October 12, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
659 
Marguerite Carnations. 
The named varieties of Carnations and 
ricotees are just now in extreme favour 
yith amateur gardeners ; were it not so, I 
tm certain we should find the lovely Mar¬ 
guerite Carnations more extensively 
frown, for few flowers, if any, better re¬ 
lay Che enthusiast for the time and 
rouble expended on their culture. Why 
hey should not be grown in conjunction 
yith their more aristocratic relatives (if 
may so term them) I cannot see, for 
he .Marguerites, blooming as they do 
rom August till the advent of frosts, 
.vould provide the Carnation lover with 
:ut flowers when the other, and perhaps 
:hoicer varieties, had ceased blossoming. 
The seeds should be sown in February 
n well-drained pans or boxes, in a com- 
xist consisting of equal parts of leaf- 
mould, sand, and good loam, which 
ihould have been previously well damped. 
It is a good plan, if time can be spared, 
:o place the seeds about an inch apart, 
as the seedlings will not then require 
pricking off, nor will they become drawn 
up. Placed in gentle heat, the seeds will 
soon germinate, and when large enough 
the little plants may be potted off singly 
into three-inch pots, and if due care is 
exercised and the seedlings are removed 
each with a ball of earth attached, they 
ft'ill receive little or no check by the shift, 
>nd will soon be ready for “hardening 
iff" in the cold frame. 
When first placed in the frame it 
hould be kept closed for a day or two 
ind then opened by degrees to admit the 
tecessary air. If care is taken, nice 
Jocky- plants should be the outcome of 
his treatment, and early in May these 
■hould be ready to plant out into their 
permanent flowering positions in the bed 
i>r border. 
They thrive best in fairly light loam, 
and, the bed having been previously well 
dug and manured, the plants should be 
inserted about fifteen inches apart to 
allow them to make a good strong natural 
growth, and if kept hoed and watered a 
fine show of bloom will be obtained from 
August onwards. 
Most gardeners treat Marguerite Car¬ 
nations as annuals, but they are really 
perennials, and, if cut back severely late 
in autumn and protected during the win¬ 
ter months with some straw litter, they 
will, in the spring, throw up strong shoots 
from the base of each plant and give an¬ 
other glorious display of blossom. 
If required for winter blooming in pots 
in the cool greenhouse, the seed should 
be sown in March or April, but instead of 
being planted out, they should be "potted 
on - ' until they are in six-inch pots, which 
are amply large enough to flower them in. 
Plunge the pots in the open (in ashes 
to keep out the worms) until the Com¬ 
mencement of October, and then remove 
them, via the cold frame, to the green¬ 
house or conservatory, where, encouraged 
by a judicious feeding with rather weak 
manure water, they will flower in profu¬ 
sion, supplying cut flowers for table de¬ 
coration and other purposes for months to 
come. 
These beautiful flowers, I am con¬ 
vinced have only to be more widely 
grown to be more thoroughly appreciated. 
Gf.o. A. Fishf.r. 
-4-M-- 
Single Dahlia Peggy. 
Around the deep yellow centre this has 
a crimson zone followed by another that 
is shaded orange, while the broad tips of 
the florets are rosy mauve, making a very- 
pleasing combination. First-class certi¬ 
ficate to Messrs. J. Cheal and Sons, Craw¬ 
ley, Sussex, by the T.ondon Dahlia Union 
at Regent's Park on September 12th. 
Skim Milk as a Fertiliser. 
Astonishing results are said to have 
followed the experimental use of skim 
milk on meadow land by farmers in the 
vicinity of Halsey-, New Jersey, America. 
The grass grew seven times as vigorously 
as that on adjoining land which had been 
treated with commercial fertilisers. 
Japanese Dwarf Trees. 
Mr. S. Eida, a Japanese Fellow of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, has supplied 
a writer in the current number of “ The 
Windsor Magazine” with some interesting 
facts relating to the methods employed 
by the Japanese in producing tiny dwarf 
trees. These dwarf trees are produced 
from seeds, or — in cases where this is not 
practicable — from carefully selected cut¬ 
tings. When the young plant begins to 
grow it is tended with ceaseless care, and 
from the commencement of its career its 
natural tendencies are subjugated to the 
will of its master. Each twig, each leaf, 
as it makes its appearance, becomes the 
object of the closest scrutiny. Shall it 
be permitted to grow, and if so, in what 
direction? May it not be advisable to 
cut it away altogether and encourage 
growth elsewhere r These and a dozen 
similar questions occupy the mind of the 
Japanese artist, and upon their correct 
solution depends the ultimate value of the 
tree; for, to be perfect, the dwarf must 
possess a shape and balance equal to the 
best life-sized models. 
-- 
Clerodendron 
trichotomum. 
C ^ - 
In the Midland and Southern parts of 
England, Wales, Ireland, and the West 
Coast of Scotland this plant may be ex¬ 
pected to thrive, but in cold or very late 
districts it is inadvisable to include it in 
the out-door garden. A native of both 
China and Japan, it forms under cultiva¬ 
tion a large, ornamental bush at least 12 
feet high and almost as much through. 
The rate of growth is fast, especially in 
the case of young plants, and the shoots 
are rather soft and pithy. As the plants 
advance in age, however, growth is slower 
and the branches of a more woody char¬ 
acter. The leaves are large, ovate and 
acuminate and turn to a purplish 
colour in autumn. The flowers are 
fragrant and borne during August and 
September in large, flat, terminal inflores¬ 
cences, the corolla being white and the 
calyx red. The calyx is retained long 
after the fall of the corolla, and gives 
additional beauty- to the plant. When 
selecting a position for this plant one 
should be chosen where shelter from .cold 
winds is provided, and where the ground 
is well drained. The best soil for it is 
a rich, warm loam, and propagation is 
effected by- means of suckers or seeds, 
both of which are produced freely. A 
second hardy species of Clerodendron is 
C. foetidum, a shrub growing 5 feet or so 
high, with large, cordate leaves and 
flattened, dense heads of rich rose- 
coloured flowers, which are borne during 
September. It is rather less hardy than 
the former, and is a native of China. 
W. D. 
