THE a ARDEN I HO WORLD. 
579 
August 31, 
1907. 
Address : The Editor, The Gardening 
or Id, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which may 
ver any branch of gardening. Questions 
ould be Os brief as -possible and written on 
:e side of the paper only; a separate sheet 
paper should be used for each question. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
Garden Plans .—Gardeners who would make 
e best use of this column are invited to 
epar.e and forward to us a rough outline 
■awing or plan of their gardens, indicating 
e position of beds and lawns, the charac¬ 
ter and height of the fence or wall; posi¬ 
tion of vegetable garden, orchard, etc. The 
north side of the garden and any over¬ 
shadowing buildings should be denoted. It 
should also be stated whether the garden is 
■flat or on a declivity, and all large trees 
should be marked. Particulars of the na¬ 
ture of the soil will also help us to give 
satisfactory replies. When such plans are 
received they will be carefully filed, with 
the name and address of the sender, and 
will be consulted by the Editor whenever an 
enquiry is sent. 
/ rrrrrrrrrrtw^rr* 
COLD FRAMES. 
139. Putting: Cuttings in the Ground. 
I thank you for your reply in last week’s 
ardening World. The cuttings I want 
put in the ground under the frame are 
-incipalLy Geraniums and Calceolarias. 
L P. C., Middlesex.) 
You can make up a compost for the Cal- 
-olarias consisting of old potting bench 
>il, sifted to get rid of the rubbish, and 
xmt one part of leaf soil to two of the loam 
id 1 £ part of sand. Put this into the frame 
ad press it down to the depth of 4 in. If 
is fairly dry it should be pressed quite 
rm, and the cuttings will stand all the 
etter for it. The cuttings may be put in 
bout the beginning of October, and they 
'ill be well rooted before planting-out time 
bout the beginning of April. Give them 
in. apart each way, using quite small cut- 
ings. It is no advantage to put them in 
arlier, as they get too crowded before they 
an be planted out, thereby spoiling the 
oliage. If they have only one crown, 
linch them when they commence to grow 
n spring, and you will have quite bushy 
Hants to put out. The Pelargoniums you 
hould put into boxes or pots, because you 
an then place them where they will not 
>e exposed to frost in winter. They may 
ive in a cold frame, but the chances are 
hat they would damp off. If you dibble 
hem into a colid frame at the present time 
70U will have to pot them off or box them 
about the end of September, or at least 
when rooted. 
ROOM PLANTS. 
2140. Watering India Rubber Plant. 
Beatrice would like to know how often 
vou should give the India Rubber plant 
water; also Palm. (Cardiff, South Wales.) 
There is no stated time or number of 
times to give either of these plants water. 
During this summer they have required 
very little water indeed, the reason being 
that the atmosphere is always damp, and 
the soil in the pots does not dtry very 
quickly. You will have to learn when the 
soil is getting dry. For instance, when it 
is black you may conclude it is wet enough, 
but when beginning to get brown, then the 
plant should have sufficient water to wet 
the whole ball of soil, and not more given 
until it really wants it. The difficulty in 
watering plants in rooms is that they are 
either put into ornamental pots or covered 
with moss for the sake of appearance, and 
they are often allowed to get dry for some 
time, during which the roots get more or 
less killed or injured. The surface of the 
soil should always be sufficiently exposed 
to the eye to see its condition. If brown 
or shrinking away from the sides of the pot, 
then the plant certainly requires water. 
Ringing the pots with the knuckles or any 
hard object, such as a knife or key, enables 
skilled people to get acquainted with the 
condition of the soil; but ordinary observa¬ 
tion also, by lifting the pot to feel its 
weight, and by feeling the soil with the 
finger, will give an idea whether it is damp 
or dry. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
2141. Old Seeds of Sweet Peas. 
This year I have had a splendid show of 
Sweet Peas, using Eckford’s best seeds. As 
I only used half the quantity, can I use the 
remainder for next year, or should they 
be fresh seeds every season ? Thanking you 
in anticipation for your answer. (H. P. C., 
Middlesex.) 
No doubt most of last year’s seeds would 
give you a good crop next year. Sweet Pea 
seed, however, is only of moderate dura¬ 
tion, and every succeeding year the vitality 
becomes weaker and weaker, until at the 
end of eight years or so we find that they 
do not germinate, although they have been 
kept under favourable conditions. With 
such a valuable class of annuals as Sweet 
Peas you should endeavour to get at least 
some fresh seeds every year to avoid risk 
of failure. Some varieties are more deli¬ 
cate than others, especially those that are 
thin skinned and liable to burst the skin, 
either while being dried or when germinat¬ 
ing. That is our opinion, and you can 
either resolve to risk it or get at least some 
fresh varieties every year to make certain. 
2142. Planting Bulbs. 
What method of planting bulbs should I 
adopt to prevent the worms eating them? 
Last winter I planted several Tulips, which 
grew and threw up a bud, but the bud did 
not grow, and when I took the bulb up 
to find out the reason I found they were 
riddled with holes, which looked like holes 
made by worms making their way through. 
The soil is very poor indeed. There is no 
nature in it. It is just like rubbish. (L. 
Bullock, Lancs.) 
We do not at all think that worms are 
the culprits. We have often experienced 
the same thing, but we consider that slugs 
were the enemy in all cases. After the 
leaves or stem get above the soil the wind 
sometimes sways them, thus making a hole 
around the stem, and slugs get down by 
leaves or stem get above the soil the wind 
slugs at all, and we attribute our success 
to thorough digging, trenching, and keep¬ 
ing the ground clear of weeds at all times. 
When weeds are allowed to grow, the slugs 
can feed on them when other plants are 
unsuitable to their taste. We, therefore, 
advise you to trench the ground, putting the 
top soil in the bottom if the good soil is deep 
enough, otherwise you will have to keep 
the best soil on the top. This should be 
done at once, and the bulbs planted in the 
course of ten days or so. If poor, it would 
clearly be an advantage to use manure, put¬ 
ting it well down so as to be quite clear 
of the bulbs. Another plan you could 
adopt is to put some sand beneath and over 
the top of the bulbs at planting time. This 
is not so liable to be moved away from the 
bulbs. The trenching is one of the best 
means of getting rid of } r our enemies. 
2143. Carnations of Different Shades. 
I bought some Carnation seed last year. 
This year they have bloomed, and I cannot 
make out what they are, as they are not 
like the Carnations I bought. I have en¬ 
closed a few of the blooms, all of different 
shades of pink, and I have had from a 
dozen up to two hundred blooms on a plant 
about the size of half-a-crown, and I should 
be pleased if you let me know, through 
The Gardening’ World, what they are. 
(One in Doubt, East Ham.) 
The Carnations you saw last year may 
have been good of their kind, but it is 
altogether a mistake to buy seeds, even of 
the same sorts, if you expect them to come 
true to colour. Carnations never do. They 
have been too much mixed through long cul¬ 
tivation. Judging from the flowers you 
sent, the seed had not been gathered from 
a very good strain, otherwise some of the 
double flowers should have been larger, 
more double, and better. As it is, except 
for cut flowers, we should not consider them 
worthy of cultivation, seeing that hundreds 
of fine things are now in cultivation of 
splendid merit. To get Carnations true 
to colour you should get plants and layer 
these at the end of July or the beginning 
of August, each layer being part of the 
plant, comes true to the colour of that. 
If you get more Carnation seed we should 
advise you to get a gocd strain from some 
reliable source, rear and flower them, and 
then select the very best to be layered and 
propagated in that way. All of the very 
fine varieties are, of course, grown under 
name, and are increased by layering. 
2144. Border Carnations Diseased. 
I enclose grass of border Carnation 
which is diseased. I should be pleased if you 
would kindly name the disease, through The 
Gardening World. Also the cause and 
remedy. I have always had good results 
with them other seasons. (Carnation 
Lover, Cheshire.) 
The Carnations you sent us are attacked 
with bacteriosis (Bacterium Dianthi), a 
minute iungus that destroys the green 
colouring matter in the leaves, causing 
them to appear spotted. At first these spots 
can only be seen by holding them up to 
the light, but later they either become 
whitish or yellowish, and by and b3 r e, if 
they are numerous, the whole leaf gradu¬ 
ally dies and dries up. We consider, how¬ 
ever, that they were punctured early in the 
season by aphides, and this allowed the 
spores of the Bacterium to get inside de¬ 
leaves. The latter may be punctured while 
they are still in the bud state, as aphides 
are fond of the tender young leaves. We 
cannot suggest any remedy for the plant 
that is so "far gone, because if it was to 
