558 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 24, 1907. 
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dening subject. 
Letters should not exceed 150 words each 
in length, and must be written on one 
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which the Editor considers to be the best. 
to advantage and the bulbs safe from dis¬ 
turbance. The latter are moderate m 
size, and may be planted at 15 in. apart 
each way, which will give them room to 
grow and multiply for a number of years 
before it is necessary to lift and replant 
them. The flowers vary considerably in 
colour, from a light blue to dark blue, 
and are starry like those of S. autumnalis 
and S. italica. The seed vessel in the 
centre of the flower is dark blue, and this 
adds to the beauty of the flower on close 
inspection. 
-- 
Sweet Peas 
From Tonbridge. 
( 
A LETTER TO THE EDITOR. 
Sir, — I see in this week’s Gardening 
WORLD, which we take in regularly, that 
in some parts Sweet Peas are almost a 
failure. I am sending you specimens of 
ours, which have been most successful. 
We sowed them in February in a shallow 
trench 30 ft. long, which had been pre¬ 
viously well manured. They have not 
even been watered above three or four 
times. They are 6 ft. or 7 ft. high, and 
have been in flower since the end of June. 
We have cut hundreds of blooms and they 
are still a mass of flowers. I have a 
second row of 30 ft. just showing bud and 
others raised in a box ready for planting 
out, so hope to have Sweet Peas all the 
summer. I have enclosed photos of our 
house and garden. 
L. C. Crofts. 
[The Sweet Peas included a large num¬ 
ber of varieties, some of which are well 
known, named and standard varieties. 
Needless to say, these colours were hand¬ 
some in their way, and we have evidence 
in this that the old type of a mixed packet 
of Sweet Peas has disappeared and given 
place to the beautiful modern varieties. 
The old, small flowered blue and purple 
varieties have disappeared, and for this 
we are thankful. The photos mentioned 
in the above letter did not reach us, but 
we presume they have been overlooked. —r 
Ed.]. 
-- 
Largest Apple Crop. 
According to an American agricultural 
expert at Washington, the world’s Apple 
crop for this year will be the largest ever 
known. 
Bilberries not Popular. 
Although Bilberries are plentiful, not a 
single basket is to be found on the Lon¬ 
don market, salesmen having failed after 
repeated attempts to popularise the fruit. 
Cattleya Thor. 
The parentage of this hybrid was C. 
Warscewiczii x superba. The sepals and 
petals are soft rosy pink. The curved lip 
has a rich dark crimson-purple blade with 
a creamy white blotch at the mouth of 
the tube. Award of Merit by the R.H.S. 
on 23rd July, when shown by Major Hol- 
ford, C.I.E. (grower, Mr. H. G. Alexan¬ 
der), Wesfonbirt, Tetbury. 
How to Remove Greenfly. 
Looking at my Rose trees the other day 
I found an army of greenfly, and thought 
of bringing my gun into action, but was 
afraid of spoiling my trees, so I tried the 
following experiment with grand results. 
I got three inches of black twist tobacco 
and put it in some boiling water; next I 
added a tablespoonful of soft soap, mak¬ 
ing altogether a little more than half a 
pint of liquid. With the aid of a disused 
soft-haired varnish brush I attacked the 
greenfly and completely routed them. A 
shower of rain some hours after completed 
the cleaning of the trees. Around Rose¬ 
buds that would not burst into bloom, 
after cleaning, I tied pieces of paper, pro¬ 
truding one and half inches above the tip, 
and within two or three days my Roses 
were all out. 
Joseph Floyd. 
Westhoughton. 
Ferns from Spores. 
The plants selected for this purpose 
should be well grown, clean, and healthy. 
When the fronds have attained their full 
size and begin to turn brown, they should 
be cut off, named, and placed in a piece 
of newspaper of double thickness, and 
hung up in the cool end of the green¬ 
house. They can be looked over occa¬ 
sionally, and when the spores begin to 
leave the fronds they can be gathered and 
sown in a well-drained seed pan in a com¬ 
post of peat and fine silver sand. The 
peat should have plenty of body in it, 
that is, it should not be at all fibrous. 
Do not cover up the spores with the com¬ 
post. A piece of glass placed over the 
seed pan is sufficient. They should then 
be placed in a moist, shady part of the 
greenhouse till they germinate. When 
potting, the compost can then be of equal 
parts of loam, peat, and silver sand. 
Thos. Francis. 
Bolton-le-Moors. 
Four excellent Hybrid Tea Roses for 
Town Gardens. 
I find the following four Roses of great 
value in my suburban garden in Flar- 
ringay. C. Testout is a most valuable 
Rose, a lovely soft shade of pink, large, 
sweetly scented, a vigorous grower, and 
very freely blooming right through the 
summer. V. Folkestone, a beautiful 
blush-coloured flower, with a deeper shad¬ 
ing towards the centre, sweetly scented, 
and a strong grower,' makes a splendid 
standard. Mme. Abel Chatenay is an¬ 
other lovely shade of colour, rosy salmon, 
with base of petals deeper in tint, sweetly 
scented, and grows on long stiff stems and 
very free.blooming. K. A. Victoria is a 
delicate lemon colour. This planted 
alternately in a bed, with Mme. A. Chate¬ 
nay, looks bewitcbingly pretty. For any 
amateur who is not sure of the varietie 
he is choosing it is better to have thre. 
each of the above mentioned than a mixei 
dozen of doubtful ones. 
Harringay. F. W. B. 
Newer forms of Campanula persici 
folia. 
There are now numerous varieties 0 
this grand Campanula, but the undei 
noted varieties are new, quite distinct, an 
good in every way. The plants .vhic 
suggested this note were bought in th 
autumn from Messrs. Lemoine and Sor 
Nancy, and may not yet be in commcn 
in Britain. 
Loupe d’Azur is a semi-double variet; 
a pale azure blue, with a deep beb 
Globe Azure is of a deeper shade tha 
Coupe d’Azur; the bell is not so deep ; 
in the former, but is wider. Cloche Blu 
is a deeper blue than either of the fore 
going, although slightly lighter than th 
type. Candelabre is a very attractiv 
white variety, with a suggestion of purjil 
on the outside of the tips of the petal 
These varieties all conform to type in th 
matter of height. 
Geranium Cuttings. 
If these are taken immediately they ca 
be struck in the open air, whereas cutting 
taken after this month will require to 1: 
rooted in cold frames. Pots, boxes, or 
sunny border are equally suitable f( 
striking Geranium slips as long as the 
are well-drained and filled with a ligl 
sandy soil. The most successful methc 
of striking them is to remove the: 
straight from the plants and set them wit 
all their leaves on in holes 6 ins. apar 
in full sun, without shade or protectio: 
first dropping a pinch of sand into ear 
hole. Press the soil well round the coll: 
of each slip, and then sprinkle more sai 
over the surface. From four to six join 
constitute an average Geranium cuttin 
which should be cut clean across at tl 
base of a joint. Cuttings in pots shou 
be placed round the sides rather than 
the middle. 
Marguerite Bamberg. 
Balham. 
Rooting Verbenas. 
These are glorious bedders. Failu 
to root them in autumn is a common c: 
currence. Procure some small box< 
say, 4 inches deep, with a good outlet f 
water. Put in a good layer of roui 
leaves or siftings firstly, and then fill 
firmly with equal portions of sifted loa 
and leaf-mould, with a dash of sail 
through it, and a sprinkling on the si? 
face. Give a good watering, and the 
hunt up your cuttings. Endeavour to g 
