April 
20, 
1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
ive the potting compost in an advanced 
ate of decay, should be repotted. In re¬ 
nting see that the pots used are clean, 
he drainage may be of clean broken pot- 
lerds or chopped bracken, fern roots (I pre- 
•r the latter), filling the pots to about two- 
lirds of their depth. Remove all decaying 
id dead matter from about the roots of the 
lant and when this has been done repot 
ith a compost of equal portions of fibrous 
eat and sphagnum moss, with the addition 
f a few chopped oak or beech leaves, if 
esired, and sufficient sand to render the 
■hole porous, ftess moderately firm about 
ne base of the plant, but take care to avoid 
urying more of the eyes on the pseudo- 
ulbs than is absolutely necessary. 
H. J. Chapman. 
-- 
Protecting— 
quit Bushes and Peas 
F r° m Bi rC ls. 
Address: The Editor, The Gardening 
World, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which may 
coyer any branch of gardening. Questions 
should be as brief as possible and written on 
one side of the paper only; a separate sheet 
of paper should be used for each question. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
Garden Plans .—Gardeners who would make 
the best use of this column are invited to 
prepare and forward to us a rough outline 
drawing or plan of their gardens , indicating 
the position of beds and lawns, the charac¬ 
ter and height of the fence or wall; posi¬ 
tion of vegetable garden , orchard, etc. The 
north siae of the garden and any over¬ 
shadowing buildings should be denoted. It 
should also be stated whether the garden is 
-flat or on a declivity, and all large trees 
should be maiked. Particulars of the na¬ 
ture of the soil will also help us to give 
satisfactory replies. When such plans art 
received they will be carefully filed, with the 
name and address of the sender, and will be 
consulted by the Editor whenever an enquiry 
is sent. 
'rrrrrrrrrrrrsirr* 
A cheap and effective shield for protect- 
ng fruit bushes from the birds may be 
made as follows : Procure about two dozen 
■trips of wood, and nail them together in 
he shape of a fan, fixing an extra strong 
me to press into the ground as a stake. 
\fotch the strips at the circumference of 
he fan, and then thread with stout black 
hread from end to end. Two fans will be 
reeded for each row votf bushes. I have 
Device for protecting 
successfully protected my Peas in almost 
the' same manner by procuring two boards 
of the same size about five inches wide and 
fastening two stakes to each to fix firmly 
into the ground. Along the top and sides 
holes were drilled an inch apart, which 
were threaded with black thread after fix¬ 
ing in position. The accompanying 
sketches illustrate the devices described. 
C. OXBROW. 
-- 
The Onion. 
In all probabilitv the Onion is the first 
and oldest of the inhabitants of the kitchen 
garden. We know from the Bible that it 
grew in Egypt during the captivity of the 
Israelites in that country, and it is cer¬ 
tain that the dwellers by the Nile shred 
Onions into their stews, or ate them raw 
with bread for many centuries previously'. 
ice for protecting Peas, etc., from sparrows. 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
1734. Heliotrope Turning Yellow. 
I have a Heliotrope which 1 grew from 
seed last year in a small greenhouse heated 
by hot water pipes during the winter. It is 
about 15 in. high, but has not yet blossomed, 
though ft looked strong and healthy until 
about two months ago, since when it has 
altogether flagged. The lower leaves turned 
fruit bushes from birds. 
yellow and brown and dropped off. The 
upper ones, though green, are all curled at 
the tips. I enclose leaves as specimens and 
should be grateful if you: would kindly tell 
me what is wrong with the plant and how it 
should be treated. I have also several small 
ones, which look equally unhealthy. (Helio¬ 
trope, Worcester). 
After carefully examining the leaves sent 
us we could find nothing upon them except 
a few green fly, which is quite unimportant. 
The Heliotrope is evergreen, but loses a 
good many of its leaves in winter and 
spring, but more especially where the tem¬ 
perature is low. We think there is nothing 
really the matter with the plant, which may 
or may not flower the first year from seed 
according to the time it is sown * 1 and the de¬ 
gree of heat given it. What you. should do 
now is to cut back the shoots, leaving the 
plant about 9 in. or 10 in. high. Keep it 
rather dry until the rising temperature of 
sun heat causes it to shcot afresh. You can 
then reduce the ball of soil and pot it up 
in the same sized pot or in a pet slightly 
larger. If the soil is suitably moist no 
water will be required for a day or two 
until it is getting dry. Then it may be 
watered through a lose to settle the soil. 
Water will only be necessary at intervals 
when the soil in the pot is getting really 
dry until the plant is again in active growth, 
when it should be encouraged to grow by 
keeping it near the glass in a well-ven¬ 
tilated greenhouse. This will make the 
young wood short-jointed and sturdy, and 
the plant commences blooming some time in 
summer. 
1735. Potting a Palm. 
I enclose leaf of Palm. Will you let me 
know the name of it? It is about 26 in. 
high, set in a 4^ in. pot, and the roots ap¬ 
peal to be pot-bound. I would like to know 
if it wants repotting, how to do it and when 
it should be done. It is kept in a cool rcom. 
(A. T. Granger, Kent). 
The leaf you sent is that of a seedling and 
not yet in character, but we take it to be 
what is best known in gardens as Areca 
lutescens. We think also it would stand a 
shift into a 5^ in. or 6 in. not, which should 
be sufficient for it for some years in a iroom 
unless it grows all the more strongly. Use 
a compost of two parts fibrous loam, one 
part peat and a good handful of sand. 
Give good drainage and place some mess 
or pieces of turf over the creeks. Pot firmly, 
using a piece of wood to press down the 
soil to make it amalgamate with the soil 
already about the roots. Water the Palm 
immediately after potting and do not give 
any more until it shows signs of getting 
dry. Keep it as near the window as possible 
for the sake of light. If it should send up 
any leaves during summer give plenty of 
water then, but see that it dees not stand 
about the roots. 
173 6. Treatment of Azalea. 
I shculd be glad if you would answer 
the following questions:—What is the 
proper treatment for an Azalea (like the en¬ 
closed bloom) after it finishes flowering? 
(Mystery, Somerset). 
As soon as the flower ceases to be orna¬ 
mental get a scis.ors and clip off not only 
the flowers, but the seed pods, being careful 
not to injure any buds which may be start¬ 
ing to grow at the ’base of the flower stalks. 
If you have a greenhouse plaoe it in the 
warmest part and syringe the foliage once 
or twice a day during bright w'eather to 
encourage fresh growth. When the shoots 
have ceased growing stand the plant out of 
doors in a shady position for a week. Then 
stand it in full sunshine and leave it there 
till about the middle of September, when 
you should take it indoors again. Placing 
it out cf doors causes the wood to ripen and 
the flower buds to plump up. If you suc¬ 
ceed well with this your plant should flower 
again next year. Stand the pot on a piece of 
