134 THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



"We liave next the Turnip Radishes. These are never better 

 than when grown in the heat of summer, but they must be grown in 

 the shade and abundantly watered. Sow the first lot in the shade 

 about the first of June, and continue to do so until the end of August, 

 but rather than to batter the soil down by repeated waterings before 

 the seed is up, I prefer to shade the bed either with old mats or a 

 thatched hurdle, removing the shading as soon as the seeds are up. 

 If birds are troublesome, put a net over the bed. 



Beetroot ought, for a few early roots, to be sown under glass, 

 be nursed on in pots, and turned out in the ground in May. If 

 these are liberally dealt with by repeated applications of manure- 

 water, and are otherwise standing in rich soil, they will produce nice 

 roots by July. The main crop of beets should be sown late in April 

 or early in May, the ground should be deeply dug but not manured 

 for them. 



The first sowing of Endive may now be made. Sow it in the 

 open quarters where it is to stand ; thin out quickly, as no plant 

 sufi'ers more from a crowded state in the seed bed than this. Large 

 heads early in the season should not be aimed at; tie them up when 

 quite dry, and make additional sowings every three weeks. 



If Celery is wanted, treat it the same as recommended for beet- 

 root, and keep it well fed from the sewage pump, always using the 

 precaution of adding a little more dry earth the next morning after 

 watering. This prevents evaporation, and keeps the roots much 

 longer moist. The main crop of celery I have nothing to say about, 

 as the cultivation has been frequently treated of. 



Mustard and Cress may be sown in the shade every week, and 

 during the season make about three sowings of the Corn Salad. 

 The green leaves of this are very useful i'or mixed salads. 



The above are all essential subjects to a good salad. There are a 

 few other smaller knickknacks sometimes grown for special taste, but I 

 need not name them here, as they are not sufficiently well known to 

 brin» them into general use, and they can be very well spared. 



THE AUCUBA JAPONICA. 



HE old " spotted laurel " of the gardens, always a noble 

 evergreen, but sometimes despised, because "common," 

 has of late years acquired immense importance as a 

 decorative plant, and, irrespective of its ornamental 

 value, has become peculiarly interesting to horticul- 

 turists, in consequence of the possibility of rendering it fertile as a 

 berry-bearing shrub, in which condition it naturally leaves the 

 holly far behind, by the splendour and abundance of its large scarlet 

 berries. A short monograph on our old friend may now be of some 

 value to our readers, though we must premise that every stage of 

 progress in the exaltation of the aucuba to its present dignified 



