3 6 4 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June i, 1907. 
PRIZE LETTER COMPETITION. 
Readers are invited to contribute to this 
column short letters discussing any gar¬ 
dening subject. 
Letters should not exceed 150 words each 
Garden Pests. 
Now is the time to look for the greenfly 
on the Roses and fruit trees. W ith this, as 
with all other pests it is a good plan to 
start early with the syringe before the in¬ 
sects get too strong, using Gishurst Com¬ 
pound at the rate of one quarter of a pound 
to three gallons of soft luke-warm water. 
This is a weak solution, but will suffice if 
the fly is not too strong. If insects are 
still alive after the first dressing, increase 
the strength of the solution, and use plenty 
of force in applying it. This followed up 
will keep red spider in check, too. Black 
fly, if once allowed to get established on 
Cucumbers or Melons in frames or houses, 
breeds with great rapidity. A good dress¬ 
ing now is a great preventive. 
Wm. ’Weed. 
Stamford. 
Seedling Weeds. 
The showers and warmer weather are 
bringing on weeds apace. These little 
foxes take the tender juices from the 
legitimate occupants of the garden. Un¬ 
less they are disturbed they will soon over¬ 
grow and smother such young seedlings, 
as Lettuce, Onion, Cabbage, etc. There¬ 
fore it is best to take them out, root and 
plant, and if they be removed “between 
the showers ” the ground will be left in 
such a position as not to allow the drought 
ingress. The hoe run between drills will 
also tend to keep the air passing down 
and the soil from getting sour. Hand 
weeding is best but too much treading in 
damp weather is not good, as this tends to 
make a crust on the top and cracks will 
follow. In one way or other, however, 
weed growth must be checked if good 
crops are expected. 
Albert A. Kerridge. 
Wilts. 
“ Abol ” Insecticide. 
This is a wonderful insecticide, of recent 
introduction, and is all the makers claim 
for it, and when once a plant has been 
washed with it it seems to be kept free for a 
good time from the ravages of insect 
pests, and its cheapness, combined with 
its great usefulness, makes it procurable 
by the merest possessor of a garden or 
greenhouse, to use freely, and the smell, if 
used indoors, is not at all disagreeable, 
as is the dangerous paraffin oil mixture. 
If directions given are followed no mis¬ 
take. under or over, need be made, a 
small measure being supplied with each 
quantity, and those on the outlook for a 
cheap and safe plant wash cannot do 
better than procure a small quantity and 
give it a fair trial. Mix as directed, not 
otherwise, then condemn as useless or 
dangerous. 
J. R. B. 
in length , and must be written on one 
side of the -pafer only . 
Two Prizes of os. 6d. each will be 
awarded each week for the two Letters 
which the Editor considers to be the best. 
trysimum pu.rpureum, 
All the Erysimums are useful rock 
plants with Wallflower-like leaves and 
flowers in various shades of yellow. How¬ 
ever/this new species from Armenia differs 
in possessing pretty rosy purple flowers, 
and is therefore a valuable addition to 
the group. It grows about three inches 
high; the leaves are dark green and 
shaped exactly as in the Wallflower. The 
flowers are rosy purple and large in com¬ 
parison to the size of the plant. This and 
all other Erysimums prefer full sun in a 
soil three-quarters sand and broken stone 
and one-quarter loam. Propagation best 
by seeds. Mine were sown March, 1906, 
and are now in flower (April 16th) in my 
rockery border. Other useful species for 
the rock garden are E. helveticum and E. 
pumilum, both yellow. 
E. B. Anderson". 
Birmingham. 
Watercress during Summer. 
Everyone knows the value of this delight¬ 
ful salad ; few, perhaps, its simplicity of 
culture. It is often wrongly imagined that 
a brook or stream is an indispensable item. 
Not so ! A simple method of having an 
abundance of fresh cress during summer 
is as follows:—Buy one or more bunches, 
take off the tops for ordinary purposes, 
reserving the lower part of the stalks, on 
which are one or two leaves. Select the 
shadiest and coolest corner of the garden 
and dibble these in a few inches apart. 
Keep well watered, when they will soon 
take root and produce nice voung shoots. 
When long enough gather for use. An¬ 
other and more plentiful lot will then ap¬ 
pear. One or more batches put in at in¬ 
tervals will maintain a regular supply. 
The chief item being the giving 
plenty of water to keep the soil ever in a 
decidedlv moist condition. 
H. R. 
Anemone apennina. 
Too often the neighbourhood of shrubs 
and trees during springtime is barren and 
uninteresting. This should not be when 
exquisitelv beautiful subjects which actu¬ 
ally demand such a position can be ob¬ 
tained at a merely nominal cost. Nothing 
in the whole garden is more charmingly 
attractive than a carpeting of the blue 
Anemone apennina in the shrubbery dur¬ 
ing April. This, if desired, could be 
varied with the common wood Anemone, 
or the Anemone ranunculoides. Clumps 
of Daffodils studding the blue car¬ 
pet present an effective contrast, but 
I consider the solid blue of apen¬ 
nina is too good to be broken. Once es¬ 
tablished these plants need no attention, 
and rapidly cover the ground beneath the 
trees. Fork over the soil in the autumn. 
working in a heavy dressing of hal 
decayed leaf mould, plant just below th 
surface, cover thickly with fallen leave: 
and in the spring you will begin to rea 
your reward. 
M. Chapman. 
Golden rerns. 
Gymnogramme calomelanos is the mo: 
important of the golden Ferns, as th 
finest in cultivation are varieties or sut 
varieties of it. This species is of robu: 
habit, and has large fronds from three t 
four feet in length, the underside coverei 
with a creamy-white farinose powder. Th 
finest of the forms is G. c. chrysophylla 
which has rather large, somewhat uprigh; 
fronds of the richest golden hue on th 
underside. G. c. Alstoni differs from th 
variety immediately preceding it, in hat¬ 
ing the pinnae turned back at the tips am 
showing the golden underside, and pro 
ducing a distinct and charming effec: 
G. c. grandiceps and G. c. Parsoni an 
two distinct varieties with fronds heavil 
crested, and of a rich golden yellow 0: 
the underside. G. c. laucheana and G 
. Martensi are two strong growing ar.d ele 
gant varieties with pale yellow farinoS 1 
powder. 
P. GUY. 
Charlton Kings. 
Hints on Watering. 
Summer is near, and a few remarks 0: 
watering may prove acceptable. Mam 
amateurs are content with a light sprink¬ 
ling upon the sun-baked soil, which doe 
more harm than good, as, being insufii 
cient to reach the roots causes them t< 
grow towards the surface in their en 
deavours to obtain the necessary moisture 
This soon evaporates when the roots’ actio: 
automatically ceases, the plants in conse 
quence withering. A thorough soakim 
once or twice a week is far more beneficia 
than continual sprinkling, and if the soi 
between the plants is previously well hoe< 
the water has free access to the roots 
Watering should always be done after sun 
set, or brown and unsightly foliage wil 
be the result. After watering liberally ■ 
judicious feeding with some reliable fe> 
tiliser will be of great benefit, and th 
garden will soon become a source of mor 
satisfaction to its owner. 
Enfield, N. Geo. A. Fisher. 
Wallflowers. 
These are often sown too late, in to 
rich soil, and much too thickly. Th 
Wallflower requires time to develop int* 
sturdy plants, so should be sown earb 
treading the ground fairly firm before th: 
is done. Draw drills iin. deep, and min 
between the rows. As soon as the plani 
are up, lose no time in running the ho 
over the bed to keep down weeds. W he 
about 3ms. high they should be tram 
planted gins, between the drills, and 4 > n 
from plant to plant,, here they will mal 
fibrous roots and bushy tops, which wi 
not fail when finallv planted as many c 
with onlv a long tap root and tops. Pom 
to remember in growing this plant well, 
to sow early and thinly, in firm soil, trail- 
planting before getting crowded, and 
not too rich soil. 
G. Waller. 
Surbiton. 
