The Month's Work — For June 



Conducted by Henry Gibson^ New York. 



THE FLOWICR GARDEN. 



There is a good deal of routine work in this depart- 

 ment at this season of the year. The early tiowerint;' 

 perennials are furnishing fine material for cutting and by 

 far the best results are obtained where the plants are re- 

 lieved of the strain of carrying a heavy crop of flowers. 

 When the supply of flowers exceeds the demand for cut 

 flower purposes, the flower stems should be removed as 

 soon as they show signs of fading. Freshen up the sur- 

 face soil about the plants at frequent intervals, thereby 

 checking the growth of weeds, and conserving the moist- 

 ure in the soil. 



JMaintain a trim and neat appearance about tlie beds 

 and borders Ijy keei)ing the grass edges clipped regularly. 

 As the early flowering bulbs, such as tulips, daffodils, etc., 

 that are planted in the perennial garden pass out of 

 flower and the foliage ripens, the space they occupy may 

 be planted up with annuals. F'lanting out of bedding 

 stock should also be pushed. 



ROSES. 



Established roses are promising exceedingly well this 

 year, and we look forward to seeing some fine exhibits 

 at the spring shows. \\ here extra large blooms are 

 wanted disbudding must be resorted to. Insect pests 

 are sure to prove troublesome, and every effort shoul;! 

 be made to keep them under control. Eternal vigilance 

 is the price of freedom from bugs, flies, thrips, mildew, 

 etc. If the plants can be regularly and thoroughly 

 sprayed with a good force of water, very little iioison 

 or other chemicals will be required. 



During cold, damp periods mildew is apt to be pre- 

 valent, but a good spraying with fungine, which is made 

 up largely of sulphurated potash, is recommended for 

 mildew. Liberal application of water during dry spells 

 and frequent doses of liquid cow manure, not too strong, 

 will greatly improve the quality of roses intended for the 

 exhibition table. 



SWEET PEAS. 



Here again we have a .subject that requires special 

 attention in the way of suitable liquid feeding, and an 

 important point to remember in feeding is not to give 

 strong stimulants when the roots are dry. Give a good 

 soaking of clean water and then use the manure. Cow 

 manure mixed with soot is particularly good, though 

 an}' kind of animal manure or commercial fertilizers can 

 be used. 



D.\HLI..\S. 



Dormant tubers of rlahlias may be planted out any 

 time now, but where late frosts are prevalent it would 

 be well to delay the plantings of young green plants, 

 that have been raised from seed or rooted cuttings, imtil 

 all danger of frost is past. 



PRUNING SIIRUDS. 



The early flowering shrubs require to lie iiruned as 

 soon as they are through blooming. All spring Ijlooming 

 shrubs flower on wood make the previous year, and it is 

 with the object of making provision for strong, clean, 

 healthy growth that pruning should be done. This con- 

 sists of cutting away as much of the old wood as is com- 

 patible the symmetrical development of the plants. 



Among the shrubs tliat can be so dealt witli at this 

 season are almonds, lilacs, forthysias, spireas. snow- 

 balls, etc. 



THE VEGET.VBLE GARDEN. 



Cultivating the early planted crops, giving support i:o 

 peas and planting for succession will occupy the greater 

 part of the vegetable gardener's time during this month. 

 Potatoes will need to be earthed up and a sharp lookout 

 kept for the potato beetle. Arsenate of lead or paris 

 green are effective remedies. Late celery will need trans- 

 planting. Brussel sprouts and leeks should be jjlanted. 

 Egg plants, peppers, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, etc., 

 that have been liardening oft' in a frame may be set out. 



}iIelons and cucumbers that were started early should 

 be exposed to air all night, so as to gradually inure them 

 to outside conditions. Hills should be prepared for these 

 plants. We like to dig out a circular hole about three 

 feet in diameter and two feet deep. In the bottom leaf 

 soil and old manure is put to the depth of 15 inches and 

 then the top soil replowed. 



Cutworms are very partial to young melons, squash 

 and cucumbers and a sharp lookout should lie kept for 

 them. 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



Small fruits will do better with a mulch a|Jij|icd this 

 month. Early runners of strawberries should be pre- 

 pared. Grape vines will require tying and disbudding 

 and the summer pruning of fruit trees should not be 

 overlooked. Alau}' trees that are now unfruitful may be 

 made to develop fruit spurs by judicious pinching of the 

 young growth during the summer. The old idea of root 

 pruning as being the only method of attaining this end 

 is being exploded. Root pruning is a laborious operation 

 at the best, and as practically the same object is attained 

 by the simpler and pleasanter method of summer pruning 

 it sliould not be overlooked. 



Spraying of all kinds of fruit trees should be attended 

 to. These notes are too brief to go into the details of 

 each and every trouble that one has, to spray for, on 

 the different kinds of trees. It is always good practice 

 to look to these things at the proper time. Little good 

 is done by adopting methods of control once the currant 

 worm has defoliated the currant liushes. illack rot and 

 mildew have become chronic on the grapes. Blister mite, 

 canker worms, codling moth, black knot, leafspot and 

 various other ills have ravaged the trees and \-oung 

 fruits. 



THE GREENHOUSES. — ROSES. 



The planting operations should be pushed ahead as 

 fast as possible. \Mien the old soil has been emptied 

 out and the benches washed down with the hose, fol- 

 ' low up with the white-wash while the bench is still 

 wet. It is really surprising how much easeir it is. 

 Four inches of soil is sufficient depth to plant roses 

 in, and see to it that the coarser pieces of the sod go 

 to the bottom next the straw or other material that is 

 used to keep the drainage from clogging. Firm the 

 soil well next the sides of the benches so as to avoid 

 having holes left when the soil settles. . 



When setting the plants out in the bench previous 

 to planting select the smallest fur the front rows, the 

 next largest in tiie second row and so on. 



CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



Getting the i)lants into their flowering pots is the 

 chief work among these subjects at this season. Many 

 of the earliest propagated ones have filled four-inch 

 pots with roots, and the sooner they have a shift the 

 better for their future welfare. Give ample drainage, 

 use clean pots, a good compost and pot firmly. 



