266 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 20, 1907. 
Poppies. 
Poppies were among the earliest of gar¬ 
den flowers. The historian Livy informs 
us that they were the tallest and most con¬ 
spicuous plants in the palace gardens ot 
Tarquinius Superbus at Rome 2,400 years 
ago. These were probably the Oriental 
Poppies. 
Double . . 
Primulas. 
Propagation 
and Culture. 
These beautiful winter flowering plants 
are generally raised annually from cut¬ 
tings, which are struck singly in 2^4 inch 
pots, these being kept in a close case 
plunged in cocoanut fibre refuse until 
rooted. As, however, raising double 
Primulas from cuttings is always attended 
by great risk from damping off, the fol¬ 
lowing method will be found much better 
and safer. 
The old plants, after flowering, will 
have several growths or stems, and these, 
after removing the lower leaves, should 
be gently pressed outwards towards the 
side of the pot, until they crack, but not 
sufficiently to break quite through. 
Each stem should now be firmly tied to 
a small stick for support, after which they 
should be covered nearly to the leaves with 
a compost of leaf soil, silver sand, and 
finely chopped Spagnum Moss, well mixed 
together. 1 
After watering, the pots must be placed 
in a shady part of the greenhouse, taking 
care to always keep the soil fairly moist, 
and when rooting takes place, carefully 
separate each little plant from the parent 
(preserving all the delicate roots round 
wdiich a little of the soil should be left), 
and pot singly in 3-inch pots, not larger, 
using a light, rich, and sandy compost, 
and providing ample drainage. They 
should be potted rather firmly and clown 
to the first leaves, afterwards being placed 
in a warm, shady place to encourage quick 
root action. 
Pay careful attention to watering the 
voung plants, only giving water when they 
require it, as Primulas rarely succeed if 
the soil is at all stagnant. 
When the roots reach the sides of the 
pots the best place in which to keep the 
olants during the summer is the shady or 
north side of a cool greenhouse, where 
they will not get the direct rays of the 
sun, but they will do well in an ordinary 
garden frame facing north. 
When the little pots are well filled with 
roots transfer the plants to 5-inch pots, in 
which they will flower, pressing the soil 
firmly. The best compost for this potting 
i 5 equal parts of good turfy loam, leaf 
mould, old dry cow manure, and sharp, 
silver sand. 
During the warm weather a light over¬ 
head syringing in the early part of the 
evening is greatly appreciated . by the 
voung Primulas, and when the 5-inch pots 
are well filled with roots, feeding with 
liquid manure is necessary; it is best to 
alternate the supply of this with ordinary 
watering, giving, say, liquid manu re at 
each watering for one week, and clear 
water during the following week. This _ 
will give much better results than a con¬ 
tinuous supp'.v of the liquid manure. A - 
little soot soaked in the liquid manure, 
which should be used weak, is advisable. 
In September remove the plants to* the 
warm greenhouse, placing them where 
they will get all the light possible during 
the winter. 
Albert E. Yates. 
■ ♦♦♦- 
Keeping Poppy Flowers Fresh. 
Plunging the stems in boiling water im¬ 
mediately they are cut, or placing their 
ends in flame have both been recom¬ 
mended to prolong the lives of Poppy 
blooms. A method -far more effective, 
however, is to cut them while still coated 
with the calyx and to carefully remove 
this when they are brought indoors. If 
treated in this manner the flowers will 
expand naturally and will retain their 
freshness for a far longer time than if 
thev had been cut after the calyx had 
fallen. 
- G. W. - 
Prize Competitions. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS. —Competitors must 
write on one side of the paper only. Regular 
paid contributors to THE GARDENING- 
WORLD or other gardening journals are de¬ 
barred from enteriug, but occasional con¬ 
tributors may compete. The name and ad¬ 
dress of the competitor must appear on each 
article sent for competition. The Editor’s 
decision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any way 4 any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be care¬ 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short article on any 
gardening subject, such as hints of practical 
interest to gardeners, notes on the propaga¬ 
tion or cultivation of flowers, fruits or vege¬ 
tables, eradication of pests, etc. The para¬ 
graph or article must not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making *he award. Mark envelopes “ Com¬ 
petition,” and post not later than the Monday 
folk wing date of issue. Entries received later 
than Tuesday (first post) will t e left over until 
D ie following week. 
'i wo prizes of 2s. 6d. will be awarded each 
week for the two best lettei s, not exceeding 
150 words, on any interesting gardening sub¬ 
ject. 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best pnpers in this competition 
are too long, and we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
The prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to “K.G." for his article on “Aspara¬ 
gus,” page 250. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize was 
awarded to “ H. Ross ” for his article on “ Vines 
and Ventilation," page 252 ; and another to 
“J.W.F.” for his article on “A Beautiful 
Hanging Basket,” page 264. 
Mushroom Growing. 
Twenty pounds a year is understood) 
be a small sum to make by mushroq 
farming on -even a small scale, says L 
'‘County Gentleman's Estate Boc' 
(1906); while it is most encouraging ) 
learn that the largest mushroom farm i 
the country is in a disused railway tunr. 
-f+4- 
and their 
Eradicate 
The first thing to remember in comb¬ 
ing weeds is that “ one year's seedi; 
means seven years’ weeding.” This, 
hardly literal; nevertheless, there ;; 
several seeds which will actually lie di 
rnant in the ground for seven, years, a 
on being turned up germinate. The usn 
time to do weeding thoroughly is autiin 
or winter, when the ground is dug. Su¬ 
mer is a splendid time for killing wen 
if there is no crop on the land. Min¬ 
ever it be, choose a time when the groul 
is sufficiently dry not to clog or sti-. 
More harm is done by getting on.the ia 
when wet than by leaving the weeds a 1- 
weeks. The damage is sometimes o- 
reparable by frost. Against this you m 
remember that in the flower garden, vhi 
dead weeds left on the ground are 
sightly, the longer you allow them to g: 
the more you take out of the soil and 
■on the rubbish heap, to the detriment 
your plants. Annuals and many perenn: 
may be killed by burial, as done by 
verting the soil in the process of diggi: 
Those perennials which show any t 
dencv to run on the top of the ground n; 
often be treated in the same way, but .1 
safest on the top or removed. Th i 
which run underground should always 1 
brought to the surface with the prong, ; 
either left to dry or be carried off. Gr 
care should be taken not to break 
roots in extricating them from the : 
as in nine cases out of ten a piece ev 
half-an-inch long will grow. In so' 
cases more can be done by carefully dr; 
ing them out by hand when the grounc 
soft. A few of the more troubleso 
specimens are. worthy of separate cc 
ment. 
Charlock is one of the worst annu 
owing to the long life of its seed, a 
merits special attention to prevent it fr 
ripening. It is well here to notice t 
such plants often grow up beside flow 
and unnoticed get to the seed stage. 
Nettles are often troublesome in v 
poor and very rich soil, and should 
spudded up with a fork and drawn 0 
The old roots are very tough and do : 
run deep. 
Docks arid Dandelions should be dra 
or dug out deeply, as both have tap roc 
The former on account of the extraor 
nary vitality of its root should always 
burnt. The latter needs care in extri 
tion as it easily breaks off. 
Lily roots are exceedingly brittle, r 
ning far and deep, and of an even thi 
ness all the way, so that it is hard to se- 
they are broken off or not. A very srr 
piece left in the ground will grow. 
Couch and similar grasses, if careh 
spudded and left on the top, will soon i 
when they mav be put on the fire-heaf 
LINCH Junioi- 
