THE GARDENING WORLD. April io, 1909. 
248 
Gloxinias 
Starting Old Tubers. 
To grow Gloxinias to anything like per¬ 
fection they should never be subjected to 
a very high temperature. The tubers 
should be shaken out of their pots in 
January, planted in boxes filled with leaf 
mould and sand, leaving the top of the 
tuber bare, and then placed in a house 
near the glass, with a temperature of 
from 50 degs. to 55 degs. They must be 
dewed over with the syringe twice daily. 
When about an inch of growth is made 
they can be potted up into 5 in., 6 in. and 
7 in. pots, according to the size of the 
tuber, in a compost consisting of two 
parts loam, one part leaf mould, one part 
peat, and half a part of sand and-dried 
cow manure rubbed through a half-inch 
sieve. They should be kept in a house 
near the glass in a temperature of 55 degs. 
If they are syringed regularly twice a day, 
very little more water will be required for 
a week or two. 
When the sun begins to get strong, 
shading will have to be resorted to, and 
as they begin to grow more water will 
have to be given, and after the pots are 
full of roots they will be benefited greatly 
by frequent waterings with diluted liquid 
manure from the cowyard. Plenty of 
space will have to be given to the plants, 
so that they can develop their leaves 
properly. When the leaves begin to grow 
down over the sides of the pots the plants 
■will have to be stood on wooden blocks 
or bricks so that the foliage will not get 
broken by coming in contact with the 
staging. As they begin to come into 
flower, the syringe will have to be dis- 
. pensed with, but they will then require 
copious supplies of water at the roots, and 
heavier shading will have to be given so 
that the flowers will last longer. 
If the above treatment is given then 
they will continue to bloom for three or 
four months. As they gradually go out 
of flowering, water will have to be given 
sparingly until they are completely dried 
off, and returned to their winter quarters 
in a cool dry place. 
Nemo. 
-f+4- 
Herberts Park Pottery Co. 
In all gardening establishments pots of 
all sorts and sizes will be very much in 
request for weeks to come. There is no 
more busy season for pot work than in 
spring. The Herberts Park Pottery Co., 
Darlaston, Staffs., have issued a handy 
catalogue illustrating their speciality in 
the way of pots, seed pans, Rhubarb and 
Seakale pots, flower vases and ornamental 
pottery of quite a variety of kinds. Rus¬ 
tic window boxes of ornate pattern may 
be obtained from r ft. to 3 ft. long and 
4y in. to 6 in. deep. These pots and other 
necessaries are hard and well burned, yet 
porous. The rustic ware is rich in colour 
and design, while within easy reach of 
all in the matter of price. The illustra¬ 
tions are coloured red, and, like the rest, 
well printed. It contains a list of the 
various sizes of pots and prices, and we 
can well recommend the firm to those 
requiring any of the above-mentioned 
articles. 
- Garrots. - 
How to Grow Good Roots. 
Many amateurs, and professional gar¬ 
deners, too, fail sometimes to grow this 
very desirable vegetable. As I have been 
successful for about fourteen years in 
different gardens, under different condi¬ 
tions, perhaps my method maybe instruc¬ 
tive to others. 
In the first place, if possible, select a 
site which has been previously well 
manured for Peas, Celery, or some other 
crop, and trench two feet deep. This 
has the advantage of keeping the ground 
warmer by allowing the sun’s rays to 
penetrate further into the soil, and it 
also helps to retain the moisture by the 
process known as capillary attraction. 
If any fresh manure is used, keep it at 
least 18 ins. from the top, to prevent the 
Carrots from forking. If any wireworms 
are present in the soil, give a top dress¬ 
ing of gas lime, about 10 lb. to the pole; 
put it on at least six weeks before sowing. 
Sow the seed for the main crop about 
the end of March or the beginning of 
April. Sow the seeds thinly, and so se¬ 
cure strong plants. 
One great enemy of Carrots is the 
Carrrot Grub, and to destroy it I have 
found the following simple recipe never 
fail. Dissolve two ounces of soft soap to 
the gallon of water, and apply it with a 
syringe on a dull day, once before thin¬ 
ning, and just after thinning give another 
dose. One w'ord as to syringing, do not 
apply it only over the leaves, but syringe 
at the neck of the Carrots with some force, 
as this is where the grubs are hatched and 
do the damage. This not only kills the 
grubs, but acts as a fertiliser as well. 
If the foregoing simple details are care¬ 
fully carried out no one need despair of 
growing Carrots in any p-arden. 
G. H. Matheson. 
-- 
Sooter Johnny. 
The above is not one of the heroes of 
a tale, but a name given to a useful 
appliance in gardening. It is an inven¬ 
tion intended for placing rings of soot 
or lime round newly planted-out bedding 
plants, Cauliflowers, and other subjects 
which the gardener may want to protect 
against the incursions of slugs and snails. 
It is only necessary to fill the machine 
with soot or lime, as the case may be, 
when a boy can go over a hundred plants 
in a few minutes without soiling his 
hands. The machine consists of a tin 
cylinder for containing the insecticide and 
th's is worked at one end by means of 
a handle. It deposits the soot or lime in 
a ring round the outside of the plant, not 
on the foliage, and should find many 
users in the near future for such a valu¬ 
able article. It is being put into com¬ 
merce bv Mr. T. Scott Colvill, 87, Union 
Street, Glasgow. 
“ A Concise Handbook of Garden Shrubs.” 
Hardy trees and shrubs, as well as some 
that are doubtfully hardy, are briefly dis¬ 
cussed in this book of iq6 pp. A few of 
the species of Eucalyptus are brought 
under notice, but it is stated that they can 
only be grown in the more favoured parts 
of the south in this country. The ar¬ 
rangement of the book is alphabetical/so 
that it is practically a dictionary on the 
subject, but in addition to this there is a 
good index for those who care to peruse 
it. The latter includes popular names, 
and by means of the index they can refer 
the reader to the botanical names which 
are used for the purpose of the alphabeti¬ 
cal arrangement. The height, colour of 
the flowers, season of flowering, and the 
soil suitable are mentioned under each 
species, or at least the first one when this 
is sufficient for the others. The book is 
published by Messrs. Methuen and Co., 
36, Essex Street, London, W.C. 
Seed Potatos, Beans and Peas. 
The planting of early Potatos has been 
greatly hindered this spring, but cultiva¬ 
tors will very soon have to be busy with 
the planting of the main crops in field 
and garden. Mr. Charles Lewin Curtis, 
Park Street and Anchor Street, Chatteris, 
Cambridgeshire, is a grower of the above 
subjects on an extensive scale for the sake 
of seed. He now issues a list of the varie¬ 
ties which he grows, the Potatos being 
most numerous, including both first 
earlies, second earlies, main crops, and 
late sorts. All these are standard and 
well-known sorts grown by most people. 
For instance, amongst the early sorts we 
note Sharpe’s Victor, Sir John Llewellyn 
and Duke of York. First-class main crop 
Potatos are The Factor, Up-to-Date. 
Evergood and King Edward VII. The 
garden Peas are also first-class varieties, 
including Gradus, Telegraph, Alderman, 
Ne Plus LUtra, etc. 
Perfecta. 
The above is the name given to an ex¬ 
cellent insecticide capable of destroying 
slugs, worms and other garden enemies 
of that character. Since we mentioned 
it last year, it has been tried by Dr. A. 
B. Griffiths, the well-known agricultural 
chemist and author of several books. He 
testifies that he has tested it rigorously 
and the result of his trials has been of 
an entirely satisfactory character. Be¬ 
sides insects, it destroys mildews and 
enriches the soil. It does not give off 
obnoxious fumes in the soil. It is a light 
coloured powder and can be applied to 
the ground during winter and spring pre¬ 
vious to planting or sowing the ground. 
It can also be used in mixing soil in¬ 
tended for pot plants, as it is not injuri¬ 
ous to the plants. For ordinary dressing 
of the ground it should be used at the 
rate of 3 ozs. to the square yard, whether 
for fruits, flowers or vegetables. 
A New Name for Laziness. 
A gardener met a friend whom he had 
not seen for some time,'and said, “Hallo, 
Archie, whaur hae ye been this while 
back ?” 
“Man,” replied Archie, “did ye no ken 
I was laid doon wi’ that trouble they ca’ 
influenza ?” 
'‘No, I didna hear ye were ill,” said the 
hoeist. “And what kind o’ trouble is 
that ?” 
“Weel, I can hardly explain,” replied 
Archie, “but after yer gettin’ better ye 
feel very lazy. In fact, ye dinna feel in¬ 
clined tae dae anything a’ day long.” 
“Man, man,” said the gardener, “dae 
ye tell me that? I’ve been troubled that 
wav this last twenty years, and couldna’ 
find a name for it.” 
