The Gardening World, August 15, 1908. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
See how the rising fruits the gardens crown, 
Imbibe the sun and make his light their 
own.”— Blackmore. 
CONTENTS . 
Amateur’s Letter to Amateurs . 525 
Barks, for Winter Effect, Coloured 529 
Carnations: Work for August . 528 
Competition Awards . 5 2 ^ 
Competition, Prize Letter .. 525 
Cypress, Summer . 528 
Enquire Within . 535 
Flower Garden, The (illus.) . 531 
Garden, How I Made a . 526 
Garden, The Perfect . 528 
“Gardens of England” .. 530 
Gardening for Women . 538 
Greenhouse, The Amateur’s . 531 
Orchids for Amateurs . 53 2 
Paeonies, Herbaceous . 526 
Peas, Culinary, at Prested Hall ... 534 
Primrose, A Fine Bird : s-eye (illus.) 529 
Rose A. K. Williams (illus.) . 527 
Saxifrage, The Whip-like (illus.) ... 530 
Sweet Peas from Upton-on-Severn... 530 
Tomato Culture . 534 
Violas (A Letter to the Editor) ... 534 
Watering Pot Plants . 538 
Work of the Week (illus.) . 531 
-f+4- 
5k )lUssa$a of tfve. Hoses. 
I threw my book aside and sought relief, 
Taking a heart that argudaents but 
harden, 
Away from human pride and human grief 
Into my garden. 
I wandered on : mid many a sweet parterre 
From which the flowers raised up their 
tender faces, 
Bending and swaying in the evening air, 
Like loves and graces. 
And lo! their sovereign queen inclined 
her head. 
To whisper low a message of the 
morrow 7 , 
The flow'er of life and love, and of the 
dead, 
Silence and sorrow. 
' Go forth obeying the divine behest, 
Leaving all doubt till life’s long vista 
closes, 
Believe all things are beautiful and blest, 
God made the Roses!” 
Benjamin George Ambler. 
CLVI. 
I have just been carefully examining 
some pots of stage Auriculas that 
flowered grandly in a cold house, and I 
find them in a most healthy and promis¬ 
ing condition, so think that perhaps a 
few words concerning summer treatment 
may prove helpful. 
Stage Auriculas. 
After flowering the plants u r ere care¬ 
fully divided and repotted into fairly rich 
but light compost, and after having Been 
kept close a short while, which in this 
case means standing them on the floor 
of the greenhouse in a not too sunny posi¬ 
tion, they were taken outside and placed 
under the protection of a north wall, and 
have never been allowed to suffer from 
lack of moisture, but, mark you, they 
have not been over-watered at any time. 
They are making excellent grow'th, and 
will remain where they are, perhaps an¬ 
other month or so, this depending on the 
amount of sunshine we are getting; after 
that they will be brought to a w'armer 
aspect and still remain out of doors until 
the winter is upon us. I ought to say 
that the plants are growm for making the 
cold house beautiful in springtime; it is 
always useful to have some plants of 
dwarf habit in flow'er and these seem to 
take the place of the Chinese Primulas in 
a w'armer house, and when I say “ grown 
for decorative purposes” I mean to imply 
that a profusion of blossom is encouraged 
rather than the single truss which is the 
method of those who grow for exhibition. 
To my mind the Auricula is one of our 
choicest and most beautiful Primulas, 
and I would far rather have a fine col¬ 
lection of them, of either alpine or stage 
varieties, than of the tender Chinese 
species. Those who have never possessed 
these plants may be glad to know that the 
present time is an excellent one in which 
to sow' the seed. Of course, to buy some 
of the named plants is rather an expen¬ 
sive matter as prices w'ould seem to range 
from half-a-crown to five shillings, and 
upwards, each. But, and this seems to 
me an ideal way of starting, some of the 
most noted growers sell the seed that is 
obtainable from these named varieties, and 
it can be purchased from one shilling per 
packet. Newly-ripened seed will be ob¬ 
tainable by this time. 
Plant Tonic. 
I suppose most of us from time to time 
have plants that do not seem to thrive; 
we know they were repotted at the right 
time and that the drainage and compost 
were all that could be desired. But there 
is something the plants lack, as they 
maintain a sickly look. It may' be that 
a tonic wdll pick them up. I have found 
that sulphate of iron is a delightful re¬ 
storative. I do not mean to say I made 
the discovery for myself. I read of it 
somewhere, and promptly invested in 
some. It is a greenish substance that 
dissolves readily in water. Half an ounce 
or a little more to \ gallon of w'ater is 
the strength most suitable for pot plants, 
and a watering with clear water should 
be given first if the soil is dry'. I found 
it "Wonderfully prompt in its effect upon 
a plant that had lost much of the 
greenness of its foliage and was of a yel- 
low'ish tint—an Hydrangea it was, and it 
be?an to recover even with the second 
application. 
Pruning Laurels. 
We ought to remember that now is the 
right time to prune Laurels. I do not 
like to see them cut back into too hard 
an outline, but this will not often be the 
case if the work be done w'ith a knife 
rather than W'ith shears. I often think 
that these trees and shrubs are allowed 
too great freedom of grow'th, and many 
a pretty peep beyond the garden w'ould 
be gained by' a tree taken out here, or 
a little careful cutting back there. And 
often we may look upon it in the guise 
of a real blessing to get a larger surface 
of sky line from the house windows. I 
speak feelingly on this subject having 
always to contend with a garden greatly 
overtreed. It means that the flower bor¬ 
ders are never quite what they might 
have been, and at the present moment I 
am rejoicing at the gain of a peep into 
the “ bey'ond” of the garden occasioned by 
the hard cutting back of a Laurel that 
had almost attained the height of a tree 
and was of dense and tremendous-dimen¬ 
sions throughout. 
Sowing Antirrhinums. 
I like to sow Antirrhinum seed at this 
time. It gives the seedlings time to get 
sturdy' and strong by' the winter; time f oo 
to prick them out into a box a couple or 
three inches apart, and, this having been 
recovered from, to pinch out the tip of 
the growth. Then the seedlings may be 
wintered in a frame or cold house, and 
make bushy grand-flowering plants for 
next year, plants that really will flower 
to their utmost capacity and with an en¬ 
durance not to be achieved by spring- 
sown specimens. There are clear, beau¬ 
tiful colours available in these days — a 
yellow that is among the cleanest and 
most beautiful in the flower world; a rose 
pink that is quite enchanting, and a 
bright crimson that is grandly' decorative. 
F. Norfolk. 
-- 
A Flower Show for Amateur Exhibitors. 
Presiding at the annual meeting of the 
Birmingham Botanical and Horticultural 
Society', Mr. G. H. Henrick said he was 
wondering whether it would be possible 
to try the experiment of having a flower 
show restricted to amateur exhibitors, and 
another restricted to professionals. 
Ladies’ Violet Farm. 
Two ladies, the Misses Allen Brown, 
conduct a very' successful Violet farm in 
the little Sussex village of Henfield. Their 
Violets go to all parts of the British Isles, 
and orders are constantly received from 
such distant places as India, Egypt and 
Russia. 
