APRIL I, 1903. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
bursting buds can take weak liquid man- 
ure, while the younger buds will take al- 
ternate doses of pure wajter and liquid 
manure, while ammonia liquid is also re- 
commended as an alternating stimulant. 
Two or three days in between each water- 
ing, according to the weather. 
“Pink.”’—Strike the cuttings in sand. 
“Prsts.”’—If you have not time to pro- 
tect seedlings from the ravages of slugs it 
is hardly worth while setting them. We 
should adyise planting out Pinks, Gera- 
niums, Violets, Daisies, well-grown 
Stocks, Pentstemons, Antirrhiniums, and 
edging of Echeveria. With these and 
such like plants you can havd a nice-looking 
front garden with no more trouble than 
the planting, occasional watering, and 
weeding. <A few shrubs, if you have room, 
such as Spireas, Choisyas, Salvias, and 
Lilacs, also Roses in bush, half-standards, 
and climbers. Ten minutes a day will 
suffice to keep such a garden worth looking 
at without fear of destruction by pests. 
“QGuapioLus.’—We will gladly publish 
differences of opinion, but nothing’ per- 
sonal. 
“FrLowers.’—Spring flowering bulbs 
may still be planted this month, also an- 
other sowing of hardy annuals. Divide and 
replant Phloxes and other herbaceous 
plants and layerCarnations. Prick off seed- 
lings when large enough into boxes 3 or 4 
in. apart. Thin the flower buds of Camel- 
lias and Chrysanthemums. Clear out all 
dead annuals. 
“KircHEeN.”—The main crop of peas, 
broad beang, onions, and most of the hardy 
vegetables may be sown this month. Plant 
shallots, potato, and tree onions, herbs, 
horseradish, artichokes, cabbage, and cauli- 
flowers, and earth up potatoes and celery 
as it becomes fully grown. 
“Tie SPARROW” seems to have been as 
little esteemed by the Egyptians as by our- 
selves. In hieroglyphics it stood for 
“smallness, inferiority, vileness, or wicked- 
ness.” : 
“Ocimum ViRIDE” is said to drive away 
mosquitoes. It is used in Africa, of 
which place it is a native, as a remedy for 
fever. The plant might be grown here 
with advantage, for, besides the qualities 
mentioned, the genus is aromatic, one 
species, Sweet Basil, being a well-known 
kitchen herb. The name is derived from 
the Greek ‘‘ozo,” to smell. 
“Recrpe.”—When all our daughters have 
undergone a University course we may ex- 
pect to see revised cookery books some- 
what as follows: Take 1 lb. of the ground 
seed of Triticum vulgare, 4 lb. crystallised 
juice of Saccharum offieinarum, 1 Ib. desic- 
cated berries of Vitis vinefera, 4 lb. adipose 
tissue of Bostaurus, 2 oz. saccharated exo- 
derm of Citrus limonum, small portions of 
Sodium chloride and Sodium bi-carbonate, 
2 ova of Gallus bankiva, 1 small radix of 
Daucus carota, and a little perisperm of 
Nyristica moschata, 
5 
Letters from the States. 
PSOoeona> 
New South Wales. 
Early last month Mr. Hugh Dixson in- 
vited a number of ladies and gentlemen 
interested in horticulture to his home, 
“Abergeldie,’ Summer Hill (Sydney) to 
inspect a splendid specimen of Grammato- 
phyllum speciosum, the “Queen of Or- 
chids,”’ a very rare variety. The plant is 
a gigantic one for an orchid, the circum- 
ference being 30 ft., and the stems 7 ft. 6 
in. long, not counting the leaves. It is in 
full flower, this being almost the only re- 
cord of any specimen flowering in Aus- 
tralia. The visitors greatly admired the 
fine display of flowers in the greenhouses 
and garden of “Abergeldie,” the collection 
showing to great advantage. 
The monthly meeting of the Horticul- 
tural Association was held at the Queen’s 
Hall on Friday evening, 6 inst., Mr. A. 
Hamilton presiding. Some excellent exhi- 
bits were tabled, including 24 specimens of 
cut flowers and 7 shrubs from the Botanic 
Gardens. The collections of Dahlias, 
Roses, and Begonias exhibited by Messrs. 
Longhurst, Holland, Kershaw, and Sulli- 
van were good, and attracted much atten- 
tion. Mr.-C. E. Vessey read a paper on 
“How Not To Do It,” in which he dealt 
humorously with the mistakes of the ama- 
teur gardener in laying out and planting 
gardens. On the motion of Mr. Tomkins, 
it was resolved to petition the Government 
to amend the Vegetation Diseases Act 
particularly in the direction of fruit pests. 
The Drummoyne Horticultural Society 
held its Autumn Show on Saturday after- 
noon, 14th inst. Mr. F. Farnell, M.L.A., 
declared the Show open. There was a good 
display of cut blooms, pot plants, fruits, 
and vegetables. The collections of pot 
plants were very fine, more especially the 
Bouvardias grown and exhibited by Mr. W. 
H. Bourne. A feature of the Show was the 
competition in making and arranging but- 
tonhole bouquets and baskets of flowers 
by children under the age of fifteen years. 
These were arranged and made up in the 
presence of the judges in the hall. The 
buttonhole bouquet contest was won by 
Miss Annie Gear (11 years), Miss Amy 
Atkins (6 years) being second. The bas- 
ket competition was won by Miss Amy 
Atkins, Miss Olive Barder being second. 
During the evening special prizes were 
presented to Masters Roth and H. Barder 
for the best-grown fruit-trees by children 
of members of the society. In the Rose 
classes the principal prize-winners were: 
Messrs. G. Knight (who secured the cham- 
pion award), W. C. McKay, and E. Atkins, 
Mr. W. H. Bourne was successful in secur- 
ing the prize for the five champion Bou- 
vardias. The other championship awards 
were as follows: Four pot plants, Mr. B. 
Atkins; two light and three dark colored 
Roses, Mr. E. Atkins, Amongst the other 
successful exhibitors were: Mr. O. Tar. 
rant, collection of plants;. Mr. E. Kerr, 
collection of Staghorns and Elkhorns; 
Mr. J. A. Cullip, collection of vegetables ; 
and Mrs. Barder, collection of preserves. 
On Saturday evening, 28th February, 
the Neutral Bay Horticultural Society 
held its monthly meeting in the Waters- 
leigh Hall, Ben Boyd-road. Notwithstand- 
ing the dry season, the exhibition was very 
creditable. The display of Dahlias, fancy, 
self, Cactus, and Pom Poms, by Mr. C. W. 
D. Richardson, was excellent. It was a 
non-competitive exhibit, and was very 
highly commended by the judges. Some 
of the Roses, Carnations, and Bouvardias 
were first class; in fact, I have not seen 
better at any of the recent Shows. Miss 
Peden’s exhibits were tastefully arranged, 
and deservedly gained first prizes: 12 
Roses, W. E. Cook, F. N. Camroux; 6 do., 
W. E. Cook, R. J. Maclean; 3 do., S. H. 
Robertson and G. W. Colley Priest (equal) ; 
champion do., Niphetos, grown by S. H. 
Robertson; 12 Carnations, J. Staven- 
hagen; 6 do., F. N. Camroux, J. Staven- 
hagen; 3 do., R. J. Maclean, T..W. 
Young; champion do., “Mr. H. J. Pier,” 
grown by F. N. Camroux; 6 cut flowers, 
J. Knowles, J. T. Ralston; 3 cut flowers, 
R. Miller, W. E. Cook; arrangement 
flowers and foliage in stand, Miss Peden, 
Mrs. R. J. Maclean; arrangement flowers 
and. foliage in basket, Miss Peden; pot 
plant in flower, S. H. Robertson; pot 
plant, foliage, S. H. Robertson; fern in 
pot, S. H. Robertson; hanging basket, T. 
W. Young; vegetables, A. R. Harrison, J. 
Knowles. In this section the prevailing 
opinions of visitors were contrary to the 
judges’. I am also inclined to think that 
Mr. Knowles should have been awarded 
first prize. Cactus Dahlias, A. R. Harri- 
son, F. W. Young; Bouvardias, W. E. 
Cook, Mrs. R. J. Maclean. An unsuc- 
cessful exhibitor in this class, Mr. Knowles, 
displayed three excellent spikes of “Beauty 
of New South Wales.” 
PESESCSSRE > 
South Australia. 
March month in South Australia is 
looked forward to as one of the hottest, 
driest, barest, and, generally speaking, 
most trying to all kinds of life, whether in 
the animal or vegetable kingdom. ‘This 
year, however, the month has been the re- 
verse of all this. Indeed, taking the 
average heat of South Australfian sum- 
mer as a standard, there has been prat- 
tically no summer at all. Only once has 
the thermometer ranged as high as 105 
deg., and only a few times about the 100 
deg. point. Certainly the change- 
able character of the weather has been 
somewhat trying to the human system 
where weak points are available for 
searching east winds, but there has not 
been that worn-out feeling that follows 
the extreme heat of a regular summer. 
The vegetable kingdom has been all the 
better for this moderation, of summer heat 
and cool nights, with the result that phe- 
nomenal fruit and vintage seasons have 
ensued. 
