iE Gardening World, August S, 1908. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“ Fair flowers don’t remain lying by the 
ighway.” —German Proverb. 
CONTENTS. 
nateur's Letter to Amateurs . 5 11 
ibbages for Autumn Sowing . 5 ! 4 
imations at Westminster . S J 4 
irysanthemums: August . 513 
imbers for House W alls . 5 22 
impfetition Awards . 5 12 
>mpetition. Prize Letter . 5 22 
rquire Within . 5*9 
vhibit, Mv First . 5 2 4 
ower Garden, The (illus.) . 517 
uit Garden, The (illus.) . 5 1 7 
:eenhouse, The Amateurs . S 1 ^ 
tchen Garden, The (illus.) . 517 
:ctures on Gardening, Outdoor ... 5 12 
chids for Amateurs . 5*8 
imula, The Powdery-leaved 
(illus.) . 5 i6 > 5*7 
>ses in a Suburban Garden . 5 12 
xifrage, The Meadow .(illus.). 5 : 3 
rawberries, Planting (illus.) . 5 ! 5 
,-eet Peas at Westminster . 523 
ork of the Week (illus.) . 5 1 7 
Rum of T^auty. 
I have drunken of thy fount, O Pan ! 
id learned some word of thy vast secret 
lore, 
green-locked aisles and blossoming 
arbours hung 
jiove the solemn murmurous water-ways 
1 blue and magical with mist; beyond, 
lurnace-gates of sunset, the wide hills, 
id surge of mighty foam-flowers coiled 
and flung 
1 desolate wave-worn scarps and isles of 
dream, 
! coding o'er towers of drowned palaces, 
id the green hulls of ancient navies 
lost. 
le feet of Beauty climb the windy world, 
I id twin coils in her hands are joy and 
wreck. 
le weaves, from dusty death and foul 
decay, 
ew webs of wonder. Man's thin clamant 
voice 
id all the little riot of his day, 
id what he hoped, and dreamed, and 
wrought, and lost 
- e blown threads in her dreadful winds 
of change, 
id weft into the everlasting whole. 
F. O’Neill Gallagher. 
CLV. 
Seasonable Notes, etc. 
Sometimes, and it is to be hoped very 
frequently, the keen amateur says to him¬ 
self or herself—I will exhibit at our local 
show—at any rate, try my luck. Weil 
and good; and I think, perhaps, a few 
practical hints that have been gained by- 
personal experience may be given and 
found helpful to those who have never 
yet staged an exhibit, however modest. 
We will imagine such an one, say, twelve 
varieties of cut, hardy perennial flowers 
to be staged in separate bunches, first, 
I would say be generous in quantity; 
ample bunches give a handsome and com¬ 
plete effect. Secondly, I would say, cut 
all your flowers with long stems, and that 
means in many- cases as long as it is pos¬ 
sible to cut them. It is a good thing to 
select flowers that are in the early stages 
of blooming rather than those that are 
fading, as these are more likely to fall 
to pieces, and have not the same fresh 
healthy vigour; and it is better to select 
a somewhat insignificant subject if it be 
in the “ pink of perfection ” rather than 
a more important and showy subject that 
has begun to fall and fade. Perfection 
of bloom, remember, is what we must 
seek. In most cases the flowers are better 
gathered the evening before the show, 
put into water, and placed in a dark cup¬ 
board or room with door and window shut. 
Everlasting Peas, and other flowers that 
quicklv change colour when cut, should 
be left until the early morning of the 
show. All flowers must be most carefully" 
packed to be taken to the show, and the 
exhibitor should see to it that he takes 
with him a supply of moss, as this is the 
most useful material if the neck of the 
vase be too large and needs some stuffing 
material to keep the stems upright. 
Sometimes, too, a small pad of mo^s is 
useful to ram between stems to keep the 
flower heads distinct and apart. Nearly- 
written labels (strips of card an inch v ide 
or a little less!, with the name and variety 
of each exhibit should be written before¬ 
hand and a supply of slender V illows, 
cut to receive the name, should be 
taken, these being long enough 
to be incorporated comfortably among 
the flower stems and the label to stand 
up well among or above the flowers. 
Either ornamental vases or glass jam jars 
may hold the bunches of flowers ; and if 
the latter, Fern fronds are sometimes used 
in front of them. But although homely, 
these glass jam jars are very convenient 
to use where heavy long’-stemmed sub- 
jects are in question, and the shape is 
most useful, for too' often vases have 
small necks, and the exhibits cannot, m 
this case, be shown to the best advan¬ 
tage. Beside these items, I would say, 
have with you a pair of scissors, a pencil, 
and some spare card slips for names. 
List of Exhibition Flowers. 
Sometimes it is useful to have a short 
list of subjects that may be grown as 
suitable for exhibition, let us say, during 
the month of July:—Galega officinalis, 
the variety alba, Erigeron speciosus (the 
plants of this should be staked and tied 
early" or the flower stems will not be 
straight). Alstroemeria aurantiaca and 
A. chilensis are alway-s striking and beau¬ 
tiful when well-grown. Antirrhinum is a 
capital subject, especially- when cleat, 
clean-coloured seifs are grown. Anthemis 
tinctoria, Delphinium, a really good 
modern strain whether named sorts or 
seedlings should be grown. Campanula 
persicifolia grandiflora Backhousei is good 
for early July-; C. carpatica, though a 
small variety" so far as height goes, has 
large individual flowers that make a light 
and exceeding dainty exhibit. Monarda 
didyma, known also as Sweet Bergamot, 
is a capital highly-coloured subject and a 
variety known as Cambridge Scarlet is to 
be recommended. Coreopsis grandiflora 
forms a vivid bit of colouring, and it not 
thoroughly- hardy" in wet soils to trans¬ 
plant in the autumn, it may be purchased 
and established in the month of March. 
Buphthalmum salicifolium is another 
bright yellow flower, an excellent stayer 
as a cut flower. Lychnis chalcedonica, 
where really w r ell grown, is valuable on 
account of the intense scarlet colour of 
its flat flower heads. We must have an 
effective high light in the shape of white 
flowers. The wonderful old Madonna 
Lilies are grand, and so is Gladiolus The 
Bride. 
Seed Sowing. 
The present is a good time to sow the 
seeds of hardy Primulas, Gentians and 
Auriculas. We must not neglect the 
seedling plants of various subjects raised 
earlier in the season and now occupying 
some spare border. They must be kept 
clear of weeds or the air and sunshine 
will not have free access, and they will 
be as drawn and weakly as they would 
have been had they- never been carefully- 
thinned and pricked out, but had been 
left in a crowded seed bed. They should 
not suffer for lack of moisture, and the 
surface soil round about them should be 
frequentlv stirred with a hoe or small 
fork. ’ F. Norfolk. 
-f+4- 
Thf, roof of the Temple Station, Vic 
toria Embankment, London, is to be con¬ 
verted into a garden and public pro¬ 
menade. 
Darwin and the Flower. 
Lord Avebury, in relating recently some 
personal recollections of Darwin, told the 
following story: — “Darwin was rather a 
puzzle to the villagers. One of his friends 
once asked the gardener how Mr. Darwin 
was. £ Oh,’ he said, my poor master has 
been very sadly.' and added confiden¬ 
tially : ‘ I often wish he had something 
to do. I have seen him stand doing 
nothing before a flower for ten minute- 
at a time. If he only had some regular 
work. I believe he would be better.'” 
