43 ° 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
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 
in length, and must be written on one 
side of the fafer only. 
Two Prizes of 2s. 6d. each will be 
awarded each week for the two Letters 
which the Editor considers to be the best. 
Currants. 
During the early part of June examine 
the Currant bushes, and pinch out the 
young shoots. This prevents superflous 
growth, admits more light, and, more¬ 
over, utilises the force that would be ex¬ 
pended in the production of unnecessary 
wood for the development of the fruit. In 
these shoots aphides usually collect, and 
by pinching out, these are promptly re¬ 
moved. The general shape of the bush 
is vastly improved by this process, and 
we obtain a compact bush, laden with 
large, clear berries, surely a desirable 
object in a garden. 
F. W. D. 
Anerley, S.E. 
Dahlias and their Culture. 
Old plants may be planted now, but 
young plants are best. Those who have 
got a greenhouse or light should get 
young plants and grow them along in 
pots. Take care not to coddle them too 
much, as they quickly draw, and, on the 
other hand, avoid draughts, which are 
very conductive to deformed growth. 
When first planted out, if very early in 
the season, it will be safest to devise some 
means of protecting them at night, as one 
degree of frost almost always proves fata! 
to young plants. See that they are 
securely staked, and never lack moisture 
at the roots. The ground between the 
plants should be well worked with the hoe 
several times during the season. If. the 
season is a dry one, a mulching of old 
manure will be found very beneficial. A 
soil that is rich and deeply worked suits 
them best. 
A. V. Parratt. 
Farnham. 
Honesty. 
If the pure white and the dwarf purple 
Honesty were better known, I am sure 
they would be universally grown. Seed 
of Honesty should be sown at once to en¬ 
sure strong plants for next spring's bloom¬ 
ing. 
It is only when really strong plants are 
thus secured that fine heads or spikes of 
bloom may be looked for. 
After the plants have seeded, and the 
branching stems are cut and carefully 
dried, very pleasing are the satiny-like 
seed pods which remain attached to the 
stems, and which look so pretty all the 
winter when utilised for indoor decorative 
purposes with dried grasses and everlast¬ 
ings. 
Honesty, if cut when the outside cover¬ 
ings of the seed vessels are at the point of 
falling, and the centre not yet exposed to 
the weather, is clearer than if left in the 
open till wanted. 
J. M. T. 
Hamilton, N.B. 
Lily of the Valley. 
In course of time beds of Lily of the 
Valley become crowded, hence they 
quickly deteriorate. The best way to 
renovate old beds is to draw a line across 
at one end (in Autumn), chop down with 
a spade, measure off a spade’s width, cut 
again, next leave a strip four inches wide, 
then another spade’s width, and so on, and 
then grub out the wide spaces to the depth 
of ten inches, and fill in with good soil, 
treading firm. Treated in this way they 
re-establish themselves much more 
quickly than if the crowns are planted 
singly. This also applies to the making 
of new beds. The ideal site is one that 
is shaded during the hottest part of the 
day. 
E. T. Lawrence. 
Budleigh Salterton. 
The Worm i’ the Bud. 
A sharp look out is required at this sea¬ 
son, in order to check the ravages of . the 
above pest among our “ Queen of 
Flowers.” Careful search among the 
young Rose growths reveals a curiously 
curled-up leaf here and there. -Diligent 
unfolding will show up the curly little 
grub, a very lively subject, by the bye, 
which will wriggle away at the slightest 
opportunity. The best way of destroying 
it is pinching between the finger and 
thumb. Having worked his worst on the 
leaves, he turns his attention to the bud, 
if not caught soon enough, and a nasty 
dark hole spoils the look of same, while 
later the flower appears only a wreck of 
what it should have been. Pests seem to 
encourage one another, for where one 
finds the above quite near will be seen a 
colony of green fly very often. 
Albert A. Kerridge. 
Chippenham. 
Rehmannia angulata. 
This attractive half-hardy perennial 
was introduced into this country from 
China only the other year, and is, there¬ 
fore, not widely known yet. It is an ideal 
subject for a cool greenhouse. It attains 
a height of from ft. to 3 ft., and has 
a good habit. Its flowers resemble those 
of Incarvillea Delavayi: rose purple, wfith 
a bright yellow' throat. Seeds sown in 
July will give plants to flower in April. 
Sow in light rich soil in a pot or pan, and 
place in a cold frame. In due course pot 
off into pots, 3 in., 5 in., and 7 in. in 
diameter. After the first potting, use a 
rougher and richer compost, say, two 
parts loam, one part each of cow manure 
and leaf soil, with a dash of sand. Dur¬ 
ing September the plants should be stood 
out of doors. One central stake will be 
required to each plant. 
C. C. 
June 29, 1907. 
Cucumbers from Cuttings- 
Where Cucumbers are already in bear¬ 
ing, and additional plants are required 
for a successional crop, there is no neces¬ 
sity to purchase seed. When the plants 
are looked over, say, once a week, for the 
usual stopping and tying, plenty of short- 
jointed growths suitable for cutting will 
be found. Take them off about 4 in. in 
length, cut off the lowest leaves, not for¬ 
getting to cut them straight under a 
joint, which is essential. Insert them 
either around the edges of 60 size pots 
filled with loam, leaf soil and sand, or in 
the Cucumber bed under the fruiting 
plants. The latter method I cannot too 
strongly recommend. When nicely 
rooted, pot them up singly into 60 pots 
to get strong prior to planting in their 
respective quarters. 
L. S. Small. 
Beckenham. 
Spring Treatment of Genistas and 
Solanums. 
When the flowmring and berrying of 
these plants are over, the best course to 
take to insure them being good for an¬ 
other season is to clip them well back, 
and place in a warm house. A vinery is 
suitable, as here they w'ould get the 
necessary syringing which will cause them 
to break into growth. If potting is 
needed it should be done now, keeping 
the plants in the house for a short time 
to get established, when they can be stood 
in the open for the summer. If preferred, 
when growth is made and they are 
hardened off, they can have the soil 
shaken out and be planted outside to be 
potted at the end of September. This 
method is the better for some reasons; 
the plants do not need so much attention 
in watering as when in pots they require 
daily attention. 
G. Waller. 
Surbiton. 
Budding Roses. 
To brother readers of the “G.W.” who 
would like to increase their stock of Roses, 
I offer the following advice. Take some 
cuttings from the wild Brier (the pink sort 
is the best) in November, about one foot 
long, and remove the buds from the 
bottom. Tread them in the ground, and 
let them remain there till the following 
year. Then remove the mould, and in¬ 
sert the bud in the ordinary wa}' as near 
the root as possible. Let the mould keep 
from them till the bud has struck well, 
then fill in over where the bud is put in. 
Do not bud the first season after planting 
the cutting, as they will not have made 
enough root. If these rules are observed, 
some fine trees and blooms will be the 
result. If any reader would like to try 
this, and is unable to procure the cut- 
tings, I will send as many as wanted free 
of charge, providing the carriage is paid. 
Frank Starling. 
Hilton, Hunts. 
-f+4- 
Tulip Gorgeous. 
The above is the name of a new Dar¬ 
win variety of great size, and orange, 
overlaid with red, on the centre of the 
petals. The base is yellow and sur¬ 
rounded by a blue line. Award of Merit 
at the Temple Show when exhibited by 
Messrs. A. Dickson and Sons. 
