THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 5, 1907. 
Palm of China, consisting of canvas, 
which keeps off snow and rain to some 
extent, and prevents the leaves from being 
battered about by the wind. Some such 
covering would probably answer in this 
case, and cost but little. 
Plants which thrive in the open air soon 
reach the flowering stage and then become 
stately and interesting, though the flowers 
are too dark in colour to be very con¬ 
spicuous. The stems of strong plants, 
however, attain a considerable height, 
and the ornamental effect of the plant is 
considerably increased. When stove 
plants were more popular than they are 
at present, the variegated forms of the 
New Zealand Flax were to be found in 
almost every garden, and well-grown 
plants were frequent at exhibitions. 
There is all the more reason, therefore, 
for an extended culture of the plant in 
the open air, and the green one would be 
less liable to injury or disfigurement than 
the variegated ones. In the milder 
parts of the country, however, the leaves 
keep more or less ornamental all the year, 
and the plant is most effective in the 
neighbourhood of streams, ponds, and 
other sheets of ornamental water. 
The accompanying illustration repre¬ 
sents the Powerscourt variety of the New 
Zealand Flax. It w?.s introduced to this 
country, or rather to Ireland, by the late 
Viscount Powerscourt, whose garden is 
at Powerscourt, Enniskerry, Wicklow. 
The photograph was taken in this garden 
by Miss S. M. Wallace. The variety differs 
from the tvpe in having narrower and 
much more rigid leaves. The plant is 
also hardier, and blossoms more freely 
than the parent, or at all events this has 
been the experience at Powerscourt. 
-- 
The Blancard Fund. 
In answer to my appeal in the garden¬ 
ing Press on behalf of the grand-daughters 
of M. Pierre Blancard, who introduced 
the first Chrysanthemum into Europe over 
a century ago (see page 890 of the Gar¬ 
dening World), the following is a 
further list of donations received up to 
date:— £ 
s. 
d. 
P. Ralli Esq. 
3 0 
O 
FI. Cannell and Sons. 
10 
O 
Rev. Norman Campbell. 
5 
O 
Mr. G. S. Addison. 
2 
6 
Mr. H. Watts . 
2 
O 
W.S. 
I 
O 
Mr. F. Mason . 
I 
O 
Mr. North . 
I 
O 
Collected by Mr. Jewry . 
!3 
O 
C. Harman Payne, Foreign 
Secretary 
. National Chrysanthemum Society, 141, 
Wellmeadow Road, Catford ,, S.E. 
PRIZE LETTER COMPETITION. 
Readers are invited to contribute to this 
column short letters discussing any gar¬ 
dening subject. 
Letters must not exceed 150 words each in 
Watering Plants in Dull Weather. 
Many novices make great mistakes by 
giving plants in frames and houses too 
much moisture in dull weather. Air at 
any temperature can only hold a certain 
quantity of watery vapour, and as plants 
are continually transpiring the moisture 
contained in the soil through their leaves, 
the inside atmosphere becomes overladen 
with water particles and condensation 
takes place. Therefore by limiting the 
amount of water supplied to the roots, the 
air becomes less saturated, and a healthier 
growth is the result. Whenever possible, 
the frames or houses should have lights 
open, especially during the middle of the 
day, and when the sun is shining. Water¬ 
ing should also be undertaken during the 
morning hours, when necessary, and care 
exercised so as not to spill any on the 
shelves or floors. Fewer plants will rhus 
succumb to damp and cold combined, a 
state so detrimental to healthy growth. 
Chippenham. Albert A. Kerridge 
Shizanthus New Dwarf Hybrids. 
To lovers of the above I would strongly 
recommend this variety. March is early 
enough to sow the first batch. When the 
seedlings show their second leaves they 
should be pricked off singly into 2in. pots, 
and placed on a shelf in a temperature of 
60 deg. In a week's time they can be 
transferred to cooler quarters as they get 
drawn if left long in the warm house. 
Pot on when the roots show through the 
soil as they dislike being bound ; 5m. pots 
I find suit them. Place a neat stake to each 
plant, and keep them near the glass, and 
you will have plants 15ms. high, and a 
mass of bloom by the end of May. They 
should be grouped in their colours when 
placed in the conservatory. As the 
weather gets warmer they can be stood 
outside in their flowering pots. I find this 
variety equal to Wisetonensis, and 
one can have double the plants at half the 
cost. • 
Caltonmore. 
Sutherlandshire. 
Sutton's Amateur's Guide. — This, 
annual publication is again on our table, 
and must be of sendee to amateurs and 
professional gardeners alike. The work 
this year is printed on paper that has 
done full justice to the large and life-like 
photographs of flowers and vegetables. 
The Pea-pods are marvels of reproduc¬ 
tion, every feature that is patent to the 
eye being discernible. The floral pictures 
are marvels of the art of photography and 
reproduction. Large and small illustra¬ 
tions are equally perfect. Cultural and 
other information is freely given. It 
may be obtained of Messrs. Sutton and 
Sons, Reading, for is. post free. 
length , and must be written on one side 
of the paper only. 
T wo Prizes of 2s. 6d. each will be 
awa~ded each week for the two Letters 
which the Editor considers to be the best. 
The Best Bait for all kinds of Slugs. 
Not long ago I had occasion to set a 
trap for mice, and I baited that trap with 
oatmeal, which is a common bait for mice ; 
but this is where I found my slug bait. 
In the morning on examining the trap I 
had one mouse and the other two holes t 
in the trap were emptied of the meal and 
the trap was not strung. So I noticed the 
mark of a snail over the house and I re¬ 
solved to have a try. So I put a pinch of 
oatmeal near the trap, and at 10 p.m. I 
took my lamp and went to see if there was 
any word of the slug, and there, to my 
great astonishment, were two big snails 
with their stomachs swelled out going for 
the meal. That was amongst Maidenhair 
Ferns, where one would almost think it 
would take a good advertisement to take 
them away from. So I put a pinch of the 
oatmeal all through the houses, and went 
round with the light at 10 p.m. for three 
consecutive nights and killed slugs by the 
dozen. 1 would strongly advise everyone 
troubled with slugs to try' this, and it costs 
little. 
Archibald Mackerracher. 
Forcing Rhubarb Outside. 
It is with some diffidence that I venture 
ta approach this subject after reading the 
excellent and practical article in The 
Gardening World, November 17th, 
page 830, but I find from experience that 
the following system, although partly 
similar, is not only quicker, but more 
profitable. Strong roots 2 years old 
should be dug up at once and left on the 
ground for a month fully exposed to frost. 
Dig out 2 feet of soil and replace with 
fresh stable manure and a thin layer of 
soil. Plade the root in position, over it 
a forcing pot or tub, and round it, inside 
and outside, sufficient fermenting 
material. It will be found that the re¬ 
action in the roots, after the effects of the 
frost upon them, promotes quick growth, 
the forcing process being accelerated, and 
the produce ready for use in much less 
time. 
Rha 
Large Onions. 
To obtain a supply of large Onions for 
ordinary purposes, when a special variety 
is of no great importance and space 
limited, a good and cheap plan is. to pre¬ 
pare the ground in the ordinary way for 
spring planting, and instead of sowing 
seed in the autumn, obtain as early as 
possible a quantity of spring Onions, as 
sold by the greengrocer. M/hen these 
can be purchased very small and un - 
washed, so much the better, and a penny 
will buy between one .and two hundred" 
These should be carefully planted, and a 
good supply of large bulbs will be ob¬ 
tained. Spring Onions are the thinnings 
of autumn-sown seed. 
Onion. 
Red Spider. 
Red spider (Tetranychus telariug) is out 
of the most dreaded enemies the gardene 
has to contend with. This is not really ; 
spider, though called so, but a suctoria 
mite, which can hardly be seen with thi 
naked eye, unless when in somewhat grea 
numbers. Its colour varies somewha 
fiom a light brown to a bright red 
Though not actually a spider, it spins ; 
fi:m or very fine web under the leave 
which it attacks, and when a plant i 
suffering from an attack of this harassing 
pest the leaves soon become a yelfowisl 
green, and if not quickly eradicated, 1 
will soon cause all the leaves to be un 
sightly, followed by defoliation of thi 
