536 THE GARDENER. [Dec. 



of Dublin pjay. Some of the flowers were nearly 4 inches across, 

 and all but as double as a good Ranunculus, each rosette being borne 

 aloft on a stout stalk nearly a foot in height, — the elegant frill of bracts 

 below the blossom adding a befitting garniture of greenery beneath the 

 flower. In colour they varied from purple, rose, lilac, magenta, crimson, 

 scarlet, through all the more delicate shades of pink, rose, and salmon, 

 into nearly pure white. Some kinds had broadly cupped and others 

 had narrow lance-shaped petals, but all were bright and beautiful, 

 quite putting to shame some of our highest coloured Chrysanthemums 

 with which I compared them. On first seeing them, I mistook them 

 for artificial flowers cleverly made and artistically stained with the most 

 vivid of coal-tar or aniline dyes. " Oh, shades of Judson ! " thought I 

 on further examination ; " why, old Dame Nature can beat thee hollow ; 

 ah ! and in November too.'' Then after enjoying my excitement, the 

 good fairy, yclept for the nonce St Brigid, told me how I might grow 

 these lovely blossoms for myself, — the secret being, to obtain good 

 seed and to sow it early in autumn, taking great care to place a thick 

 layer of cow-manure a few inches below the surface of the bed upon 

 which the seeds are to be sown. Another point is not to cover the 

 seeds too thickly with earth ; and again, during hot summer weather, 

 waterings of cow-manure water strengthen the young growing plants 

 amazingly. A strong point in growing these flowers from seed is 

 never to allow the seedlings to suffer any check whatever, but to grow 

 them on strongly and quickly up to the flowering stage. 



HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 



HARDY FRUITS. 



The planting of all kinds of fruit-trees is safer where the work is completed, 

 all mulched, and made secure against wind : many are not ready to plant 

 before this season, and others prefer leaving it to spring ; but we have a strong 

 objection, for many reasons, to planting fruit-trees or shrubs between Decem- 

 ber and February. What is known as winter pruning is the removal of the 

 useless growths, crowded spurs, and old bearing wood, to admit of laying in 

 fresh. As much as possible of this work may have been done in summer and 

 autumn pruning. Cut close to a wood-bud, and leave nothing to die back, 

 where crowding threatens. The worst formed branches or shoots should be 

 removed. The wounds should be cut smooth. With standards (especially 

 large orchard-trees), upright branches left, crossing ones cut clean out, and cen- 

 tres open, is the summary of the pruning of such farces. With the limited 

 space of gardens, specially of the small amateur class, the work is of a dif- 

 ferent character, and upright bush or pyramid-formed trees are best : where 

 they have been kept to size and form by keeping the roots within bounds, and 

 in a mass of fibre, the pruning is a very light operation. The branches 

 are then in a mass of fruit-spurs, and a little shortening of current year's 

 growths, removing worn-out spurs, and clearing off anything that is dead, are 

 the chief wants of such trees. Mulching them may be of great advantage. 



