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JOURNAL OP HORTIOOLTORE AND OUTrAGE GARDENER. 



[ April 12, 1877. 



cut flowers are in demand a plot of ground devoted to Beedling 

 Carnations and Picotees will be found extremely useful in 

 July, August, and September until frost; for eeedliog plants 

 are not only floriferous but continuous-flowering. 



Sow the seed in April, the earlier the better in cold districts, 

 and place the pots or pans in a cold frame, keeping close until 

 the seedlings appear, then admit air freely. The soil should 

 be moderately rich and light turfy loam. Sow thinly, and cover 

 the seed with fine soil about the eighth of an inch deep. Keep 

 moist, but avoid maldng the soil sodden. If very wet the 

 plants are liable to damp-off, or assume a stunted sickly 

 appearance. The seedlings can hardly have too much air, but 

 afford shelter from heavy rains and frost. A warm south 

 border answers nearly as well for sowing the seed, covering 

 lightly with fine soil, watering as required, and keeping a sharp 

 look-out for slugs, which are very partial to the tender grass of 

 Carnations. 



Whether raised in frames or outdoors the seedlings should 

 be lifted carefully when they have a pair of leaves beside the 

 soed leaves, and be plauted-ont in l-feet beds in rows inches 

 apart and 6 inches asunder, being careful not to bury the stem 

 deeper than up to the seed leaves, watering and shading from 

 bright sun for a few days until the plants are established. 

 Keep clear of weeds, and sprinkle soot about the plants, it 

 being not only a good manure but one of the best antidotes 

 to slugs and grubs. In winter a mulching of cocoa-nut refuse 

 or partially decayed leaves will do good, and protection in 

 severe weather by mats supported with hoops over the beds is 

 serviceable. The plants, however, are very hardy and will do 

 without protection. At the close of March or early in April 

 every other plant and row may be removed, which as the 

 plants are in 4-feet beds the two outside rows 6 inches from 

 the side of the alley, will laave four rows in a bed a foot apart, 

 and that distance I recommend the plants removed to be 

 planted. Attend duly with water if the weather be dry, and 

 keep clear of weeds as before. 



The soil should be if possible a medium -textured loam, 

 manured and deeply dug in the autumn, the ground being as 

 well prepared as for vegetable crops. I mention this as beds 

 and borders for flowers rarely receive the attention in digging, 

 trenching, and manuring that is necessary. The flower borders 

 may have a little manure occasionally, or some rich compost 

 now and then, but it is the exception rather than the rule. 

 There is nothing sweetens land so much as forking it over 

 daring dry frosty mornings. There are few plants that do not 

 like lime, and Carnations are no exception ; indeed, the 

 Dianthus family generally prefer a calcareous soil. A dressing 

 of old mortar rubbish is good, but as this is not always pro- 

 curable, a dressing of quicklime early in March is beneficial ; a 

 peck per rod will answer for destroying slugs and worms, point- 

 ing it in with a fork, but if the ground has not recently been 

 limed double the quantity may be applied. 



When the flower stems rise place stakes to them in good 

 time, securing the shoots to them loosely so as to keep them 

 erect, yet without being so tight as to cause them to "knee" 

 or bend, which will be very prolific of broken stems. Water 

 may be given in dry weather, and weak liquid manure, but un- 

 less the soil be poor and shallow the plants will grow vigorously 

 enough without it. The pods or flower buds of seedlings are 

 just as liable to burst on one side as those of named varieties. 

 This allows the petals to fall on the split side, not only causing 

 the flower to be one-sided, but to have a very loose ragged 

 appearance— very paltry indeed as compared with a flower of 

 the same kind secured against such a misfortune. Nothing 

 answers so well in preventing splitting as indiarubber bands, 

 which may be purchased at a cheap rate from most stationers. 

 They are expeditiously applied, and being elastic allow the 

 buds to swell — unlike mat or cotton ties, which are injurious. 

 In dry hot weather weak liquid manure may be given twice 

 a-week if necessary. 



After flowering trim off the flower stems, stir the surface 

 around the plants, give a light mulch of moderately rich com- 

 post, sprinkle with soot, which will kill or drive away slugs, &o., 

 and in the coming season you may calculate upon a great quan- 

 tity of bloom, after which clear away the plants, but any that 

 are superior may be continued by layers or pipings. 



Pinks. — Flowering earlier than Carnations, the seed, if the 

 plants are to be flowered the second year, must be sown early 

 in March, but it may be sown in April. Treat in the same 

 way as Carnations either by sowing in frames or outdoors. 

 The seedlings appear more quickly if the seed pans are placed 

 in heat, but unless carefully watered and well ventilated damp- 



ing-off is very usual. The plants are pricked out so soon as 

 they can well be handled, or in June, in rows 4J inches apart, 

 and the same between the plants, and in September every _gi 

 other row and plant are lifted and planted in 4-feet beds, five 

 rows in a bed, the rows and plants 9 inches apart. In other 

 respects they have the treatment of Carnations from seed. 



Though I mention Pinks, the raising of them from seed is 

 not at all satisfactory, for there is such a great percentage of 

 singles. If there be any flower seed in which improvement is 

 needed it is in Pinks. Nevertheless it is very interesting rais- 

 ing Pinks even from seed ; by selecting the best flowers for 

 seeding it is wonderful what a great advance a few years' 

 careful selection of seed effects. — G. Abbey. 



GUMMING OF FBUIT TREES. 



I AM pleased to see that Mr. Luckhurst gives some attention 

 to the above subject, for it is one in which I am deeply inter- 

 ested, and it is not likely to be worn threadbare in our day. 

 I have before written a little on the topic and thought a 

 good deal, and Mr. Luckhurst will pardon me when I tell him 

 that the conclusions I have arrived at are not quite in har- 

 mony with his own. I am thoroughly convinced that gum- 

 ming does " proceed from some internal disorders, some de- 

 rangement of the system," but I do not admit that it is " con- 

 sequently incurable." I used to think, and probably may have 

 expressed as much in print, that it was caused by external 

 injuries, and of course I know that the sap does exude from 

 the injured parts, but I have come to the conclusion that we 

 must look deeper for the primary cause. 



Gumming is simply a casting-off an excess of sap on the 

 part of a plant when its roots have been too greedy and have 

 supplied more than its leaves can elaborate. The exudation 

 is beneficial rather than injurious, and may even save the life 

 of a plant, but I do not advise its being brought about by 

 means of a hammer any more than a physician would recom- 

 mend a patient to be bled by a similar process. If a plant is 

 known to be in such a condition hat it would gum seriously 

 were its bark icjnred, it is undoubtedly a good plan to revert 

 to the old practice of making a slit up the bark with a sharp 

 knife ; the excessive sap will then be exuded and the wounds 

 will heal perfectly. A slit or two through and outside a bruised 

 part will also greatly relieve it. 



As a rule trees do not gum seriously when grown indoors 

 and attended to by skilful hands'] either do they commence 

 to gum outdoors when they are in vigorous health and are pro- 

 vided with ample foliage. Even though they do get a touch 

 from a hammer the result is not serious under such conditions ; 

 but the slightest injury to the bark of an outdoor Peach tree 

 in February or March is almost certain to be followed by 

 gamming, and the more vigorous the stock the greater the 

 liability to suffer. 



Shifting a Peach tree in autumn, if done carefully, tends to 

 prevent gumming; I also think that root-pruning will have the 

 same effect, but I am experimenting on this point. I have 

 asked before in your columns for information concerning the 

 liability to gum of Peaches on Peach roots ; I mean to ex- 

 amine the subject for myself, but this will take time. At 

 present I am of opinion that the gumming of Peach trees is 

 principally the effect of their being grown on roots which are 

 comparatively hardy, starting into growth early and vigorously, 

 and consequently providing a supply which, before the Peach 

 has any full-grown leaves, is beyond its capacity to elaborate. 

 Ungenial weather, too, preventing the development of healthy 

 foliage, and rich soil stimulating the already over-vigorous 

 roots, are generally connected. 



I do not wait now for my trees to gum before applying a 

 remedy, but malie an incision during the month of March up 

 the stem of all young outdoor Peaches which have not been 

 shifted, and (must I own it ?) I have even been guilty more than 

 once of allowing just one or two suckers to grow up from the 

 roots till near midsummer. — W. Taylok. 



AURICULAS— SELF ALPINES and ALPINE SELFS. 

 Mr. Horneb, whose words on tho Auricula are so genial and 

 so weighty, recently, in a discussion on the subject, said, " If 

 self Alpines, why not Alpine selfe?" and "Nemo," in yonr 

 issue of the 20th ult., page 234, says, "If self Alpines are to 

 be tolerated, Alpine selfs will naturally follow," and aslts, " la 

 not a greater variety gained thereby ?" There is, I think, a 

 little misapprehension here. The shaded colour which is re- 



