May 18, 1907, 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
335 
garden; also Diantlius alpinus comes up 
rom seed, and makes more big cushions. 
£very little bit broken off in weeding 
rrows when just pushed into the soil. 
\nd Sempervivum arachnoideum gives 
dace to no other plant, and spreads it- 
i.elf where it will. 
There is no space to-day to speak of An- 
lrosaces. I will only add when making 
jorders no slopes' should be designed 
vhere the rain would wash down and not 
ret to the roots of the plants, and that I 
ind autumn the best time to start alpine 
borders. M. V. B. 
- ♦ ♦ +- 
Vitality of Seeds. 
Dr. -Findley, when writing his <k Intro- 
luction to Botany” (published in 1839), 
n speaking of the vitality of seeds, says 
page 358): “I have at this moment three 
alants of Raspberries before me which 
nave been raised from seeds taken from 
:he stomach of a man whose skeleton was 
; ound 30ft. below the surface of the earth 
at the bottom of a barrow which was 
apened near Dorchester. He had been 
buried with some coins of the Emperor 
Hadrian, and it is therefore probable that 
:he seeds were 1,600 or 1,700 years old.” 
-- 
— The White — 
pasque ploioer 
f 
(Anemone Pulsatilla alba). 
The White Pasque Flower differs in 
no way from the common form except in 
the colour of the flowers, which may be 
described as creamy white. It is, in fact, 
the albino of the common, one. To ex¬ 
plain, we may say that flowers that are 
rose-purple or blue sometimes give rise 
to seedlings having white flowers. These 
differ from the parent plant in the absence 
of colour, white containing no pigment 
whatever. 
The accompanying illustration shows a 
very fine plant, and it evidently is as 
vigorous as the common one, judging by 
the profusion of flowers. The sepals are 
I covered with long, shaggy hairs as in the 
purple one. This plant was photo¬ 
graphed on the rockery at Kew about 
1 the middle of April. Vegetation is 
i about a fortnight late this year, so- that 
) the Pasque Flower might sometimes be 
found in bloom in March. It is of tufted 
habit, not rambling, with underground 
I stems in the same way as A. nemorosa, 
A. apennina, A. blanda, and others of 
that habit. In its native habitat it lives 
on bate, exposed chalky downs, so is 
perfectly hardy. When brought to low¬ 
land situations it is not averse to any 
good garden soil when planted on the 
level ; but there is always a beauty of 
appropriateness, and it would look more 
natural on the rockery than on the level 
ground. Being of dwarf habit, it is 
brought under the eye better when so 
situated, and is not likely to get over 
: giown with rampant vegetation of plants 
often employed in the ordinary border. 
One plant, if suitably situated, may last 
.1 life-time, and in that time would, no 
I doubt, be a large specimen of its kind, 
i though still a tidy and neat ornament for 
the most select rockery. 
(^ARNATIONS 
Border Carnations. 
About the end of this month Carnations 
sown in March may be planted out. Pre¬ 
vious to this, however, the soil should be 
levelled and otherwise prepared, then 
trodden firmly' and raked smooth to re¬ 
move the rubbish. A light dressing of 
soot may be given previous to raking. 
Even when the beds are filled with the 
seedlings, a good plan is to keep a reserve 
of plants in pots to fill in gaps that may 
occur through the agency of slugs, acci¬ 
dent or otherwise. In course of a few 
weeks it will be seen which of them are 
going ahead, and the failures, if any, may 
be made good. Attend to the staking of 
established plants in good time to prevent 
the stems being broken down and twisted 
by wind or rain. Vegetation is as yet 
late, but towards the end of May some of 
the varieties may require staking. During 
this month and the next aphides will prove 
rampant if not checked by the timely ap¬ 
plication of some insecticide, such as 
quassia and tobacco Water, Abo- 1 , or strong 
soap-suds and tobacco water. 
Show Carnations and Picotees. 
Those who grow their pot plants in the 
open air during summer will require to 
give them careful attention during the 
present unsettled and showery times, as 
some'of the plants may be merely wet on 
the top and dry below. Little watering 
may be required as yet, but it should be 
carefully attended to. Stir the surface 
soil occasionally after it gets beaten down 
by heavy rains and watering. As in the 
case of border Carnations, staking must 
be attended to in good time. Some of 
the show varieties are inclined to produce 
long leafy stems, and staking in their case 
requires early attention, otherwise, if they 
get twisted or broken, it is too late to 
remedy the matter or make them appear 
tidy. Keep the plants clean at all 
times’, and remove leaves that are 
affected with fungoid diseases and 
burn them. The plants should grow 
out of the ailment as the summer 
advances if the fungus is prevented 
from spreading. Where the exhibition 
plants are grown in a special house, they 
will be more directly under the eye and 
likely to get closer attention than if stood 
outside. Greenfly must be kept down, as 
they multiply with great rapidity and se¬ 
crete themselves about the embryo flower 
buds. Tobacco powder is a good remedy, 
and it may be washed off in the course of 
twelve to twenty-four hours. 
Tree Carnations. 
All the early rooted cuttings should 
now be transferred to cold frames, if that 
has not already been done. Repotting of 
batches need not be accomplished all at 
one time, as some plants will be more for¬ 
ward than others. By regulating the 
work in this way the cultivator, by doing 
the more forward first, will still be in 
time to repot the more backward, even 
if he is interrupted in the work. 
The White Pasque Flower (Anemone Pulsatilla alba.) [Maclaren and S*ni. 
