THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



183 



keep beds in bloom, remove the berries, 

 and shorten in any too vigorous growth ; 

 the side-buds will push and flower soon 

 after. 



Geraniums that have been cut down 

 to be repotted when they have made new 

 shoots an inch long ; put them in as small 

 pots as will take their roots, to allow of 

 successional shifts as they require them. 



Hollt/hocks to be looked over, to see 

 if the ties are too tight ; sometimes they 

 get crippled by the swelling of the stem 

 causing the ties to pinch them, where care- 

 lessly tied in the first instauce. See that 

 they are safely staked, so as to withstand 

 storms. 



Hardy shrubs and herbaceous plants 

 may be propagated now in quantities from 

 cuttings and divisions. Use a liberal ad- 

 mixture of sand, and choose a shady plot 

 of ground for the purpose. 



Hoses of almost every kind will strike 

 now from cuttings. Continue budding, 

 and, if possible, choose dull, moist weather. 

 If the weather is dry and hot, bud in the 

 evening, and tie a laurel-leaf over the in- 

 sertion to give shade. 



Kitchen Garden to be looked over ; to 

 take stock of winter greens. Make sure 

 of enough at once, and get every spare plot 

 planted with kale, Brussels sprouts, aud 

 collards. Many of the weakest plants left 

 over from the first planting out will now 

 come in to make succession beds. Sow 



cauliflower to winter in frames, cabbage 

 for spring use, also succession lettuce, 

 saladings, turnip, and winter spiuach. Sow 

 cucumbers for fruiting in winter. If short 

 of parsley, sow immediately, and it will be 

 strong in time to stand the winter. Earth 

 up celery as it requires it, but not in too 

 great haste, as the earthing-up checks its 

 growth. 



Greenhouse. — Sow annuals for bloom- 

 ing early next spring. Take cuttings of 

 salvias, double petunias, heliotropes, hy- 

 drangea, calceolarias, and all the slow- 

 growing variegated geraniums. As the 

 houses and pits will soon be heavily 

 stocked, see that flues, pipes, boilers, etc., 

 are all right, mending broken glass, and 

 haveeveryinch of wood-work, paving, etc., 

 made clean and tidy. 



Tines that have ripened their fruit to 

 be cleaned. Where grapes are hanging, 

 give plenty of air, and keep the houses 

 rather dry. 



Fruit Garden. — Encourage in every 

 possible way the ripening of the wood of 

 the season. If any trees have been al- 

 lowed to get crowded, thin them a little 

 now to admit the sunshine amongst the 

 well placed shoots and spurs. Windfalls 

 to be sent into the house every morning 

 for immediate use. Gather fruit in dry 

 weather, and, as a rule, not till quite 

 ripe. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Worms in Potting Compost.— J". iV. — There is 

 one infallible method of treating potting stuff 

 if suspected of containing vermin of any kind, 

 and that is to make the.'pots ready a day before 

 they are to be used, and water the soil in them 

 with boiling water. Scald also as much as you 

 will want for filling in. Next day it will be 

 none too moist to work with, and there will m t 

 be a live creature in it. Don't use coal-ashes 

 in your potting staff any more ; that is just the 

 way to spoil it. A dose of boiling water round 

 the wood-work of the bin will clear away wood- 

 lice, and as for the staff heaped up in the open 

 air, earthworms will do it more good than 

 harm, as long as it lays together. Earthworms 

 should never be ruthlessly destroyed : they are 

 appointed by nature to ventilate the subsoil by 

 boring in it channels for the admission of air. 

 On grass they may be ejected when trouble- 

 some by means of lime-water. 



Ants in Frames.— i?. A. W.—k. pinch of guano 

 will Hit ants instanter, and of course will not 

 hurt the plauts. Woodlice may be trapped by 

 means of boiled potatoes placed iu small flower- 

 pots, and covered with moss. Every morning 

 the vermin must be shaken out and destroyed 

 unless you have cage birds to eat them. A small 



piece of plank, laid flat oil the soil, is as good a 

 trap as any. 



Shady Greenhouse. — Thornhury. — You may 

 keep ferns nicely in your little shady house. 

 Calceolarias might do there during winter, and 

 a few other bedders, perhaps, such as petunias 

 and verbenas, bat we should fear their being 

 drawn very much before spring. The less heat 

 the better, provided you kept away frost. 



Vines Swelling their Fbttii.— /Subscriber.— We 

 dire not venture to say "how often a vine 

 border should be watered." In some places vine 

 borders are never watered, and in others they 

 must be watered frequently, or the vines would 

 fail. Anyhow, the roots must be kept tho- 

 roughly moist from May to the end of August ; 

 and, during June and July, an occasional good 

 soaking with liquid manure will be sure to do 

 them good. By all means syringe them well 

 and frequently until the fruit is beginning to 

 ripen, when they must be kept drier. If there 

 is fly on them, "give a tremendous smoking, 

 shut the house up, ami next morning syringe_ 

 them liberally, and let them have plenty of 

 air. 



Salvia euchsoides.— J. B., Tipperary.—V>e 

 have endeavoured to spell out the name of the 



