6 3 8 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 3, 1908. 
of the glass. Embed the plants in ashes as 
you proceed, and this will keep them suffi¬ 
ciently moist during the winter and save 
the necessity of watering. When they start 
growing and cannot longer be kept in the 
slanting position, you can stand them out 
of doors on a bed of ashes in a sheltered 
position, and they will gradually develop 
their growth again. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
3 255. Evergreen Edging. 
Near the front door are some beds with 
plain tile edgings which are rather unsightly 
in winter, and yet are very useful in pre¬ 
venting the edges of the beds from being 
broken down. 1 think it would be possible 
to keep these tiles covered with creeping 
evergreen plants. What would you recom¬ 
mend that would keep green? IE. F. Mason, 
Herefordshire.) 
There are numerous plants that would 
answer the purpose you mention, including 
the Lemon Thyme or its golden-leaved 
variety (Thymus Serphyllum citriodorus 
aureo-variegatus). Other equally suitable 
plants are London Pride (Saxifraga um- 
brosa), S. trifurcata, a mossy-leaved species, 
Thrift (Armeria vulgaris), Sr.ow in Summer 
(Cerastium tomentosum), the Lesser Peri- 
winKle (Vinca minor), Arabis and Aubrietia. 
The three last-named grow rather rampantly 
after they are established, and would require 
a little trimming back to make them look 
neat, but otherwise they answer the purpose. 
A row of the double white Pink Airs. Sin- 
kins would be both suitable and handsome 
during June. 
3 256. Dahlias Ragged. 
In a flower bed facing west I have some 
Dahlias that have not done at all well 
this year. Many of the leaves also look 
ragged and full of holes, yet I cannot see 
any caterpillars on them. Please say how I 
can remedy this state of matters. (G. Gar¬ 
diner, Norfolk.) 
Several plant enemies affect Dahlias in the 
way you state, but most likely earwigs are 
those which have given ycu the trouble. They 
fly during the night and hide by day, so 
that they are not very noticeable. Another 
year, when you see the first traces of this 
sort of thing, you should set traps consist¬ 
ing of hollow bean stalks hung up behind 
the plants, or place an inverted flower-pot 
on the top of each stake with some dry moss 
in the pot. Examine the pots every morn¬ 
ing and shake the earwigs into a watering- 
pot half-fillt'u with water. By these simple 
means you will keep down the plague of 
earwigs. You should see, also, that the 
border is not too crowded with plants and 
that the Dahlias are properly thinned out, 
if they are inclined to get crowded with 
foliage, as this serves also to encourage the 
pests. 
3257. Points of a Cyclamen. 
I should be pleased if you would discuss 
the points to be looked for in a Cyclamen 
for exhibition. I mean the greenhouse Cycla¬ 
men that blooms during winter. (H. Stad- 
don, Essex.) 
If you get seeds Of a good strain of Cycla¬ 
men, the rest will chiefly be a matter of 
cultivation. The plants should be well 
grown, sturdy and furnished with ample 
foliage. The latter should, of course, be 
clean and free from the effects of red spider 
and thrips, which often trouble them while 
making their growth in summer. This affects 
the plants in autumn, giving the foliage a 
shabby appearance. To make this point sure 
you should, therefore, look well after the 
plants during July and August, when they 
are likely to get infested with insect pests 
owing to the dry weather. The flower stems 
should be long and stout, holding the flowers - 
well above the foliage. This is also largely 
a matter of good cultivation. The flowers 
themselves should be large, and to en¬ 
sure this it would be necessary to grow the 
giganteum strain, at least for exhibition pur¬ 
poses. The flowers should also be of good 
form, with broad, rounded petals. The 
colours should be clear and decided, and 
this is not difficult to secure if a good 
modern strain of the above is grown. 
3253. Choics Rock Plants. 
I wish to make a rocker}' at the house end 
of the lawn on each side of the pergola. I 
have some common plants which would do 
to plant a part of it for a year or two, but 
want to keep adding some choice things from 
time to time. Please name a dozen to begin 
with. (Beginner, Surrey.) 
Very effective and easily grown plants in 
most cases are Saxifraga Wallacei, S. longi- 
folia, S. Guildford Seedling, Campanula pu- 
mila alba, Alyssum saxatile flore pleno. Ane¬ 
mone nemorosa robinsoniana, A blanda, 
Cheiranthus alpinus, Aethionema pulchel- 
lum, Polygonum vaccinifolium, Aubrietia 
Dr. Mules and'Macrotomia echioides. Of the 
above, Saxifraga longifolia will require the 
most care, and should be planted on its side 
between two pieces of rock or stone, so that 
the water will run off the leaves in winter. 
The pieces of rock are not so necessary as 
the fact that the plant should be on its side. 
3259. Taking Cutting's of Calceolarias. 
What is the best time to take cuttings of 
Calceolarias? Mine have bloomed well all 
the season, and are still good. (F. Pease, 
Yorks.) 
Cuttings of Calceolarias can be taken and 
rooted practically at any time during Octo¬ 
ber, but if your situation is high and cold 
the cuttings had better be inserted by the 
middle of the month at least. In any case, 
you would be quite safe to take them now. 
Place them in a frame if they are in boxes, 
and keep the frame closed for a few days 
till the cuttings are not likely to flag. After 
that they may have the usual frame treat¬ 
ment by giving plenty of air on all favour¬ 
able occasions during the winter. You can 
also plant them out in a bed of soil in the 
frame, but for convenience sake boxes are 
preferable, unless you fill the whole frame, 
so that the treatment will be uniform for 
the Calceolarias. 
LAWNS. 
3260. Raising a Tennis Lawn. 
I am thinking of raising my tennis lawn 
by taking off the present turf and adding 
a layer of soil several inches thick (any¬ 
thing from 3 in. to 1 ft.) and then re-laying 
the present turf. What is the best soil to 
use? I favour sandy soils for turf myself, 
but do not know the proportion of sand or 
best kind thereof to use. The subsoil here 
is a heavy, yellow clay. Also, can you please 
tell me how much such a layer of soil (say, 
1 ft. thick in the loose) would be when 
finally settled down? (J. H. B., Derby¬ 
shire.) 
Seeing that the subsoil on your lawn con¬ 
sists of*a heavy yellow clay, we think drain¬ 
age is a matter of great importance. This 
may consist of t-iles of 1 in. bore, or some¬ 
thing similar, laid in shallow drains about 
q ft. apart all over the lawn. All these 
drains could then run into a main drain. 
By taking this precaution in the matter of 
drainage you will be able to carry away 
the water both from the top and that which 
might come from the subsoil. The latter, 
of course, depends upon situation in rela¬ 
tion to higher ground, and can only be 
determined on the spot, but it costs no more 
in the matter of drainage. If putting on 
fresh soil, it would be to your advantage to 
use that of a light and sandy nature. About 
r ft. of it, we think, would settle down to 
about g in. when perfectly consolidated by 
treading, beating and rolling. Probably 
your lawn is inclined to be wet in winter, 
and in that case you will find information 
in No. 3241, on p. 620 of last week's issue. 
In that case no soil at all would be used 
except the turf, which would be about i| in. 
thick if properly cut. If you lay the drains 
as directed, and then follow the instructions 
given in last week’s issue, you would prob¬ 
ably' require to keep your lawn much more 
frequently watered than ycu have been ac¬ 
customed to maintain a good surface- on 
the turf. If you cannot ensure this frequent 
watering, then a safer plan would be to use 
from 6 in. to 1 ft. of light, sandy soil and 
thoroughly consolidate it before laying the 
turf. 
ROSES. 
3261. Climbing- Roses for- Pergola. 
I am about to make a kind of pergola 
from the front door to the roadway. What 
climbing Roses would you recommend for 
the pillars? I do not care whether they are 
single or double, if they produce plenty of 
bloom. My garden faces west and gets 
plenty of sun in the afternoon. (Beginner. 
Surrey.) 
If your garden faces west, then one side 
of the pergola would face the south and the 
other the north. You do not state the num¬ 
ber of Roses which you require, so we hav° 
selected a dozen, and some of the singles 
may be placed on one s : de and some on the 
other for the sake of variety and succession 
of bloom. The doubles can be distributed in 
the same way. Double varieties are Dorothy 
Perkins (pink), Lady Gay (rose-pink), 
Crimson Rambler,. Tausendschon (rose), Bar- 
dou Job (semi-double, crimson), Longworth 
Rambler (crimson), and The Garland (white). 
The single varieties are Hiawatha (crimson), 
Blush Rambler, Brunonis (white), Carmine 
Pillar and Jersey Beauty (pale yellow). 
3 26 2. Pruning Roses and List of Dwarf 
Varieties. 
Some time ago you recommended a cor¬ 
respondent re the pruning of climbing Roses 
to cut away the old stems and retain the 
young shoots only. Should this be done in¬ 
variably, because if so some of my recently- 
planted Roses would have nothing left? 
The best shoots they have made are on the 
old stems. I am making preparations for 
planting a line of Roses down each side of 
the path from the door to the garden gate. 
Please name a dozen of the best dwarf 
varieties to make a good show. (F. Pease, 
Yorks.) 
There is no necessity for cutting away the 
old stems of climbing Roses, provided there 
is still plenty of room for the young ones 
to be laid in without crowding. It is only 
where there is not sufficient room for the 
young cnes that ft becomes necessary to cut 
away those that have bloomed. The old ones 
will give some blossom next year on the' 
shoots they make. Dwarf Roses to plant on 
each side of the pathway are Perle d’Or. 
Scbneewitchen, Mme. N. Levavasseur, Gloire 
de Polyantha, Cecile Brunner, Lady Ro¬ 
berts, Lady Battersea, 'Mme. Fernet Ditcher, 
Marquise de Salisbury, Princess da Sagan, 
Fabvier and Liberty. We have thus given; 
you a number of Roses belonging chiefly ti¬ 
the dwarf Polyantha, Chinese and Hybrid 
Tea classes. 
3 263. Roses with a Vine. 
As a reader of your paper, I would like 
to ask some questions about Roses. I have 
a greenhouse, 20 ft. by 12 ft., which get? 
the sun 1 n one sid' up to nearly noon and: 
on the other side 1 the afternoon. What 
side would be best for climbing Roses, as I 
want to plant a Vine on the other? What 
varieties of Roses would you recommend . J 
Would Roses in pots succeed in such ai 
house? (W. Duncan, Yorkshire.) 
