SEPTEMBER JI, 1902. 
crop of half-hardy annuals should be sown 
on a slight hotbed, and towards the end of 
the montha few may be sown in the open. 
- RAISING FINE SEEDS. 
For raising seedlings earthenware pans or 
shallow boxes must be used. Under no cir- 
cumstances should tins or glazed ware be 
taken for the purpose, because it is highly 
essential that the sides of the vessel or recep- 
tacle should be porous for drainage and 
aeration. The receptacle should be _half- 
filled with crocks, charcoal, or any good 
draining material. About an inch of pre- 
pared soil is sufficient, as too great a depth is 
liable to sour the substance for germination. 
Before sowing ,verv choice small seeds it is a 
good plan after preparing the pot for the seed 
to water it well, and place in a hot sun for an 
hour or so. The object of this is to kill off 
the seeds of weeds and destroy the germs 
and eggs of insects. Attention to this little 
detail accounts for the success of many gar- 
deners compared with others who are not too 
careful regarding the depredations of insect 
life which may not be seen on the surface 
of the soil or flying about in the air. The 
tender little plants die off, the secret. dies 
with them, and very often the seedsman gets 
blamed for supplying indifferent seeds. 
Seedsmen, no doubt, in common with every- 
body else, have a good many sins to answer 
for, but in many cases the blame is shouldered 
on to the wrong cause. For seeds a general 
principle to work upon in making the soil is 
to take equal parts of sandy loam and leaf 
mould with a mixture of silver sand. Put 
the soil in firmly, and sift some fine soil on 
top, making it quite even. Give a good 
watering, and then sow the seeds, not too 
thick, so that when they germinate there will 
be breathing space. Small seeds do not 
require any covering. Drop them on to the 
top of the soil and press them evenly down 
with a piece of board or anything flat, so that 
they enter the damp soil. Larger varieties 
should be slightly covered with a sprinkle of 
sandy soil, and deeper covering according to 
the size of the seeds. If the soil is properly 
soaked before sowing no more watering is re- 
quired until the seeds germinate. It is a 
_ good plan to place a pane or piece of glass 
over the pot after sowing, and when the 
plants begin to show themselves remove the 
glass gradually to harden off the plants. 
Care must be taken to shade the young 
plants during hot, sunny days, a piece of 
paper being all that is required for the pur- 
pose. 
Plant out rooted cuttings that were struck 
in autumn, and while doing this it is not a 
- good plan to push them into the ground as 
though they were so many dry sticks. 
Take them up tenderly, 
Fashioned so slenderly, 
and place them in the carefully-prepared 
soil as though you intended them to grow 
by having their roots disturbed as 
little as possible. See, too, that 
they can stand up erect, not leaning 
over every which way, so that when they 
grow up they are like the leaning tower of 
Pisa. A little attention to these uncon- 
sidered details in the beginning of things 
makes all the difference to the aftergrowth 
of the plant, 
[HE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
A correspondent sends us a list of plants 
he thinks would be worth mentioning, and 
recommends putting out, although we are 
afraid the heat and dryness of the month 
may be against them. Nearly all of them 
are already mentioned and described in our 
last issue, but it may be of service to some 
who may not have seen the list :—Asters, 
Zinnias,. Balsams, Coreopsis, Portulaca, 
Miniature and Double Sunflower, Petunia, 
Gaillardia, Gomphrena (Globe amaranth), 
Cornflower, Amaranthus, Tagetes or Mari- 
gold, Cosmos (Klondyke), Cockscomb, Hun- 
nemannia, Jackobaea, Mesembryanthemum, 
Salpiglossis, Nicotiana, Zea, Rhodanthe, 
Convolvulus, Mina Lobata. The last-named 
he describes as a beautiful half-hardy aunual 
climber, a very fast grower, admirably suited 
for covering unsightly fences and walls. The 
beautiful flowers produced in such abundance 
are composed of three shades. It is some- 
times spoken of as the Tennyson flower, as 
it contains the colours of His Excellency. 
ROSES. 
CuLtivaTIon.— Keep your ground free 
from weeds, and the soil loose, to prevent 
evaporation. Avoid digging near the roots 
or the young fibres will be seriously injured, 
and your blooms suffer thereby. It isa good 
practice after watering or rain to lightly stir the 
ground with hoe or fork. Mulching round 
the plants in summer with old manure, grass 
sweepings, or other light litter, to keep the 
roots cool and moist, is beneficial to your 
plants, and saves labour in frequent water- 
ings. 
A very effective way of training vigorous 
growing Roses is to select strong shoots and 
tie them down at regular intervals to a ring 
of wire surrounding the plant at, say, 5 or 6 ft. 
from the stem. This gives an umbrella 
form, and causes the buds to break regularly 
from the base to the ends of the shoots. 
W. A. Richardson, Beauty of Glazenwood, 
Cloth of Gold, and Roses of similar habit, 
either as tall or low standards, treated in 
this manner are most effective for garden 
decoration. All the pruning required is to 
cut the flowering shoots back when the 
blooms are done. The main branches will 
last for several years, when they can be 
replaced by younger growth. 
We are pleased to reproduce the foregoing 
suggestions from Mr. Arthur Scarfe whose 
observations in the subject of Rose culti- 
vation have drawn favourable comment. 
GRASSES may be taken up, divided, and 
replanted. 
PAMPAS GRASS (Gynerium, from gyne, 
female, erion, wool; the stigmas being 
woolly) —Gynerium argenteum bears the 
the white plumes, and G. purpureum the 
purple. This ornamental grass is so well 
known that little need be said in the way of 
recommendation, and it is surprising that 
such a noble ornament is not more largely 
used in large grounds. It will grow almost 
anywhere under almost any conditions. It 
is surprising that many of the other beauti- 
ful grasses are not grown, if for no other 
reason than their utility and grace in the 
making of bouquets, table and hall decora- 
5 
tions. When picked before they are full- 
ripe they last for any length of time, and 
always look ornamental in spite of the lack 
of art evidenced in their display. 
ZEA, Maize or Indian Corn (from zao, to 
live).—Can be had in three or four varieties. 
The Gracillima variegata and the Japonica 
albo-vittata are really beautiful green and 
white variegated in foliage, and. make charm- 
ing additions to the surrounding shrubs and 
flowers. 
PANICUM (from paniculum, a panicle ; 
the form of flowering).—There is a goodly 
number of the varieties of this pretty grass, 
so useful for decorative purposes. Most of 
them come from the West Indies and North 
America. A good selection is Panicum 
altissimum, P. capillare, and P. plicatum. 
The lastnamed carries a fairly dense striped 
foliage. Another, P. variegatum, has white 
striped, pink tinted leaves, very elegant as a 
basket plant. 
BOUVARDIA.—This _ perennial plant, 
named after Dr. Bouvard, a curator of the 
Botanic Gardens at Paris, is rarely seen 
amongst the choice plants of the cottage 
gardener, and not very often in the preten- 
tious garden, and yet this is how one writer 
delivers himself of his charm regarding his 
particular flower. He says ‘“‘they are not only 
chaste, beautiful, and diversified in colour, 
but rank amongst the most elegant border 
perennials we possess, blooming through the 
summer, almost until the middle of winter. 
As cut flowers for bouquet making (especially 
bridal bouquets), wreaths, show stands, and 
table decorations they are unrivalled. Some 
of them are beautifully scented, and all are 
much more hardy than generally pronounced, 
even by professional men. They suffer but 
slightly from frost during the coldest part of 
winter, and when once established are never 
killed in consequence, and for this reason 
are better planted in spring.” Surely such 
testimony from a practical gardener is ample 
recommendation to see this somewhat neg- 
lected beauty come into greater favour. All 
that is required for their successful culture is 
a copious supply of top mulch and water 
during the hot, dry weather, and should be 
cut back each season in early spring. This 
month they can be propagated by cuttings 
and roots. 
A few varieties mentioned as well worth 
cultivating are:—Alfred Neuner (white), 
Augustifolia (scarlet), Beauty of Brisbane 
(white), Beauty of New South Wales (creamy 
white, with base of petals and calyx flesh 
coloured), Cardinal (cerise with white eye), 
Dazzler (vermillion scarlet), Flavescens (single 
and double yellow), Humboldtii (three varie- 
ties, white), Leinantha splendens (scarlet), 
Maiden’s blush (pink), Triomphe de Nancy 
(orange salmon), Van Lemoine (double 
scarlet). 
DAHLIA (named after Dahl, a Swedish 
botanist).—These magnificent flowers are 
a perfect rage with many gardeners, and cer- 
tainly there is much justification for excess of 
admiration, for their infinite variety in struc- 
ture and colouring have a fascinating charm. 
In addition to the flowers themselves the 
foliage and growth of the plants entitle them 
to regard as noble specimens of garden 
beauties, 
