The Gardening World, December 7, 1907. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“ The sweetest grapes hang highest .”— German Proverb 
An Amateur’s Letter to Amateurs. 
CONTENTS. 
Amateur's Letter to Amateurs, An ... 767 
Amateur’s Greenhouse, The . 773 
Annual. A Pretty Dwarf (illus.) . 769 
Aspidistras, Winter Treatment . 768 
Azaleas, The Culture or . 769 
Chrysanthemums. Work for Decem¬ 
ber . .771 
Competition Awards . 76S 
Competition, Prize Letter . 778 
Enquire Within . 775 
Flower Garden, The . 773 
Fruit Garden, The . 773 
Fruit Growing for Amateurs (illus.)... vii. 
Gardeners, Knowledge for Young ... 769 
Golden Pippin, Grime's (illus.) . 771 
Greenhouse, The Amateurs . 773 
Kitchen Garden, The . 773 
Knowledge, How to Gain . 769 
Manures, and Their Uses . 768 
Orchids for Amateurs . 774 
Pippin, Grime’s Golden (illus.) . 771 
Poppy, The Tree (illus.) . 770 
Roses, for Pillars and Arches (illus.) 772 
Toad-Flax, A Good Perennial . 772 
Work of the "Week (illus.) . 773 
-♦+>- 
Upon Koarth. 
A tree will prove a blessing all life long; 
From birth to death it brings us naught 
but good; 
The shade will make a pleasant solitude 
For one who lies and dreams the grass 
among. 
What golden globes upon the limbs are 
hung 
In summer ! And, when dead, the burn¬ 
ing wood 
Will foster sweetness in. the poet's mood, 
Hum on his hearth, and help his sylvan 
song. 
Its death is like the day's, for still it 
throws 
A lingering light roseate around our 
rooms, 
As slow the fire its last of life consumes ; 
Then sinks to embers, like the sunset 
snows, 
And, dying, even in its ashes glows 
With bright remembrance of the spring¬ 
time blooms. 
CXX. 
Some Winter - Hints. 
Should I treat my Streptocarpus like 
Gloxinias and let them die off so far as 
their tops are concerned? To this query 
I would say, emphatically, No. These 
beautiful conservatory subjects, although 
they can be flowered well in an unheated 
sunny greenhouse or conservatory, must, 
for the winter, be housed bevond all fear 
of frost, and just " kept going” so far as 
temperature and moisture are concerned. 
They flower over an immense period, and 
are therefore invaluable, and they are of 
the easiest culture. 
The Dahlias are long-enduring this 
autumn, but sooner or later the tops will 
be blackened by frost. This is the stage 
at which they should be lifted. Care 
should be taken that the tubers are not 
broken from the crown, and they should 
be dried well before storing, but not in a 
heated greenhouse. When I say dried, 
1 mean the soil that still adheres. For 
the winter one of the best methods of stor¬ 
ing is to pack them in a box with sand, 
dry gravel, or cinder dust between, to 
keep them from "dwindling,” as they call 
it in this neighbourhood. They should 
be stored where frost cannot reach them, 
and, we may remember, that this covering 
of sand helps very much to keep away the 
frost. It is well to examine them after 
the turn of the year to see that they are 
neither suffering from dry rot nor damp¬ 
ness. It is the habit of far too many to 
grow their Dahlias by planting the old 
tubers again, either directly in the ground 
or by starting in heat and growing on 
until the fear of frost is over. But this 
method is not nearly so desirable as to 
start in heat in the early year and, as the 
shoots reach a few inches in length, to 
remove these and root them. Such make 
far better plants, with a single sturdy 
main stem and a profusion of flowers. 
The new, or rather comparatively new 
Varieties known as “Paeony” and “De¬ 
corative” varieties, merit attention, but I 
will write of them at a seasonable time 
for procuring cuttings, booking plants for 
later delivery from nurserymen. 
In the garden, ashes afford a capital 
protection to subjects that might suffer 
from frost or excessive moisture, but I 
am inclined to think that it should not 
be used until really necessary, and often 
it need not be requisitioned until after 
Christmas. 
Roses. 
Early November is the best time for 
Rose planting, but if the weather keeps 
mild there is still a favourable oppor¬ 
tunity for putting in climbing Roses 
round the house or other walls, while for 
open spaces the Rambler section are so 
hardy that it is as well to employ slack 
time by planting them. I do not think 
we use arches, whether rustic or iron, as 
we might. I am not a great advocate of 
pergolas in our English gardens, especi¬ 
ally in small ones, but to my mind there 
are few features more picturesque than a 
series of arches along a pathway. Crim¬ 
son Ramblers, Dorothy Perkins, Gloire 
de Dijon, Ards Rover, Ards Pillar, Ches- 
hunt Hybrid, and Waltham Climber are 
all excellent. It will be noticed that a 
good number of them are red, and I must 
confess that a series of arches in this 
colour is wonderfully effective. These 
varieties are all vigorous and perfectly 
hardy, and may be planted during open 
weather. Arches are splendid means of 
obtaining masses of brilliant blossom at 
the cost of a minimum of ground space, 
and on this grandly decorative score 
alone are worthy of even - consideration. 
Clematis 
And Roses are not the only subjects 
that may be used to cover them. We are 
adding much bpauty to our gardens when 
we introduce, just as many plants of 
Clematis as we can possibly find space 
for—Clematis as wall or paling subjects. 
Clematis as subjects for arches and for 
poles, while trained along wires they 
make beautiful edgings for larger beds. 
King Edward VII. is a capital variety 
that flowers on the current year’s growth, 
and is a bright wine colour. 
Bulbs in Pots. 
Pots of bulbs that are making their 
root growth under a covering of ashes 
must be examined occasionally, and when 
top growth is fairly through the soil they 
may be removed to light quarters. Bul¬ 
bous plants that are subjected to very 
slight heat are far more satisfactory in the 
majority of cases than those that are 
given a high temperature. 
Crown Imperials. 
This season has ripened an unusual 
number of the seeds of the Crown Im¬ 
perial. Last year I sowed seeds in a pan 
and the}’ - were put away in a cold green¬ 
house for the winter. In spring they 
were discovered absolutely dust dry 
and no sign of life, but they were 
copiously watered and placed in a 
sunny position, no further watering being 
given until again somewhat dr}-. Very 
soon small blades in great quantity ap¬ 
peared, and it seemed as if every seed 
must have germinated. Crown Imperial, 
those noblest of all the Fritillarias, make 
charming and tall-growing plants, spring 
flowering, too, for some position that does 
