And A Hint About Slugs

What the wireworm is under ground, the slug is above it - a voracious, exasperating enemy, with no limits to its appetite. The slug has its favourite dishes, but if they are not about he will make shift with something else, and the something else may be a special plant. I countenance no parley with slugs - no armistice, no white flag. It is war to the bitter end - a war of extermination. The slug gives no quarter, and must receive none. Alas! that anything associated with gentle gardening should arouse this spirit of destruction in us! I will listen patiently to any homily which a humanitarian may think fit to address to me because of this bloodthirsty talk, but no slug had better presume on it to get in my way afterwards. The mildest human being can boil up on occasion; it is only a case of getting provocation enough, and of all aggravating things the destruction of a bed of seedlings by slugs is the worst. One can better endure an all-round decline in one's investments. The particular hint that I was going to offer about slugs was to scatter Sanitas powder on the soil among the plants. Slugs simply loathe it, and if it is used will retreat on neighbours' gardens in disgust. We can all endure slugs in our neighbours' gardens very well. Failing Sanitas, try repeated dustings of dry lime at night. Both require renewal after rain.

Violas For Beds And Borders

The Viola is on the same plane as the Carnation. It is a hardy plant that is often grown under glass during part of its life. It is common, for instance, to take cuttings of Violas in the autumn, and insert them in a frame. They take advantage of mild spells to push roots, and by March are generally transformed into young growing plants. Owners of such, and buyers of plants, will be wise to put them out during the first favourable weather in March. They make very pretty beds, and may be used as principals if desired; but they are often used as a carpeting for beds in which larger plants are grown. They also come in admirably for margins to beds and borders. Amateurs should give special attention to these plants, because freedom of growth, profuse blooming, brilliant colours, and long duration of beauty are united in them. In rich soil the plants should be inserted a foot apart, in poor ground nine inches. The following will be found good varieties:

Councillor Waters, purplish crimson Duchess of York, white Ithuriel, azure J. B. Riding, rosy purple.

Primrose Dame, primrose Royal Sovereign, yellow Seagull, white True Blue, blue William Neil, lavender.

Sweet Violets In Spring

Violets are often put into frames in autumn, in the hope that, with manure and rich soil under them and glass above, they will yield flowers during mild spells right through the winter. This they do in abundance if the right sorts are chosen. The plants grow freely in spring, and the opportunity should be taken of increasing the stock. It will probably be found that some of the sorts have what gardeners term "offsets" around them - subsidiary growths that are nearly, but not quite, individual plants. They are tufty growths, with a few roots at the base. Take them off, and insert them firmly, preferably in a position where there is shade during the hottest part of the day. In other sorts the outer growths may be more like "runners," being small growths, with incipient roots, quite clear of the mother plants. These will root where they are if the soil is pressed around them, and when they are established they can be planted out. The amateur will be wise to propagate most of the following varieties:

Single

La France, metallic blue Princess of Wales, violet.

Double

Comte de Brazza, white Marie Louise, lavender.