181 



THE GARDEN GUIDE FOE AUGUST. 



Kitchen Gabden. — Winter greens 

 claim the first attention, and it is neces- 

 sary to insure at once a good supply, 

 and a variety. By tliis time, Scotch 

 kale, Brn^sell's sprouts, broccolis, savoys, 

 etc., ou3;ht to ba strong, and where tliey 

 have be3n planted batween rows of peas, 

 to stand the winter, should now be looked 

 over, and every otli3r plant taken out, 

 to mike fresh rows, if they are at all 

 crowded. CabbaQ;es of most kinds may be 

 sown in the second week of August, Shil- 

 ling's Queen, Sprotborougli, West Ham, 

 and red Dutch, ought to have a place in 

 every garden. Sow also prickly spinach 

 on slopes in rich soil, and plenty of hardy 

 green Hammersmith, and black-seeded cos 

 lettuce. Sow cauliflower from the 7th to 

 the 20th to keep over winter in frames. 

 The summer-sown endiv^e will now be 

 strong enough to plant out on slopes, 

 or raised bids. Give plenty of water, 

 alternating with liquid manure, to celery, 

 and do not earth it up until it is well 

 grown, the earthing being only to blanch 

 it for use. Give plenty of water to 

 broccoli and cauliflower beds, and top 

 scarlet-runners. In good open situa- 

 tions, vegetable marrows, for a late supply, 

 may still be planted. Use grass mow- 

 ings to mulch the ground between crops 

 that are likely to sufl^er from drought. 

 Hoe between the rows of potatoes in dry 

 weather, but do not draw the earth to the 

 stems ; the admission of air and sun-heat 

 to the roots will hasten the ripening of the 

 tubers; the foliage, where it remains green, 

 should be injured as little as possible. 

 Those that are casting their haulm may be 

 taken up. Earth up the earliest rows of 

 celery; earth up leeks; thin out the rows 

 of parsley, so as to get rid of every plant 

 not well curled. Remove decayed leaves 

 from cucumbers and gourds, to prevent the 

 growth of moulds and fungi about them in 

 damp weather, and take cuttings, or sow 

 seed, for cucumbers to fruit during winter. 

 Flower Garden.— Propagate bedding 

 plants for stock ; of geraniums, ripe 

 hard shoots make the best plants. Fuch- 

 sias come best from the points of young 

 growing shoots. Strike verbenas and 

 petunias from the points of young 

 shoots ; calceolarias should be struck in 

 chopped moss or peat. Herbaceous plants 

 may also be struck in quantities to keep 

 over winter in frames, such as pansies, 

 dielytras, double walls, double Canter- 

 bury bells, double feverfew, and holly- 



hocks. Keep dahlias and hollyhocks 

 well fastened, and put stakes to chry- 

 santhemums before their heads get heavy, 

 as a protection against storms. Pom- 

 pones may still be struck for blooming 

 in pots. Plant out pinks and carnations, 

 in nursery beds, in well-manured loam. 

 Give plenty of water to chrysanthemums, 

 with occasional doses of strong liquid 

 manure. Look over 3-our bins and heaps 

 of compost with a view to replenish for 

 autumn potting, as there will soon be a 

 heavy demand for that purpose. Pansies 

 may be sown, as may also most hardy 

 annuals, to stand over winter for early 

 blooming next spring ; the latter should 

 be sown thick, on poor, dry, hard ground, 

 to induce a stubby and hardy growth. 

 Some seed should be saved for a second 

 sowing in September, as, in the event of 

 protracted warm weather, such as we had 

 last year, some of the first sown may bloom 

 this season. The sorts to sow now are 

 calliopsis, Clarkia, collinsia, godetia, lark- 

 spur, lupinus, nemophila, nolana, French 

 poppy, and dwarf schizanthus. There is 

 still time to raise a stock of hardy peren- 

 nials for next season, but not a day 

 should be lost in getting in the seed. 

 The most useful are antirrhinums, del- 

 phiniums, dianthus, geum, hollyhocks, 

 Indian pink, lupinus, phlox, potentillas, 

 silenes, sweet Williams, and wall-flowers. 

 Those already up in seed beds should 

 be looked over and transplanted, be- 

 fore they get drawn through being 

 crowded. Plants left for any length of 

 time to spindle, are likely to perish in 

 winter, and never can make such good 

 specimens as those that have had plenty 

 of room from the first. Continue to bud 

 roses and fruit trees, choosing damp, 

 dull weather — they take best just after 

 heavy rain. In budding on the Manetti 

 stock, enter the bud, just .above the collar, 

 close to the ground, the proper mode of 

 planting afterwards being to sink the 

 I base of the bud below the surface, so that 

 ] the rose will root as well as the stock. 

 ! Pompone chrysanthemums may still be in- 

 creased. Either the tops may be struck 

 for pot blooming, or shoots of eight or 

 ten inches in length, may be layered into 

 five-inch pots, and removed when mode- 

 rately well established. Dwarf plants of 

 the pompone and lilliputian varieties are 

 very useful for decorative purposes at the 

 end of the season, and are adapted to 

 purposes for which large bushy plaata 



