3 l6 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May ix, 1907. 
PRIZE LETTER COMPETITION. 
Readers are invited to contribute to this 
colurjin short letters discussing any gar¬ 
dening subject. 
Letters should not exceed 150 Tjfords each 
Hybrid Gladioli in Pots. 
Gladioli in pots make a beautiful addi¬ 
tion to the conservatory as well as to the 
exhibition group during July and August. 
Pot the bulbs either one in a 5m. pot or 
three in a /in., placing them low in the 
pots and filling up to the rim in the usual 
way. . A suitable compost for Gladioli 
should consist of loam two parts, leafsoil 
one part, and enough sand to keep the 
whole porous.. When finished give all a 
watering and plunge the pots in a frame 
under, cocoanut fibre to encourage roots. 
When well rooted, if introduced in batches 
to a cool house where liquid manure is 
freely administered, they will soon throw 
up their gorgeous spikes. After flower¬ 
ing ceases keep them well watered and 
fed with stimulants, otherwise spikes lack 
size the following season. 
- L. S. Small. 
Beckenham. 
Aquilegias in Pots. 
The newer varieties of hybrid 
Aquilegias when grown in pots are valu¬ 
able subjects for the conservatory or cold 
house, and with very little trouble, re¬ 
ward the growers with sheafs of graceful 
bloom, which in form and colour cannot 
be easily excelled by other hardy plants. 
They can easily be raised from seed, sown 
in early spring, in boxes of light sandy 
compost, which should be kept close in 
a cold frame until germination takes 
place. When the seedlings are large 
enough to handle, prick them out into 
other boxes of compost; next pot them 
singly in thumb pots, afterwards into 
3j4-inch pots, and finally* -(in October) in 
6j^-inch pots, in which they will flower 
in the following spring or early summer. 
Winter them in a cold frame or unheated 
house. 
A. E. Y. 
Manchester. 
Care of Young Seedlings. 
Manj' amateurs think that so long as a 
young plant keeps growing in length, all 
is going on well. But those who are in 
the know wish to induce, not leggy 
growth, but stocky plants, such as will 
make good foundations for flowering or 
fruiting later. Therefore it is necessary 
to get seedlings out of pans or boxes at 
the very earliest opportunity. As a 
general rule, this should be done as soon 
as two rough leaves have been .formed, 
as these are the permanent leaves of 
plants, the seed leaves (generally rounded) 
only serving a temporary purpose. The 
operation is known as pricking out, and 
the soil need not be very rich, only such 
as will provide sufficient nutriment for 
healthy growth. One of the great secrets 
of success is pressing the soil firmly 
in length, and must be writfen on one 
side of the paper only. 
Two Prizes of 2s. bd. each will be 
awarded each week for the two Letters 
which the Editor considers to be the best. 
around the young plants, as this fends to 
check rank growth. 
Albert A. Kerridge. 
Chippenham. 
Dwarf Beans for . Early Use. 
With 60 degrees of hoot at the begin¬ 
ning- of January a supply of-Beans can 
be had from the middle of March on¬ 
ward. Make the first sowing on the first 
day of the year, using tweive nine-inch 
pots, and sowing every fortnight to keep 
up a supply. Place one crock in the 
bottom of each pot, and fill With leaf soil. 
The soil may be such as has been used 
for Chrysanthemums. Sow. eight Beans 
in a pot, ultimately thinning out to five. 
Leave sufficient room for one top-dressing 
when the Beans are coming into flower. 
No water should be given till the Beans 
are up, as they often rot. Keep the 
pots close to the glass, water with care 
with a little liquid manure when the 
Beans are set, and syringe among the pots 
and foliage twice daily on bright days. 
Ne Plus Ultra is a good kin.d to grow. 
Surbiton. G. Waller. 
Some Hints on Sowing Seeds. 
Some seeds .are so fine that it is im¬ 
possible to- sow them evenly, but if they 
are thoroughly mixed with sand or sifted 
road scrapings they may be sown broad¬ 
cast, and when the plants spring up they 
are nicely separated, and if to be trans¬ 
planted, more easily removed. Some 
obstinate seeds such as the Morning 
Glory or Moonflower will sprout more 
readily if a notch is cut in each with a 
sharp pen-knife. Canna and Acacia 
seeds should be filed, while Nasturtium 
seeds start more promptly if soaked in 
tepid water. Care must be taken that 
seeds are not sown too deeply, or many 
will never come up, and the top soil must 
be thoroughly pulverized. If it is pos¬ 
sible to'give bottom heat, all seeds sprout 
more readily. 
- M. A. Selman. 
Chippenham. 
Keeping Birds from Pea Seeds. 
At this time of the year ever}'- one 
anxiously tries to keep those mischievous 
thieves, the sparrows, from their Pea 
seeds. Wire netting protectors are, of 
course, effectual, but they are expensive 
and also troublesome to. store away. The 
next best thing is black cotton stretched 
across the rows, and a most convenient 
method of doing this is as follows Get 
some empty sweet boxes and break them 
into strips about i )4 inches wide. Nail 
three of these pieces into a triangular 
form and another rather longer one across 
the triangle, starting from the apex and 
projecting at the bottom to form a suj 
port. On the two upper sides of th 
triangle put tintacks. Place one ( 
these supports at each end of the rov 
If two persons do the fastening of th 
cotton, tossing the reel back and forwan 
it can be done in a very short time. 
N. COOKSON. 
Stafford. 
Staking Herbaceous Plants. 
Nothing adds so much to the gener. 
aspect of a border as plants well stakec 
Do not allow the supports to show abor 
the plants, and thus appear conspicuou 
The stakes should be hidden with foliage 
Pains should be taken to so tie the plan 
that they will retain their natural appea 
ance. A plant is often more like 
scavenger's besom when bunched t( 
gether tightly than an object of beaut; 
Use fairlv stout stakes and cord for ta 
sorts, lighter material being best ft 
dwarf and slim grow r ers. Make a tri. 
by using Pea stakes or spruce branchf 
to support herbaceous plants. Inse 
three of these round each plant, allowin 
the foliage and flowers to comfe throug 
the branches. This is a good support ft 
Gypsophila and other delicate subject 
and especially for plants which ai 
sheared down with the knife for decoratic 
elsewhere. 
Wishaw. A. V. M. 
Gladioli Lemoine’s Seedlings and Soo 
In cultivating the above I was recon 
mended to try a little soot when planting 
this to be placed at the bottom of tl 
corms to prevent maggot. I thought 
would try the experiment, but nev< 
again! I used soot that I had stored fi 
nearly four years, planting the bulbs i 
borders, sometimes five and six in clump 
onlv using a tablespoonful of soot to eac 
clump. I cannot say what the resul 
would have been had I used fresh soo 
I had nearly five hundred strong healtt 
bulbs, and now I don’t possess a dozei 
and this all owing to the soot and the di 
season. The soot burnt the roots as the 
appeared, so the corms were dug up ; 
the end of season. I had a lot of sma 
bulbs planted in the same borders, bi 
vdthout soot, and they have thrived e: 
ceedingly, but are not large enough 1 
flower this season. 
Wilminster. T. PRESTON. 
-- 
Daffodil Queen of the West. 
In this variety we have a Trumpi 
Daffodil of the largest size, with clea 
lemon-yellow segments. and a golder 
yellow trumpet widely rolled back an 
lobed at the mouth. Award of Merit t 
Mr. Walter T. Ware, Englishcombe 
Bath, at the meeting of the R.H.S. 0 
16th April. 
Odontoglossum Othello. 
The origin of this Odontoglossum w. 
harryanum x Adrianae. The sepals an 
petals are broad and of a rich chocolat 
brown, lightly banded with yellow Hit 
across them. The lip has a large crir 
son blotch and some smaller spots rour 
the sides' of the crest. Award of Mei 
to C. T. Lucas, Esq. (gardener, Mr. ( 
Duncan), Warnham Court, Horshan 
when shown at the meeting of the R .H 
on 16th April. 
