426 
THE GARDENING WORLD\ 
June 22, 1907. 
finely, and dusted in the runs of the ants 
during the dry weather, is also very desir¬ 
able to have, and sometimes serves to drive 
them away. It is necessary to persevere for 
some time, however, as these ants are diffi¬ 
cult to dislodge. During winter you 
could lift the turf and dig out the nests, 
exposing the ants to frost. In the mean¬ 
time if you fail to dislodge them, you 
should mark the spot where the nests occur, 
so that you can uncover and dig them up 
in winter. Paraffin emulsion would prob¬ 
ably prove serviceable if you water the 
ground before applying it with clean water, 
and then pour some of the emulsion, into the 
hole where the ants are. A little of this 
frequently repeated may succeed in dislodg¬ 
ing them. 
1946. Strang-e Worms. 
Can you give me through your columns 
any information concerning the enclosed 
worms, which I find in great abundance in 
my garden on the leaves of pretty well every¬ 
thing, especially after a heavy rain. None 
of my acquaintances seem to understand 
what they are, or how to get rid of them? 
(Gravesend, Kent.) 
The creatures you sent us are hair eels, 
otherwise named Gordius aquaticus. We 
do not know that they are harmful in any 
way to vegetation, although they are dis¬ 
agreeable enough when numerous and crawl¬ 
ing over various things. When dry weather 
sets in, however, you will find that these 
hair eels disappear, for they cannot live 
above the surface, except there is plenty 
of moisture about, as has been the Case 
lately. You may help to hasten their de¬ 
parture by sprinkling the ground with 
slaked and finely powdered lime. You 
should avoid dusting the leaves of plants as 
much as possible. In the meantime, should 
dry weather set in, they will all disappear. 
SOILS AND MANURES. 
1947. Price of Bone Meal. 
As an amateur dependent chiefly upon 
your ptaper for reliable information and 
guidance, I shall be glad if you will help 
myself and friends with your experience 
on the subject of reliable bone meal. As 
amateurs of limited means, we desire to 
give our Roses, Sweet Peas, Lawns, etc., the 
best possible treatment that funds will 
allow. What ought we to pay for bone 
meal? A local dealer quotes 8d. per lb., 
and declares that a pure bone meal cannot 
be sold for less. He mentions the names 
of four local nurserymen who purchase it 
from him at a special rate of 7^. per lb. 
On the other hand, we have purchased from 
another firm what is described as bone meal 
in boxes —7 lbs. tor a shilling and 14 lbs. 
for is. 9d., the latter price being i^d. per 
lb. The disparity in price is so great, and 
yet both firms have a reputation to maintain 
that it is impossible for us to know whom 
to purchase from. It seems incredible that 
nurserymen should be willing to pay 
per lb. if a reliable bone meal is to be had 
for less. However, if that offered at ii,d 
per lb. in 14 lb. box is unsatisfactory in 
quality, no doubt hundreds of amateurs are 
wasting both money and time in using it. 
(Bone Meal, Middlesex.) 
We are rather surprised at the disparity 
in prices which you mention, but it is well 
known that there is often a disparity in 
quality, so that price is not always a _good 
gauge. Farmers who buy it in targe 
quantities often require to have it analysed, 
to make sure they are getting an article 
with a reasonable percentage of bone meal. 
No doubt it varies from time to time accord¬ 
ing to the state of the market, but the aver¬ 
age price of good bone meal, according to 
Dr Griffiths, should be 5 s - a ton, or 
nearly ^d. per lb. As a matter of course, 
you could not expect to actually get a 
pound at |d. nor even 14 lbs. at that rate, 
as the smaller the packets in which it is 
made up the more expense attached to the 
labour required, packing, etc. Seven 
pounds for a shilling and fourteen pounds 
for is. gd. is a fair .price for such small 
quantities, but we could not guarantee that 
the article is really what it is stated to be. 
That, however, requires proving sometimes, 
although if you are dealing with a firm of 
repute, we should take it for granted that 
you are being dealt with in an honest and 
straightforward manner. We cannot see 
why bone meal should be 8d. per lb., how¬ 
ever, as that would mean ^'74 I 3 S - 4^- P er 
ton, which would be excessive for either 
garden or field purposes. Even if it were 
of the best quality, it would not be worth 
that to a cultivator. 
MISCELLANEOUS . 
1948. Qualifications for Kew. 
I should be very much obliged for in¬ 
formation regarding the gardeners in the 
Rcyal Gardens, Kew, as to the necessary 
qualifications, pay, and general particulars 
of getting work in the said gardens. 
(Spring Bell, Forfarshire.) 
To get into Kew Gardens it is neces¬ 
sary that you should have had five years’ 
previous training in good gardens, and that 
you should be between the ages of 18 and 
25 years. If you went there you would 
have to go as a journeyman at 21s. a week; 
others, according to their responsibilities, 
such as sub-foremen, would get 25s. to 27s. 
per week. Your best plan would be to make 
application to the Curator, Mr. W. Watson, 
Royal Gardens, Kew, who would supply you 
with forms to which you would have to con¬ 
form if required to enter the gardens. It 
sometimes happens that several are on the 
list, and have to wait their turn till vacan¬ 
cies on the staff occur. 
1949. Plants and Seeds Wholesale. 
Could you please tell me the names of 
some of the firms who will supply me with 
plants, seeds, and bulbs wholesale, or could 
you tell me the name of a good trade 
paper? (Gardener, BJackburn.) 
In order to get plants, seeds, or bulbs at 
wholesale rates, you would have to be a 
nurseryman, seedsman, cr florist, or at least 
in the trade. As the wholesale dealers are 
numerous, your best plan would be to apply 
to Mr. B. Wynne, 30, Wellington Street, 
Strand, London, asking him for a copy of 
his paper, “The Nurseryman and Seeds¬ 
man,” to be sent you. Of course, you can 
only get this if you can assure him that 
you are a bona fide trader. In such paper 
you would see the names of people who have 
got certain things to sell and the prices they 
ask for the samet 
1950. To Become a Fellow of the R.H.S 
Please say what are the qualifications 
necessary ■ to become a fellow of ijhe Royal 
Horticultural Society and how I should pro¬ 
ceed in order to secure election? (T. A., 
Croydon.) 
To get elected a fellow you should get 
some local fellow 'of the R.H.S. to propose 
and another to second your election. The 
other necessary qualifications would be the 
annual subscription of one or two guineas, 
whichever you liked. Send to the Secretary, 
Royal Horticultural Society, Vincent 
Square, Westminster, tasking him for a form 
of proposal for fellows, and you will then 
see what you have to do. 
1951. A Useful Syringe. 
What is the most useful kind and size to 
have for a garden syringe to clear fruit 
trees, Rose trees, and Cucumber plants of 
insects, and which is the best all-round in¬ 
secticide to use, and where can both be got, 
and what price? (Gladiola, Essex.) 
When about it you should at least get a 
good syringe. They vary somewhat in price, 
but a i6in. barrel syringe with two roses 
and one jet would cost about 10s., and a 
similar syringe i8in. long would cost about 
12s. 6d. We cannot name any particular 
nurseryman, but you will find nurserymen 
advertising on the front page of The Gar¬ 
dening World who sell syringes, and are 
reliable dealers. You tell them what size 
you want and what price you are willing 
to pay, and we have no doubt you will get 
your money’s value. A good, general in¬ 
secticide for the plants you mention would 
be a solution of 2 ozs. soft soap to the gallon 
of water, to which you should add about 
one pint of tobacco, water. Ordinary soap 
would do if you have not soft soap, but you 
should have no difficulty, in procuring both 
soap and tobacco water from the nurseryman 
who supplies the syringe. Tobacco powder 
is also a good insecticide for getting rid of 
green fly in the buds of Roses, Chrysanthe¬ 
mums and other plants. You can get a tin 
of powder for a shilling that will last you 
some time. 
NAMES OF PLANTS. 
W. H. G. (Sutton) The Orchid is evidently 
Cypripedium Godefroyae; the hardy plant 
is Funkia sieboldiana (see under Stove and 
Greenhouse for the other question).—(W. 
Peach) Heuchera sanguinea.—(Clarke) 1, 
Odontoglossum citrosmum; 2, Begonia 
knowsleyana; 3, Sedum Sieboldi medio- 
variegatum; 4, Chlorophytum elatum varie- 
gatum.—(C. Glen) What you call Mouse’s 
Ear is also known as Lamb’s Tongue and 
Stachys lanata; the other plant is Lim- 
nanthes Douglasii, and is more nearly allied 
to Tropaeolum and Geranium than Saxi¬ 
frage.— (T. R.) 1, Lonicera alpigena; 2, 
Laburnum Adami; 3, Philadelphus corona- 
rius; 4, Viburnum Opulus sterilis; 5, Vibur¬ 
num tomenrtosum plicatum; 6, Vinca major 
elegantissima.—(A. M. West) 1, Iris varie- 
gata Gracchus; 2, Iris Mme. Chereau; 3, 
Geranium pratense; 4, Geranium pratense 
album; 5, Centaurea montana alba; 6, 
Papaver orientale bracteatum; 7, Barbarea 
vulgaris variegaba. — (J. B. Eastman) 1, 
Nephrolepis Duffii; 2, Pteris hastata macro- 
phylla; 3, Asplenium ebeneum; 4, Pteris 
Wimsettii; 5, Adiantum formosum.— (H. G. 
Purvis) Phyllocactus Ackermanni or a 
seedling from it with the outer and inner 
petals nearly of the same hue. 
-- 
Cypripedium tibeticum. 
The above is a hardy species collected 
by Mr. E. H. Wilson in China. The 
flowers are of large size and the sepals 
and petals are purple, checkered with 
darker lines of the same hue. The large, 
globular lip is dark maroon or brown- 
purple. First-class Certificate to Messrs. 
J-. Veitch and Sons, Ltd., Chelsea; who 
exhibited it at the Temple Show. 
-f+4-- 
TRADE NOTES. 
From Sutton and Sons’ Seeds. 
We are informed that the splendid and comnTe- 
hensive collection of some 100 varieties of vegetables 
from Lord Aldenham’s gardens (Mr. Edwin 
Beckett, gardener) which were so greatly admired 
at the recent Temple Show, and which secured the 
gold medal of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
were raised entirely from Messrs. Sutton and Sons 
Seeds. 
A Grand Exhibit by Toogood and Sons. 
At the Royal Counties Show at Maidenhead there 
was a magnificent exhibit by Messrs. Toogood and 
Sons, of Southampton, which sustained the very 
high reputation achieved bv this, one of the 
largest seed-growing and distributing businesses 
in the world. Messrs. Toogood and Sons are famed 
for the excellence of their strains of root seeds with 
which enormous crops are obtained in every 
quarter of the globe. ] fee—-* 
