470 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 13, 1907. 
. NOTICES. 
To Readers and Correspondents. 
“THE GARDENING WORLD” is published by 
MACLAREN AND Sons, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.O. 
Telegrams and Gables: “Buns,” London. Telephone 
Number: 997 Holborn. 
“THE GARDENING WORLD” is published every 
Tuesday, and dated (or the following Saturday. Price 
One Penny. Annual Subscription (prepaid), post free, 
6s. 6d. United Kingdom ; 8s. 8d. Abroad. Cheques and 
remittances generally should be made payable to 
Maclaren and Sous, and crossed London City and Midland 
Advertisement Orders should be addressed to the Pub¬ 
lishers. The insertion of advertisements cannot be 
guaranteed for the following issue unless received by 
Saturday before date of publication. 
EDITORIAL.—Letters for publication, specimens for 
naming, requests for information, manuscripts and 
photographs must be addressed to the Editor. Corre¬ 
spondents should write on one side of the paper only, 
and give name and address as well as nom-de-plume. 
The Editor will not be responsible for loss of unaccepted 
manuscripts, photographs, etc., but if stamps be enclosed 
ordinary care will be exercised to ensure return. If 
payment for photographs or text is desired, the price for 
reproduction must be distinctly stated, and it must be 
understood that only the actual photographer or owner 
of the copyright will be dealt with. All contributions 
of any kind in the Prize Competitions become the 
property of the Proprietors of “THE GARDENING 
WORLD.” The Editor’s decision in Prize Competitions is 
^SPECIMEN COPIES—The Publishers will be pleased 
to send specimen copies of “THE GARDENING WORLD” 
for distribution amongst friends, and will appreciate the 
services rendered by readers in this connection. 
6difortial. 
“ Romance of 
For hundreds of years past people have 
been writing books and accounts of the 
wonders of plant life in various parts of 
the world. In past years no doubt much 
was written that was misunderstood and 
accordingly not correct when examined 
in the light of science. During the past 
century, however, great advance has been 
made in the science and history of plant 
life, and enquiring naturalists have put 
fresh ideas and more correct histories on 
record concerning the remarkable things 
to be met with in the vegetable kingdom. 
Mr. G. F. Scott Elliot has put his ideas 
into form in the shape of a book of 380 
pages, including a good indetx. The book 
is illustrated with photographic reproduc¬ 
tions representing various phases of plant 
life in different parts of the world. Some 
things that we first consider wonderful 
cease to be so in proportion as we get 
familiar with them. Much remains to be 
done, however, and original thinkers and 
workers will find something to do for 
many years to come. In a chapter on 
Grass Land Mr. Elliot asks the ques¬ 
tion :—Where is peace? and proceeds to 
show that where everything seems to be 
serene and peaceful a continual battle 
for life is going on amongst the various 
inhabitants of the meadow. 
This, of course, applies to all vegeta¬ 
tion, from the sea-shore to the mountain 
top, and finally we find that plants grow 
where they can and those which are able 
to grow under conditions which are un¬ 
suitable to others, find themselves, so to 
speak, “lord of all they survey,” because 
their competitors are few or none. Not 
only does he deal with plant life on the 
earth’s surface, but has a chapter on 
underground life, where, indeed, the com¬ 
petition between the roots of one plant 
and others must be severe. In the short 
space at our disposal we cannot do ade¬ 
quate justice to a book which contains 
wonders of all vegetation, but those who 
are interested in these problems should 
get the book and read it for themselves. 
We guess they will not be satisfied till 
they have read it from one end to the 
other, if they have not already done so. 
The book is obtainable from Messrs. See¬ 
ley and Co., Ltd., 38, Great Russell 
Street, London, the price being 5s., with 
postage extra. 
Measles and Cucumbers. 
A lady who had two children sick with 
the measles wrote to a friend for the best 
remedy. The friend had just received a 
note from another lady enquiring the way 
to pickle Cucumbers. In the confusion, 
the lady who enquired about the pickles 
received the remedy for the measles and 
the an'x'ious mother of the sick children 
with horror read the following: " Scald 
them three or four times in very hot vine¬ 
gar and sprinkle them with salt, and in 
a very few days they will be cured." 
Spiraea arguta. 
Maclaren and Sons. 
An Early Flowering - 
Spiraea 
(Spiraea arguta). 
For some years past the garden has 
been brightened and glorified by a hybrid 
Spiraea, which flowers most profusely. 
Although the individual blooms are of 
moderate size, they are pure white, and 
produced in such numbers that a large 
plant has a snowy appearance. 
The accompanying illustration repre¬ 
sents three small plants raised from cut¬ 
tings, and photographed in the nursery of 
Messrs. Barr and Sons, Long Ditton, 
Surrey. Some fine plants about 4 ft. or 
5 ft. in height were in bloom at the same 
time, but it was too windy to get a photo¬ 
graph of them. 
Although the plant can be propagated 
from cuttings, plants of some size can be 
obtained in a much shorter period by 
layering the branches. Of course, when 
a very large number are required it is 
necessary to be content with small twigs 
for cuttings, but in order to get large 
plants as quickly as possible, good sized 
branches may be layered in July in some 
fresh soil containing leaf mould and 
sand. The branches should be cut on 
the lower side in the same way as a Car¬ 
nation, and this will hasten the emission 
of roots. The soil should be frequenth 
watered in dry- weather to favour tin 
emission of roots if the weather shoulc 
prove dry at the time of layering. The\ 
should be ready to be detached from tht 
parent plant in the following spring i 
the operation of layering has been sue 
cessful. 
To get the finest effect of which thi 
plant is capable, a large bed or clump 0 
plants should be set out and the effec 
will well reward the cultivator during tb 
month of April. As the flowers conn 
somewhat_ in advance of the leaves, th« 
white appearance of the myriads of flower 
is seen to the best advantage, as the; 
make a conspicuous object even whei 
seen from a considerable distance. 
-4-frf- 
Lady Rose Grower’s Success. 
At the annual exhibition of the Isle 0 
Wight Rose Society, the gold medal, pre 
sented by the King — the only one awarded 
to any provincial society — was won by 
splendid collection of twelve distinc 
blooms sent in by Mrs. A. M. Westms 
cott, of Nettlestone, near Ryde. Th 
same grower also secured the Junior Chal 
lenge Cup in another division. 
