September 21, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
The Flower Garden. 
I really think I was born to reside in a 
aot country, for the chilly weather has 
Iriven me to take up winter woollens, and 
1 am seriously thinking of bringing forth 
ny winter sweater also. As coals are so 
expensive I am trying to pen these notes 
.vithout calling for a fire, but only by wrap- 
>ing a rug around my legs and warming 
ny fingers over the candle that illuminates 
ny den can I make myself at all comfort- 
ible. Possibly roasting indoor work has 
eft me very sensitive, or it may be that old 
ige is - creeping over me. I have always 
mderstood that the good die young. At 
iny rate, my hair is falling out fast, and 
rot being blessed, or should I say bur- 
iened, with a better half, my scanty locks 
annot be attributed to any such attention as 
renedicts are subjected to. I can see wrin- 
des appearing fast, which only serve to 
accentuate the mournfulness of my once 
happy features. The year 1907 indeed has 
1 lot to answer for. Bitterly cold nights 
ire quite the rule now and I recently read 
rf snow in Scotland. 
doubtedly selections from Navy Blue. Be¬ 
sides appearing with Messrs. House and 
Gibson it also sported with Mr. Thos. Jones, 
of Ruabon, and Morse and Co., of Cali¬ 
fornia. Mr. Jones has for several seasons 
shown this deep blue as Navy Blue under 
the impression that it was the .real Navy- 
Blue as raised by Mr. Waldo Rhonert. Mr. 
Burpee, however, told me he had never seen 
Navy Blue so deep in colour. 
Chrysanthemums. 
But we will leave Sweet Peas and deal 
with other things. Chrysanthemums are 
now in full swing and I visited a nursery 
where these are grown largely. Several 
sorts struck me as being very useful both 
for garden decoration or lifting for pot 
work. Harrie, Polly, Ada and Nellie weTe 
all good owing to their dwarf, stocky 
growth, and Nina Blick, Hilda Blick, 
Crimson Pride and Market White were also 
fine. It is an extremely simple matter to 
lift Chrysanthemums. The plants should 
have a thorough soaking before being lifted. 
The plants can be potted and taken indoors 
or planted in another part of the garden to 
replace flowers that have finished blooming. 
Sweet Peas. 
Roses. 
Sweet Peas are practically done for, and 
while many report an excellent season, I 
an only think of my own as being a partial 
failure. I am wondering whether any 
reader can record having seen a bigger 
Sweet Pea stem than one I am treasuring. 
It was given me by a grower who is likely 
to upset all the present-day champions. It 
is 24 inches in length and seven-eighths of 
an inch in circumference, being perfectly 
normal and in no way fasciated. It carried 
four flowers and came from a new seedling. 
Personally, I never saw its like, and I 
have been about a bit. I might add that 
the stems of this grower’s Sweet Peas were 
all of extraordinary size and the flowers 
equally so, and when showing he literally 
ran away from other competitors. Sore- 
thing very wonderful will be. neede^. next 
year if the grower in question is to be pre¬ 
vented from seizing every cup and trophy 
offered. I have just received letters and 
reports from friends in Boston, U.S., and 
in Victoria, B.C., where Sweet Pea shows 
have been booming, and I cannot help feel¬ 
ing ho w^ glorious it would be if it were pos¬ 
sible to bring flowers over fresh from the 
Western world. Victoria is said to be a re¬ 
markable place, and experts declare that 
English growers cannot get blooms of such 
size and colour as they do out there. Never¬ 
theless I would like to see Messrs. Bland 
and Beaven, of B.C., up against our Thos. 
Stevenson, Thos. Jones, Alex. Malcolm, and 
A. Basile. Lord, what a fight it would be ! 
Will some scientist tell me how to make 
Sweet Peas outlast a month’s journey and 
then equal fresh-cut blooms, and we will 
get the Canadian flowers over here. 
Lord Nelson and Brilliant Blue. 
I observe that Mr. H. Gibson has penned 
a note respecting the varieties Lord Nelson 
and Brilliant Blue. I take it that friend 
G. F. Drayson referred to their similarity 
only. These varieties, like many others of 
recent introduction, although originating at 
different places, are nevertheless alike, and 
arose in the same way, that is to say, both 
Lord Nelson and Brilliant Blue are un¬ 
The present is a good time to trim up pole 
or pillar Roses. All the Ramblers flower 
best on the new wood, and if well grown 
they should send up huge canes annually. 
Cut away all wood that has flowered, leav¬ 
ing only the strong basal canes. 
Violas and Pansies. 
Violas and Pansies have made wonderful 
growth of late, and all the cuttings possible 
should be inserted. A frame is not abso¬ 
lutely essential; indeed, I have seen frame- 
covered cuttings rot away, while those set 
out in the op£n have rooted splendidly. 
Annuals and Perennials. 
Annual and perennial seedlings should 
now be of good size, the latter especially, 
and they should not be crowded in the seed 
bed any longer. Annuals, too, which stand 
shifting well should be set in flowering 
quarters as soon as they are large enough 
to handle. If checked through over-croV'd- 
ing they may never recover. 
Planting Bulbs. 
Bulb planting should be actively pro¬ 
ceeded with, and Lilium candidum must not 
be kept out of the ground any longer. 
Carnations. 
In many places Carnations seem slow, 
and where such is the case I would strongly 
urge potting up and keeping in frames dur¬ 
ing the winter. I was examining some 
layers at a nursery early this month and no 
sign of roots could I discover. 
Pentstemons and Antirrhinums. 
Continue to take Pentstemon cuttings and 
also Antirrhinums if really good varieties 
are being grown. Personally I favour seed¬ 
lings, and by merely selecting and saving 
seed annually I have secured some remark¬ 
able shades. The new terra cotta shades now 
offered are very beautiful, and anyone may 
by careful saving even improve upon them. 
When these plants survive the winter out¬ 
side one can rely on getting wondrous stuff 
the second season. 
The present is a good time for sowing 
grass seed. Make the soil firm and level. 
619 
Get all hedge cutting done as soon as 
possible. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Plum growers are not having a ■ very 
happy time this season, and it serves to 
prove that one can have too much of a good 
thing. The man with one tree is well satis¬ 
fied, because he has an abundant crop, but 
the man with hundreds of trees finds it a 
dead loss to pick and market the fruit. 
Still this should not scare readers from 
planting Plums, or any other fruit, in fact. 
There are gluts and scarcities periodically, 
and he who thinks that he can buy fruit 
cheaper than he can grow it may find that 
fruit is very expensive sooner or later. 
Ground should be broken up and well 
manured so that it has time to settle by the 
time the trees arrive. 
Root Pruning. 
Trees that have stood for several years 
and still grow too rank should be root 
pruned carefully. It is quite a business, 
mind, for one has to start the hole several 
feet from the ball or trunk of the tree and 
work along carefully, covering the finer 
roots with sacks as they are exposed. 
Continue to watch ripening fruits and 
pick them as soon as fit. 
Wall Trees. 
Wall trees still insect infested should be 
constantly syringed with water or insecti¬ 
cide. 
Remove all thin, useless wood, as it only 
serves to drain on the trees’ resources. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
The later batches of Celery are approach¬ 
ing the stage for full earthing, and the work 
should be done carefully. Soot or lime 
dusted between the plants will tend to keep 
off slugs. 
Late Peas. 
Late Peas are very good this year as the 
lack of hot sunshine has brought less mil¬ 
dew, which generally follows long periods 
of drought. Birds, however, are a pest, 
and if they serve veryone’s pods as they 
do ours, then the losses must be tremendous. 
Get up all Potatos and burn the tops out 
of the way, together with Pea haulms and 
other such rubbish. 
Turnips and Cauliflowers. 
More Turnips may be sown. Autumn 
Cauliflowers are good this season, and they 
should be cut early as they develop very 
rapidly. If a leaf or two is broken over 
the heads it will save them from discolour¬ 
ing. 
Spring Cabbage. 
Continue to plant out Cabbage as this is 
a most important spring vegetable. 
Lettuce. 
Lettuce for standing the winter may be 
planted out in warm, dry situations. 
Tomatos. 
Tomatos should be given all possible 
chance to ripen by exposing them to light 
and sunshine. Give no water, as that only 
encourages growth. 
Horti. 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Potting Planted-Out Bouvardias. 
Plants cut round with a spade a fortnight 
ago, as advised in these notes, should now 
be fit for potting. Prepare the necessary 
number of 5 in., 6 in., and 8 in. pots before 
taking up a single plant, putting the drain¬ 
age crocks in very carefully to economise 
