8o8 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Ashes in the Garden. 
This material is better than almost 
anything to cover over the surface of the 
soil above Amaryllises of the so-called 
hardy varieties, Alstromerias, and other 
things that may be injured during a 
severe spell of frost. 
F. Norfolk. 
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Autumn Tir?ts. 
In addition to the numerous trees and 
shrubs which provide such pleasing col¬ 
our in the landscape at this season, the 
following, although not so common, are 
worthy of note and cultivation :—• 
The Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraci- 
flua) assumes a reddish brown hue, the 
foliage being borne on slender petioles. 
The genera Rhus and Vitis provide an 
abundance of material for autumn effect. 
Rhus cotinoides is. a glorious sight in the 
early autumn, whereas Vitis and its rela¬ 
tive Ampelopsis produce a sequence of 
autumnal tints. 
Vitis vinifera var purpuera is well 
named; the fruit and foliage vie with one 
another in colour, and like most species 
of Vitis, it is well adapted for training up 
pillars. 
The Bitter Nut (Carya amara), which 
belongs to the same natural order as the 
8 Walnut, is one of the most effective trees 
for the landscape in autumn. The leaves 
are compound with generally, but not in¬ 
variably, nine leaflets, narrow and ser¬ 
rated. The beauty of this species lies in 
its densely-produced leaflets, which 
assume a golden tint, mingled with its 
fading green. Carya porcina var micro- 
carpa is equally effective. As in the fore¬ 
going species, the leaves are compound, 
but the leaflets are much larger and not 
nearly so densely produced. 
Herbert Cowley. 
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follows:—Pot them up at once in good 
soil and place in a cold frame until well 
established and they have made plenty of 
roots. This will take several weeks. An¬ 
other good method is to plant them in 
boxes of cocoanut-fibre, and as soon as 
they commence to grow, bring them into 
heat, so as to be potted off a few weeks 
before they come into bloom, being care¬ 
ful not to disturb the roots. Always have 
some ready for potting up just as the 
others are coming into bloom, and in this 
way one can extend the flowering period 
by having a succession of blooms. 
It is often thought that foreign crowns 
are superior to home-grown ones, so I 
would like amateurs to try the experiment 
for themselves. Treat them as already 
described, give them good soil, and al¬ 
low them a good season in which to 
mature their growth, feeding them with 
weak liquid manure occasionally. You 
will find that your own grown crowns will 
be large and equal to the foreigner, and 
the pleasure of seeing a snowy spike of 
large fragrant flowers of your own rais¬ 
ing will be ample compensation for any 
extra trouble involved. 
Joseph Floyd. 
Growing 
Lilies of the Valley. 
There are few plants which give us such 
beautiful and sweet scented blossoms as 
the Lily of the Valley, and what a charm¬ 
ing contrast between the dark green foli¬ 
age and the snowy white flowers. Dur¬ 
ing the summer, when grown in the gar¬ 
den, they are very precious, but more so 
in the early spring, when they bloom in 
the greenhouse. 
Many amateurs fail to successfully grow 
Lilies of the Valley for early flowering, 
and after all their trouble get nothing but 
leaves. A good method of culture for 
forcing is as follows:— 
After the foliage has died down, lift and 
select the best crowns and plant them in 
a bed composed of good loam, leaf mould 
and partly decayed stable manure, allow¬ 
ing each crown plenty of room, and never 
overcrowding them. When they have 
been a year in the bed they are ready for 
lifting and forcing. If one desires to 
have early spring bloom and has no good 
home-grown crowns, then he must pro¬ 
cure imported crowns, and treat them as 
Q. W. 
Prize Competitions. 
CENERAL 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 wayt 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 
than 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 “J. B.” for the article on 
“Leonotis Leonurus,” page 794. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize 
was awarded to “ W. F. Glover ” for the 
article on ‘i Anthemis montana ”; and another 
to “ W. B. 0.” for the article on “Roses on 
own Roots,” page 79C. 
December 28, 1907. 
Fruit Trees. 
NOTES 
ON PLANTING. 
Undoubtedly now is the best time for 
planting most kinds of fruit trees. Both 
the amateur and those unacquainted with 
the different varieties of fruit should seek 
advice from some reliable source as to 
what sorts to plant and on what stocks 
they are best worked. 
Nothing is more annoying than for one 
to find after the trouble of planting that 
the variety is not what was expected. 
One is not always enlightened to the 
extent necessary after visiting exhibitions, 
because specimens grown for exhibition 
are not necessarily the best croppers, and 
unless an Apple or Pear is a reliable 
cropper it is not to be recommended to the 
small grower. As an instance I will 
quote the variety Peasgood’s Nonsuch. 
This is one of the finest exhibition fruits 
grown. Yet it is not to be recommended 
to the cottager to plant, simply because it 
is a long time coming into bearing. 
Planters will get the best satisfaction by 
dealing with a good and reliable firm, 
such as advertisers in these pages. 
The bush is the best form of tree to 
plant for most purposes. These should 
be worked on the English Paradise stock, 
this being the most suitable for garden 
soils, and the trees coming into bearing 
much quicker than those on the Crab 
stock. Maiden trees can be purchased as 
low as a shilling to eighteenpence each, 
these being usually one year old. 
Fruiting trees can be had from half-a- 
crown and upwards; these will be about 
three years old, and are to be recom¬ 
mended as the most suitable size to plant. 
Before the arrival of the trees, have the 
ground prepared to receive them, for no¬ 
thing is more harmful to the roots than 
to allow them to be exposed to sun and air. 
Try to get them in their permanent 
quarters at once. Never plant during 
frosty or very wet weather. Should any 
of the roots become damaged in lifting, 
cut them off just behind the damaged por¬ 
tion, making an upward cut in doing so. 
In planting take out a hole quite a foot 
larger than the spread of the roots, and 
break up the bottom soil. Then shake 
some fine soil over this, and place the tree 
in position. A good guide as to depth 
will be the mark on' the stem, where it 
was planted in the nursery. Spread out 
the roots evenly, and cover with fine soil, 
taking care to work it well down between 
the roots, and make it firm but not hard. 
No manure will be required at planting 
time, but a good mulching in early spring 
will be very beneficial. 
Pruning must be delayed until spring 
on newly planted trees, as to prune a 
tree at the time of planting, unless this 
be delayed until late spring, is to court 
failure. Very little cutting is required 
where space will permit of them going 
ahead. The chief points are to prevent 
overcrowding of the shoots, and the cross- 
ing of branches. Cut back the leading 
shoots to about two-thirds of their leng > 
and all side shoots emanating from these 
to about four eyes, unless space will allow 
of them developing into mam branches, 
in which case treat them in the same way 
