134 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 23, 1907. 
class I would term intermediate house hinds, 
the hybrids from those above mentioned 
grow satisfactorily, some of these, such as 
C. youngianum superbum, C. W. R. Lee 
and its variety, Lord Derby, being amongst 
the best of exhibition varieties. The species 
C. niveum, C. bellatulum, C. lawrencea- 
num, C. Curtisii, and others belonging to 
the variegated or tessellated foliage section, 
may be included; also the hybrid derived 
from the influence of one or both parents of 
this section. Most of these will be included 
among the summer flowering kinds and will 
thus be useful for local exhibitions. They 
require shading from strong light during the 
warm mor hs of the .year, but I propose 
dealing witn the subject of shading later on. 
The claims of the cool house section, 
which includes C. insigne in its many varia¬ 
tions, I have advocated often in past num¬ 
bers of the “ Gardening World.” They are 
simply what may be termed everybody’s 
Orchids. It is satisfactory to find that their 
claims to general cultivation are annually 
being more appreciated. It is at this season 
as soon as the flowers have been removed, 
that any necessary repotting should be at¬ 
tended to, but it is not desirable to annually 
repot this section; where the material is 
in good condition and the plant has not 
become pot-bound for want of root room, 
it will be found sufficient to remove any 
dead or decajung matter about them and to 
replenish any surface compost that may be 
decaying and replace with new material. 
Plants that require repotting, should be 
afforded ample root room, as they soon fill 
the pots with roots. Drainage to about one- 
third the depth of the pot is essential. The 
compost should consist of equal portions 
of fibrous peat, turfy loam and chopped 
sphagnum, with sufficient sand and finely 
broken potsherds, intermixed, to render the 
whole porous. Press moderately firm and 
complete repotting, with a thin layer of 
chopped sphagnum moss on the surface. 
Water with rain water, thoroughly wetting 
the compost through. The temperature of 
the house should be kept on the close side 
for a few days after repotting has been done. 
H. J. Chapman. 
Sweet ] 
^eas. 
L 
WORK 
: 0R FEBRUARY. 
If the Editor will excuse a personal al¬ 
lusion, I should like to preface my re¬ 
marks by saying how pleased I am to be 
able again to write for the readers of the 
Gardening World on this most fascinat¬ 
ing subject— the Sweet Pea. No other 
flower within recent years has created any¬ 
thing like the enthusiasm that moves the 
lovers of the Sweet Pea. 
In spite of wintry weather, hopes are 
already running high, and plans for future 
beauties have already 'been formulated.. 
The majority of those who intend to ex¬ 
hibit have planted their seeds under glass, 
for the end of January or the beginning 
of February seems to be the favourite time 
for sowing the seeds where this end is in 
view. Those who have not the opportunity 
of adopting this method of culture, how¬ 
ever, need not despair, for excellent re¬ 
sults can be obtained from spring sow¬ 
ings, provided that they are made early, 
and the ground is well prepared. 
Those who have had the advantage of 
being able to sow under glass should take 
special care that when the seedlings push 
their way through the soil they are not 
coddled. Abundance of air and light 
should be given, and the young plants 
kept as near as possible to the glass. The 
seedlings resent any attempt to force them 
along by means of heat. 
If the ground which is to be devoted 
to Sweet Peas has not yet been prepared, 
steps should be taken as soon as the soil 
is in a fit condition for working. It is 
certainly an advantage if the ground can 
be trenched, but if this is impossible, as, 
indeed, in many cases it will be, the soil 
should be dug over in the ordinary man¬ 
ner, and a good dressing of well-decayed 
cow or horse manure incorporated. Of 
these two manures, cow seems to be the 
more suitable on sandy soils. It is wise, 
in most cases, to thoroughly mix the man¬ 
ure with the soil, and not, as is sometimes 
done, to leave a solid layer several inches 
thick. Sweet Peas benefit also by a dress¬ 
ing of superphosphate of lime or bone 
meal. These should be thoroughly 
sprinkled over the surface of the soil and 
forked in. 
When we come to the selection of varie¬ 
ties, we are dealing with a subject of the 
very greatest importance, for when inferior 
varieties are grown, results are almost cer¬ 
tain to be comparatively disappointing. 
For example, Blanche Burpee—a most 
valuable variety in its day— might be 
grown exceedingly well and yet be in¬ 
ferior to even a moderately grown Dorothy 
Eckford. 
Of course, many of our very finest varie¬ 
ties are new, and rather expensive, and for 
that reason beyond the purse of many an 
amateur. On the other hand, it is a 
pleasing fact that some of the very best 
are obtainable at such reasonable prices 
as to place them within the reach of all. 
Of the latter, I would name the following 
as being the best:- Dorothy Eckford 
(white), Lady Grizel Hamilton (lavender), 
Black Knight (maroon). King Edward 
VII. (crimson), Mrs. Walter Wright 
(mauve), Miss Willmott (orange pink), 
Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon (cream), Agnes 
Johnson (cream pink), Jeannie Gordon 
(rose and pink bicolor), and Navy Blue 
and Countess Spencer (pink). The last- 
mentioned is a magnificent variety, and 
distinctlv superior to Gladys Unwin, but 
the reader should make certain that he ob¬ 
tains a true stock, otherise he would pro¬ 
bably be more satisfied with Gladys Un¬ 
win. Janet Scott is about the finest of 
the unwaved pinks. America, Jessie 
Cuthbertson, and Princess of Wales are 
three good striped varieties. 
Of the newer varieties at fairly reason¬ 
able prices, Queen Alexandra (scarlet), 
Henry Eckford (salmon orange), John 
Ingman (rosy carmine), and Helen Lewis 
(rosv orangel are excellent, and ought 
really to be grown by all. Great care 
should be taken to obtain the best possible 
strains of the two last-mentioned of these 
varieties, for there is no doubt that many 
unfixed strains are being offered. Helen 
Pierce, a new marbled blue variety, can 
be highly recommended, as it is much 
superior to any of the striped varieties. 
Sybil Eckford, cream, shaded buff and 
pink, is also good. 
As to which varieties constitute the best 
twelve, including both old and new, there 
is probably great difference of opinion, 
but I venture the following selection 
Mrs. Hardcastle Sykes, Olive Bolton, Mrs. 
Collier, Nora Unwin, Frank Dolby, John 
Ingman, Helen Lewis, Horace Wright, 
Black Knight, A. J. Cook, Queen Alex¬ 
andra, and Henry Eckford. Exhibitors 
generally find it advisable to grow a few 
more varieties than they really require, so 
I would name Countess Spencer and King 
Edward VII. In these fourteen varieties, 
three of the Countess Spencer type of pink 
are included, but as only two would be re¬ 
quired in a collection of twelve varieties, I 
should select Mrs. Hardcastle Sykes and 
Olive Bolton, for besides being of a some¬ 
what larger size than the original Countess 
Spencer, they show a good range of shade, 
the first being a very pale, add the second 
a very deep pink. 
It is very probable, howevei, that when 
this meets the reader’s eye, both Mrs. H. 
Sykes and Olive Bolton wall be absolutely 
sold out from all sources, so great has 
been the demand for them. If, then, they 
are unobtainable, I should recommend 
Countess Spencer and Paradise as being 
the best two of about eight pink varieties 
of the Countess Spencer form. 
With regard to the inclusion of Nora 
Unwin and A. J. Cook, I may add that 
Dorothy Eckford and Mrs. Walter Wright 
are two varieties which some consider to 
be equal to the two I have selected. The 
latter two are certainly well tried varie¬ 
ties. 
Two other varieties which seem good are 
Queen of Spain, exceedingly beautiful 
though small, and E. C. Matthews, whicf 
may suqrass Black Knight. 
G. F. Drayson. 
-- 
The Blancard Fund. 
In answer to my appeal in the gar 
dening Press on behalf of the grand 
daughters of M. Pierre Blancard, wh< 
introduced the first Chrysanthemum int< 
Europe over a century ago, the foilowin; 
is a further list of donations received u] 
to date :— 
£ s. d. 
An old Subscriber . 500 
Scottish Horticultural Asso¬ 
ciation . 220 
T. Biddu.lph . 5 0 
C. W. 2 6 
C. Harman Payne, Foreign Secretary 
National Chrysanthemum Society, 14 1 
Wellmeadow Road, Catford, S.E. 
-- 
Arrangement of Flowers. —Som 
florists recommend that in the arrangi 
ment of flowers in a garden, blue flowet 
be placed next to orange, and violet net 
to yellow. Red and pink flowers ai 
seen to great advantage when surrounde 
by verdure and white flowers, and tb 
latter may also be advantageously dispose 
among groups of blue and orange an 
violet and yellow flowers. 
