 
of paper should be used for each question. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
Garden Plans .—Gardeners who would make 
the best use of this column are invited to 
prepare and forward to us a rough outline 
drawing or plan of their gardens, indicating 
the position of beds and lawns, the charac- 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
3497. Orchids for Amateurs. 
I have just seen The Gardening World, 
and have decided to take it in this coming 
year. I wonder if you have bound volumes 
of the same, or have any past numbers con¬ 
taining papers" for amateurs who cultivate 
Orchids? I should be glad to purchase one 
or the other. (E. May, Suffolk.) 
There have been special articles on Or¬ 
chids for amateurs in several past numbers, 
but unfortunately they are out of print, un¬ 
less you can find anyone who has got the 
numbers for June 3rd, July 1st and Julv 
29th, 1905. There is also an article in 
August 25th, 1906. There is, however, an 
article each week on Orchids intended for 
amateurs, and lists of suitable kinds to grow 
are mentioned from time to time. If you 
wish to know anything in particular about 
Orchids, you can make enquiry, and we shall 
see that the information is supplied through 
the “ Enquire Within,” or otherwise. 
3498. Fumigating a Greenhouse. 
My greenhouse is infested with green fly, 
and I propose to give it a thorough clean 
out by means of fumigating. Which is the 
best way to proceed, and should I use to¬ 
bacco or sulphur? (Nicotine, Kent.) 
Do not use sulphur, or j'ou will regret 
it, as it will destroy every plant in the 
greenhouse, as well as the green flj- upon 
the plants. There are many things used in 
fumigation, such as tobacco paper, tobacco 
rag, tobacco itself, as well as some of the 
preparations containing nicotine, and which 
are more useful because handier than the 
old method of using tobacco paper or rag. 
For instance, “XL All ” is a preparation 
which has proved itself generally useful, 
and with care is not injurious to plants. It 
can be set burning, when the operator can 
leave the house, and therefore escape the 
fumes that arise. In this case, however, 
they are much more pleasant than the fumes 
of tobacco itself. You have only to use a 
certain quantity, according to the size of 
your house. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
3499. Bulbs to Lift or Leave. 
I nave planted Montbretia, Narcissus, Daf¬ 
fodil Hyacinth, Tulip, Crown Imperial, 
Anemone, Ranunculus, Snowdrop and Ma¬ 
donna : ily bulbs (between 1,000 and 1,100 in 
all). I shall be glad if you would tell me 
ter and height of the fence or wall; posi¬ 
tion of vegetable garden, orchard, etc. The 
north side of the garden and any over¬ 
shadowing buildings should be denoted. It 
should also be stated whether the garden is 
flat or on a declivity, and all large trees 
should be marked. Particulars of the na¬ 
ture of the soil will also help us to give 
satisfactory replies. When such plans are 
received they will be carefully filed, with 
the name and -address of the sender, and 
-will be consulted by the Editor whenever an 
enquiry is sent. 
which of the bulbs to leave in the ground 
undisturbed and which to take up when 
finished next spring, and in each case, why ? 
(N. B. Barnes, Surrey.) 
You do not let us know what object, if 
any, you have in lifting any of the bulbs 
after they are planted. Of course, bulbs are 
lifted for certains reasons, and these differ 
in different cases, whether in nurseries, on 
bulb farms, or on private establishments. In 
a private garden the principal object of lift¬ 
ing bulbs before their time is to allow the 
gardener or owner of the garden to plant 
something else in the beds or borders that 
were occupied by the bulbs for spring bloom¬ 
ing. This lifting is merely to get the 
ground clear in order to prepare it for the 
summer occupants. If it were not for this 
the bulbs might be left where they are all 
the year round. The only object in that case 
would be to get the bulbs thinned out after 
they had grown until they were crowded, or 
to plant them on a fresh piece of ground 
which would be intended for inducing 
greater vigour in the plants. For instance, 
a fresh piece of ground is advantageous to 
many bulbs after they have been grown for 
some time on one place. We presume you 
would want to lift them in order to get 
something else in their place at the end of 
May, but you do not tell us. In that case, 
it is necessary to think beforehand what you 
intend to grow in the ground after the bulbs, 
so that you could plant only those which 
can readily be lifted and expected to suc¬ 
ceed under that treatment. For instance, 
Narcissus, Daffodil, Hyacinth and Tulip 
bulbs may be lifted at the end of May and 
laid rather thickly in trenches'in a piece of 
ground where they will not be in the way 
until the foliage dies away naturally. The 
bulbs are then lifted, cleaned and stored 
away in boxes in some cool, dry place until 
you require them for planting again in the 
autumn. As Montbretias flower late in 
summer, you cannot plant them with the idea 
of lifting them at the end of May. They 
should be placed at once where they will 
not be likely to be disturbed. The bulbs are 
more hardy than is generally supposed, and 
those growers who do not lift them succeed 
best with them. They should be left for two 
or three years in the same situation, accord¬ 
ing to the amount of growth they make, and 
then lifted for the sake of planting the bulbs 
more thinly. Grown Imperial, Snowdrops 
and Madonna Lily do not like disturbance 
at the foot, and should be planted with the 
idea of letting them alone so long as the 
continue to grow and flower every year. 0 
course, if they get too crowded, that wouh 
be a reason for lifting them just after th 
leaves die away. We should not distur 
Anemones so long as they continue to mak 
good growth and flower. Ranunculus ma 
be lifted after the leaves die down, and kep 
in a cool, dry place. If your soil is in an 
way heavy, they need not be planted earlie 
than February, but if light and sandy, the 
would be quite safe if planted out i 
autumn. See under “ Miscellaneous ” fo 
your other question. 
3600. Treatment of Carnations. 
! have been offered a number of roote' 
layers of Carnations. I have a frame, bu 
no greenhouse. Should I plant the Carna 
tions in the frame or in the open border 
Any hints as to soil and treatment will b 
much appreciated. (Coronation, Wilts.) 
The present is not a very good time fo 
planting Carnations in the open ground, a 
they really should have been planted at tb 
beginning of October, so that the roots coul 
have got established before the wet weathe 
and bad light set in. Even then it woul 
only have been good policy to plant then 
out if your soil is of a light nature. Th 
best plan, therefore, would be to pot then 
up singly in 3 in pots, using a compos- 
consisting of two parts of good fibrous loam 
one part leaf-mould and one-third part sand 
Pot firmly and stand pots in the frame 
They are perfectly hardy, as damp is theii 
chief enemy, so that you can keep them or 
the dry side until the weather gets finer anc 
plant them out about the middle of March, 
after the ground is in good condition. Nc 
water will be required after they are newlv 
potted if the soil is in proper condition, but 
if we get windy weather between now and 
the time for planting them out, very likely 
they will want watering. 
3501. Flowers for Buttonholes. 
I think of trying to grow flowers on my 
flat roof (having no garden) in boxes and 
pots. My ambition is less for show than 
utility, as I want to have a steady supply of 
flowers suitable more particularly for use 
as buttonholes. What would be a few of the 
most suitable plants to grow for this pur¬ 
pose? (Ben Bolt, Middlesex.) 
What you want are plants that are per¬ 
fectly hardy, so that they can stand out 
through summer and winter. In the case of 
severe frost it would be necessary to cover 
the pots with some depth of bracken or 
cocoanut fibre, in order to keep the frost 
from breaking the pots. Many things would 
be suitable for buttonhole work, but it is 
necessary to have only those things which 
will answer under the conditions, and which 
would grow in the confined area of pots. 
Many Roses could be grown, and we think 
Mrs. J. Laing, Liberty, Mme. Abel Chate- 
nay and Lady Battersea would succeed 
under the conditions. Other plants that 
would flower in pots are Achillea Ptarmica 
flore pleno, border Carnations, Japanese 
Pinks (Dianthus chinensis Heddewigii!, 
Lychnis Viscaria flore pleno, Wallflowers, 
Astilbe jaDonica compacta, usually named 
Spiraea, Mignonette, Auriculas, Polyanthus, 
Coreopsis tinctoria, the everlasting Rho- 
danthe Manglesii and various others. Seve¬ 
ral different kinds of bulbs might be grown, 
but they are seldom used for making button¬ 
holes, except occasionally some of the Daffo¬ 
dils. When you make a start, and discover 
what class of flowers succeed best with you 
or give you most satisfaction, then you can 
get other varieties of a similar character. 
3502. Sweet Peas in Boxes. 
I have some boxes over 2 ft. deep, and' 
desire next season to grow Sweet Peas in - 
them. Do you think thev would succeed, 01 
would tubs be better, as I know they require i 
