796 THE GARDENING WORLD. December 21, 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 -paper only. 
Two Prizes of zs. 6 d. each will be 
awarded each week for the two Letters 
which the Editor considers to be the best. 
Green Growth on Greenhouse Floors, 
Etc. 
This may be easily removed, and will 
not readily appear again, at any rate for 
a year, if, after well scraping with an old 
knife, or, if this will scratch the floor, 
gone over with a hard, dry scrubbing 
brush, it is sprinkled with common salt 
and left till the next day. Then scrub 
with boiling water and Sunlight soap. If 
the growth is of very long standing, a 
few marks may remain, and in that case, 
scrub again with a handful of salt and 
water. This is much safer than using the 
powder weed killers, although a weak 
solution quickly removes all stains and 
slime. A handful of salt in water used 
for cleaning the greenhouse windows re¬ 
moves slime, etc., as if by magic. 
D. V. E. 
Anthemis montana. 
This singularly beautiful species is un¬ 
doubtedly among the most important of 
the dwarf kinds, and is one of the most 
useful for edging- purposes or for planting 
freely in masses in the fissures of a sunny, 
well-drained rockery. It is very free and 
floriferous, producing numerous heads of 
pure white flowers, each of which is about 
one inch in diameter. The flowers are 
borne on stems nine inches high, which 
spring from a tuft of pretty silvery foli¬ 
age. This species is quite hardy and does 
well when planted in a mixture of good 
loam and sand, and if given frequent 
waterings during hot, dry weather it will 
bloom for a much longer period. It can 
be easily propagated from seed sown in 
the open ground in April or May. 
W. F. Glover. 
Langport. 
Roses on Own Roots. 
One of the greatest pleasures to the 
amateur gardener is to grow his own 
Roses from cuttings, and the process is a 
very simple one. The present is quite a 
suitable time for it, and if glass protec¬ 
tion is available, so much the better. 
Tea Roses and H.T.’s grow best in this 
manner. Procure some well - ripened 
shoots with a heel of the old wood and in¬ 
sert in light soil, leaf mould with a pro¬ 
portion of sand being very suitable. 
They should be well shaded during the 
first fortnight in order to prevent them 
withering, as if this happens a number 
may be lost. If well grown, they will be 
rooted, and might be transplanted by the 
spring, although it is better to leave them 
for a year undisturbed. The writer put 
in some cuttings in this way last autumn 
and these have now grown to about 15 
inches high, and in some cases have pro¬ 
duced several flowers. 
W. B. 0 . 
Edinburgh. 
Plant Your Trees Well. 
There are many trees improperly 
planted. A hole of some sort is dug out, 
and if the roots are bent upwards when 
the tree is placed in the hole, no notice 
is taken thereof. The natural position of 
all roots is slightly downwards, and it is 
therefore a good plan to take out a hole 
sufficiently large to have the roots placed 
at full length. Then in the centre make 
a small mound of good soil. Place the 
tree on top of. the mound, when the roots 
will slightly droop into a natural position. 
Gradually fill in with soil, and shake the 
tree so as to get the roots well imbedded. 
When this has been done carefully, a light 
tread will assist the roots to get a grip of 
the soil. If necessary to stake the tree, 
put the support in place while the roots 
are visible, and then no injury to them 
will result from driving it in. 
Albert A. Kerridge. 
Chippenham. 
Lifting- Dahlias. 
Any time now frost may play havoc 
with the Dahlias; therefore they should 
be lifted as soon as possible. This should 
be done on a dry day, great care being 
taken not to injure the tubers. Shake off 
as much as possible of the adhering soil, 
then label carefully, and hang or place 
them upon a shelf (an earth or brick floor 
is fatal) in a frost-proof shed or cellar. 
Examine them occasionally, and if disease 
is apparent, cut away the affected portion 
and apply dry lime to the wound to pre¬ 
vent it spreading. If they are becoming 
too dry and shrivelled, cover with a little 
damp (not wet) soil or fibre; or perhaps a 
better method with choice varieties is to 
place each singly in a large flower-pot of 
sand or fibre ; this effectually guards them 
against disease and keeps the tubers 
plump and firm till the spring. 
Enfield, N. Geo. A. Fisher.. 
Resuscitating Aralia Sieboldii. 
This is a very handsome and useful 
plant for room decoration when well 
grown, but not infrequently the plants 
get into an unhealthy condition, the 
leaves losing their deep green, and num¬ 
bers of them falling. I had several 
plants in this condition last spring. I 
pi anted them out in a nice light border 
filled with odds and ends early in June, 
the balls being then loosened and re¬ 
duced with a handfork. Beyond a water¬ 
ing after being planted, the plants re¬ 
ceived no attention till October, when 
thev were carefully lifted and potted. At 
lifting time the plants were well supplied 
with young roots, each had made several 
young leaves, and the whole of the foli¬ 
age had regained its rich green colour. 
I have done the same thing repeatedly. 
Friends in distress, please take note for 
next season. 
C. C. 
R Tfrw CtoTjsantkmum Sport 
from Nmo. R, OUrthu?. 
We are in receipt of flowers from 
Messrs. George Williams and Sons, 
Manor House Nurseries, Canton, Cardiff, 
which have occurred with them as a sport 
from Mme. R. Oberthur. It appeared in 
a stock of five thousand plants lifted from 
the open ground, and has been favourably 
commented upon by such local experts as 
Mr. George W. Drake, Mr. F armer (gar¬ 
dener to Lord Bute), and the enthusiastic 
amateur, A. F. Hill, Esq. 
Readers may remember that Mme. R. 
Oberthur is a Japanese Chrysanthemum 
with pure white, long, drooping florets. 
In the new sport under notice the florets 
are of a pale canary-yellow, with a sil¬ 
very white reverse, but deeper yellow in 
the early stages of blooming. The 
blooms we received were quite fresh, and 
evidently well adapted for decorative pur¬ 
poses. If grown for exhibition it would, 
no doubt, produce blooms as handsome 
as its parent. We are very much pleased 
with the character and condition of the 
leaves, which are small, numerous, and 
carried up the stem under the flowers, and 
even amongst the drooping florets. It 
should prove useful for exhibition and de¬ 
corative work late in the year. 
-- 
jVpsows to? Sa?dm?s. 
Messrs. Shaw and Montgomery, 628, 
Argyle Street, Anderston, Glasgow, while 
they are practical tailors and clothiers, 
have given special attention to the re¬ 
quirements of gardeners in their multi¬ 
farious duties and the necessity of keep¬ 
ing their clothes clean. A knight of the 
apron would be nowhere without that use¬ 
ful article at any time of the year, but 
especially in winter, when soil is wet, 
pots, plants and everything of that sort 
dirty. This firm manufactures two 
special articles, one of which is a durable 
apron of blue serge at 3s. 6d. Another 
cheaper one is made of strong linen, but 
it is also dark blue, and seems a service¬ 
able and useful article. The firm also 
have an article of dress named “Denim,” 
trousers with bib combined. These are 
what some gardeners would term over¬ 
alls. They are, in fact, trousers that may 
be slipped on, and as they also cover the 
breast nearly to the chin, they answer the 
purpose of trousers and apron combined. 
As soon as work is over these may be 
taken off and hung up in the potting shed. 
This article is obtainable in blue, brown 
or grey at 3s. 6d. per pair. 
-- 
Vm Smnhouse. 
The recent snow storm in the Midlands 
and several cold, frosty nights remind the 
amateur that his tender plants in green¬ 
houses and conservatories require artificial 
heat to keep out frost. Messrs. Charles 
Toope (F.R.H.S.) and Son, Stepney 
Square, Stepney Green, London, E., send 
us their illustrated catalogue of heating 
apparatus. In this we note a dozen or 
more different kinds of heating apparatus 
suitable for houses of various sizes, and 
for qffite different purposes. All of them 
are illustrated, so as to show the struc¬ 
ture and the uses to which they may be 
put. Numerous fittings are also illus¬ 
trated. 
