December 7, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
769 
The fault of too many of the annuals 
during a wet season is that they grow too 
tall and then lose half the beauty of their 
appearance, especially in small gardens. 
The above is an annual, however, which 
seldom reaches a foot in height, but is 
usually considerably under that. The 
flowers are of good size, rose coloured, 
with a yellow blotch at the base of the 
upper lip. 
Besides being beautiful the flower is 
both interesting and curious owing to the 
lower lip being furnished with two spurs 
which project behind. Those who know 
the various species of Toad Flax are well 
acquainted with the presence of a spur in 
that class of annuals. The above plant 
comes from South Africa, and rejoices in 
two spurs. There seems no reason why 
there should not be more, because the 
flower is made up of five parts, and if it 
had been regular no doubt there would 
have been a spur to each of the petals or 
parts of the corolla. Other plants in no 
THE CULTURE OF 
- Azaleas. - 
Large quantities of Azaleas are im¬ 
ported into this country about this time of 
the year to be sold by auction in half- 
dozen and one dozen clumps, and many 
thousands of plants are disposed of in this 
manner. 
The buyer of these plants should be 
careful when untying and separating the 
roots, as they are very tender and liable 
to break if they are dry. Always try to 
examine the roots before purchasing, and 
way 'related to this in South Africa also 
rejoice in two spurs. Occasionally some 
of the species of Toad Flax in this coun¬ 
try produce two spurs or three, but in the 
peloria. form of the common yellow Toad 
Flax (Linaria vulgaris peloria) we get all 
five. 
The cultivation of this interesting and 
beautiful little annual is easy, but to get 
the most satisfaction from it the best plan 
is to sow the seeds in a gentle heat dur¬ 
ing March and have the seedlings pricked 
off singly in boxes much in the same way 
as Stocks and Asters. About the be¬ 
ginning of April the boxes containing the 
seedlings may be transferred to a cold 
frame, and after a week or so the frame 
should be freely ventilated during the 
day. This will induce sturdy and dwarf- 
habited growth, and the seedlings may be 
transferred to the open ground at the be¬ 
ginning of June. Our photograph was 
taken in the herbaceous ground at Kew 
during the- third week of August last. 
if they are parched up, discard them, as 
some are a failure through this. How¬ 
ever, if you get some that are dry at the 
roots, a good method is to allow them to 
stand in a tub of tepid water for an hour 
or more, so that they may become thor¬ 
oughly soaked, afterwards allowing them 
to drain well before potting. Never pot 
them up with the ball of earth sodden, 
as this is detrimental to success. 
Sandy peat with leaf mould is a very 
good compost for Azaleas. Always use a 
pot large enough to allow ample root 
room and plenty of crocks for drainage. 
Some gardeners seem to think they can¬ 
not be potted too firmly, but such is not 
the case, as they succeed as well, if not 
better, if only potted moderately firm, 
care being taken to see there are no 
spaces left among the roots or the sides of 
the pot. After the potting is finished they 
should be kept close and shaded from the 
sun for about ten or fourteen days, after¬ 
wards exposing them to the light. 
Syringe the foliage every three or four 
days, so as to keep them fresh until firmly 
established, after which they will not re¬ 
quire syringing. 
If Azaleas are treated in this manner 
success is certain, and the amateur will 
reap ample reward for the little extra 
trouble taken at the potting stage, as 
by this method the plants retain their 
leaves, but otherwise they lose them. Far 
better flowers are attained in this way 
than by the haphazard method. 
Joseph Floyd. 
-- 
-HOW TO- 
- Gain Knowledge. - 
A Word to 
Young Gardeners. 
Knowledge will be gained by keeping 
a keen eye on your work, as plant life 
is full of mysteries. We know many 
facts about plant life, but we can mark 
many more by study, although there will 
always remain a vast amount of mystery 
which we cannot solve. 
I cannot attempt to write on the general 
physiology of plants, but I can say some¬ 
thing that may induce the young gar¬ 
dener to think of the value of his leisure 
hours. There are many lads at present 
occupied in gardens who formerly had no 
idea of ever becoming gardeners, but they 
got the situation somehow, and the work 
to them as a rule is to push in ten hours 
a day, as the case may be, neither think¬ 
ing nor taking into consideration what 
they are doing. That is a fact we experi¬ 
ence every day. Then again, there are 
others who from the start had made up 
their minds to become gardeners, and it 
is those who have a love for flowers who 
deserve the name of gardener. One may 
be sure that those who learned the trade 
for the love of it become the best quali¬ 
fied men and were the most likely to be¬ 
come successful gardeners. The lad who 
really means to become a gardener will 
not pass his days with his eyes closed, and 
will recognise that nothing but study 
will open them. Therefore scientific 
training is required if he wishes to reach 
the rank of the capable gardener. This 
training may be obtained by simple 
methods — plainly speaking, “study.” 
There are many subjects that might be 
studied with advantage, for instance, geo¬ 
metry, literature, physiology, geology, 
etc., which should be stored away care¬ 
fully to prepare himself for the future. 
It is a rare thing to see one devote much 
time to study, and surely there cannot 
be any better ‘accomplishment than 
scientific knowledge. The gardening 
papers and books, such as Nicholson's 
Dictionary of Gardening and many more, 
should be perused by those who are 
anxious and ambitious to keep up the 
status of the profession. 
J. W. Forsyth. 
Deeside, N.B. 
