March 2, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
*47 
forming a beautiful and interesting pic¬ 
ture. 
(To be concluded.) 
Rquilegias. 
LONli SPURRED 
. . HYBRIDS. . . 
More than twenty years ago two very 
handsome species or forms of Aqui.egia 
were introduced from the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains, and immediately became very popu¬ 
lar. These were A. caerulea and A. chry- 
santha, the former being blue and white 
and the latter yellow. About that time 
growers proceeded to cross these two 
species, a matter of the greatest ease 
amongst this class of plants. The result 
was a great variety of colours, combining 
the characteristics of the two parents, and 
producing flowers having various com¬ 
binations of yellow, blue, purple, and 
bronzy purple. Ever once then they 
have frequently been crossed, either inten¬ 
tionally or by allowing the bees to do so 
in the field or garden where they were 
planted. They are of easy cultivation, 
and require to be treated much in tho 
same way as a biennial. The first yeai 
they are sown in March or a little later, 
transplanted into boxes when they have 
made a few leaves and ultimately planted 
in the open garden. Here they make 
sturdy little crowns, which keep on in¬ 
creasing, and by next spring produce a 
handsome crop of flowers. 
The accompanying illustration shows a 
number of vases of these hybrid Aquile- 
gias, showing how graceful they really are. 
There is nothing better for mixing with 
the flowers than their own foliage, which 
is of a light and graceful character. The 
stems are also slender, the upper portion 
more especially, so that each flower is held 
gracefully above the foliage. This ex¬ 
plains the popularity of this race of hybrid 
Aquilegias. They are equally suitable for 
garden decoration, but for cut flower pur¬ 
poses they are difficult to beat during their 
season, which is May and June. A large 
bed or patch can readily be obtained by 
seed sowing, and when these come into 
bloom the cultivator can cut and come 
again. The illustration shows a portion 
of the collection submitted to Her Majesty 
Queen Alexandra at Sandringham on 
June 19th last year by Messrs. Baker's, 
Wolverhampton, who have placed the illus¬ 
tration at our service. 
-- 
Sterilising Soil. —Where Tomatos 
are attacked by “Sleepy Disease” (Fus- 
arium Lycopersici), it is recommended 
that the soil in which the plants grow 
should be removed and sterilised. The 
best and most certain method of sterilis¬ 
ing soil is to place it in a heap on a naked 
ground, and not allow a weed of any kind 
to grow on it. When making the heap, 
place the soil in tiers about a foot thick: 
cover each tier with a layer one inch 
thick of equal parts of Kainit and quick¬ 
lime. The heap must be turned and 
dressed as directed three times during the 
year, and kept moist, as the resting-spores 
can only be destroyed when germinating. 
Baker's. 
A part of the collection of Aquilegias Messrs. Baker's had the 
honour to submit to Her Majesty Queen Alexandra, at Sandring¬ 
ham, June 19th, 1906. 
Saxifraga muscoides atropurpurea. Maclaren and Sons. 
tinted with red It is also of easier culti¬ 
vation, and more frequent in gardens 
than S. burseriana itself. Being a plant 
of such dense habit and having so short 
stems, it does not increase rapidly nor 
occupy much space. 
Propagation may be effected by 
separating the little stems and dibbling 
them into light, sandy soil, and placing 
the pots in a frame or under a hand- 
light till rooted. This may be accom¬ 
plished during summer, and fire heat is 
entirely unnecessary at any period of the 
year. This is one of the advantages of 
growing alpine plants. Through the 
courtesy of the Craven Nursery, Clap- 
ham, Lancaster, we are enabled to place 
an illustration of this cheerful early 
flowering gem before our readers. 
S. muscoides atropurpurea. 
The above is one of the mossy-leaved 
section, and indeed is one of the smallest 
and neatest in habit belonging to that 
section. When a suitable place is se¬ 
lected for it on the rockery it will cover 
a good space of ground during one sea¬ 
son, more especially if looked after in 
the matter of water during the first sea¬ 
son. The stems and leaves lie close to 
the ground, seldom, indeed, exceeding 
an inch above the surface. 
There are several varieties that come 
under the general name, S. muscoides, 
some of them with rather inconspicuous 
flowers both in the matter of size and 
'colour. Others again; are quite 'con¬ 
spicuous and interesting plants bn ac¬ 
count of their bright colours. The 
variety here named has dark purple 
flowers, which vary somewhat in colour. 
Specimens recently introduced from the 
continent, where it gows wild on the 
mountains, show more than one shade of 
colour. 
The accompanying illustration shows a 
patch where the bright purple; flowers 
just surmount the foliage and form a 
bright spot where it was grown. Some 
variation in the patches may be made 
according to the arrangement or build¬ 
ing of the rockery, and large stones may 
with advantage appear at different points, 
and the plant will then proceed to occupy 
the whole of the available space, thus 
