5 2 8 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August io, 1907. 
MALM AI SON 
Carnations. 
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By the middle of July all lovers of Mal- 
maisons will be busy layering their plants 
for another year. Before commencing 
operations all the plants should be gone 
over and as many of the best as are re¬ 
quired, picked out for potting into 9 in. 
pots. 
A frame with a good depth of soil 
should be got ready. It is best to have 
the plants cleaned of any. weak useless 
grass, and also the bottom leaves on the 
shoots that are left should be removed. If 
the plants are only one year old they can 
be planted in the frame in a upright posi¬ 
tion, and the shoots layered all round the 
plant, but if the plants are two or three 
years old ‘hey ought to be laid on their 
sides and layered. In layering, a sharp 
knife should be used. Cut each shoot 
half way through a little below the third 
joint from the top, and then pass the 
knife upwards for about an inch. The 
layer is then bent down and fixed in posi¬ 
tion with a peg or piece of Bracken Fern, 
taking care to have the tongue separated 
from the shoot. A handful of loam, leaf 
mould and sand, should then be placed 
round each shoot, and the whole well 
watered. A slight shading should be 
given them and the frame kept fairly close 
for a week or so. A slight dew over with 
the syringe on the afternoons of very hot 
days will be beneficial, but on no account 
should the frame be kept in a damp, 
humid condition, or disease will soon 
make its appearance. 
In about six or seven weeks’ time the 
layers will be rooted. A week before 
commencing to pot them, go over them 
all and sever the layers from the parent 
plants with a knife. The layers are best 
potted singly in three inch pots in a com¬ 
post of good rich loam, leaf mould, and 
wood ashes. After potting, place the 
plants in a cold frame with an ash 
bottom, and shade and keep fairly close 
for a day or two until root action has com¬ 
menced, then give all the light and air 
possible. 
In the beginning of winter remove them 
to a dry, airy house where frost can be 
excluded, and place them as near the 
glass as possible. Keep them on the dry 
side, and when watering is necessary, it 
should be kept off the foliage as much as 
possible. 
About the end of January they will be 
ready for shifting into their flowering 
pots, namely, six-inch pots. A compost 
consisting of three parts loam, one part 
leaf soil, with a sprinkling of wood ashes, 
soot, and a little of some good fertilizer 
will answer. After potting, a neat stake 
should be put to each plant, and any that 
are leggy should be immediately tied to 
the stake. They will need very little 
water for a time, but when they are in 
full growth frequent waterings will be re¬ 
quired, and soot water two or three times 
weekly will be found beneficial. When 
the buds begin to show colour, a heavy- 
shading should be given them, or else 
the blooms will soon lose colour if sub¬ 
jected to the strong rays of the sun. 
I need scarcely add that plentv n{ air. 
strict attention to watering, and slightly 
fumigating the house if greenfly make its 
appearance, are essential if one wishes 
to be successful in the culture of this 
lovely flower. 
Kaffir. 
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Sweet Pea Elsie Herbert. 
The general aspect of this variety is 
very pale, the whole flower being blush- 
white, deepening to pink at the edges,. 
It has the wavy standard and other 
characteristics of Countess Spencer. 
Award of merit to Mr. C. W. Breadmore 
by the National Sweet Pea Society on the 
16th July. 
Sweet Pea St. George. 
Last year a Sweet Pea appeared in pub¬ 
lic under the name of Queen of Spain. 
This had an orange-scarlet standard 
and paler rosy wings. It would appear 
that the name Queen of Spain had been 
appropriated by another, and this has 
now been named St. George by Messrs. 
Hurst and Son, who received an award of 
merit for it from the National Sweet Pea 
Society on July 16th. 
- Q. W. - 
Prize Competitions. 
GENERAL 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 way! 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 f ae award. Mark envelopes “ Oom- 
petitLn,” and post not later than the Monday - 
folk wing date of issue. Entries received later 
thm 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 “ Joseph Floyd ” for the article 
on u Budding Roses,” page 514. 
Daffodils for Pots. 
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These beautiful flowers are well suited 
to the wants of amateur gardeners who have 
very little glass, for they succeed admir¬ 
ably without artificial heat, and only need 
the protection of a glass frame or cold 
house in order to flower them to perfection. 
As they blossom at an early period of the 
year the protection of a glass roof will 
advance that period considerably. Con¬ 
sequently, if potted early, and if both the 
earliest and latest varieties are grown 
there is no difficulty in having these de¬ 
lightful and elegant flowers for mam- 
weeks in succession. 
The best plan is to procure the desired 
quantity of bulbs about the first week in 
October. Then mix up some good de¬ 
cayed turfy loam, sand, and rotten 
manure, and pot them at once, in from 
five to seven inch pots, according to the 
number of bulbs it is desired to have in 
each. After pottmg, they are set on a 
border of hard coal ashes, then covered 
completely over with the same material 
to a depth of about three inches above the 
pots. They are allowed to remain until 
the tops push through the ashes, which 
varies as to date, according to whether 
they are early or late varieties. The pots 
are then washed, and they are set in cool 
houses, where they come on sturdily, and 
^never fail to give excellent returns for the 
labour bestowed on them. 
The following varieties are sure to 
please: Early Double Roman, Grand 
Monarque, Soleil d’Or, States General. 
Paper White (early), Poet’s or Pheasant's 
Eye. Daffodils, single or double, are es¬ 
pecially useful, and if required for cutting 
they may be grown most successfully in 
boxes about 18 inches long, by a foot 
wide, and 6 inches deep. These will hold 
about fifty Daffodils, as the bulbs are 
smaller than the Narcissus, and they 
flower splendidly under glass in the early 
part of March. F. Howes. 
-- 
Dictamnus. 
This is not so often met with in our 
gardens as its merits deserve, growing, as. 
it does, in any good garden soil, and after 
once established, difficult to lose. The 
white form is most serviceable for cutting, 
and very sweet, while the lilac or pale 
purple comes in useful as a border plant. 
It is best increased by seed, which it 
freely yields if the old flower spikes are 
left intact. Dittamy is still another 
name for it, and Fraxinella, too, this, 
Johnson’s dictionary says, is because the 
leaves resemble the Ash. The burning 
bush is sometimes applied to this plant, 
the stems being covered with a resinous 
exudation, which burns very freely when 
a light is put to it, especially in the night. 
Bicton, Devon. ’ J. Mayne. 
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The Strand Garden. 
The acre of land in the Strand, which 
the London County Council have been 
trying to let for building purposes, has 
been recently visited by a botanist, who 
said he found sixty different kinds of 
plants growing on this piece of waste 
ground. 
