THE GARDENING WORLD. 
225 
The Flower Garden 
March 30, 1907. 
squired. Healthy bushes are seldom at- 
icked. 
OME PROFITABLE VARIETIES:— 
Green and Yellow. —Early Sulphur, 
i.angley Beauty, Leveller, Pitmaston 
A ^-stemmed Cordon Gooseberry. 
Ireengage, Whitesmith, Yellow Cham- 
agne. 
RED —Crown Bob, London Red, War- 
ington Red, Whinham’s Industry. 
All are equally good for cooking and 
lessert; the last-named is, perhaps, the 
nost popular of all. 
W. H. Morton. 
-♦♦♦- 
Cardiff and County H.S. 
The financial statement of the Cardiff and 
iounty Horticultural Society, presented at 
he annual meeting, showed that the income 
(.mounted to ,£1,075 an d the_expenditure'to 
{I870. The balance in hand was ,£205. The 
lates fixed for this year’s show are July 
>4th and 25th. 
Sreat Eastern Hailway Company's Em¬ 
ployees’ Horticultural Society (Lon¬ 
don District). 
A society with the above title has been 
: ormed by the men employed in the various 
lepartments of the Great Eastern Railway 
lompany, who occupy allotments in the 
lenden and suburban districts. The presi- 
ient and vice-president are officials of the 
ailway company. Exhibitions will be held 
innually, the first taking place at the Strat¬ 
ford Mechanics’ Institute, on July 25th next. 
•Ir. C. H. Dobberson, of 36, .Kingston Road, 
Iford, Essex, is the hon. secretary. 
National Carnation and Picotee Society 
(Southern Section). 
The 30th annual report of this society for 
:qo6, just published, states that a balance of 
£9 7 15 s - 3d. is carried forward to 1907, as 
jigainst £71 14s. in 1906, and that the 
lumber of new members more than; counter¬ 
balances those lost by deaths and withdrawals 
:rom the society. The next exhibition will 
, ^ held at the Royal Horticultural Hall, 
1 destminster, on July 24th, when a large 
lumber of prizes will be offered for com¬ 
petition. Intending competitors, and those 
j vho would like to join this society, should 
I -end to the hon. secretary and treasurer, 
^ T - T. E. Henwood, Auricula Villa, 16, 
Hamilton Road, Ealing, for a copy of the 
annual report and schedule. 
fn Exquisite Fern. 
Visitors to the last exhibition at West¬ 
minster of the R.H.S. greatly admired the 
many splendid specimens staged by 
vlessrs. Rochfort of their new and won¬ 
drous Fern, Nephrolepis todeavides. 
Cupid Sweet Peas. 
As a Sweet Pea lover, I could not help 
feeling interested in the recent competition 
letter dealing with Cupid Sweet Peas. I 
have frequently referred to this type, and 
as “A. V. M.” remarks, the Cupids have 
'not received the attention they merit, save 
in the country of their origin. There are 
now two dozen separately named sorts, but 
there are about 40 colours obtainable in mix¬ 
ture. I think “A V. M.” must be a new 
reader or he would have seen the references 
to Bush Sweet-Peas. 
Bush Sweet Peas. 
This type, which is also of American 
origin, came out seven or eight years ago, 
and there are now about 14 varieties, al¬ 
though the mixed strain contains about 40 
colours. The Bush Sweet Peas grow 2^ ft. 
to 3 ft. high, but the flowers are smaller 
than those of the taller sorts. 
Overhauling Tools, etc. 
Now that the season has so far advanced, 
it is a good plan to make sure that all tools 
are in working order. I have just been 
sharpening my hoes with a file, tightening 
loose handles, soldering leaky water cans, 
etc. The latter is truly a game of patience, 
if the can happens to be rather old. 
Why cannot manufacturers turn out non- 
rusting bottoms? The ordinary galvanised 
can is little, if any, better than the painted 
can in this respect. 
Lawn -Rolling. 
Although the sun is gaining power, it is 
not warm enough to potter about in one’s 
shirtsleeves, unless a jab that calls for exer¬ 
tion is being done. If the wind is such as 
to make you sigh for the fireside, get out 
the roller and give the lawn a good doing. 
Turf, either old or newly-laid, cannot have 
too much of it. 
Seedlings. 
Give careful attention to seedlings now 
appearing in frames. Unless ventilation be 
good there will be wholesale damping off, 
especially among Stocks and Asters. If the 
soil in the .seed boxes tends to turn green, 
give a slight dusting with lime. It will 
be advisable to shade the frames when the 
sun is up, but let it be only a temporary 
shading. Seedlings must have plenty of 
light, or they will become drawn and weakly. 
Dielytra spectabilis. 
Things are beginning to wake up outside 
now. In all directions border plants are 
pushing up- strongly. I would point out 
that that beautiful plant, Dielytra specta- 
bilis, has not yet learned to hold itself in 
check. It always commences to gfow early, 
and not infrequently gets cut down by frost. 
Give it some protection if severe frosts are 
likely to visit. 
Border Chrysanthemums. 
Now is a very good time to split up 
border or early Chrysanthemums. The 
shoots are pushing up strongly, so that one 
may easily divide. When the plants have 
but one stem, and an increase of stock is 
desired, the removal of the sheets and strik¬ 
ing them in a frame is the only means of 
propagation. Slugs are extremely partial to 
Chrysanthemum shoots, therefore ward them 
off by dusting plenty of soot round the 
t roots. Vaporite is also a first rate preven¬ 
tive against slug attacks. 
Carnations. 
Carnation spot is still with us I find, 
and I have been busy removing affected 
foliage, afterwards spraying with weak Bor¬ 
deaux mixture. There are several proprie¬ 
tary remedies for these fungoid troubles, 
and they save a lot of bother. 
Rose Pruning. 
One may begin to think about Rose prun¬ 
ing now. Deal with the coarser growing 
sorts first of all. Never be in a hurry when 
pruning Roses. Don’t cut with the knife 
only. Use bra ; ns more than a little, and 
always cut back until the pith shows green. 
Aim at getting the topmost bud outwards. 
After pruning climbers, bend them over 
somewhat to induce growths all up the stem. 
When tied up straight away, the uppermost 
buds break away, leaving the lower ones 
dormant, and so the plants eventually be¬ 
come bare at the base. By bending the 
stems down, the flow of sap is checked, 
and all the buds get on the move. 
Gladioli. 
Gladioli planting should no longer be 
delayed. These bulbs when left in the 
ground commence to root early, but it is not 
usually safe to leave them unlifted. When 
storing seedlings and bulbils I have placed 
them in a pot of sand and buried them a 
foot under ground. This prevents the little 
cormlets from drying out, or hardening to 
such an extent that they are late in starting. 
I usually find when lifting in mid-March 
these little corms are commencing to grow, 
which suggests that it is natural for Gladioli 
to start early. 
Sowing Primroses. 
The present is a good time to sow Prim¬ 
roses in boxes, placing the same in a cold 
frame. Primrose seed is slow to germinate, 
so that an early sowing is essential. No 
garden should be without a good stock of 
these beautiful spring flowers. Half-hardy 
annuals may now be sown in a cold frame. 
Planting Out. 
Planting out of such subjects aa Pentste- 
mons, Carnations, Hollyhocks, etc., should 
no longer be delayed. Violas and Pansies, 
too, should be in position by now. Do not, 
however, follow the crazy advice of plant¬ 
ing Violas among the Roses. Roses want 
all the air and manure possible, and it is 
unifair to expeat good Rases if the ground is 
carpeted with creeping plants. Rose beds 
must either be mulched or hoed, not covered 
with plants. 
Plant out Phloxes and other herbaceous 
things if they are arriving from the nur¬ 
serymen. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Insect Pest. 
Insect pests will soon be worrying here. 
The dreadful Apple sucker, Psylla Mali, 
destroys millions of Apple blossoms every 
year, while many people blame frost for the 
damage. Where winter spraying has been 
done therp is not so much danger of attack, 
but where the fly is known to be prevalent 
Quassia extract should be sprayed over the 
trees. Use it just as the buds are opening. 
2 lbs. of Quassia chips, if soaked 12 hours 
and then boiled for two hours, will make 
25 gallons. A. pound or so of soft soap 
should be added. Paraffin emulsion is also 
