620 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 26, 1908. 
growth. (Doe, Constant Reader, Derby¬ 
shire.) 
There are several dressings that could be 
used in sponging Palms. A very common 
one, and a good one, is Gishursf Compound. 
Dissolve 2 ozs. of it in a gallon of water, 
then add another gallon, and sponge the 
leaves with this. If you desire it to be 
strong, so as to destroy scale or other in¬ 
sects, 2 ozs. to a gallon of water would be 
the best dressing. Another wash is Fir 
Tree Oil. None of these ingredients would 
be of any service to increase growth of your 
Palms. A very good artificial manure for 
this is “ Shefa,” which can be kept handy 
in a room, as it is in neat tins, odourless, 
and only a very small quantity is' necessary. 
You can get directions with each tin. 
Growth in Palms in a window or room would 
be undesirable at this late period of the year. 
From March onward would be a better time 
to stimulate growth in Palms, as you want 
plenty of light and heat. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
3237. Growing Lily of the Valley. 
Will the Editor kindly tell me how to 
grow Lilies of the Valley in boxes and out 
of doors? (N. Lees, Lancashire.) 
There are many ways of growing Lily of 
the Valley in boxes, but you do not tell us 
what convenience you have in the way of 
glass or heat. If you merely desire to have 
some Lily of the Valley in boxes and have 
a cold frame, then you could make up a 
compost consisting of one part of loam, one 
part of leaf-mould, and one-sixth part of 
sand. Drain the boxes well, then put in 
the crowns of the Lily of the Valley in lines 
3 in. apart and 2 in. from crown to crown < 
in the line. Make the soil quite firm as you 
plant each line of crowns. Then stand the 
box in the cold frame. If you desire the 
Lily of the Valley to come on as early as 
possible, keep the frame closed during the 
early stages, and later on, as the sun gets 
warm, give a little ventilation during the 
day to prevent the leaves from being too thin 
and drawn. This would be flowering it with 
the aid of a cold frame and sun heat. If 
you had a warm house, you could give it 
quite different treatment and get it earlier. 
Out of doors you can select a bed or border 
that gets a fair amount of sunshine during 
the day, and have this deeply dug and 
manured as soon as the ground is available. 
The Lily of the Valley could then be 
planted, if in single pips, at 6 in. apart all 
over the bed, or allow 1 ft. between the 
lines. If you get clumps of Lily of the 
Valley, plant fair-sized pieces at 1 ft. apart 
all over the bed. The bed or border may 
look rather thin the first year, but as the • 
plants are left for some years in the same 
position they soon get sufficiently thick and 
afterwards crowded, when they should be 
lilted and replanted, giving them more room. 
3 23 8. Effective Hardy Herbaceous 
Plants. 
Will you kindly give me a list of about 
twenty effective hardy herbaceous plants for 
a mixed border? I want something effective 
in flower or foliage, and which is not over 
common. (Farrar, Isle of Wight.) 
We have made a selection of twenty-four 
plants for you, but if that is too many, four 
of them may be left out. All are very effec¬ 
tive border plants, hardy, and bloom over a 
considerable period of the season. The 
plants are Echinops Ritro, Ii-elenium au- 
tumnale cupreum, Galega officinalis, G.o. 
alba, Erigeron speciosus, Rudbeckia 
speciosa, Monarda didyma, Pentstemon bar- 
batus Torreyi, Lysimachia clethroides, Lych¬ 
nis chalcedonica flore pleno (scarlet), Iris 
pallida Queen of May, Eryiigium amethy- 
stinum, Echinacea purpurea, Doronicum 
plantagineum excelsum, 'Coronilla varia, 
Aoonitum Wilsoni, Anemone japonica alb.a, 
Aquilegia chrysantha, Aster Amellus bes- 
sarabicus, As.tilbe Davidii, Scabiosa cau- 
casiica, Trollius asiaticus, Veionica subses- 
silis, and Hesperfs roiatxonalis alba plena. 
3239. Name and Treatment of Grass. 
Would you kindly tell me in your next issue 
the name of the enclosed grass ? The spike 
when I received it seemed overlaid with sil¬ 
ver which has since worn off. If you can 
name it, I shall be grateful if you would 
give cultural directions of same when you 
reply. (Northumbrian, Northumberland.) 
The grass you sent is Agrostis nebulosa, 
and being hardy may its sown in the open 
ground at the beginning of April. The 
ground should, of course, be in a state of 
good tilth, such as good garden ground 
should be. Do not sow too thickly, and if 
the seedlings come«up too thickly, it would 
be desirable to thin them out to 2 in. or 3 in., 
as the plants then grow stronger, producing 
larger panicles of bloom. If you sow them 
in lines allow 6 in. or 8 in. between the 
lines in a bed or border. 
3240. Points of a Phlox. 
Please tell me the various points which 
should be looked for in a Phlox for exhibi¬ 
tion purposes. (If. Staddon, Essex). 
The panicle ox spike, as it is termed, 
should be regularly developed without leav¬ 
ing gaps in it by the lack of branches due 
to crowding when being grown. The 
flowers should be of large size for the par¬ 
ticular varieties shown, flat, perfectly round, 
of good texture, and in prime condition, not 
fading nor dropping. The colour should 
be of some decided hue, clear, pleasing, and 
not fogged by a confused mixture of tints. 
The stem should be strong and erect. This 
latter will largely be determined by the art 
of the cultivator. Fox instance, young 
plants of a few stems would be stronger and 
have a more perfectly developed panicle than 
where the plants are old and crowded with 
numerous stems. The plants could be 
thinned out when young—that is, in spring, 
leaving only one to three of the strongest 
shoots and cutting the rest away. Stake 
them before they get damaged by the wind. 
LAWNS. 
3241. Making- a Tennis Court. 
Would you kindly let me know at once 
the following :—I wish to make a good hard 
tennis court in the meadow, and you must 
understand the lower end must be levelled 
up with earth off parts that are too high, 
from the other end. Now, will it be neces¬ 
sary to put anything hard under the top 
soil, as I cannot bear a slow, heavy ground, 
or do you think the earth itself will get 
solid if raised considerably in the beginning 
to allow for its sinking. I hope it will not 
require anything different, still, if neces¬ 
sary, kindly say what should be done. 
(C. W.-G., Essex.) 
There are several ways of making a ten¬ 
nis court. You do not tell us whether you 
wish the tennis court to be made in the form 
of a grass lawn, or whether it should be 
ashes. We can describe two methods for 
you. If you desire the surface to be grass 
have the turf lined off with a turf cutter in 
strips 1 ft. wide. Then cut across the 
ground, so that the turves will be at any 
desired length from 1 ft. to 3 ft. in length. 
The latter length would require to be rolled 
up, and the turf could then be laid aside out 
of the way until the ground is levelled. A 
turfing iron would be necessary to lift the 
turf. Then calculate the depth of soil ne¬ 
cessary to dig off in order to make the lower 
end level and have the soil wheeled on to 
the low ground. Then dig the higher 
ground the depth of the spade all over, 
breaking it up finely. Then tread the whole 
of it all over, and if too high owing to the 
digging, some more of the soil should be 
wheeled on to the lower portion. Of course, 
you must understand that the level of the 
whole piece should be taken with a spirit 
level and pegs driven into the ground at the 
exactly level the lawn should be when com¬ 
pleted. Then tread the ground all over 
equally, rolling it several times to consoli¬ 
date it; then by using the straight edge and 
spirit level you can determine whether every 
part is perfectly level all over, using the 
straight edge on the original pegs driven in 
to indicate the level. Then, after it is 
thoroughly levelled and consolidated, rake it 
level, lay the turf and beat it down firmly 
We are presuming that the ground is na¬ 
turally well drained, but if hot this must 
be done before the ground is levelled. If 
you desire a hard surface at all seasons of 
the year, then it would be well to lay drain 
pipes at no great depth below the surface 
and in drains 9 ft. apart all over the ground. 
All these should run into one main drain 
having a good outlet. This would take away 
surface water which might sink through or 
water that might rise from the subsoil. Then, 
if you desire the ground to be as firm as a 
bowling green, you can, after having levelled 
the ground according to directions, place 
4 in. of brickbate, stones, and other hard 
material like that all over the ground and 
have it beaten and rolled down hard. Then 
over this place 3 in. of coarse ashes, beating 
and rolling that down firmly. Over 
this place fine or sifted ashes to the 
depth of 3 in. On this place 1 in. 
of sand, rolling as formerly. Then use 
the spirit level and straight edge to make 
sure that every part is perfectly level. Then 
get your turf, which must be of equal depth 
throughout, and lay it very carefully, so 
that every turf will come close up against 
another. Then with a turf beater have this 
well beaten down all over. You must under¬ 
stand that grass growing on soil that is only 
one turf thick requires a lot of keeping in 
the way of frequent watering during the 
summer months to keep it healthy and in 
good condition. Mowing and rolling must 
also be carried out at frequent intervals. 
Grass will not grow strongly over all that 
depth of barren material, but it can be kept 
in order if you care to go to the expense to 
provide the means of doing it. If not pre¬ 
pared to keep it up in that fashion, it would 
be well to be contented with the first-named 
method of making the tennis court. That 
laid upon ashes, however, wilKbe firm and 
usable at every period of the year. 
TREES AND SHRUBS. 
3242. Sweet-Smelling- Honeysuckle. 
I am much obliged for your recent answer 
to my queries as to climbers for a trellis, 
question No. 3182. I note you say that pro¬ 
bably Honeysuckle - would succeed, as the 
trellis is only 3 ft. 6 in. high. I presume 
I do not require one to grow tall. Will 
you give me the name of the most suitable; 
kind? I want a sweet-smelling sort. (H. 
C. B., Leicester.) 
You cannot get any more sweetly-scented, 
Honeysuckle than the common one of our 
woods and hedges, not necessarily the wild 
one, but cultivated varieties. For instance. 
Lonicera Periclymenum Early Dutch and 
L. P. Late Dutch are two very good culti¬ 
vated varieties. They differ chiefly by 
flowering early or late according to the' 
variety.- Several other Honevsucldes are 
sweetly scented, but the flowers are small, 
as a rule, and only two together instead of 
a cluster. That is the reason why we recom¬ 
mend a variety of the common Honeysuckle. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
32-J3. Early Chrysanthemums at a 
Standstill. 
T am in possession of the No. 3 Handbook- 
on Dahlias, which is a good guide to ama, 
