2 g8 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 4, 1907. 
than these. Sown now, and transplanted 
injthe autumn, they will be good flower¬ 
ing plants for next year, and year by year 
they will improve as the plants increase 
in size. F. Norfolk. 
- +++ - 
How to Grow . . 
Violas . 
Successfully. 
The race of these tufted Pansies have 
received a good deal of attention of late 
years. They certainly have much to re¬ 
commend them, for Violas are cheap, 
hardy, easy of culture, and very effective. 
For their free flowering propensities they 
cannot be surpassed for bedding pur¬ 
poses, especially for ribbon borders. 
Given a light, rich soil and moist situa¬ 
tion, they will continue to bloom from 
spring to late autumn. To encourage a 
plentiful supply of bloom over a long 
period, it is necessary to pick off the 
withering flowers, to prevent the seed pods 
from forming, which would weaken the 
plants. The longest shoots should also 
be shortened to increase the supply of 
lateral growth. 
CULTURE. 
Violas may be propagated by seeds or 
cuttings. 
Seeds. —These may be sown in boxes 
under glass, or in a cold frame in early 
spring. They will then be ready to 
prick off in a short time, and should be 
ready to plant out in May. 
Cuttings should be inserted in a cold 
frame during September. The soil used 
should be of a sandy nature. Careful 
attention to airing for the first few days 
will be necessary. When rooted the cut¬ 
tings should have all the air possible 
and the frame lights taken, off on 
favourable occasions during the win¬ 
ter. The plants can be moved to 
places where they are to flower about 
the middle of April. To ensure a good 
percentage of healthy plants, cuttings 
should be dibbled 2 in. apart and 3 in. 
between the rows, and have a surface layer 
of sand. 
Soil and Situation. — The ground 
should have been well worked and of a 
rich nature. Violas, like most plants, 
are susceptible to the effects of summer 
heat and drought. They are very useful 
for ground work or as an edging. As a 
ground work to a border of Phloxes or 
other herbaceous plants of similar habit, 
Violas should be planted in batches of one 
colour, with due regard to the blending 
of colours as a whole. To check undue 
evaporation, these plants are often used to 
carpet beds of Roses and some of the best 
flowering shrubs, such as Ceanothus. 
The following may be given as a selec¬ 
tion :—Countess of Hopetoun, Lady Salis¬ 
bury, Marchioness, Miss Cannell, good 
whites; Ardwell Gem, Isolde, Lizzie Paul, 
Nellie Riding. Mrs. William Sydenham, 
vellow seifs; Purple King, Purple Gem, 
Archibald Grant, Mrs. Moor, are good 
purples ; while Accushla, Benbow, 
Duchess of Fife, Goldfinch, Iona, Prin¬ 
cess Beatrice, Shamrock, Skylark, are of 
varying shades. Kitty Bell is a pretty 
lilac self, J. B. Riding deep mauve; 
Hector Mcdonald, John Shires and. Maggie 
Thornlev are also worthy of mention. 
A. J. Hartless. 
Lilium longiflorum from the Azores. 
During 1906, 1,162 half-cases of bulbs 
of the Lilium longiflorum were exported 
from the Azores. The cultivation of these 
bulbs is profitable for export, but locally 
they have no value, the Custom house 
valuing each half-case, for statistical 
purposes, at only 500 reis, or, say, is. 9d. 
Tulips. 
Most of the Tulips of our gardens are 
not natural species, but florists’ varieties, 
and their origin is often very obscure. 
Many of them are derived from Tulipa 
gesneriana, but some of the earliest are 
said to be offspring of Tulipa suaveolens, 
an early-flowering scarlet Tulip which 
grows wild in the Crimea. Most Tulips, 
although there is one kind indigenous to 
the British Isles, are in their origin natives 
of Italy, South Europe, or Asia Minor or 
other parts of Asia. Tulips as a general 
rule like to be planted deep and in a light 
soil. Those which flower in May appear 
to last longer than April flowering varie¬ 
ties, and the florists’ varieties .are also 
stated by expert gardeners to be likely to 
outlive natural ones; but this latter state¬ 
ment is, in our experience, not altogether 
an accurate one. 
Beautiful Bank. 
a. 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 entering, 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,l any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be care¬ 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINCS 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 cultivatoa of flowers, fruits or vege¬ 
tables, eradication of pests, etc. The para¬ 
graph or article m ist not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making f he award. Mark envelopes “ Com¬ 
petition,” and post not later than the Monday 
folk wing date of issue. Entries received later 
thin Tuesday (first post) will be left over until 
t) ie following week. 
Two prizes of 2s. 6d. will be awarded each 
week for the two best letters, not exceeding 
150 words, on any interesting gardening suh- 
ject. 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best papers in this competition 
are too long, an l we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
The prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to “A. 0. D. ” for his article on 
“ Tufted Pansies,” page 295. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize w T as 
awarded to “Albert A. Kerridge” for his 
article on “ Birds and Young Seedlings ” ; and 
another to “J. Burnell ” for his article on “A 
Useful Vegetable,” page 28 4. 
Plants 
To Grow. 
The following hints are a suggested im¬ 
provement on a bank which i saw some 
time ago in a garden of modest dimen¬ 
sions, but enjoying natural advantages. 
This plan need not necessarily be carried 
out on a bank or slope, although it would 
show to greater advantage in such a posi¬ 
tion. It often happens that in the garden 
or pleasure-grounds there is a piece of 
grass, in addition to the lawn proper, which 
is mown with the scythe twice or thrice a 
year. Such is the subject 1 propose to 
deal with. 
I would plant it at a distance of front 
ioft. to 20ft apart, according to circum¬ 
stances, with the following, mixing \hem 
well together :—Crabs, of which perhaps 
John Downie is the finest variety ; Prunus 
Pissardii, and one or two varieties of 
Amelanchier, say A. vulgaris or snowy 
Mespilus and A canadensis. 
None of these grow very tall, and they 
grow slowly. 
The Amelanchiers will produce an 
abundance of white blossoms during 
April and May, according to locality, and 
the autumn tints of the foliage are often 
exquisitely beautiful. By the time the 
Amelanchiers have finished flowering. 
Prunus Pissardii will be showing its bright 
purple leaves, which will retain their 
character till late autumn. 
The Crabs will be gay with blossom 
about the same time as the Amelanchiers, 
and during the autumn their bright shin¬ 
ing fruit off crimson and gold will be a 
sight to see. 
Then I would plant the whole with 
Daffodils, Crocuses, and Snowdrops. In 
planting these bulbs, I would prefer the 
clump system to promiscuous planting. 
Not only would 1 plant the different 
genera in groups, but I would group the 
various shades of the Daffodils anc 
Crocuses. With a judicious selection o! 
Daffodils, a show of these may be hac 
for two- months or more. The following 
selection will be found to cover the pos 
si.ble flowering period, and all succeed ii 
the grass, moreover, none of them an 
high-priced : — Pallidus praecox (the earli 
est of all), Telamonius, Telamonius fl 
pi., Golden Spur, Princeps, incomparabili 
Stella, bicolor Horsfieldi, poeticus ornatus 
and poeticus. 
In grouping bulbous flowers in such ; 
position, stiff geometrical designs shouh 
be avoided. A rough semi-circle is 
good design, with the circumference fai 
t'nest from the favourite view-point 
Plant rather thickly next the view-poinl 
and more thinly towards the circurr 
ference. Do not mow the grass till th 
foliage of the Daffodils is ripe. 
C. C. 
-- 
THE cloisters of the ancient Londo 
residence of the Bishops of Ely, in El 
Place. Holborn, with their Fig trees, ai 
still in existence, and also the chape 
which is accounted one of the most bea' 
tiful mediaeval buildings in London. 
