i 9 4 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
PRIZE LETTER COMPETITION. 
Readers are invited to contribute to this 
column short letters, discussing any 
gardening subject. 
Letters should not exceed /jo words 
each in length, and must be written 
on one side of the paper only. 
Two Prizes of 2s. 6d. each will be 
awarded each week for the two Letters 
which the Editor considers to be the 
best. 
Romneya Coulteri. 
This is a plant of exquisite beauty. Its 
flowers are paper-white, possessing an en¬ 
hanced attractiveness of rich, golden an¬ 
thers and delightful fragrance. Com¬ 
paratively few gardeners understand the 
method of propagation, so probably these 
few remarks will prove helpful and profit¬ 
able in its ultimate issue. 
Lift an old-established plant and cut off 
any stout roots that can be spared with¬ 
out any detriment to the plant, and cut 
into pieces about three inches in length, 
inserting them perpendicularly in pots 
containing a good sharp compost. 
They should be placed half an inch be¬ 
low the surface of the soil and pressed 
firmly. Subsequently place in a cold 
frame where frost is excluded. 
As the growth appears in spring trans¬ 
fer singly to small pots, using a good 
sharp compost, and eventually, when they 
have become established in the pots, plant 
in a suitable position, and success will be 
achieved. H. F. Stevens. 
Sawdust as a Rooting Medium. 
Sawdust is an excellent medium in 
which to root Crotons and kindred sub¬ 
jects. It is specially suited for plants with 
strong, fleshy roots. 
Place six inches of clean sawdust in a 
propagating case, making all firm, and 
after making the cutting of a Croton tie a 
little ball of sphagnum round the base of 
the cutting, then insert in the bed of saw¬ 
dust, and give a thorough watering, keep¬ 
ing the frame quite close and shaded from 
strong sunshine until rooted. 
You will find on lifting the plants from 
the bed that they are nicely established in 
the sphagnum. 
Poinsettias, Pandanus, Dracaenas, Dief- 
fenbachias, and such-like subjects, I have 
rooted most successfully in the above 
manner. D. CHAPMAN. 
Using Paraffin on Vines. 
At this season, when vineries are being 
overhauled and cleansed prior to being 
started, I trust a few remarks on the above 
will not be out of place. Where mealy 
bug or .scale abounds, no half measures 
must be resorted to. All woodwork, glass 
and brickwork must be thoroughly washed 
with hot soapy water. Remove all loose 
bark carefully from the rods with an old 
blunt knife. Next give the Vines a good 
washing with warm water (not hot) in 
which plenty of soft soap and soda has 
been added. Allow the rods to dry, and 
for the final dressings there is nothing 
better than undiluted paraffin. This may 
not meet with the general approval of my 
fellow-readers; however, I can assure 
them paraffin can be used on Vines, eyes 
Included, with perfect safety. 
L. S. Small. 
Primula alba plena. 
This is seldom seen in these days, ex¬ 
cept in places where cut flowers are grown 
principally for market purposes. During 
the autumn and winter they yield large 
quantities of cut bloom. One of the rea¬ 
sons that prevents it being more often 
grown is the overlooking of the proper 
time for its propagation, as it cannot be 
grown from seed. The only way to in¬ 
crease it is by cuttings. After the bloom¬ 
ing season is over, all the lower leaves 
should be cut off and the base of the plant 
well mounded up with soil made up of 
three parts of sharp sand to one of leaf- 
soil and sifted loam, and if kept just moist 
in about six weeks’ time it will be found 
that the offshoots will have formed a net¬ 
work of young roots. These shoots may 
be taken off with a sharp knife and potted 
up singly into three-inch pots and placed 
in a close frame until they are estab¬ 
lished, and treated in the ordinary way. 
J. SCAMMELL. 
Dionaea muscipula (Venus’s Fly-trap). 
Of all the insectivorous plants, I think 
this is the most interesting, though, unfor¬ 
tunately, it is sometimes rather difficult 
to grow. The best potting material is peat 
and live sphagnum moss in equal quan¬ 
tities. Give the plants good drainage and 
pot only moderately firm, and stand the 
pots in saucers of water on a farrly shady 
shelf in the greenhouse. The water in the 
saucers should be changed often and kept 
clean ; this is of great importance. 
It not only catches flies, but any insect 
which should happen to settle on its 
leaves, which close up immediately they 
are touched. It is related to our native 
fly-catcher, the Drosera, more often called 
Sundew. This, too, is well worth grow¬ 
ing, and requires much the same treat¬ 
ment. A. Dennett. 
Eoi'onia megastigma. 
This pretty greenhouse evergreen plant 
is very showy, and should be cultivated by 
everyone on account of its delicious fra¬ 
grance. It is of a slender habit, with 
twiggv branches ; the flowers are produced 
from the axils of the leaves all along the 
stems, and are of a pretty maroon-purple 
colour outside and yellow within. 
The soil best suited for this Boronia is 
good, fibrous, sandy peat, and great care 
should be taken that the drainage is in 
perfect order, for they cannot suffer water 
to stand about their roots with impunity. 
It is increased by cuttings of half-ripened 
wood during the summer months, inserted 
in thoroughlv drained nots of sandy soil, 
with half inch of sand on the surface, then 
placed in a temperature of 50 degs., 
covered with a bell-glass and shaded from 
bright sunshine, taking care that they do 
not rot with damp. J. M. T. 
March 20, 1909. 
Huntingdon Spring Flower Show. 
The Huntingdon Daffodil and Spring 
Flower Society will hold their show this 
year on April 27th. The schedule may 
now be had of the Hon. Secretary, Miss 
L. L. Linton, Startloe House, Buckden. 
Huntingdon. 
Slump in Potatos. 
Covent Garden salesmen report a 
“slump” in Potatos, these being just non 
very cheap, whilst most other vegetables 
are, owing to the severe weather, scarce 
and dear. It is suggested that many 
people with a tendency to obesity have 
refrained from eating Potatos in conse¬ 
quence of the “boom” in physical cul¬ 
ture. 
Perpetual Flowering Carnation Society. 
The annual report for 1908, schedule of 
prizes, etc., of the above-named Society 
has been forwarded to us by the hon. sec¬ 
retary, Mr. Hayward Mathias. The twc 
shows held last year proved very success¬ 
ful, and in the amateur classes at the 
December show there was a greatly in 
creased competition, whilst the blooms in 
these classes were of high quality-. At 
this show a Question Box was placed ir 
the Hall, and a number of visitors availed 
themselves of the opportunity of writing, 
questions and placing them therein, these : 
being subsequently answered in the 
Lecture Hall by " Mr. P. Smith anc 
Mr. C. Allwcod. This year’s show will, 
be heid in the hall of the R,H.S., West¬ 
minster, on March 24th. The annual 
dinner of the society will be held in the 
Hotel Windsor on the same date, at 7.3c 
p.m., tickets for which may be obtained 
from Mr. E. F. Hawes, Royal Botanic 
Gardens, Regent’s Park, N.W. 
Open-Air Flower Show at Hillegom, Holland 
Last year there was held at Sassenheim 
Holland, an open-air flower show, which 
proved a great success. This y-ear the ex 
periment is to be repeated at Hillegom 
the centre of the Dutch bulb industry 
The leading idea of the show is to illus¬ 
trate how to obtain the best results irl 
planting Dutch bulbs in small and large 
gardens—in borders, terraces, and lawns j 
and the most effective combinations ir 
beds and groups, and in combination alsq 
with evergreens and early flowering! 
shrubs. This will constitute the per; 
manent section of the exhibition, and in 
addition will be shown in tents cut flower; 
and forced plants, Rhododendrons, Aza 
leas, Lilacs, etc. The show promises tc 
be extremely interesting both to profes 
sional growers and amateur gardeners 
and as the opening date is fixed for Apri. 
8th it offers a capital opnortunity for visij 
tors from this country to arrange to speno 
their Easter holiday, or a part of it, ir 
running over to Holland and inspecting; 
the display. The venue of the show, by 
the way, is extremely^ picturesque and his 
torically interesting. An area of three 
acres comprises a “French Garden” anc 
an “ Old Dutch Garden,” in the centre o 
the latter standing a quaint building 
known as the “Townball,” whilst opposite 
this is an ancient church which stand 
on a hill under which formerly ran ; 
brook, in Dutch “gom,” hence Hillegom 
the name of the place. The brook ha 
since been converted into a canal, whirl 
falls towards the site of the old Haarlem 
lake, since drained and turned into plea 
sant pasture land, and acres of beautifu 
bulb fields. 
