626 
September 28, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
should the bulbs be disturbed before the 
winter is over. April is the best time to 
repot, and it is safest to keep the pots out 
of reach of frost. 
The Monarch of the East. 
The plant familiarly known as Mon¬ 
arch of the East (Sauromatum guttatum), 
that curious oddity that flowers without 
soil fibre or anything else of that nature, 
has probably been planted out in our gar¬ 
dens during the summer months, and a 
large leaf has sprung up. When this 
withers the bulb should again be lifted 
and dried off, and it will, in due time, 
once more go through the process of de¬ 
veloping its curious flower merely resting 
in an empty bowl. There is a fascina¬ 
tion in growing anything so strangely 
out of the common as is this plant. It 
may be that we do not look upon it as 
beautiful ; no one, however, will deny 
that it is a deeply interesting form of 
plant life. ' F. NORFOLK. 
-- 
Trolliuses 
[Globe Flowers.] 
Globe flowers, as they are commonly 
named, are beautiful ornamental flowers 
of the garden. 
They have large globular flowers and 
belong to the Buttercup family. Septem- 
ter and October are the best months for 
planting, though with care they can be 
planted immediately after flowering, or 
they may be put in in March, just as they 
begin to grow. 
The propagation of these plants is by 
division of the roots or by seeds. The 
division of large clumps can be done with 
a sharp delving spade, early in spring 
being the best time for this operation, 
when new growth has begun ; at this sea¬ 
son plenty of new fibrous roots are 
quickly formed, and they soon become 
firmly established. 
To propagate by seeds the amateur 
must exercise a great amount of patience, 
as they are very slow to germinate, some¬ 
times eighteen months or even two years 
elapsing before there is any sign of life. 
For best results they should be sown as 
soon as they are ripe, in boxes or pans in 
a cool, shady place, and should be kept 
moist by watering occasionally. The 
boxes or pans should be covered by a 
slate to stay evaporation, and should be 
examined from time to time to ascertain 
if they are in need of water. Once they 
begin to grow they soon make beautiful 
plants. They will grow in almost any 
soil as long as it is rich; whether it is 
light or heavy makes very little differ¬ 
ence, but they must be given plenty of 
manure, which should be well dug in. 
Care should be taken never to overcrowd 
these plants, as this spoils the beauty of 
the flowers by causing them to be drawn. 
As they make plenty of fibrous roots, they 
should be transplanted every two or three 
years, and given manure freely as they 
are generous feeders. 
Some of the best varieties are Fortunei, 
japonicus plenus, asiaticus, and euro- 
paeus. 
These beautiful perennials flower early 
in spring and deserve every attention one 
can bestow on them. 
Armenian Grape Hyacinth. 
A number of highly interesting and 
beautiful species of Grape Hyacinth find 
their way into cultivation, but one of the 
prettiest is too frequently neglected, pos¬ 
sibly on account of the smaller size of the 
flowers. These are, however, of the 
brightest rich blue, and closely arranged 
in conical racemes about ijj i n - t0 2 in- 
long, and when the plants are only 3 in. 
above the soil nothing could be brighter 
or more charming in this way. Those 
who know the Grape Hyacinth will be 
pleased, we feel sure, they have given 
this one a trial, making a good clump of 
bulbs either on some narrow border or on 
the rockery where they will come directly 
under the eye. A friable, rich soil is 
most suitable to this class of bulb, but 
it is perfectly hardy, and not by any 
means particular. 
Dahlia Elsa Ellrich. 
The above is a Cactus Dahlia of exhi¬ 
bition size and of a handsome bright 
yellow colour. The florets are very 
slender and the bloom elegant. Award 
of Merit by the R.H.S. on 3rd Septem¬ 
ber, when shown by Mr. H. Shoesmith, 
Westfield, Woking. 
- 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 wayjl any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be care¬ 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OF TEN 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 <-he award. Mark envelopes “ Com¬ 
petition,” and post not later than the Monday 
follr,wing date of issue. Entrie* received later 
than 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 “ 0. Blair ” for the article on 
“The Scotch Rocket,” page 612. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize 
was awarded to “ Thos. Francis ” for the 
article on “ Freesias from Seed ” ; and another 
to J. 0. Peebles ” for the article on “ Do 
Rabbits Eat Mushrooms ? ” page 612. 
The White Lily. 
There are now some splendid bulb-jf 
this in the seed shops, the most popi.r 
white Lily, and probably the oldest, d 
as it commences growing in the autun 
the bulbs are now crying out to e 
planted. We refer to Lilium candidn, 
which makes a display of green lea -s 
previous to the advent of winter, d 
pushes up the flower stem in sprb. 
These leaves are already pushing fm 
the top of the bulbs in a dry conditii, 
and the longer they are kept out of .e 
soil, the more they are wasting. The 
who intend planting should, therefore, ;t 
their bulbs at once and have them plar d 
in carefully prepared soil, keeping the p 
of the bulbs only 3 in. under the si. 
In most cases where success has atten d 
the cultivation of this Lily, we have nod 
that the bulbs were near the surface, s- 
pecially after they have been grown jr 
some vears in the same position. 
-- 
Mimulus 
"jjjh And its 
Peculiarities. 
Everyone is acquainted with sue 
species or variety of Mimulus, whe er 
it is the common Musk plant (M. 1 s- 
chatus) or some garden variety of le 
popular monkey flower; or it may be at 
the lover of rural enjoyments has foid 
the water Mimulus growing wild. or 
M. rivularis, a variety of M. luteus, <es 
grow wild in our country, even tho;h 
it is not indigenous, so that it must Le 
escaped from cultivation. The bankot 
certain streams in the South of Berks re 
are quite yellow in the summer with te 
flowers of this species and in other ccn- 
ties it is to be found. 
Even though everyone may be c 
quainted with some member of i: 
genus, it is not everyone that is c- 
quainted with some of its peculiars s. 
Owing to the resemblance between ie 
flower of Mimulus and the face of a nn- 
key, it has received the name of Mor;\ 
flower, a peculiarity which must be pani 
to the least observant. This gives si 
to the name .Mimulus, which is der ?c 
from “mimo,” meaning an ape. Rw 
ever, the most interesting peculiarit i; 
that each flower possesses a sensivi 
stigma. The stigma, which is the summ 0 
the female organ, is prominent, and a; 
be seen at the mouth of any floweiO 
Mimulus. It consists of two lips, wcl 
are open when receptive, and u£t 
touched the lower lip closes on the uye 
and the two are closed together. hi 
is really a wonderful mechanism, the b 
ject of which is to prevent self-fert; a 
tion. An insect visiting the flower 0 
Mimulus would take with it pollen fin 
the flowers it had just visited. Ash' 
insect visits a flower, so would it be bon 
to rub against the prominent pistil, v 
the chances are that it would leave uoi 
the lower lip of the stigma pollen fin 
other flowers. The result is that the :g 
matic lips close, so that the retreating n 
sect is unable to deposit pollen from >• 
flower upon its own stigma. It is se n 
teresting to observe the movement c 
the stigma, for if it is touched and jc 
pollinated it closes, but in the course 
Joseph Floyd. 
