702 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
November 2, 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 
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. 
Eradicating- Slugs. 
This is very difficult, but just now 
when tidying up beds and borders thou¬ 
sands may be caught and killed ; there¬ 
fore keep a sharp look-out, especially 
under trees and on rockeries. Then next 
year their numbers will be greatly re¬ 
duced. 
D. V. E. 
Layering Plumbago capensis. 
When any difficulty is experienced in 
striking cuttings of this dainty cold house 
climber, it may be propagated by pegging 
some of the long shoots into pots of sandy 
soil, giving a slight bruise at a joint. If 
this was done in June or July many will 
be now ready to separate from the parent 
and in all probability be full of flower 
buds. Small plants in full flower are 
thus easily obtained. The variety alba 
is also amenable to similar treatment. 
' >D. V. E. 
The Use of Lime and Matches. 
It may interest some of your readers 
to know how I treat all white or milky 
sappy cuttings. As soon as I take them 
off I dip the heels in dry slacked lime. 
Late cuttings of Fuchsias and Zonals I 
treat in the same way. Poinsettias and 
Stephanotis are no trouble to root after 
being dipped or dusted. When I prune 
my Stephanotis I burn the end where the 
piece has been cut from with a match, 
which stops all bleeding. I have done 
this for the last three years, and have 
never known plants to flower freer or 
better. 
Chas. Bendall. 
Henley-on-Thames. 
Traps for Wasps. 
Wasps are very destructive to ripe fruit, 
and if not trapped will spoil some of the 
choicest fruits upon the trees. A very 
good method of trapping is by means of a 
bottle as a counter attraction. These 
bottles should be partly filled with sugar 
and beer or rum and treacle and placed 
very near to the fruit, and large quanti¬ 
ties of wasps can be thus caught, which 
should afterwards be destroyed. - During 
October the wasps that still remain are 
queen wasps, everyone of which will lay 
a large number of eggs; therefore 
strenuous efforts should be made to trap 
as many of these as possible, or next sea¬ 
son’s plague will be worse than ever. To 
keep other crawling insects from getting 
to the fruits the base of the trees should 
be limewashed for about four feet up¬ 
wards. 
Joseph Floyd. 
Westhoughton 
Rambling: Roses. 
These are now much in fashion, but I 
notice many very inferior sorts. Why 
do not growers re-introduce (as it seems 
almost lost) that lovely rampant grower, 
almost evergreen, and ever blooming— 
Jaune Desprez? This has shoots ten feet 
long, each with a small cluster of creamy 
and shell-pink exquisitely scented 
flowers in May and June. In August, 
September and October very large 
clusters are produced, and flowers are al¬ 
ways of good size. There is also a bright 
pink almost identical in growth and foli¬ 
age, but with an even longer period of 
flowering, which I have christened, in lieu 
of another name, Rose Desprez. 
D. V. E. 
Annuals. 
Annuals are grown from seeds and only 
last a season, yet they are very good for 
garden decoration and cut blooms, and if 
carefully attended to an abundance of 
blooms will be obtained. In the first 
place always select good seeds from some 
well known advertiser, whose names you 
will find in the “G. W. ” Six good 
annuals suitable for decoration, etc., are 
the following: — Coreopsis, Centaurea 
Cyanus (Corn Flower), Gaillardia picta, 
Godetia, Shirley Poppy, Phlox Drum- 
mondii. 
Trench the soil well and give plenty of 
decayed manure. Then after levelling 
the soil sow thinly about the middle of 
April in beds arranged according to the 
size of the gardens. Towards the middle 
of July, if the weather be good, one may 
start cutting blooms. 
William Bullough. 
Horwich. 
The Culture of Gladioli. 
A moderately rich soil, well drained, 
suits Gladioli best. The corms should 
be planted out about the end of March, 
about 4 inches deep and 1 foot apart, sur¬ 
rounded with a little sand. A neat stake 
should be placed to each plant when 12 
inches high and occasional waterings with 
liquid manure should be given; also 
mulch with a few inches of well-rotted 
manure. 
For exhibition they are best protected 
by placing about them three or four long 
stakes, round which wrap a piece of can¬ 
vas or such like material; but the most 
effective way is to use oblong boxes about 
2 feet in length, with glass sides. 
The box must be fixed to a strong 
stake and then placed over the spike. 
The lower blooms should be shaded by 
a little whiting being put on the’ lower 
part of the glass. Lift the corms when 
the leaves turn yellow at the end of the 
year and hang them up in a dry shed. 
Highlander. 
Dumbartonshire. 
Cattleya labiata Daphne. 
The flowers of this fine autumn flowei 
ing variety were pure white, with the es 
ception of a violet blotch on the lip, an 
the yellow throat. Award of Merit by th 
R.H.S. on October 15th, when shown b 
J. Bradshaw, Esq., The Grange, SoutI 
gate. 
Potato The Provost. 
The above is a Potato which has bee 
tried by the R.H.S. at Wisley, and no' 
accorded an Award of Merit. The tuber 
are round white, of beautiful appearance 
and suitable either for exhibition or fo 
table use. It is a maincrop or late variety 
The exhibitors were Messrs. Dobbie an 
Co., Rothesay. 
-- 
Galceolafias : 
How I Grow Them. 
This is one of the most frequently-see 
plants in villa and cottage gardens of t( 
day; and if the following instructions t 
carried out good plants and an abundanc 
of flowers may be easily obtained. 
The first thing to do is to construct tw 
frames each about 4 feet square and on 
foot deep, in which to grow the dark an , 
yellow varieties respectively. Then g< - 
two bags of oak leaves and place at th 
bottom of the frames; the plants roc 
freely in this material, and it also helf 
the soil to adhere to the roots when tran. 
planting. Cover the leaves with litter 
manure, using about one barrowload t 
each frame, and finally layover the whol 
about three inches in depth of a compo: 
consisting of two parts loam, one pai 
leaf mould or spent hops, and three 
quarter parts of sand. A light coverin 
of sand will complete the job. 
Cuttings must now be obtained, an 
these may be had from the local nursen 
man or from advertisers in the “ G. W. 
The cuttings should be four or five inche 
in length; remove the bottom leaves fo 
about i\ inches from the base and plan 
in the frames 3 inches apart. Afterward 
well water so as to wash the soil dow: 
to the heels of the cuttings; the yellor ] 
varieties, however, should have rathe * 
less water than the dark varieties, as the 
are more tender and easily damp of 
Continue to water them when dry, unt 
the end of October, when watering ma 
be stopped. At the first intimation c 
frost the lights must be put on, thoug 
they should be removed in daytime dui 
ing warm and sunny weather. To kee 
birds from the plants when the lights ai 
off the frames should be covered with one 
inch mesh wire-netting. 
At about the beginning of Februai 
pinch out the centre of each plant so 1 
to encourage a bushy growth. The 
towards the middle of April transplant th 
young Calceolarias into shady beds an 
borders, about nine inches apart, in goo 
loam which has been well trenched in th 
winter and enriched with well decaye: 
manure. 
If the directions I have given are can 
fully carried out, the result will be goc 
strong plants, a fine display of flower 
and plenty of cuttings for stock the fo 
lowing year. 
William Bullough. 
