<9 
i am wearying of Marchioness of London- 
derry. With me it seldom opens well, and 
the ivory white which marks its color 
~savors to my mind much towards the color 
of the unwashed face of a sickly infant. 
"Mrs. Cocker has been pretty, but rather 
fiat. And these remarks apply almost 
equally to Helen Keller and Ellen Drew, 
neither of which has been very satisfactory. 
i hardly know whether to class Ulster 
amongst the dark or light varieties ; this is 
- # grand flower, especially for exhibition, as 
it is such an admirable laster, in addition to 
being of such good form; but as a garden 
- Rose I look upon it as without value. At 
_ the most about two or three blooms on a 
bush are all that I find it gives, and that is 
dike putting a crust of bread before a very 
- hungry man. 
Marchioness of Dufferin is also qnite an 
exhibition Rose, although, according to my 
experience, it seldom comes in good form 
enough for this purpose. I must say that 
itis a Rose that does not captivate me. I 
do not pretend to say that I have given an 
. Becount of every light Rose that I grow, 
_ but T have jotted down such as have struck 
_Zne most readily. ButI must plead for im-- 
- provement in dark Roses. Amongst the 
‘Hybrid Teas there is an almost too great 
_ Similarity of color. Liberty, indeed, may 
_ be excepted, as the color of this Rose is 
_ sharming, and perhaps it retains its fresh- 
~ ness longer than any other Rose, but how 
often is it large enough for exhibition? I 
have seen it admirable under glass, and 
also from bushes in the open, the buds in- 
the latter case being perfect for button- 
holes. 
—_ 
TUFTED PANSIES. 
A. wellgrown lot of Tufted Pansies will 
‘blossom during summer when the position 
and soil are suitable, and to take cuttings 
from plants blossoming freely means spoil- 
ang the display for some time at least. 
Readers who desire to grow these plants 
Aargely, and who also wish to propagate an- 
mually by cuttings, would find planting a 
Hew old stools in any out-of-the-way place 
am_the garden where, of course, they ob- 
ain a certain amount of sunshine each day, 
anawer their purpose. These stock plants 
ean be kept cut back from time to time, 
und as a result they will form veritable 
tufts of beautiful, sturdy, short-jointed 
up ihs: Tf some light and gritty soil can 
8 worked into the crowns of these old 
stock plants during the late summer, many 
wf the pieces will quickly emit: roots, which 
may be detached and planted out in a bed 
wpecially prepared for them, and, if need 
be, again planted out in their permanent 
quarters before the hard weather sets in, 
Another method of dealing with old stock 
plants of this description is lifting them 
when their shoots are of the desired length 
_ and dividing them. By these means quite 
_ @ large stock can be raised very quickly. 
"This method of inoreasing the stock. of new 
and choice sorts is followed by leading 
trade growers. When the pieces just re- 
ferred to Have become established they 
soon form mew growths, and in a short 
Le 
8 THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
time they in turn may be divided. By 
‘this method of raising plants there is very 
little cutting about ot the divided portions 
of the stock plants likely to take place. 
Here and there an unwieldy piece of coarse 
growth may have to be cut back, but in 
almost every instance the shoots will have 
roots adhering. - In warm weather it is 
well to shade the cutting beds or cold- . 
frames into which these fresh pieces are 
put, and in the early evening to sprinkle 
them with water from a fine-rosed can, 
as green-fly and red-spider are encouraged 
by dry conditions. 
In the case of those who do not wish to . 
spoil their display by robbing the plants of 
their young growths, it would be better to 
cut back a plant here and there among the 
more crowded of those in the beds and 
borders. With ordinary care the beauty 
of the display may be scarcely interfered 
with. Cut back the coarse growths, as 
well as those which are weak and elongat- 
ed, to within an inch or two of the crown 
of the plant, and have ready a quantity 
of light, gritty soil to work into and around 
the cut-back specimens. Equal parts of 
loam, leaf-mould, and coarse sand or road- 
grit, passed through a sieve with a coarse: 
mesh, ig an ideal compost with which to 
mulch the plants. It is also a good plan 
to slightly loosen the soil round the cut- 
back plants. In dry weather copious sup- 
plies of clear water should be given. It is 
_astonishing how quickly the plants retain 
their vigor, and, in consequence, cuttings 
of a desirable kind and in goodly numbers 
nay be detached, and in some cases with 
roots freely emitted from their base. 
Where only a limited number of plants 
is required, the reader may get these from 
the plants in flower. One or two cuttings 
from each plant will, no doubt, meet the 
requirements of some growers, and by care- 
fully detaching these with a sharp’ knife the 
plants will not be interfered with. Only 
those shoots of recent growth should be 
taken, and if they be made into cutings of 
about 3 in. in length no better material 
could be chosen. The cutting bed should 
receive some consideration, and although 
some put the cuttings into cold frames, it 
is better to give them quite hardy treat- 
ment, making up a bed outside for their 
reception. At this time the cutting-bed 
should be arranged in a nicely protected 
quarter of the garden, with a warm aspect. 
Make up the soil some few inches above 
the ordinary garden level, seeing that this 
_is of a light and gritty character. The 
surface should be made as even and level 
as possible, and slightly firmed. An hour 
or two before the cuttings are to be in- 
serted give the cutting bed a good soaking 
with clear water from a fine-rosed can, and 
all is then ready for inserting the cutings. 
SWEET PEAS. 
favored situations Sweet Peas frequently 
attain a height of 7 ft. to 9 ft., more or less, 
and as they always present a fine appear- 
a December 1, 1904. 
ance, and also make an effective display in 
the garden when attaining such a height, 
with its accompanying broad proportions, 
~a result such as this is always worth striv-- 
ing for. 
Plants of these extraordinary 
dimensions are not confined to the gardens 
of those in favored situations. A writer 
says: Our collection is grown on the side 
of a hill with a north-western aspect, and, 
‘as a rule, watering occupies the greater 
share of our time all through the flowering’ 
season. During the present season, except 
for a few brief experiences of warm 
weather, very little watering has been done. 
We have now and then in the showery 
weather treated the plants to a liberal sup- 
ply of manure, and to this treatment the 
_plants have given a liberal response in the 
form of blooms of extra excellence. Ina 
normal season, through being on the hill- 
side, unless copious supplies of water are 
always given, and these persistently, com- 
paratively little growth ismade. The water 
go quickly runs away that the work, of 
watering is made so much the harder 
thereby. At the time of writing our 
plants vary between 7 ft. and 9 ft. in height, 
and they are very handsome indeed . Never 
has there been so prolific a display and the 
quality of the blooms so fine. The stronger 
growing kinds in our collection are: 
Lovely, Hon. Mrs. Kenyon, Mars, Duke of 
Westminster, Black Knight, Prince of 
Wales, Miss Willmot, Prima Donna, and 
Salopin. 
wer ee 
THE ‘CARNATION SHOW.” 
For such it was to the average man. In 
full, it was the S.A. Carnation and Picotee 
Society’s Show, held in conjunction with 
that of the Mount Lofty Gardeners’ Society. 
The latter’s chef d’oeuvre being of course: 
the noble display of Rhododendrons. 
The Carnation Society are to be con- 
gratulated upon the novel arrangement of 
their tables, the object being first to give 
plenty of room to the public to readily see 
and note down the favorite or the striking 
blooms, and secondly to present an artistic 
effect to the display. 
Last year’s Carnation Show, held in the 
S.A. Gardeners Society's room in Way- 
mouth-street, was so severely handicapped 
by the woful lack of room for the visiting 
public that the committee took the lesson 
well to heart this time. - 
The credit of taking the Town Hall for 
the Show must decidedly be awarded to the 
President, Dr. Harrold. But for his con- 
tinued and ardent optimism there is no 
doubt the Show would have been held in a 
smaller hall in another part of the city. To 
another member (Mr. Fred. Smith) is due 
the suggestion for starting a carnation 
plebescite in the ‘S.A. Register” the week 
before the Show, the latter proving a first- 
class advertisement for the Society. 
The Society must be congratulated upon 
the effective manner in which the exhibits. 
: 3 taged. The old-fashioned b ith 
Witlestowebee tere ctaliyaratioraaand a were stage he old-fashioned boxes wi 
appearance have been changed for sloping 
stands 2 feet 6 inches long and 4 or 5 
their stiff white collars and flat, inartistic 
inches wide, standing about 4 inches high 
