46 



iUh^li CiAUDI'MM 



Hints to Novices. 



Ai.i- fruit gn)wv'i>! sliouhl now !•«• i>ii tlir l.M.k «miI 

 lor till' '■ iiiiU'," or what is mon- Lr<'n<ially known 

 as •• l)i^' 1)iul." on blaik turrant twijis. It is a 

 most (Icstnu-t.ivf pest, and in some loralitifs a 

 very roinnion one. lint it is also oiu- wliicli can 

 l)f vt-rv t-asilv notici-d. and about w liirli t.licrt' tan 

 l.f little doxiht. Tin- l.uds <.n tin- twin's wliitli 

 an- alTfiti'd will l>i- noticed latter and swoll.n out 

 to an unusual size. If opened these will !..■ 

 fouiul to contain a tiny little Lrnih. whit h will 

 .•ventnaily lea\e these huds and take u|> resid.n. .• 

 in th.' new huds on other shoots, ami thus spr.'ad 

 destruction t.lin>uirh the whole plantation. All 

 twiirs so alT.'cted should he removed at once aiul 

 hiirn.d. It is very essential that the tw i-s 

 sjiouhl III' hurned. and not. thrown on the 

 l>uinini: heaii to await, the next day foi- liirht iuL,'. 

 Vnv di'lay is a fatal mistake, and 1 fear one whi< ii 

 is often allowed to occur through ]>ure thought- 

 lessness, and whicli in sonu' cases may he the 

 cause of s]ireadiu<g diseases which might ol herw ise 

 he located and ehe<kt'd l)eh)re they have d.one 

 nuich harm. 



HosKs.— All outdoor Hoses. hushes and 

 standards mav he pruned this month, but the 

 'I'.-as should not yet be touched: the last week or, 

 better still, the lirst week in April will be tinu' 

 enougli for them. In <-old di^^trict.s, where the 

 'Peas have to be ])r.>tected. their coverings may be 

 rejuoved, as soon as the weather gets miUh'r. 

 .Vny growths which may have been producecl 

 under these coverings will have to be reiuoveil 

 at ]>runing time. It is a mistaken idea that the 

 protection forces them into growth. This is not 

 the case. It is the natural state, b\it being 

 covered the growths have been vmchecked and so 

 have grown long. Shar]) secateurs — and they 

 nuist be sharp, otherw'ise they injure the \vood 

 by tearing, and a good .shar]) knife — are the neces- 

 sary im]>lements, together with a ])air of gloves. 

 .Many people think tliat gloves are unnecessary 

 and tliat the work cannot T)e i)r()i)erly done in 

 them, but surely there is enough to think about 

 without considering one's hands and being torn 

 by shai'p thorns. Clear out all dead and weak 

 wood, and have the centre of the bush open and 

 free. Low shoots should be cut ofi", as during 

 wet weather floweiis i)roduced on them would 

 only be spotted with mud splashings. It would 

 be im])ossible to give full directions in these notes, 

 as every variety requires separate treatment, 

 but two" standard methods i)revail — the ])runing 

 severely, and so ])roducing quality without 

 (juantity, or to ])rune for quantity ])rincipally. 

 Exhibitors will adojjt the iornier method, but 

 for ordinary garden work the latter will answer 

 admirably. 



See that all wall ])lants are carefully and 

 securely tied in. The strong winds of March and 

 Aijril are disastrous, and tear ]ilants aw^ay from 

 su])ports in a very sliort time. 



lias anyone noticed that where Iris stylosa is 

 lilanted iu very ]>ooi', hot, dry soil it fiowei-s much 

 earlier, and that i)lanted in richer material seems 

 to conie into flower much later ? In this way tlie 

 l)eriod of blooming may be very considerably 

 prolonged. 



The Month's Work. 



The Flower Garden. 



■ 11. 



riel lo I. 



I'aik. ('. 



liralh. |{ali> 



l''i.\isii riiuoving shnihs win-re not alifad._\ (|,one 

 as soon as possible, and. lose no time in getting 

 alterations involving the relaving or i)utting 

 (h.wu fresh turf complet.-d. It is a gr.-at advan- 

 1.1-. • .111.1. .1 savin- of labour to have this work 

 . ,,iiipl.t..l lieiof.- .l,i\ing win(ls s<-t in. If not 

 pr.vi.iusiy done, get I'illar Hos.-s pruned, ami tied, 

 and wlu're wood.en jioies are useil for the pergola 

 li.t\e them examined carefullv. letting none be 

 l.ft that are not likely to last" the seasc.n. (iive 

 tile I'illar l{oses a libej-al sujiply of nuimire water 

 wiien it can be conveniently obtainetl. or failing 

 that. a. good d,i'essing id" solid ?nanui'e. Dwarf 

 Koses mav now be ]irum'd. ami where the beds 

 have not been trenched i!i the aulunm. thev will 

 r.Mpiiiv a -..od dressing of manur.' : the latter is 

 betl.T c.iv.'iv.l. with a few iii.li. s ..f fresh .soil to 

 l.i-eveni til.' blackbirds from s.attrHng it about. 

 Look o\t r all iccently trans])lanted shrul)s ami 

 trees lor the jiuipose of ascerlairung wOu'ther thev 

 are securely staked, for if they are allowed to rol'i 

 about with the wind, the teiulei' loots are broken 

 ofT, and the jilants are consequently deprived, of 

 their oidy nutans of obtaining nourishment. 

 3b)wing will soon require attention, tlierefoi-e llie 

 turf should be swept, well rolle(L and, made 

 thoroughlv liiiu without loss of time. I'emembering 

 that if the lirst mowing is (h'ferred till tlu- grass 

 ha,s got long, it. will recpiire uuich time ancl 

 labour to get the turf again in ])roi)er ortl.er. 

 With the lengthening days of March ])reparations 

 for the summer ])lanting of all those part« of the 

 garden requiring annual treatment may now bo 

 advanced a step. Specimen ])lants such as 

 Fuchsias, Ivy-leaved and other Pelargoniums, as 

 well as IIeliotro])es, &c., are now starting away 

 nicely, and if they are on balloon or other trellis, 

 they want looking to occasionally to direct the 

 ycmng growths, so that the jilaiits when required 

 inay be well furnishetl fi'om base to to]). It is 

 nearly imi)ossible to overfeed sucli ))lants as the 

 summer advances ; as they remain in the same 

 pots year after year, there must necessarily be a 

 nuiss of roots i'e(piiring stimulant to keep the 

 jdants healthy aiul the supply of flowers abundant 

 till the end of the summer. Boxes or baskets 

 that are to occupy prominent ])<)sitions should 

 be filled some time this uu)nth, so as to allow 

 plenty of time to furnish them well, and also to 

 thoroughlv harden off tli.' plants before the end 



of :vray. 



Axxu.\i..s FO]{ CuTTiiNCi. — It is very dishearten- 

 ing after a lot of thought and care, and wlien t lu^ 

 be(l.s arul. borclers are at their best, to be obliged 

 to cut the flowers from them, therefore a spaci; 

 should be reserved in the kitchen or fiaiit gard<-n 

 for a few aiuuials for cutting. The spot selected 

 should K^'t a fair amount of sunshine and, be 

 fairly well manured, iu the autunin if ])ossible. 

 The choice is very large, but I may mention a few 

 of the most useful varieties : Asters, in varieties, 

 especially the Single ; Cornflowers will furnish an 

 unlimited su]iply of bloom, the blue is the best ; 



