fHB GARDENING WORLD. 
April 17, T909. 
254 
warmer than it has hitherto been. Those 
who take this trouble with their Dahlias 
will find they have got nice sturdy plants 
to put out in the open during the first 
or second week of June. Cactus Dahlias 
are amongst the most popular at the 
present day and the accompanying illus¬ 
tration shows three blooms of Britannia, 
which, if not amongst the most advanced 
of Dahlias at the present day, has, never¬ 
theless, seen a good deal of service. The 
blooms are salmon, tinted with apricot, 
and freely produced. 
-- 
English-grown new Potatos are now 
8d. a pound, and French Broad Beans 
is. a pound. 
The “ Billingsley Rose.” 
William Billingsley, in 1775, began to 
paint china at Derby; he threw aside 
convention and painted flowers as he saw 
them. Hence the Billingsley Rose. One 
enthusiast said of him that “no other man 
in all the history of porcelain painted 
Roses as this man did.” 
MESSRS. HUGH LOW AND CO. 
Messrs. Hugh Low and Co., Bush Hill 
Park, Middlesex, are not only cultivators 
of perpetual flowering Carnations on a 
large scale, but they are also 'raisers of 
the same class. Several very fine varieties 
are now being put into commerce by 
them, namely, Black Chief, Lady Dainty, 
Rival and Royal Purple. Lady Dainty 
has recently figured in our pages and is 
a delightful fancy variety of delicate col¬ 
our. They are also raisers of new Mal- 
maisons and now catalogue quite a num¬ 
ber of them. Irene is regarded as an 
improvement upon Princess of Wales and 
Lady Mary Hope is a charming flower of 
a rich terra-cotta, a shade that is by no 
means common in this race. Both of 
these types are included in the catalogue 
under the name of “Carnations,” and, as 
a matter of course, the standard varieties 
of both types are also classified and de¬ 
scribed. 
Border Carnations. 
Plantations that were made last autumn 
have been very much battered down by 
the frequent heavy rains which have fallen 
since the departure of the snow. The 
first available opportunity should, there¬ 
fore, be taken to run the Dutch hoe over 
the ground in order to loosen up the sur¬ 
face and give the plants every opportunity 
of gaining something of what they have 
lost during the unfavourable period that 
has just passed. It.will also serve to keep 
down the weeds. 
Seedlings sown last month in heat will 
now be requiring, attention in the matter 
of transplanting them into other pans or 
boxes. Give them about 2 in. apart each 
way, and return them to the same condi¬ 
tions of temperature till they take to the 
fresh soil. A high temperature is not 
necessary, but merely congehial condi¬ 
tions to keep them growing. They resent 
coddling, and soon get drawn and spindly. 
As soon as they are established, place 
them in a cold frame where they will have 
plenty of light, and may be freely ventila¬ 
ted on all favourable occasions. 
Show Carnations and Picotees. 
In average seasons these do well out of 
doors during April, where a sheltered 
place can be accorded them, but the con¬ 
tinuous or frequent rains, and the small 
amount of sunshine we are getting make 
it very unfavourable for recently-potted 
Carnations if placed in the open. A safer 
plan, until the advent of more genial 
weather, would be to place the pots in 
cold frames, w'here they can be guarded 
against heavy rain. Give all ventilation 
possible, and draw off the lights when 
fine. Tall growing varieties should be 
staked to avoid getting them accidentallv 
broken. 
Seeds of choice varieties may still be 
sown if this w ; as not completed earlier. 
Over-watering should be avoided, as Car¬ 
nations are dainty in this respect when the 
seedlings are in loose soil. 
Tree Carnations. 
Cuttings struck in March will now re¬ 
quire to be potted off singly in thumb 
pots. Those struck in January or Febru¬ 
ary may require to be repotted into 
larger sizes wthere they have made a 
thrifty growth. Free ventilation will now 
be of great advantage in keeping the 
plants close and stocky. Seeds may be 
sown as in the .case of show Carnations. 
They will come along all the more surely 
if germinated in heat, but as soon as the 
seedlings are established in boxes they 
may be transplanted to cold frames with 
advantage. 
Malmaison Carnations. 
Early flowering varieties, and those that 
by special treatment are fairly forward, 
will be throwing up their flower stems, 
and should receive attention in the matter 
of disbudding as soon as it can be done 
with safety. With the advance of mild 
weather growth is now more active, and 
Carnation spot or other diseases should 
be kept in check by burning all diseased 
leaves that make their appearance, and 
the plants may get the better of it by 
making vigorous new growth. 
Marguerite Carnations. 
Seedlings that are sufficiently advanced 
will now require transplanting into boxes 
or potting up according to their size, and 
the purpose for w'hich they are intended. 
Even those intended for bedding out (if 
potted up) may be transplanted into the 
open ground with less fear of check than 
those in boxes. Those growers who have 
the time and space would find it advan¬ 
tageous fo give them this extra attention. 
Early sowm batches especially would well 
repay the trouble. 
American Carnations. 
The dark and sunless winter and spring 
has been detrimental to this race of Car¬ 
nations, and in some cases they are late. 
The lengthening days will now be in their 
favour, and many- fine flowers may yet be 
looked for. Abundant ventilation will 
now' help them greatly. Continue disbud¬ 
ding as this becomes necessary. Water 
may now be given much more freely than 1 
in the early part of the year. Damp down 
the paths and staging on the morning of 
bright days. 
Keep repotting the early struck batches 
of plants as this becom oc necessary. They 
Fig-. 3. Cactus Dahlia Britarmia 
