April 13, 1907. 
THE GARDENING 
WORLD. 
261 
(clay soil originally)? (Freda, Northamp¬ 
tonshire). 
Hardy British Ferns, particularly -the 
larger growing ones, are not very particular 
as to soil provided it keeps fairly moist. 
Clay soils are very liable to get dry and 
baked in summer in southern districts, es¬ 
pecially in dry seasons. Your first object, 
therefore, should be to improve the soil so 
that it will keep more regularly moist dur¬ 
ing summer when the Ferns are making 
their growth. Beat and leaf mould in con¬ 
siderable quantity, if mixed with soil, would 
lorm a considerable improvement and enable 
the soil to hold the moisture. Trenching the 
border before it is planted would likewise 
have a great effect in keeping it 
moist during summer. If you have any 
difficulty in getting peat or leaf mould to 
mix throughout the depth of the trench you 
could work them into the top spit only. 
We select, a .number of Ferns that are easily 
grown to begin with. There are many beau¬ 
tifully crested and otherwise distinct varie¬ 
ties that would grow under the same con. 
ditions, but as they are a little more expen¬ 
sive it would be well to experiment with 
common kinds at first. Verv vigorous-grow¬ 
ing Ferns are Lastrea Filix-mas, L. 'F.-m. 
cristata, L. goldieana, Polystichum angu- 
lare, P. a. proliferum, P. aculeatum, • 
iitruthiopteris germanica, the Lady Fern 
(Athyrium Filix-foemina), A. F.-f. plumo- 
sum, A. F.-f. Victoriae, and others of that 
kind, which .are .tall or strong-growing 
Ferns varying from iS in. to 4 ft. or more 
according to vigour. Dwarf-growing Ferns 
about a foot high or somewhat higher are 
Scolopendrium vulgare, S. v. cristatum, S. 
v. crispum, Blechnum Spicant, B. alpinum. 
Polypodium vulgare cambricum, P. v. semi- 
lacerum, and other varieties which you may 
fancy or can procure. The shade should 
not be too dense, otherwise the Ferns will 
lack much in vigour and therefore in beauty. 
If trees or shrubs come too low down they 
should be pruned up to a certain height for 
the benefit of the Ferns. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
1717. Treatment of Paeonies. 
I have some plants of Paeonies which 1 
should like to produce a good display. If 
I were to cover the ground about them with 
cow manure would this bring them on ? 
(!'•• W. H., Kent). 
Cow manure would be serviceable in keep¬ 
ing the ground cool and moist, but it is 
sometimes overdone by being used too fresh 
and in tco great a depth. Conditions like 
that encourage the growth of fungi about 
the base of the stems where they come in 
contact with the manure. The whole plan¬ 
tation may very quickly be destroyed by this 
means. If you have some fairly well-de¬ 
cayed manure, whether from cows or horses, 
it could be put on to the depth of 2 in. 
without bringing it in contact with the stems. 
Before using manure the ground should be 
lightly dug so as to break up the surface 
without going too deeply in the vicinity of 
the roots. Loose soil on the top is always 
advantageous and a thin covering of manure 
would then be sufficient to retain the mois¬ 
ture and yet permit the sun to warm the 
ground. 
1718. Herbaceous Plants for Cutting. 
I would like about a dozen herbaceous 
plants with white flowers suitable for cut¬ 
ting. Could you help me with this? (D. 
oteadman, Hants.). 
There is no difficulty in procuring quite 
that number of showy and useful white 
flowers for cutting. For instance, you 
could get a. variety and succession by plant¬ 
ing such things as Ranunculus aconitifolius 
nore pleno, Iris albicans Princess of Wales, 
Byrethrum Aphrodite (double), Pyrethrum 
Rrincess Irene (single), Phlox sylphide, 
Achillea Ptarmica The Pearl, Lathyrus 
latifolius albus, Campanula persicifolia 
alba grandiflora, Chrysanthemum maximum, 
C. m. King Edward VII., C. uliginosum 
and Anemone japonica alba. The last two 
bloom in autumn, and if well grown, will 
produce a large quantity of flowers. 
1719. Pansies and Violas. 
Herewith I enclose competition paper. At 
the same time I would ask if any expert 
amongst your readers would contribute an 
article on the cultivation of Pansies and 
Violas, naming the best sorts to grow from 
seed. My garden is small and surrounded 
by high trees, so that few things grow well. 
As Pansies love shade, I propose to go in 
for them, but I am somewhat of a novice in 
their requirements. (C. R. F., Surrey.) 
17 20. Calliopsis and Honesty. 
\\ ill you kindly tell me through your 
valuable paper if Calliopsis grandiflora seed, 
also Honesty, sown this spring will flower 
this year? (E. C., Herts.) 
The Calliopsis is a hard}’ annual, and 
should be sown at once where it is to bloom. 
L nder favourable conditions it will com¬ 
mence to bloom about the end of July. By 
making a sowing about the beginning of 
August in an open situation and not allow¬ 
ing the plants to get crowded they will stand 
the winter in the open and bloom early next 
summer. Honesty may be sown now, but as 
it is a biennial it will not flower until next 
April or May. The plants should be sown 
thinly to encourage them to make good sized 
specimens which will give you plenty of 
flowers next year and seed pods, which are 
the most ornamental part of the plant. 
1721. Treatment of Pinks. 
Last autumn I divided my Mrs. Sinkins 
Pinks and planted the slips into a piece of 
ground well manured with cow manure. I 
want to grow some fine ones. Will you tell 
me if they will require any more manure, 
also if they will bloom all right this year? 
Also- if they will need to be divided again 
■this autumn ? (E. C„ Herts.) 
If your Pinks are in healthy condition 
they should flower well in June. We do not 
approve of placing cow manure over the 
ground, and, indeed, would give no mulch¬ 
ing at all unless the season proves unusually 
dry for June. If the ground is fairly cool 
about the time they come into bloom they 
will last much longer than if the soil gets 
very dry and hot. If that is likely to hap¬ 
pen owing to drought, you could cover the 
ground with a thin layer of cocoanut fibre 
or road sweepings just when the buds are 
about to open. This will keep the ground 
cool and make the flowers more durable, but 
after that we think the Pinks will keep 
healthier if the ground is bare. In the case 
of beds we should renew the Pinks every 
year in order to get vigorous growing young 
plants of moderate size, as vou can then get 
larger blooms. Another way to propagate 
Pinks and get them entirely free of old roots 
and stems is to take cuttings immediately 
after they have gone out of bloom and insert 
them in boxes of light sandy soil or in a 
frame, if you desire a large quantity. The 
best plan is to put in about 9 in. to 12 in. of 
fresh manure in the bottom of the frame, 
tread this down level and coverTt with 4 in. 
of light sandy soil. The gentle heat pro¬ 
duced by the fermenting manure will cause 
the Pinks to root quickly. They can then 
be planted out in their flowering positions in 
September. Whichever plan you adopt, we 
consider it advisable to renew the Pinks 
annually, except in the case of those form¬ 
ing an edging to a walk, which may remain 
good for two years. If you particularly 
desire large blooms, you should get the sash 
of a frame and place it over the bed of 
Pinks, elevating it on trestles about 2 ft. 
from -the ground, just before the buds ex¬ 
pand. This prevents too much radiation of 
moisture and encourages unusually large 
blooms. 
1722. Biennials. 
Could you name six or eight biennials 
which I could raise by sowing in the open 
ground? Do they require transplanting, or 
can they be sown where they are to bl<*>m ? 
(T. Newton, Surrey.) 
Several methods may be adopted, and 
transplanting would be necessary or other¬ 
wise, according to the method you adopt. 
For instance, if you were to make patches of 
them in a border they could be sown where 
they are to bloom. A better plan, howe\er, 
is to sow them in some reserved part of the 
garden, where they would not interfere with 
the summer display of flowering plants. By 
making up beds or patches you could sow 
them fairly thickly and thin out the worst 
of them, so that the remainder could stand 
there until the ground is at liberty for plant¬ 
ing them in their permanent positions in 
autumn. Another plan is to sow them in 
boxes in a cold frame, though really this is 
not necessary, as you would have to trans¬ 
plant them into other beds as soon as they 
have made specimens with half a dozen 
leaves. The kinds you may sow in June are 
Sweet Williams, Canterbury Bells, Fox¬ 
gloves, Evening Primroses, Chimney Bell¬ 
flower (Campanula pyramidalis) and Antirr¬ 
hinums. Wallflower may be sown in the 
open in May. Then, during July or the 
beginning of August, you could sow Forget- 
me-Nots, such as Myosotis sylvatica and M. 
alpestris Victoria. 
1723. Primrose-Polyanthus. 
I know the Primrose and Polyanthus, but 
I understand there is a flower named Prim¬ 
rose-Polyanthus. Is this a new plant, or 
what am I to understand by the term? (L. 
E. Ormond, Wilts.) 
The name Primrose-Polyanthus has re¬ 
cently been given to a strain of plants that 
combines the two in general appearance. 
During the early spring months the flowers 
are produced apparently singly amongst the 
leaves—that is, one flower on a stalk. Later 
on, when the weather becomes warmer, to¬ 
wards the end of April, flowers on the same 
plant appear in bunches on the top of a 
common stalk. The Primrose itself has 
really a common stalk to its flowers, but this 
remains very short and low down amongst 
the leaves. The strain of Primrose-Polv- 
anthus has been developed from the blue 
Primroses which more than twenty years ago 
had a tendency to elongate the common 
stalk. 
1724. Raising- Edelweiss. 
Is it possible to raise the Edelweiss with¬ 
out a greenhouse? I have, some seed, and 
would like to raise plants. 'Will they bloom 
this year? Any directions you may give me 
as to the treatment it requires I will be 
pleased to follow. (L. E. Ormond, Wilts.) 
If you have a cold frame you can then 
raise plants of Edelweiss from seeds quite 
as easily as in a greenhouse. The plan is 
to make up some soil consisting of about 
equal portions of loam, leaf mould and sand. 
Well drained pots or seed pans should be 
filled with this soi-l, made firm, and the 
seeds sown. Water the soil through a fine 
rose, and stand the pots in a cold frame. 
If you cannot command a cold frame, vou 
can select some sheltered corner and coyer 
the pots or pans with panes of glass. When 
the seedlings come up you can raise the 
panes of glass by. putting them on pegs in 
the pots, elevating the panes according to 
the growth of the plants. You will thus 
have practically a greenhouse or a cold 
frame on a miniature scale. When the plants 
have made four to six leaves they can be 
potted off separately in small pets, to be 
kept in a cold frame during winter. They 
will not bloom this year, but merely make 
little plants, as they grow very slowly the 
first year. 
