May ii, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
325 
provided the summer proves to be a dry one. 
In good soil, however, we do not think there 
is any advantage in covering the ground 
with manure, as it keeps the soil cold. After 
they have bloomed and layering is about 
to commence, we should remove the manure 
altogether, and they will root all the better. 
1816. Sweet Peas and Hail. 
1 shall be much obliged if you can tell 
me the probable cause of the blight on the 
enclosed Sweet Pea leaves. The Peas came 
up well and strong, but after the hailstorm 
a short time back I noticed the heads were 
off a good many, and they have since gone 
as you see. Can you suggest any possible 
remedy? (Cathay, Surrey.) 
We do not see any evidence of blight in 
the samples you sent us, but think it is en¬ 
tirely due to injury by the hail. We have 
recently had frosty nights, and possibly' 
frost succeeded the hailstorm you mention. 
The frost would not do them much harm 
under ordinary conditions, but would, no 
doubt, help to bring about the effects now 
seen, and we should attribute the mishap en¬ 
tirely to the hail. If the tops were broken 
off by the hail, the storm in your quarter 
must have been severe. It might, however, 
be the result of sparrows, which are very 
fond of nibbling off the tops of Sweet Peas 
—and garden Peas as well. You should, 
see whether they are being infested by 
sparrows, and have some black cotton thread 
strung alongside the lines of Peas and sup¬ 
ported by pegs. The Peas may yet recover 
when warm weather sets in. Although the 
top is broken off, they are capable of throw¬ 
ing up shoots from the base of the plant. 
Should dry weather set in, watering would 
prove an assistance, and the ground might 
be mulched with well-decayed manure, to 
retain the moisture. A little nitrate of 
soda, at the rate of £ oz. to the gallon of 
water, would act as a stimulant if given at 
once. Later on it would be quite unneces¬ 
sary. 
ROSES. 
1817. Mildew on Marechal Niel. 
I am enclosing a leaf or two of a Marechal 
Xiel, which is in a cold house, and I should 
be very grateful if you would inform me 
what is the matter with it. I have been 
treating it for mildew, but it does not seem 
to recover itself. There were several buds, 
but the foliage curls up and finally drops 
off. It is a pot Rose, and was re-potted last 
autumn. (Ease, Essex.) 
The leaves you sent us were attacked with 
mildew, but after they have curled up in this 
fashion the same leaves never again look 
healthy. Your only plan is to watch for 
the earliest appearance of the mildew and 
have every leaf affected dusted with sulphur. 
Indeed, a good plan would be to lightly 
syringe the Roses so as to wet the foliage 
and then lightly dust them all over with 
sulphur. This will destroy the fungus, as 
it lives on the surface, but it must be done 
quickly, before it has time to do much in¬ 
jury, as it spreads very rapidly. By dust¬ 
ing all of the leaves you will prevent others 
from being attacked. The very worst of the 
leaves should be removed, if unsightly. The 
method of ventilation often has very much 
to do with the spread of mildew. Roses 
like plenty of light and air, and in venti¬ 
lating it should be done to prevent the tem¬ 
perature from rising too high, because the 
inrush of cold air is injurious to the foliage 
and helpful to the mildew during wet and 
rainy times, such as we have experienced 
during April. Indeed, we think the damp 
is largely responsible for it. 
1818. Lifting: Roses In Growth. 
Some Rose bushes were offered to me by a 
friend who is moving,-but as they are almost 
in full growth I am doubtful if they would 
live if lifted at present. Could you say 
whether they can be kept alive if lifted now ? 
Any advice would be gratefully received. 
(J. M. Rogers, Lancs.) 
If we had Roses under conditions you 
name we should lift them with all the roots 
as intact as possible. At the same time, we 
should cut back the stems rather severely, as 
the young foliage and the bark itself give 
off a deal of moisture, which the mutilated 
roots are unable to supply. If you cut 
them well back and keep the ground watered 
you may succeed in tiding them through the 
summer and enabling them to make good 
roots, even if they do not make very much 
young wood during the summer. The ground 
might also be mulched with well-decayed 
manure, if- the summer proves a dry one. 
1819. Rose Branches Drying Up. 
When Rose branches dry up and die away 
from the top downwards, what is the c^use ? 
What is the remedy ? (Baynton-Taylor, 
Somerset.) 
Rose branches may dry up and die away 
for several reasons. The most common one 
is old age. The treatment that Roses re¬ 
ceive, especially for exhibition purposes, 
must have a weakening effect upon Roses in 
course of time. This would show itself in 
some of the stems failing to throw out young 
shoots when cut back. If the bushes are 
crowded, these shoots, if in the centre, do 
not get fair play owing to the obstruction 
of light by stronger-growing branches. In 
any case, whatever the age of a Rose plant 
may be, there are always some of the older 
stems dying away. In pruning Roses, 
therefore, if any thinning is necessary, 
stems that are three years old, whether 
healthy or otherwise, should be removed to 
make way for strong young stems from the 
base. There is no remedy for stems that 
have become worn out except their removal. 
If the plants generally appear in a weak, 
unhealthy condition, the roots may be in a 
bad way, or the Rose proper may have been 
weakened by the presence of suckers from 
the stock. All these are things to be con¬ 
tended with, and Rose growers are well 
aware of it. They take care, however, to 
give the plants the best possible cultural 
treatment and thereby keep them healthy as 
long as possible. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
1820. Early Flowering Chrysanthe¬ 
mums. 
I have a number of early flowering Chry¬ 
santhemums about 4 in. to 6 in. high in pots, 
such as Goacher’s Crimson, Nettie, Polly, 
Mme. Marie Masse, Champ de Neige, etc. 
I want these for outside. Should they be 
pinched or allowed to grow naturally ? They 
are wanted for decoration. (J. Sturt, Mid¬ 
dlesex). 
We see no object in stopping early flower¬ 
ing Chrysanthemums for decorative pur¬ 
poses unless you require them to produce a 
number of stems. In our experience early 
flowering Chrysanthemums branch very 
freely when left in the open ground to their 
own free will. If you were growing them 
in pots it would be quite another matter, 
and in the case of some varieties pinching 
would be necessary to get a bushy plant. 
When planted in the open however, and 
given plenty of room. Chrysanthemums pro¬ 
duce plenty of branches without stopping. 
Indeed, with some varieties you may find it 
convenient or necessary to thin out the stems 
if they are too many. This is more par¬ 
ticularly the case if you want large blooms. 
Another method of doing this, however, 
would be to stake out the stems and thus 
allow light and air to play amongst the 
leaves. 
VEGETABLES. 
1821. Vegetables and Fruit for a North 
Border. 
I am sending you a sketch of my vege¬ 
table garden with a description ot it at¬ 
tached. 1 should be glad it you would let 
me know the names and descriptions of vege¬ 
tables or fruits that would do well in the 
portion of the garden that 1 have indicated. 
(C. W. Palmer, Surrey). 
The plan you send us is very explicit in 
all respects except that you do not indicate 
the width of the garden nor that portion of 
it still to be planted. The 13 ft. wall on 
the south side of the garden may be con¬ 
sidered useful for shelter but the aspect of 
your side of it is north, consequently' fewer 
plants will grow well close up against the 
wall than would at the north side of the 
garden where the house is situated. We 
presume that the ground has been trenched 
some time ago, and if not that would be a 
good preliminary to putting anything into 
it. You are too late for planting fruit un¬ 
less you can get trees or bushes in pots. 
The planting should have been completed 
early in March to get much satisfaction from 
fruit. We can indicate, however, what we 
should attempt to grow upon that high wall. 
Morello Cherries would do as well as any¬ 
thing. You could also plant Coe’s Golden 
Drop Plum, Red, White and Black Currants 
and Gooseberries. We recommend these 
fruits as they will grow on a north aspect 
wall and fruit. The supply they give will 
be late, but you cannot expect the quality 
to be so good as that from the same plants 
on any other aspect where they would get 
plenty of sunshine during the day. We 
name all these things in case you may' have 
room for them, but you have not indicated 
the length or width of the portion to be 
planted. If you would like Raspberries you 
could grow Superlative, but if 6 ft. away 
from the wall they would be fully as 
successful as close up to it. All of the fruits 
we name should be nailed to the wall with 
the exception of the Raspberries. With re¬ 
gard to vegetables we should plant Rhubarb 
and Horseradish nearest to that high wall. 
Six feet or more away from the wall you 
could plant Curly Kale, Brussels Sprouts, 
Cabbages, Cauliflower, Cottagers’ Kale and 
many other things. 
1822. List of Herbs in Common Use. 
Would you please kindly name a list of 
the herbs in most common use and which 
would come in handy for exhibition. I 
have been very successful with Potatos, Let¬ 
tuces, Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Carrots, etc., 
and would like to try my hand at some 
other things. (A. D. C-, Norfolk). 
Some of the most common herbs are Sage, 
Summer Savory, Lemon Thyme, Common 
Thyme, Common Marjoram, Knotted Mar¬ 
joram, Tarragon, Spearmint, Parsley, Fen¬ 
nel, Basil and Balm. Several other kinds 
which are occasionally used are Rue, Hys¬ 
sop, Horehound, Lavender, Sorrel, Penny¬ 
royal, etc. The Basil requires a little more 
heat to raise the seedlings than the other 
kinds and should be placed in a frame or a 
greenhouse to be planted out afterwards. 
You should be able to obtain seeds of most 
of them, but Tarragon must be obtained in 
the form of plants possiblv also Spearmint. 
1823. Kinds of Spinach. 
Besides summer and winter Spinach I 
understand there are some other kinds which 
may be used as substitutes. If so, would 
you give me the names of some of them and 
how to treat them? (A. D. C., Norfolk). 
One of the most common substitutes for 
summer and winter Spinach is New Zealand 
Spinach. The seeds may be sown in the 
open ground, or better still, the plants may 
be raised in a little heat under glass and 
