18G9. ] 



SEASONABLE HINTS FOE AMATEURS. JUNE. 135 



but also the oak variety, &c. Therefore, I would propose that trials should be 

 made in different ways, — indoors, in sheds, in the shade, with south and north 

 aspects, &c. One thing is certain, namely, that persons producing Ailantus 

 cocoons can now dispose of them for manufacturing spun silk ; therefore, there is 

 some inducement held out for promoting the rearing of these silkworms in Eng- 

 land. I shall be glad if my friends would note their experiments this year, and 

 communicate any information they may thus obtain. 



Old Cation, Norwich. Leonard Harman, Jun. 



SEASONABLE HINTS FOR AMATEURS.— JUNE. 



i EDS and borders should now be planted as soon as possible. Ranunculuses,. 

 Tulips, Hyacinths, and other bulbs may be carefully lifted and laid in to 

 ripen off, before being stored away ; this will liberate the beds for 

 " bedding " plants, which should be got in without delay. Dahlias and 

 tender annuals generally do best when not planted out before June, but they 

 should be got out as early in the month as possible, so that the whole place may 

 be put into a neat and orderly state, in which it should be kept throughout the 

 entire season. Roses will now require much attention ; they should be looked 

 over, the shoots properly regulated, and the weak ones tied up ; all bad buds, 

 should be removed. Caterpillars are often very destructive to roses, eating the 

 leaves and buds wholesale. The best means of destroying them or keeping them 

 down is to look frequently over the bushes, and wherever they are perceived, to 

 pinch the leaves with the fingers. In dry weather Green Fly is often very 

 troublesome r but syringing two or three times with weak tobacco-water will clear 

 the plants of them. 



As many as possible of the hard-wooded plants past flowering should now be 

 removed to a sheltered situation in the open air, where they will be partially 

 shaded at midday, but fully exposed to the morning and evening sun. This will 

 allow the greenhouse to be kept warmer whilst the grapes are "setting." The 

 plants will also require less attention than if kept in the house. They should be 

 set level and on a hard solid piece of ground, so that woims may not enter the 

 pots, and stop up the drainage. Plants requiring shifts should at once be put into 

 larger pots, always taking care that these are clean and well drained. It is 

 always a safe plan not to overpot any hard-wooded plant, and in potting the soil 

 between the ball and sides of the pot should be well pressed down and made 

 solid. Tender annuals should be encouraged to grow by shifting into larger pots,, 

 using rich soil, composed of loam and rotten dung, or peat and leaf-soil mixed in 

 different proportions according to the nature of the plants. Soft-wooded green- 

 house plants in pits and frames should also be encouraged to grow by increasing 

 the size of the pots as they require it. Waterings which should be done in the 

 evening, must now be well attended to. 



Owing to the fine seasonable weather of the past month, vegetables of all 



