794 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 21, 1907. 
they are worth it. But—and here comes 
in one of those subtilities of true garden¬ 
ing—the tenth corner may be the excep¬ 
tion. There are corners where it would 
be inadvisable to emphasise them in any 
degree, therefore we must weigh well 
what we do. 
F. Norfolk. 
-- 
Lieorpotis - 
- Lieorpurus. 
[Lion’s Tail.] 
This plant is rarely seen in gardens at 
the present time, but it really deserves a 
place in every collection of plants, more 
especially where a display of flowering 
plants are required for the decoration of 
conservatories; it is also valuable when 
used in a cut state. I believe that in 
some parts of Devonshire it will succeed 
in the open, but given a cool greenhouse 
temperature, the chants do remarkably 
well with us under the following treat¬ 
ment :— 
In April we select strong cuttings from 
the base of the old plants that have been 
cut back after flowering and insert several 
in small pots, filled with a sandy compost 
and placed in a little heat. 
The cuttings soon root, when they are 
potted up into 3-inch pots, these being 
kept in a warm pit, where they soon make 
sturdy plants. They are then removed 
into cold frames to harden off in readiness 
for planting out, the same as Arums and 
Salvias, pinching two or three times dur¬ 
ing the season. We generally plant these 
in an early border, from which early Po- 
tatos have been raised, allowing about 
two feet each way between them, and 
forming a bas-in with soil round each, so 
that if the summer is dry a good soaking 
with water with an occasional application 
of liquid manure can be given them 
when well rooted. 
Early in September the plants should 
be taken up with plenty of roots, water¬ 
ing beforehand, and potted into from six 
to nine inch pots in any ordinary potting 
soil. Following this they should be stood 
in the shade for a time, dewing over with 
a syringe mornings and afternoons, when 
new root action will soon begin. They 
should then be arranged on the stage of a 
greenhouse near the glass. 
When the pots become full of roots give 
liberal watering with weak soot and ma¬ 
nure water. By this method of culture 
specimens three feet or more in height 
may be obtained. 
Winter Carnations at Cheltenham. 
On the occasion of the thirty-seventh 
annual show of the Cheltenham Root, 
Fruit and Winter Flower Society, Messrs. 
Young and Co., of Hatherley, made a 
splendid exhibit of American Tree Carna¬ 
tions, thus producing a beautiful contrast 
to the Chrysanthemums which were one of 
the prominent features of that show. The 
blooms were notable for their size and 
beautiful colouring. They easily secured 
the first prize for these continuous flower¬ 
ing Carnations. 
CHRISTMAS 
HOLIDAYS. 
NOTICE . 
In consequence of the Christmas 
Holidays we shall have to close 
up our issue dated Dec. 28th on 
Thursday, December 19th . 
No advertisement can be received, 
altered, or stopped after the first 
post on Thursday, December 19th. 
Cattleya labiata alba Purity. 
With the exception of a light orange 
blotch lined with white in the throat, all 
the rest of this beautiful variety is pure 
white, and therefore well named Purity. 
First-class Certificate by the R.H.S. when 
shown by Major Flolford, C.I.E., C.V.O. 
(gardener, Mr. H. G. Alexander), Wes- 
tonbirt, Tetbury, Glos. 
- Q. W. - 
Prize Competitions. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS. —Competitors must 
write on one side of the paper only. Regular 
paid contributors to THE GARDENING 
WORLD or other gardening journals are de¬ 
barred from entering, but occasional con¬ 
tributors may compete. The name and ad¬ 
dress of the competitor must appear on each 
article sent for competition. The Editor’s 
decision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any wayjl any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be care¬ 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short article on any 
gardening subject, such as hints of practical 
interest to gardeners, notes on the propaga¬ 
tion or cultivation of flowers, fruits or vege¬ 
tables, eradication of pests, etc. The para¬ 
graph or article must not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making <-he award. Mark envelopes “ Com¬ 
petition,” and post not later than the Monday 
folk wing date of issue..Entries received later 
th an Tuesday (first post) will be left over until 
the following week. 
Two prizes of 2s. 6d. will be awarded each 
week for the two best letters, not exceeding 
150 words, on any interesting gardening sub¬ 
ject. 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK'S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best papers in this competition 
are too long, and we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
The prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to “ R. Thatcher ” for the article on 
“ Autum-Fruiting Raspberries,” page 780. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize 
was awarded to “A. Y. Parratt” for the 
article on “ White Flowers at Christmas ”; 
and another to “ S.H. ” for the article on 
“Polygonum amplexicaule,” page 782. 
Flowers at 
Gl^ristmas. 
+ 
The amateur can obtain much pleasure 
for himself and give his friends a great 
amount of gratification by devoting a 
little attention to the growing of outdoor 
flowers for the time when flowers are 
scarce. Of course with a greenhouse he 
can do much better, but so few amateurs 
possess one that I only name a few hardy 
plants by way of illustration that he may 
be encouraged to consult the catalogues 
of our leading firms which will guide him 
to a much wider selection. 
Helleborous niger, or the well-known 
Christmas Rose, shall be my chief ex¬ 
ample. To have flowers at Christmas 
a handlight resting on bricks or a tempor¬ 
ary frame should be employed as soon as 
the flower buds begin to appear. This 
should be removed as soon as possible 
after the flowering season is over. 
For naturalising in wild gardens, in or¬ 
chards, and on moist, grassy banks fac¬ 
ing the north, the Christmas Rose is a 
grand plant. Being naturally a grower 
in woods, it requires a shady position, 
with a retentive soil, such as may be ob¬ 
tained in any ordinary garden. It 
greatly delights in a mulching of old leaf 
mould, and in hot, dry weather it thor- 
oughiy enjoys a weekly soaking of water. 
The best time for planting to secure a 
good crop of flowers is in the autumn or 
spring, but even now it is by no means 
too late to plant good, strong clumps. 
The best varieties are as follows:_ 
Helleborus major is rarely to be had, 
as it is so valuable for cutting purposes 
from December to January that market 
growers do not care to part with it. With 
fine compact foliage yielding an abund¬ 
ance of flowers, it is grand for potting 
and far superior to H. niger, which in- 
eludes the following varieties:. _ 
The White Christmas Rose, bearing 
pure white flowers from December to 
March. 
Altifolius True (H. niger maximus) is 
a rare plant, producing very large flowers 
on long stalks in November and Decem¬ 
ber. 
Angustifolius (St. Brigid’s' Christmas 
Rose) is one of the hardiest and. best 
varieties, with clean, fresh green foliage 
and snow-white flowers produced from 
January to March. 
The subject before us is well worth 
consideration by all who love cut flowers, 
or a display in pots when winter rules. 
I will name other plants as I have oppor¬ 
tunity. 1 
Bath - J. C. B. T. 
-- 
One million blossoms are drained to . 
make one pound of honey. 
Chrysanthemum Frank Payne. 
The above is a Japanese reflexed variety 
of exhibition size, with florets of medium 
width and blush lilac, almost white, with 
darker edges. Award of Merit by the 
R.H.S. on November 12th, when shown 
by Messrs. W. Wells and Co., Merstham. 
