630 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 3, 1908. 
to use ortho plates, but should the grasses 
be in flower and the anthers of a yellow 
colour, then an ortho plate and colour 
screen will be required, otherwise the an¬ 
thers are likely to be lost to view or show 
dark instead of light. 
It is important to close all windows and 
doors, because a very slight puff of wind 
is quite enough to set the subjects moving 
and so spoil the negative. For the same 
reason it is desirable to avoid walking 
about in the room during the exposure, 
as the floor vibration is quite ctqrable of 
spoiling the sharpness of the negative. 
Broadly speaking, the chief charm of 
grasses from the pictorial point of view 
is their elegance of form, grace of cur¬ 
vature and general delicacy of construc¬ 
tion. These features we must try to cap¬ 
ture and set forth in our prints. 
(To be continued.) 
-- 
Lobelia cardinalis. 
Notes should be taken during August 
of any alterations and improvements 
that one intends to make for next sum¬ 
mer bedding. New ideas are often 
taken from The Gardening W orld as 
what to plant, so I venture to make a few 
remarks on the same subject. One of 
our best beds has been made by planting 
Lobelia cardinalis with the pretty 
pink Verbena (Miss Willmott), but I will 
not say anything about the latter, as it 
is too well known to need a description, 
but I will endeavour to write about the 
Lobelia, as in my opinion it is not so 
well known as its merits deserve. When 
growing Lobelia cardinalis from seed, it 
is essential to sow early, if wanted to 
flower the first year. The seed should be 
sown in well-drained pans and placed in 
a brisk heat. When the seedlings are 
well rooted the temperature should be 
reduced as with half-hardy annuals, and 
the plants potted or boxed up, using 
good loam and leaf soil, with plenty of 
sand. 
As the flower stems appear, staking is 
a necessity if planted in an open posi¬ 
tion. As the season advances we box 
them up and place them in a cold Peach 
house, but a- shed, providing frost is ex¬ 
cluded, is all that is required for keep¬ 
ing them through the winter. Some gar¬ 
deners say that they should be kept very 
dry during the resting period, but experi¬ 
ence has taught us better. If kept too 
dry they do not start so well, and when 
one goes to find them they find dead 
roots. On the other hand, if kept too 
wet, they are subject to rot, so to keep 
them through the winter it is advisable to 
keep the soil just moist. 
When starting again in February or 
early in March, if the plants are too 
large and one wants to increase the stock, 
it is advisable to pull them to pieces, as 
every piece properly attended to will 
make a fine plant for planting out in 
spring. A pleasing effect is also made 
bv planting it with Gladiolus and Hya- 
cinthus candicans. 
J. M. Stevens. 
Guildford. 
-- 
Crocus speciosus, with its beautifully 
feathered flowers, is now in very attrac¬ 
tive form. 
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best. 
How to Strike Violas. 
The present time is a good one for 
this operation. Make up a bed of light 
soil under a frame or hand-light, and 
press down fairly firm, and on this 
sprinkle some sand freely. In taking the 
cuttings, select those which spring from 
the base of the plant and trim off the 
bottom leaves, leaving a cutting about 
two or three inches long. Insert the cut¬ 
tings in the soil about half their length, 
and not too thickly. Water in well, 
shade, and keep close for a few days, 
and afterwards give plenty of air, and 
they will make nice little plants for put¬ 
ting out in the spring. 
Miss E. Miles. 
Canterbury. 
Sweet Peas Under Glass. 
These should be sown during Septem¬ 
ber and October in little pots and stood 
ia a cold frame close to the glass. When 
they are up the usual supports are'neces¬ 
sary, and as soon as the roots are show¬ 
ing round the pots shift them into 6 in. 
and finally into 9 in. pots, using a com¬ 
post of two parts loam and one part 
leaf-soil. Good drainage is essential at 
this dull time of the vear. When the 
pots are well filled with roots feed with 
manure and soot water, but the secret of 
success is to keep the plants near the 
glass so that they may receive the full 
benefit of the light and air. They should 
never be forced by fire heat, but a little 
is necessary to keep the atmosphere 
buoyant. A minimum temperature of 
4b degs. with a rise to 65 clegs, with the 
sun suits them best. 
A. Dennett. 
Harbledown. 
The Herbaceous Calceolaria. 
This has now become one of the most 
highly developed of the present day, 
though it is at the same time one too 
rarely seen at our plant exhibitions. 
Grown as large specimen plants they 
may be truly denominated “glorious,” 
covered with their numberless bright 
self-coloured and spotted blossoms, for it 
is in their gorgeous masses of colour in 
specimen plants that the beauty of the 
Calceolaria may be said to culminate. 
Seed sowing is the best and safest means 
of propagating the Calceolaria. It 
should be sown in a pan about the middle 
of July, using light soil. Sow the seed 
as regularly as possible on the surface, 
cover lightly with very fine soil, give a 
gentle watering through a fine rose pot, 
place the "pan in a shad}'’ part of the 
greenhouse, and cover it with a piece of 
glass. Never allow the surface soil to 
become drv, as germination will be re¬ 
tarded, if not prevented. 
S. E. Gent. 
Burnham Sutton. 
The Loganberry. 
Whilst not advocating this as a des 
sert fruit, I do not think any questior 
can arise as to its suitability for jam o. 
jelly making, and without doubt thi; 
hybrid berry has come to stay. Once 
firmly established in good soil, it pro 
duces its huge berries very freely, and is 
moreover, a rampant grower. It doe 
not lend itself to very easy propagation 
but this, however, can be accomplishe 
by means of layering where one desire 
to increase his stock. Moderately stroiq 
shoots of the current year’s grow: 
should be selected, bringing them dow, 
flat, or nearly so, to the ground with 
out breaking, and then with a sharj 
knife cutting through a joint for an incl 
or so; keep the cut open to its fulles 
extent, and then peg down firmly inn 
the soil, which should be of a sandy 
nature. It is not necessary- to allov 
more than a foot of wood to each layer 
thus, if the growth be twelve feet long 
eleven incisions can be made along tin 
stem which will give, with ordinary luck 
eleven plants a year hence. 
J. W. Watson. 
Sheffield. 
Helieborus. 
The fine evergreen foliage and hand 
some flowers of this subject, which oper 
in the dead of the winter, seem doubly 
attractive. But there is sometimes c 
difficulty, especially among amateur? 
regarding their propagation, which aftei 
reading this I hope will be removed 
Cut the thick portion of the root intc 
pieces one to two inches in length, anc 
place them in pans in a compost con 
sisting of leaf-soil and sandy loam, on ; 
bottom heat of 70 degrees. \\ hen they 
have nicely rooted, either pot or tun 
them in the same soil as previously re¬ 
commended, and place them in a cole 
frame, and eventually plant in' the open 
Although hardy, and not at all fastidi 
ous regarding position, the Hellebore;, 
repays for being planted on a slightly 
elevated position, where it can enjoy tin 
faint rays of the wintry sun, by givins. 
larger and clearer flowers, 
‘ H. Stevens. 
Woodbridge. 
Strelitzia. 
This plant is very rarely seen in thi; 
country, although the flower is of ex 
ceptional beauty. It is called the Birc, 
of Paradise Flower, as it very much re¬ 
sembles the plumage of that beautifu 
bird. It is a perennial, and grows to c 
height of s to 10 ft. The flowers are of 
a yellow and orange colour. It is easily 
propagated by seeds, which should be 
sown in a compost of leaf-mould anc. 
loam, in a temperature of from 65 degs! 
to 75 degs. It can also be propagate* 
