February 9, 1907. THE GARDENING WORLD. 
the bud state), Cornflowers, Scabious, Mig¬ 
nonette, Calliopsis bicolor, Chrysanthemum 
carinatum in variety, and C. coronarium. 
Biennials that would be valuable for cut 
flower work would be Sweet William, Cam¬ 
panula pyramidalis, Canterbury Bells, East 
Lothian Stocks (sown in August and kept in 
a cold frame during winter), Wallflowers 
(sown in May), Antirrhinums, and Coreop¬ 
sis grandiflora. Some of these are really 
perennials; in fact, most of them, (but they 
give most satisfaction when grown as bi¬ 
ennials. 
ROSES. 
1509. Pruning Roses. 
I wish to know how to prune the follow¬ 
ing Roses—that is to say, how far back :—- 
Duchess of Portland, Margaret Dickson, and 
Mrs. John Laing. (Trailus, Essex). 
The above Roses should be pruned about 
the end of March. First look over the 
bushes and cut away all dead wcod and re¬ 
move those shoots which cress one another 
or make a confused bush. You can then 
proceed to shorten those that are to be left. 
Duchess of Portland is a Hybrid Tea of 
moderate growth, and chiefly valuable for 
exhibition purposes. Strong shoots or 
suckers that come up from the base should 
be shortened to 8 in. The side shoots that 
come from the previous year’s wood may 
be shortened back to two or three eyes, se¬ 
lecting one which points outwards, or away 
from the centre of the bush. The suckers 
of Margaret Dickson may be left 9 In. to 
12 in. long, according to their strength. 
Side shoots that come from older woed are 
usually weaker and shorter, and may be 
shortened back to three of four buds, accord¬ 
ing to their strength. Mrs. John Laing may 
be treated much in the same way as the last- 
named. Being recently planted, and pre. 
■ sumably young plants, they will consist 
chiefly or solely of youn.g shoots from the 
base. The longer ones may be dealt with 
as directed, but those that are too weak to 
bear flowers may be cut down to a bud or 
two near the base to advantage. 
1510. Sweet Scented Roses. 
Would you kindly name the most beauti¬ 
ful outdoor dwarf Roses for growing in 
this district (Manchester)? I have tried 
j Bessie Brown but it would not open so have 
taken it up and desire to put one in its 
place. I should like it to be sweet-scented, 
long-pointed, free-flowering, and hardy. It 
might be H.P., H.T., or T., or give me a 
choice of three, as we have about thirty 
Rose trees, and you might name some that 
we have already got, but we yvant the best. 
We are well out in the country, and it is 
not smoky here. (The Most Lovely Rose.) 
Your description of requirements in a 
r Rose are numerous and, as it happens to be, 
rather exacting. No doubt, in the near 
future, some varieties will be obtained com¬ 
bining all those qualities, but scent is very 
often lacking from the best-fermed Roses. 
W e have given most attention to scent, but 
it does not follow that we can get long- 
pointed flowers having that quality. The 
I greatest number of strongly scented Roses 
belong to the H.P.’s, where fragrance has 
j chiefly been derived from Rosa gallica, and 
to a smaller extent R. damascena. La 
j France (H.T.) is one of the best for all pur- 
, poses, but it is not very decidedly pointed 
in bud. Mme. Isaac Perriere (Bourbon'; is 
a very hardy pale carmine and fragrant 
Rose, chiefly suitable for garden decoration. 
Cherry Ripe (H.T.) has cerise-crimson 
1 flowers and fragrance. Senateur Vai=se 
(H.P.) is a highly fragrant crimson Rose, 
best in the autumn. A delightfully scented and 
scarce Rose, of a silvery pink, is Zephirine 
Drouhin (Bourbon); it is also thornless. If 
you leave out the question of decided fra¬ 
grance, you might get Liberty (H.T.), a 
splendid buttonhole Rose, of velvety crimson. 
Mme. Pernet-Ducher is a handsome pale 
yellow, free flowering Rose, with long- 
pointed buds. Mme. Jules Grolez has sil¬ 
very Rose, long-pointed buds, and comes best 
in autumn. 
TREES AND SHRUBS. 
1511. White Flowered Climber. 
Will you kindly name the enclosed 
creeper? It produces white flowers. Should 
I cut it back now or in the spring ? It does 
not seem to be quite hardy. Any informa¬ 
tion will be thankfully received. (B. Ai.i.en, 
Berks). 
The climber of which you sent us speci¬ 
mens is Solanum jasminoides, and is, as 
ycu say, somewhat tender, although many 
succeed in growing it out of doors in the 
more favoured parts of the country. In 
the far north we have seen it killed during 
very severe winters. To guard against this 
you should have it in rather light, well- 
drained soil, where the roots will not be 
likely to suffer during winter. This also 
favours the ripening of the wood, making 
it hardier. About the middle of March you 
may cut away all the long drcoping or lcose 
stems, for which you have no room on the 
wall. Indeed, while pruning it you should 
lay in as many stems as ycu have room for 
on the wall, about 6 in. apart, and then 
cut away all the remainder. Side shoots 
may be cut back to one good bud at the 
base. The plant flowers at the end of wood 
made during the summer. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
1512. Planting Out Old Stools. 
I have had several plants (not rcoted cut¬ 
tings), all outdoor Chrysanthemums, given 
me. They have been cut down and put into 
a temporary "bed (practically the reverse- of 
the bed described in my second query on the 
other side of the wall—that is, facing south). 
They are making fresh shoots. Will you 
kindly tell me (i) when they should be moved 
to their flowering quarters, and (2) if I can 
take cuttings from them, bearing in mind 
that I have no glass whatever? (Pook., 
Northants.). 
(1) We should regard the old plants simply 
as a ready means of affording us cuttings, 
though if you have plenty of space there is 
no reason why you should not have some 
large Ibushes as well as young plants. We 
should not disturb the old stools until the 
weather is beginning to get a little settled 
in March, when growth in Chrysanthemums, 
even outdoors, commences again 10 grow 
away freely. (2) If the suckers have come 
up at all freely, it would be well to thin 
out some of them. Indeed, towards the end 
of March use these thinnings as cuttings, 
inserting them either in pots singly or in 
boxes of fairly light soil, leaf mould and 
sand. Stand the boxes or pots in, a sunny 
position sheltered from the north and east, 
and if you manage them carefully in the 
matter of watering, they should produce 
roots readily. Remember that you can al¬ 
ways elevate panes of glass over the pots 
or boxes to throw off the rain. The glass 
will also assist in the rooting of the plants. 
1513. Early Flowering Chrysanthemums. 
I shall be greatly obliged if you will tell 
me which you consider quite the earliest 
flowering (Chrysanthemums for outdoors— 
white or crimson? I believe there are many 
which should flower in August. (M- C. F., 
Sussex). 
105 
There are quite a number of them that 
flower in August, continuing through Sep¬ 
tember, but they are not all crimson or 
white. A selection of dark-coloured ones 
flowering in August are : Crimson Marie 
Masse (bronzy crimson), Gustave Grunner- 
wald (pink). Harvest Home (bronzy red), 
and Louis Lemaire (rosy bronze). White 
varieties flowering in August are : Holmes’ 
White, Mme. C. Perrier (creamy white, tin¬ 
ted pink), Mme. C. Desgranges, l’arisiana, 
Ralph Curtis, White Flora, and Longfellow. 
The two latter are Pompon Chrysanthemums, 
but all the rest belong to the large, early 
flowering section. 
VEGETABLES. 
1514. How to Grow Asparagus. 
1 would like to know all about the culti¬ 
vation of Asparagus. I sowed seed last 
March. Should I transfer the seedlings to 
a new bed this year ? I f so, what treatment 
is necessary in the preparation of the bed ? 
(B. Feehan, Cork.) 
We should net transplant one-year old 
seedlings, but wait another year, when the 
plants will lift even better and be more 
nearly of a size to give a return in the fol¬ 
lowing year. If you have plenty of plants, 
you should see that they do not come up too 
thickly, and if so, a good plan would be to 
thin them out at least 3 in. apart. In the 
autumn you could set about preparing beds 
for their reception. If the ground is fairly 
light, you can trench it 2 ft. deep and manure 
it freely, using fairly well decayed cow 
manure. On the other hand, if the soil is 
heavy, you can use sand and leaf mould 
freely. If the soil is entirely' of a heavy 
character, inclined to clay, a better plan 
would be to remove it altogether to the depth 
of rS inches cr 2 feet. Put some rough 
drainage in the bottom of the bed consisting 
of brickbats and crocks, and see that there 
is an outlet to any water which may’ collect 
in the beds. A layer of turf may be put 
over the drainage, or some turfy material, 
and then the beds filled up with soil of a 
rich, light character, such as that from be¬ 
neath the potting benches, from heaps of 
decaying vegetable matter, such as garden 
weeds, to which you might add a gcod quan¬ 
tity of ashes from the smother heap cf 
burned prunings. In April the plants may 
then, be lifted and planted out in the beds 
prepared fer them, making the lines about 
18 in. apart and the plants 12 in. apart in 
the lines. 
1515. Vegetable Marrows and Cucumbers. 
I am anxious about the cultivation of 
Vegetable Marrows, Cucumbers, and To- 
matos in the open ground, and the names of 
any you would recommend. (B. Feehan, 
Cork.) 
Vegetable Marrows grew quickly, so that 
it is hardly necessary to sew them earlier 
than, the beginning of April to plant out 
some time in (May. The seeds should, of 
course, be sown in heat, and if the seeds 
are placed singly in small pots you will 
be able to give them a shift into a larger 
pot before planting them cut. If you have 
deep, rich soil in the open garden, you can 
plant them there, but if the soil is of a 
heavy nature, a good plan, would be to 
take out a large hole where you intend to 
put in a Marrow and put in plenty of cow 
manure, mixing it thoroughly with the soil. 
If you have hand-lights or bell-glasses, 
place these over the Marrows to give them 
a gcod start. A dwarf variety is Early' 
White Bush. Running stemmed varieties 
are Long White Ribbed and Long Green 
Ribbed. Ridge Cucumbers may be treated 
much in the same way as vegetable Marrows. 
Stockwocd’s Long Ridge and Wood’s Im¬ 
proved are good varieties for growing out 
