362 THE GARDENER. ^ [Aug. 



to their stakes. Wind often does great damage when tying has not been 

 well seen to. Chrysanthemums require plenty of water, otherwise they 

 will lose their bottom leaves. Stakes may now be used to keep the 

 branches in their positions, and from being crowded. All half-hardy 

 plants in pots, such as Verbenas, Petunias, Calceolarias, Geraniums, 

 etc., require liberal treatment now, as the plants are blooming freely. 

 Manure-water will be of great service in keeping them vigorous. The 

 surfaces of the pots cleared of old soil, and fresh rich loam and rotten 

 dung given, will also aid root-action : no battered surfaces shrunk 

 from the sides of the pots should be tolerated. Plenty of Pansy cuttings 

 should now be put in ; they are becoming one of the leading plants 

 for bedding, and are easily managed. Imperial Blue, Clieveden 

 Yellow, and some other distinct kinds, are of great value. A good stock 

 of all hardy kinds of bedding -plants should be secured, especially 

 where means are limited for keeping others through the winter. All 

 kinds of plants for decorating the borders and beds should now be 

 propagated without delay : boxes, pans, or pots, well drained witli 

 broken pots, &c., good loam, sand, and leaf-mould in equal propor- 

 tions, suit most things ; and a frame for Verbenas, Petunias, and 

 similar soft-wooded plants, answers well. All they require is to keep 

 them from flagging, and when there are signs of active growth, air must 

 be given liberally to strengthen and establish the cuttings. Handlights 

 and many other methods are adopted by amateurs, all doing very 

 well : proper attention to moisture, shading, and air, however, are 

 necessary to insure success. Geraniums of the scarlet class are generally 

 placed in boxes of light loamy soil and sand, and set full in the sun, 

 so that they can be easily removed to their winter-quarters when the 

 season is further advanced. Cutting in and topping down plants in 

 the borders and beds must not be neglected now, when so much 

 of the appearance depends on orderly keeping. Plants allowed 

 to grow over Box edgings or grass edgings have a slovenly appear- 

 ance, and the edgings are frequently killed by such neglect. Roses 

 which have flowered may have some of the shoots cut well back, 

 and they will flower freely late in autumn. Keep all suckers closely 

 cut off, and untie those which were budded early : cut off all un- 

 necessary shoots from the stocks, to let the whole vigour of the plants 

 be thrown into the buds. Any plants grown in pots, such as Lilacs, 

 Deutzias, Kalmias, Rhododendrons, &c., should now be placed where 

 they can have abundance of sun and air to ripen and prepare 

 their flower -buds for forcing. Primulas, Cinerarias, and herbace- 

 ous Calceolarias for next winter, spring, and summer decoration, 

 require plenty of fresh air, abundance of water (keeping clear 

 drainage), and liberal shifts into good turfy loam, sand, and a 



