'he Gardening World, October io, 1908. 
An Amateur’s Letter to Amateurs. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“ Every Aster in my hand goes loaded 
ith a thought.”— Emerson. 
CONTENTS . 
.mateur's Letter to Amateurs, An 643 
ipples, Heavy . ^49 
ell flower, The Dalmatian (illus.)... 645 
arnations (Border), Forming Col¬ 
lection of . |J 44 
hrvsanihemums for October. 650 
ompetition Awards . ^44 
ompeiition, Puze Letter . 656 
ottage Garden, Best Kept (illus.)... 650 
nquire Within . 651 
lower Garden, The (illus.) . *346 
ruit Garden, The (illus.) .. 646 
reenhouse, The Amateur s . ( 347 
Lichen Garden, The (illus.) . G46 
ily, Lelchtlin's (illus.) . ^49 
Tchids for Amateurs . '347 
odgersia, The Table-Like (illus.) 04 ^ 
oses, Selecting -. ^44 
fork of the W cek (illus.) . (14^ 
lot a sound the old leaves utter 
s they swirl and swoop and flutter 
rom the branches to the gutter, 
■ From their glory to their shame; 
s they die before their fellow 
leaves have donned their red and yellow, 
re the autumn's fashions mellow 
In a flame. 
let I catch my spirit trying 
'o interpret their replying 
jo the sympathetic sighing 
j Of the breezes from the west— 
We have garnished London's leanness 
| "ith a tiny spot of greenness, 
e have touched man's sordid meanness 
With God's best.” 
0 these leaves of nightly musing 
or a stem my heart are using, 
ill they fall to meet the bruising 
Of the traffic rushing by ; 
et perchance their shadows, waving 
'er the heartless city paving, 
ield the hope some soul is craving 
Ere they- die. 
^ A W. 
CLXIV. 
Violets. 
Year by year it is more and more usual 
to grow Violets in frames for late au¬ 
tumn, winter, and early spring flowering. 
There is no doubt about it that the beau¬ 
tiful pale, double blooms are a good 
deal the more beautiful for the protec¬ 
tion from weather that this form of culti¬ 
vation affords them. And what a de¬ 
lightful thing it is to solve the problem 
of securing flowers in plenty even with¬ 
out a greenhouse, and by- a means so 
simple as this during winter. September 
should see the plants established in the 
frames, and not a little of the after suc¬ 
cess depends upon getting them settled 
in good time. Still, if the work has been 
neglected it is better to take it in hand 
at once than to dispense with them alto¬ 
gether. Mrs. J. J. Astor, Marie Louise, 
Lady Hume Campbell, and De Parme, 
are all excellent varieties of double- 
flowered kinds. Some flower consider- 
ablv in advance of others ; thus, the last- 
named is excellent for winter blooms, 
while if Lady Hume Campbell be grown 
also, it being a late bloomer, the season 
is greatlv lengthened. Good crowns can 
be purchased at the present time if there 
are no plants at hand, and these may be 
planted in frames that face, due south. 
I like 6 by 4 frames, and to plant as 
close together as to allow the plants a 
margin of soil around them, on all sides, 
but not too much to spare. A great 
point is to have them as close to the glass 
as possible; indeed, the leaves should all 
but touch it. We want plenty of air and 
sunshine to circulate between and 
through the plants, and over them, and 
if they be six or eight inches below the 
top of the sides of the frame the air does 
not reach them in the same purifying, 
drying way, and likely enough leaves and 
flowef-buds will damp off. I want to 
emphasise this-point strongly, as this get¬ 
ting the plants too low down in the frame 
is the common fault of the inexperienced. 
All along we have to bear in mind that 
these Violets are hardv plants, and as 
such they require no coddling. Give 
them air every day for months to come, 
and cover at times when they are likely 
to suffer from superfluous moisture, 
whether in the form of heavy dews, or 
rain, or both. Even in frosty weather, 
unless very- severe, I would recommend 
one end of the lights to be slightly raised 
night as well as day, for if an old piece 
of sacking cover this aperture a certain 
amount of air will enter. And through¬ 
out the winter, whenever the weather is 
genial, it is as well to remove the lights 
entirely for a few hours every day. Air 
and success go hand in hand, closeness 
and stuffiness spell failure. Wry little 
water will be required through the winter, 
and if it must be given it should not 
touch the flowers. 
Calceolarias. 
We are approaching the time, the early- 
half of October, which is most favourable 
for taking the cuttings of the bedding 
Calceolarias. These plants flower so con¬ 
tinuously, and are so little trouble, that 
they ought lo be accounted everybody s 
flower. Treat the Calceolaria as a ten¬ 
der heat-loving plant: and it will be a 
weakly, drawn up, almost worthless sub¬ 
ject. Treat it as all but hardy, and ic 
will be magnificent. My own cuttings 
get the roughest and readiest winter 
treatment. They are inserted in the open 
border alongside a cold greenhouse, and 
when severe frost threatens, some board¬ 
ing is brought to lie slantwise over them/ 
the open ends being filled with straw 
matting or anything that is handy. The 
border faces due east, and the boarding 
is removed whenever the weather allows, 
which it does, unless actually freezing, or 
raining, or a cold, bitter wind is blowing. 
During really severe mid-winter spells 
of frost the boarding may not be removed 
for several day's, but, be sure, air and 
light are admitted as soon again as pos¬ 
sible. And never are the Calceolarias 
kept over to be planted out with other 
bedding plants, but are established in 
May, even in April some years, and I 
feel sure that plants put out early are not 
liable to sudden death, a fate, and an un¬ 
accountable one, not by- any means un¬ 
known to some who grow them. Another 
thing is, the plants flower better when 
planted out before the hot weather is 
near—this season I was, owing to the 
severity of a bitter spring, fearful of ex¬ 
posing them to the open bed, and they 
were not in place for a month, or more 
than a month later than usual, and in 
consequence they have flowered'less pro¬ 
fusely than for many years past. 
Choisya ternata. 
As this white-flowered shrub, sweetly 
-'■cented too, has become so great a fa 1 
vourite, many will be glad to know that 
it can easily be reared from, cuttings. At 
one time it was often treated as a half- 
tender subject, grown in a pot, and given 
winter protection. But since then people 
have found out that it well can withstand 
our winters, and it has taken its place 
as a valued and valuable garden shrub. 
I know it adorning the palings of a 
suburban garden looking full into the 
south, and every year it is a delight to 
the eye with its glossy foliage and white 
blossom. 
F. Norfolk. 
Memorial to Mr. George Nicholson. 
A committee is being formed with a 
view to inaugurating a fitting memorial 
to the late Mr. George Nicholson, F.L.S., 
Y. M.H.. ex-curator of the Royal Gardens, 
Kew, and editor of the well-known "Dic¬ 
tionary of Gardening.’’ Anyone who is 
interested in the proposition may obtain 
further particulars from Mr. Wilfred 
Mark Webb, honorary secretary of the 
Selborne Society, »t 20, Hanover Square. 
London. W. 
