February 13, 1909. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
iol 
yise slightly wavy, but it shows a great 
xtent of surface whether in the cut state 
, r in the open garden, and is, therefore, 
1 beautiful and effective variety. The 
vings are also very broad, of beautiful 
uatline, but somewhat paler than the 
tandard, being of a soft silvery rose and 
n the bud state considerably tinted with 
■eilow. Indeed, this is one of the most 
trikmg and pleasing novelties that will 
ie sent out this year. 
Several writers have described it as a 
ipencer Jeannie Gordon and that variety 
las enjoyed a great run of popularity for 
,ome years past, but is a grandiflora type 
•ather than the Spencer form like the 
iew comer. It is an admirable flower in 
.he cut state either in daylight or in rooms 
vith artificial light which shows up the' 
aright colour to perfection. We may also 
idd that it received a First-class Certifi- 
rate at the Franco-British Exhibition at 
:he White City last year. 
The flowers from which our illustration 
.vas prepared were sent us by Messrs. 
Dob'oie and Co., of Rothesay and Marks 
Tey, Essex, on August 6th, last year, 
after the season was practically over. 
The flowers came from the Marks Tey 
seed farm, where a splendid trial of Sweet 
Feas was grown last year, an inspection 
of which convinced us that the plants 
were admirably grown and flowered for 
an ordinary seed farm. 
-- 
‘She £tou&. 
I bring fresh showers for the thirsting 
flowers, 
From the seas and the streams; 
I bear light shade for the leaves when 
laid 
In their noonday dreams. 
From my wings are shaken the dews that 
waken 
The sweet buds every one, 
When rocked to rest'on their mother's 
breast, 
As she dances about the sun. 
I wield the flail of the lashing hail, 
And whiten the green plains under, 
And then again I dissolve it in rain, 
And laugh as I pass in thunder. 
* * * 
I am the daughter of the earth and ■water, 
And the nursling of the sky: 
I pass through the pores of the ocean and 
shores; 
I change, but I cannot die. 
For after the rain, when, with never a 
stain, 
The pavilion of heaven is bare, 
And the winds and sunbeams with their 
convex gleams, 
Build up the blue dome of air, 
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, 
And out of the caverns of rain, 
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost 
from the tomb, 
I arise and unbuild it again. 
—Shelley. 
-- 
Perpetual Flowering Carnation Society. 
The annual general meeting of this 
Society was held at the Hotel Windsor, 
London, on February 10th. The spring 
show of the Society will be held on March 
24th, in the R.H.S. Hall, Vincent Square, 
Westminster. All particulars may be ob¬ 
tained from the Hon. Secretary, Mr. 
Hayward Mathias, Lucerne, Stubbington, 
Fareham, Hants. 
Nicotiana Culture. 
The Gultare of f4icotiai?a. 
All the Nicotianas or Tobacco plants 
are raised from cuttings or seed, the 
latter being the most universal method. 
As the plants grow slowly in their early 
stages the cultivator must start early— 
say, in February or the beginning of 
March. 
According to the number of plants re¬ 
quired the seeds may be sown in pots or 
pans, which must be carefully prepared 
by using plenty of drainage and a com¬ 
post consisting of loam, leaf-mould and 
sand in about equal proportions. For 
seeds this had better be sifted and the 
pan filled up within a certain distance of 
the top according to the method of germ¬ 
inating the-seeds. (See A in the accom¬ 
panying illustration). If the grower is 
hampered for lack of heat, he can assist 
germination by placing a pane of glass 
over the top. In that case about 1 in. 
should be left for the seedlings to grow 
beneath the glass; otherwise it is better 
to fill the pan, leaving only a small space 
for watering with a rosed watering pot. 
The seedlings are not so liable to damp 
when close to the surface. This compost 
should be pressed down firmly and wat¬ 
ered, if in any w'ay dry, previous to sow¬ 
ing. About an hour afterwards the seeds 
may be sown and a shallow sprinkling of 
the' finer part's of the compost scattered 
over them. 
The seeds will germinate in a tempera¬ 
ture of 50 degs. to 60- degs., the latter 
figure ensuring a quicker and stronger 
germination. " If the pots or pans are 
placed on a hotbed or in a propagating 
case, it is best to remove them as soon 
as the seedlings are well up to a place 
where they will get more light and air, 
even if the temperature is somewhat 
lower. Here they may grow until fit to 
handle, when they may be pricked off into 
other pans or boxes as shown at B in the 
accompanying sketches. It is best to re¬ 
turn the pans or boxes to the same posi¬ 
tion as neaidy as possible where the plants 
will get plenty of light and air, as well 
as warmth, to encourage them to take 
hold of the fresh soil. 
When the seedlings touch one another 
they may be potted up separately or the 
boxes may be transferred to a cold frame 
when the weather is sufficiently ■warm and 
here they may grow slowly until they can 
be planted in the open air about the be¬ 
ginning of June. Those boxes Which are 
intended for out-door culture may be 
planted more widely apart than those in¬ 
tended for potting off whenever they be¬ 
come ready. A small plant newly potted 
off is shown at C. It is better to pot them 
off when they attain this size rather than 
allow them to get root-bound. Any size 
of pot may be used according to the size 
or vigour of the seedling, but whenever 
the roots are well through the compost 
thev should be transferred to larger sizes 
according to their requirements. Plants 
intended" for putting outside may be al¬ 
lowed to occupy the boxes longer to save 
further work in transplanting, and the 
plant at D will give an idea of the rela¬ 
tive size, the grower may expect it to be 
at planting out time, bv comparison with 
the same sowing of plants which mar be 
potted off singly at an earlier date. The 
treatment of the two sets becomes differ¬ 
ent at the time of potting off. 
