THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 26, 1907. 
PRIZE LETTER COMPETITION. 
s- 5 
hole in the ground some 3ft. or 4ft. deep, 
and if the subsoil is gravelly or sandy a 
foot of clay should be placed over it, and 
trodden down firmly to make it retentive 
of water. If the sides of the hole can be 
built up with rough bricks it will be much 
easier to manage the Fern. The soil pro¬ 
cured may then be filled in till it is suffi¬ 
ciently high to take the Fern at its proper 
level. If the crown is a large one it may 
project out of the ground, but the sur¬ 
face of the soil in this artificially made 
case should be just a little below the 
general level of the ground so that water 
may be given liberally at times without 
danger of its running away. This arti¬ 
ficially made receptacle would also favour 
the retention of rain water which falls. 
These precautions will make the Royal 
Fern of the easiest cultivation, and the 
necessary supply of moisture in after years 
a matter of very little labour or expense. 
A few pailfuls of water would have a good 
effect, and if a hose is at command the 
watering would be a still more simple 
operation. These precautions are in¬ 
tended for warm dry districts chiefly, 
though the presence of water near the 
roots is always an advantage to this Fern 
in most parts of Britain. 
The accompanying illustration shows a 
fine mass of the Royal Fern in the rockery 
at Kew, and which is well known to visi¬ 
tors. It was planted there in 1S82 or 1883, 
and is still in full vigour. 
--- 
SAXIFRAGA 
CZ '■ ^3 
FORTUNE!. 
This is a remarkable member of the 
great and varied family of rockfoils, 
totally distinct from both the encrusted 
and the mossy sections, it is of almost 
unique character and strikingly beautiful. 
The foliage of the plant is its most im¬ 
portant feature, although the tall, grace¬ 
ful panicles of white flowers are by no 
means lacking in beauty. 
A fair idea of the general appearance 
of the handsome leaves may be conveyed 
bv comparing them to magnified 
Heuchera leaves, with glossy green upper 
surface, and ruddy bronze reverse. The 
edges of the leaves, which are deeply 
notched, incurve considerably, making 
a kind of cupped leaf, and also showing up 
the red reverse. It is a fit subject for 
pot culture, and makes exceedingly fine 
specimens if judiciously fed with super¬ 
phosphate of lime, a stimulant which 
suits it well. On the rockery it should 
be planted in a good-sized patch in a 
position where the sun may shine upon 
the leaves, for then it is that their rich 
lustre is most effective. Plenty of leaf 
mould should be worked into the soil, for 
this helps to retain moisture, which, so 
long as it is not stagnant, is what the 
plant enjoys. Peaty soil is also good, 
and the verges of Rhododendron beds 
may well be planted with Sax. Fortune). 
But here, of course, lime in any form 
should not be supplied, or the Rhododen¬ 
drons may suffer. 
Heather Bell. 
Readers are invited to contribute to this 
column short letters discussing any gar¬ 
dening subject. 
Letters must not exceed 1 50 words each in 
Cleaning Peach Trees. 
For removing scale and dirt from 
branches of Peach trees, I find nothing 
better than an old tooth brush. It is 
much quicker and handier than a pointed 
label. A weak paraffin solution should be 
used. Brush upwards the same way as 
the buds. It quickly fetches off all scale 
and dirt, and does not injure the buds: 
A. Whiteley. 
Yorks. 
Don’t Stop the Growth. 
When amateurs are transplanting little 
attention is paid to the damage that can be 
done to a plant at this stage by careless 
handling, so delaying the flowering 
period. The essential point in moving a 
plant to new quarters is always to keep the 
roots separate, as they are naturally 
found, and if a little more attention is 
given them, they will repay the trouble 
by flowering earlier and having better 
blooms. Roots should not be shoved in, 
as by so doing the fibres get squashed and 
rendered useless, and the plant has neces¬ 
sarily to throw out fresh roots to take the 
place of those destroyed, hence the delay,; 
Radix. 
Ilford. 
Adiantum formosum. 
This handsome, strong-growing Fern, 
when under proper cultivation, attains 
very large dimensions. It is one of the most 
ornamental Ferns in existence, and can 
be grown in the greenhouse very success¬ 
fully, but when treated as a stove Fern 
the sub-divisions of the fronds become 
larger, and the plants form much more 
handsome specimens. 1 find that a com¬ 
post of half loam, to which is added an 
equal quantity of leaf soil and peat, com¬ 
bined with a little charcoal and sand to 
keep the whole porous along with good 
drainage, suits it admirably, and where 
green is wanted for Chrysanthemums this 
variety does exceedingly well. It is a 
native of Australia, being very common 
in the neighbourhood of Port Jackson. 
Adiantum. 
Haddingtonshire- 
Myosotis in Saucers of Water. 
A very pretty and useful ornament can 
be made by using the above. Now, if the 
weather is open, take up as many plants 
as will be required, and taken largesaucer 
Or plate, and lay the roots across the bot¬ 
tom so that the tops overlap the edge. 
Then place a smaller saucer on top of the 
roots and fill the same as the last with 
plants, and continue with a smaller saucer 
until the required height is obtained. Fill 
each saucer with water, and see that they 
never get dry, or failure will follow. 
Place them in a sunny window or a cool; 
length , and must be written on one side 
of the f>aj>er only. 
Two Prizes of 2s. 6 d. each will be 
awa~ded each week for the two Letters 
which the Editor considers to be the best. 
greenhouse. By boring three holes tri¬ 
angularly in the bottom saucer it can be 
hung up. This gives a most pleasing 
effect, as, if properly attended to, the 
saucers will be hidden in flowers. 
CHAS; BENDALL. 
Henley-on-Thames. 
The Airing of Cold Frames. 
The majority' of amateurs, and also 
some gardeners, keep their cold frame- 
far too closely r shut. It seems to be for¬ 
gotten that the bulk of the plants that 
claim the protection of a cold trame dur¬ 
ing winter are really almost hardy, and 
that all that is required is to keep them 
in health until spring. In late autumn 
and winter we do not wish such plants to 
grow, merely to keep them sturdy, and the 
requisite growth will be made in spring. 
Admit air, therefore, on all occasior- 
when it is not actually' freezing. If the 
sashes are tilted about six inches at the 
back they may with advantage be left so 
night and day, even if it rains. By- this 
method of freely admitting air the plants 
become so hardy that but slight protection 
is necessary' when hard frost sets in. A 
single dry mat in ordinary' winters is suffi¬ 
cient. 
C. Blair. 
Linlithgow. 
Rhynchospermum jasminoides. 
Thjs is an old, but very elegant, plant, 
eminently useful for bouquet making, for 
home decoration, and last, but not least, 
for exhibition purposes. When used for 
exhibition it should be grown on wire 
balloon trellis, as it shows itself to more 
advantage on this than on any' other 
shaped trellis. When trained upon a 
small trellis it is an invaluable plant for 
early' forcing, and-a succession of its pure 
white flowers can be obtained from Janu¬ 
ary to June. It also makes an elegant 
rafter plant. The soil best suited for its 
culture is a mixture of loam and peat in 
equal parts, with a liberal addition of 
sand. It is of free growing scandent 
habit, and belongs to the same order as 
Allamanda (Apocynaceae). It has small 
shining, dark green leaves, and the 
flowers, which are pure white and deli¬ 
ciously fragrant, are produced in clusters. 
It is a native of Japan. 
E. J. S. 
Elstree. 
Pruning of Fruit Trees. 
Athough many' people favour summer 
pruning, yet, now that the leaves are off, 
the shape of the trees can be better seen 
than when in full foliage. Branches which 
cross one another can now be got at and 
one of them removed. The centre of the 
trees may be opened out, so as to allow 
