THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 27, 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 -pafer only. 
Two Prizes of zs. 6d. each will be 
awarded each week for the two Letters 
which the Editor considers to be the best. 
A Grass Collector. 
A short time ago a plan for lightening 
labour for those who have grass to 
mow came to my knowledge, one 
of its charms being its simplicity. 
Get a sack or strong bit of stuff 
that will reach from the handle of 
the lawn mower to the wheels so that it 
will hang in a baggy way at the bottom, 
fastening it securely to the handle and to 
some screws at each side of the tiny 
wooden roller, and up at each side at the 
end of the iron band that comes from the 
end of the handle, forming a secure bag 
to catch the grass as fast as it is cut. 
This will do away with the heavy tin 
boxes or the laborious sweeping of the 
cut grass. 
K. Curtis. 
Glass Cutting without a Diamond. 
Those who have broken windows in 
their frames or greenhouses and wish to 
replace them but have no glass-cutter, 
should try the following experiment. No 
doubt they will have seen a table lamp 
glass broken by a drop of cold water fall¬ 
ing on it. Well, it is simply this idea 
put into practice, and made to break the 
glass just as we need it. 
First get a bucket full of cold water, 
and a red hot iron with a sharp edge. 
Draw this sharp edge across the glass 
where it is to be broken off, and dip the 
underside of the glass in the water, when 
it will be broken off at the place indicated 
by the hot iron as clean a cut and straight 
as possible. Any shape or design can be 
cut this way. Another way is to cut the 
glass with a pair of shears under water, 
but this leaves a jagged edge, and is not 
nearly so good as the former method. 
Joseph Floyd. 
Westhoughton. 
The Chinese Primrose. 
This species — the Primula sinensis of 
the botanists—I have found a most ac¬ 
ceptable flowering plant for the warm 
greenhouse, one of the most useful being 
the old double white, imported into this 
country many years ago, but the only one 
in this species, I think, which never pro¬ 
duces seed, and which has to be propa¬ 
gated by means of cuttings. I have 
raised many double and also semi-double 
forms of the Chinese Primrose from seed, 
though never any of this old double white. 
Many single varieties have been raised, 
with beautifully large and finely formed 
blossoms, having handsomely fringed 
edges, which, with good management, 
flower profusely and continuously. To 
obtain plants carrying a select head of 
bloom early in the season and on through 
the spring, I always place into 7-inch pots 
toward the end of July, and use a com¬ 
post composed of half good loam, some 
rotten manure, leaf mould, with silver 
sand—an old-fashioned, you may say, yet 
withal, a very suitable mixture. I then 
stand the plants in a cold frame and look 
well after them till about the end of 
September, then take them into the 
greenhouse, where for many weeks they 
stand as objects of beauty, giving a full 
return for any work they may have en¬ 
tailed in their rearing. • 
Old Gardener. 
Bury St. Edmunds. 
Ligustrum ovalifolium aureum. 
This is a most beautiful variegated Pri¬ 
vet. The foliage is margined with rich 
yellow, and as a hedge it is attractive, or 
as a specimen or clumps in the shrub¬ 
bery. It might be more frequently 
utilised about suburban front gardens, 
where a hedge of a dozen feet or so is 
required in place of the green rampant 
sort, and as an isolated plant, where 
selection should fall to variegated sub¬ 
jects in limited areas. This is a good 
time to increase your stock if you have 
only a few plants. Heel off the young 
growths of medium firmness about 3 in. 
long, trim off the bottom leaves and cut 
square at the base. Firm these well into 
a box of cutting soil. Keep in a cool 
frame, damping the cuttings overhead on 
alternate days, and keep shaded and close 
for three weeks. In a month’s time roots 
will be formed, when they can be har¬ 
dened off and planted out in their per¬ 
manent positions. 
A. V. M. 
Pruning Roses. 
There are differences of opinion on this 
subject and some growers have one way, 
some another, but the best time to prune 
the Rose is undoubtedly in April. Of 
course Roses grown inside, climbing 
Roses, such as Marechal Niel, William 
Allen Richardson, Climbing Niphetos, 
Climbing Capt. Christy, Reine Marie 
Henriette, and Cheshunt Hybrid, should 
be pruned early in January. They do 
well if pruned hard, and after they have 
flowered and made much growth, it is a 
good plan to just cut them back again a 
bit, then they will again render great ser¬ 
vice. Standards and bedding, pot and 
climbing Roses (outside) like a good hard 
pruning at least once a year. It gives 
great vigour to a Rose to cut all its 
branches short back. To obtain good 
flower-bearing branches shorten the 
shoots; this will cause the sap to concen¬ 
trate in certain eyes at their bases, which 
will produce the Roses. 
Albert R. Gould. 
Worksop, Notts. 
Iiaced Pipks. 
Cultural Notes. 
Varieties to Grow. 
Some years ago, while a Pink Society 
was in existence, the Laced Pink of the 
florist enjoyed a great run of popularity. 
An attempt was made some years ago to 
revive the Pink Society, but evidently the 
time had not yet come for doing so, be¬ 
cause so fe>v people possessed the flowers. 
There is room, however, for a society or 
committee in connection with some other, 
so as to encourage the cultivation of Pinks 
which bloom in June and do not compete 
with the outdoor Carnations in any way. 
Independently of their exquisite beauty, 
every variety is more or less scented, and 
some of them strongly and deliciously so. 
They are even hardier than Carnations, 
and may be planted in the open border, 
w'here they are to bloom, in September, 
even in the far north of Britain. 
The striking of cuttings is scarcely a 
more troublesome operation than the 
layering of Carnations, as the latter re¬ 
quire daily attention during the warm 
weather in the matter of watering, to en¬ 
courage the formation of roots. Pinks are 
best struck under hand-glasses or a frame, 
and merely require a little watering and 
shading in bright weather till the cuttings 
have taken root. They can be planted 
permanently in September, and the 
labour in connection with them is then 
reduced to a minimum. 
Only Laced varieties are mentioned in 
these notes, and amongst them I should 
place Lufra as a very choice variety, with 
a maroon centre and deep red lacing. 
Even more handsome, in my opinion, is 
Mrs. Pettifer, with a purple centre and a 
heavy lacing of purple. Like all the race 
of them, the ground colour of this is 
white. A much smaller bloom is Rain¬ 
bow', but it is extremely pretty, with its 
deep rose centre and regular rosy lacing. 
The crimson centre and purple lacing of 
Wedgw'ood are also very handsome. 
Scarcely less handsome is Zurich, with 
its crimson centre and beautiful rosy lac¬ 
ing. Saracen has also a crimson centre 
and purple lacing. Quite different in its 
way is Rosina, with its large soft purple 
centre and lacing of the same colour. 
Orient is also prettily laced. Beauty pro¬ 
duces large flowers u'ith flat petals that 
are rosy crimson in the centre and laced 
with purple. Another large flower is Ajax, 
with a purple centre and lighter purple 
lacing. It is just a little too full to accord 
with the neatness of some of those already 
mentioned, but badly formed petals can 
always be pulled out to advantage. Dres¬ 
den is also worthy of cultivation, having 
flowers of good form with a rosy centre 
and lacing of the same colour. All of the 
above were exhibited at a meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society in June last 
by Mr. J. Douglas, of Great Bookham, 
and I was particularly taken with the 
beauty of these old-fashioned but neglec¬ 
ted flowers. 
C. E. R. 
