July 20, 1907. 
497 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
without a sufficient supply of some other 
equally necessary ingredient. You should 
sprinkle the soil in the pots with some 
manure containing potash, such as wood 
ashes, kainit or sulphate of potash. The 
two former would have been serviceable if 
they had been mixed with the soil when 
potting, and sulphate of potash would pro¬ 
bably prove the most useful at this late 
period of the year. This might be done be¬ 
fore the plants or fruits are further ad¬ 
vanced. 
FRUIT. 
2030. Victoria Plum Leaves Spoiled. 
As a reader of your estimable paper, may 
I ask for advice as to the cause and cure 
of leaf of Victoria Plum tree being spoiled? 
(O. P. M., Surrey.) 
We examined the leaves of the Victoria 
Plum you sent us and failed to see any evi¬ 
dence of disease or insect pests. Some of 
the leaves were torn, it is true, but that is 
only too common an occurrence this year 
even in gardens that are fairly well shel¬ 
tered during the time the leaves were ex¬ 
panding and the young shoots beginning to 
lengthen. We had repeated storms of wind 
and very often heavy downpours of rain at 
the same time. The injury has been done, 
therefore, simply by the lashing of one 
branch against another. Many other people 
complain of this, and though the tree may 
look a little ragged during the season, that 
need not prevent it from yet making good 
growth if the season improves. 
GARDEN ENEMIES. 
2031. Moles in the Garden. 
I have just removed into a new house, and 
1 find the garden is overrun with moles. 
Can you tell me how to get rid of them ? 
I may inform you that I am next to a field. 
(W. Harding, Birmingham.) 
Moles in the garden are very troublesome 
because they not only cut the roots of many 
things in progressing through the soil, but 
they even get into flower beds or beds of 
seedlings, and boring their way just be¬ 
neath the surface often uproot large num¬ 
bers of plants. If you have no experience 
in catching moles by means of traps, your 
best plan would be to employ a local mole 
catcher to catch your moles. Usually they 
charge so much for each mole that is taken, 
but you can, of course, ascertain the terms 
on which he would agree to catch them for 
you. They are very sensitive to smell, and 
if you handle a trap with your hands the 
moles can detect it, and eithef pass by the 
side of your trap or let it off by pushing 
earth into it. In any case, trapping, so far, 
seems to be the best solution of the question 
of getting rid of moles. Your garden being 
alongside of a field increases the difficulty, 
unless the owner of the field can be induced 
to have the moles caught at the same time. 
To keep them from entering the garden from 
the field would necessitate having a wall 
let into the ground rather deeply, and that 
would be expensive. 
2032. Mint Diseased. 
Enclosed you will find some specimens of 
the common garden Mint that have twisted 
stems and curled leaves, as if attacked with 
some disease. Please let me know through 
the columns of your valuable journal what 
it is, and if there is any remedy. (Thos. 
Young, Soms.) 
A disease of the common garden Mint—- 
that is, Peppermint—is caused by a fungus 
named Puccinia labiatarum. As a rule it 
does not spread very fast, so that you can 
get rid of the disease by pulling out all the 
diseased portions of the plants as early in 
the season as possible. Another and even 
better way is to take cuttings from quite 
healthy plants and root them in a cold frame 
as early in the season as possible. Then 
make a fresh plantation with these rooted 
cuttings. You cannot be absolutely certain 
that the healthy-looking cuttings are free 
from disease, because it lives in the interior, 
and it is only when the fungus is about to 
ripen the spores that it appears on the out¬ 
side. For all practical purposes, however, 
the two plans we have detailed will be 
sufficient to enable you to grow plenty of 
Mint for general use. 
SOILS AND MANURE S. 
2033. Meaning of Superphosphata. 
What is the meaning of superphosphate 
and what is the difference between it and 
ground bones, if any? Which would be 
the more lasting? If there is a difference 
between them, which is the more advan¬ 
tageous for gardening purposes? (J. M. R., 
Derby.) 
Ground bones are merely finely pulverised 
or ground, and are sometimes spoken of as 
bone meal. The pieces of bone are simply 
more finely divided than crushed bones, so 
that some of the material of which they are 
composed would get more quickly soluble 
and fit for plant use than if you applied 
crushed bones of any size. Superphosphates 
on the other hand, consist of bones that 
have been ground and then dissolved by 
being subjected to the action of sulphuric 
acid. They contain from 20 per cent, to 
30 per cent, of phosphate and a very small 
percentage of ammonia. It is therefore a very 
useful fertiliser, being most valued for the 
soluble phosphates it contains. As these are 
more ready for plant use than ground bones 
would be, it follows that they would be 
quicker in action. A crop would be ex¬ 
pected to take up most of it during the first 
season. It is a form of manure which 
we should apply to growing plants. Bone 
meal, on the other hand—that is, ground 
bones—-would take a longer time to become 
soluble, so that their action upon the crop 
would be continued for a greater length of 
time. It is for you to decide, therefore, 
whether you want the manure to be taken 
up by the plants at once, or to continue to 
give effect to the crop for a longer period 
of time. By way of instance we might say 
that crushed bones of half-an-inch or a 
quarter-of-an-inch size would be a long- 
lasting manure, and therefore valuable to 
put into Vine borders, where their action 
is desired to continue for years. Ground 
bones would last somewhat longer than 
superphosphates, and would contain more 
insoluble, and therefore useless, matter. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED . 
Ant; Roozen and Son, Overveen, near 
Haarlem, Holland (agents for Britain, Mer- 
tens and Co., 3, Cross Lane, St. Mary-at- 
Hill, London). — Catalogue of Choice Dutch 
and Cape Bulbs, etc. 
NAMES OF PLANTS. 
(C. B.) Populus balsamifera viminalis or 
the twiggy Balsam Poplar.—(L. D.) 1, Se- 
dum sarmentosum; 2, Sedum sarmentosum 
carneum- variegatum; 3, Saxifraga trifur- 
cata ceratophylla; 4, Saxifraga Geum; 5, 
Dianthus deltoides or Maiden Pink; 6, 
Stachys grandifiora.—(R. Moir) 1, Phila- 
delphus microphvllus; 2, Rhodotypos kerri- 
oides; 3, Rhus typhina; 4. Vitis inconstans 
(often named Ampelopsis Veitchi).—(H. 
Mareham) 1, Lunaria annua; 2, Geranium 
sanguineum ; 3, Geranium pratense; 4, Cen- 
taurea dealbata; 5, Dicentra formosa; 6, 
Carex Morovii variegata.—(G. B.) 1, Veron¬ 
ica incana; 2, Chelidonium majus flore 
pleno; 3, Allium narcissiflorum ; 4, F.pilo- 
bium angustifolium or Willow Herb; 5, 
Spiraea Aruncus; 6, Iris ochroleuca; 7, 
Iris sibirica.—(T. Hardy) 1, Polygala myrti- 
folia grandifiora; 2, Plumbago capensis ; 3, 
Pelargonium denticulata; 4, Coronilla 
glauca.—(A. F. W.) 1, Antirrhinum majus 
var. or Snapdragon; 2, Centaurea Cyanus 
or Cornflower; 3, Malcomia maritima or 
Virginian Stock. 
-- 
TREE 
i CARNATIONS K 
AND HOW 
TO GROW THEM. 
Few flowers have made such a great 
advance in becoming popular as the tree, 
or as they are being more generally 
called, perpetual Carnations. Both 
amateur and professional alike take a 
keen interest in growing them, and the 
button-hole lover delights in getting a 
good specimen bloom for personal adorn¬ 
ment. The tree Carnation is a hardy 
plant, and during the summer months it 
may be safely grown in the open air. 
It should be brought into its flowering 
quarters at the beginning of September, 
the temperature to be about 50 degrees. 
With regard to propagating, the best 
time to commence the work is the first 
week in February. Insert the cuttings 
thickly, close to the rim of a five-inch pot, 
in the following compost: loam, peat, 
and sand, all equal parts, and a little 
sifted manure. Plunge the pots in a 
bottom heat of 60 degrees. The plants 
should be shaded until they are rooted. 
They will now be ready for repotting into 
4-inch pots, and again shaded until 
rooted, and then left in the open air from 
the end of May until the end of August. 
It must be remembered that the tree 
Carnation is fond of plenty of air, and 
it will be found a good plan to always 
keep the ventilators open a little, 
especially on bright days, when it should 
be well open. By October they will be 
well established in 6 and 7 inch pots, and 
bristling with flowering buds. During 
October and November they will only 
require a gentle heat of say about 45 to 
50 degrees, but plenty of air even in the 
night; the ventilator should be open a 
little. When the cold, frosty weather 
comes admit no air whatever. 
It is a great mistake to try and force 
the plants into bloom. The proper 
method is to time the plants so that the 
buds are well forward previous to the 
advent of winter, when an accession of 
heat will bring them on without enervat¬ 
ing the plant. 
Watering is a matter which requires a 
considerable amount of judgment, as it 
is quite possible to over do it. If the 
soil in the pots is thoroughly permeated 
with roots, as it should be, considerable 
quantities of water are required, and oc¬ 
casionally giving them a little soot water 
will be of immense benefit. 
The following are a few of the leading 
varieties:—Mrs. T. W. Lawson (deep 
pink), Enchantress, Melba, Floriana, and 
Fair Maid (pink), Bountiful and Lilian 
Pond (white), Harry Fenn and G. H. 
Crane (crimson and scarlet respectively), 
and Flamingo (scarlet). 
G. Barton. 
St. Albans. 
