April SO, 186S. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTIODLTUaE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



327 



with sun and air, depend tlia flavour and (luality of Melons.— 

 J. E. P., BicUcy, Kent. 



DESTROYING ANTS. 

 I HAVE read in your correspondents' column the question 

 asked, How to destroy ants ? and the answers, effectual in their 

 way, were dangerous, as poison was to be employed, spread in 

 their walks or near their haunts. My house was at that time 

 infested with these insects, and has been so more nr less 

 through the winter, but the last few fine days have brought 

 some hundreds out, so that scarcely anything could be kept in a 

 cupboard, which they had access to through holes in the wall. 

 I laid some moist sugar near the holes, and alter about an hour 

 I returned, and could not see the sugar, as it was entirely 

 covered with ants of all sizes from a speck to a barley grain. I 

 then with a Uat-bladed knife destroyed every one of them, and 

 on looking to-day at some more sugar laid in the same manner 

 not one ant was to be seen. I, therefore, conclude that I by 

 means of a little moist sugar enticed a whole colony of these 

 insects, and destroyed them without the use of any dangerous 

 poisonous mixtures. — Eden Grove. 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



KITCHEN G.UUIEN. 



We seldom have finer weather at this time of year for all 

 out-door operations. Several correspondents state that the 

 wall fruit promises to be a large crop, and appearances warrant 

 the same conclusion in regard to the standard fruit. Cdcrij 

 and Lettuce, plants lately pricked or planted out — indeed, any 

 small plants which have been lately transplanted, will now be 

 in danger if the weather be dry, and they must be regularly 

 watered, and so must crops of Turnipa and other seedlings as 

 they are coming up. Cauliflowers, when transplanted, every 

 care should be used not to injure the roots, and the plants 

 must be well supplied with water until they become established. 

 as neglect in either particular will probably cause them to 

 flower prematurely, and thus occasion the loss of the crop. 

 Even when the plants are fairly established they must never 

 be allowed to be dry at the roots, and an occasional soaking of 

 manure water during dry weather will greatly benefit them. 

 Oninm, see that you have a bed or border prepared to plant 

 out the thinnings by-and-by, and sow a bed of the Silver- 

 skinned in light poor soil some time soon to come in for pick- 

 ling. Peas and heans, keep the ground between the rows well 

 stirred and free from weeds. In dry weather mulch with manure 

 for 18, inches on each side of the rows, giving a liberal supply of 

 water when necessary to keep the plants vigorous and to pre- 

 vent mildew. The growing crops of Peas should never be allowed 

 to suffer from the want of water. In exposed situations strong 

 stakes driven in on each side of the rows of Broad Beans, and 

 common tarred cord stretched along them, will be useful to 

 prevent the plants being beaten down by the wind. Where 

 water is a scarce commodity many shifts must be resorted to in 

 dry weather. The best substitute for heavy watering is to 

 mulch with short grass between the rows of advancing crops. 

 This will save much time and labour. Even when water is 

 plentiful, simple as the operation of watering is, few things 

 are worse performed. One good watering that will saturate 

 the soil, provided the surface is mulched or stirred afterwards, 

 is worth a dozen mere sprinklings, because the one watering 

 will often be sufficient, while the many waterings are generally 

 prejudicial. In the one case the roots are discouraged from 

 coming to the surfaca, the dryness of that surface prevents 

 rapid evaporation of moisture from below, and the roots are, 

 therefore, enabled to absorb freely to supply the exhaling 

 foliage. In the other case, surface roots are for a time en- 

 couraged, but are speedily checked, as the sun quickly causes 

 the moisture of the surface-watering to evaporate. 



FECIT GARTEN". 



Keep a regular eye over the wall trees, and see that no insects 

 or other vermin establish themselves there ; the young shoots 

 must also now be well attended to. Never cut-out or other- 

 wise prune too much of the summer growth at once. It is 

 much better to begin in time and stop the strongest shoots 

 only at first, and so on through the growing season. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



The importance of grouping plants in flower gardens ac- 

 cording to their complementary colours has been repeatedly 

 insisted on. The leading principles of this system of manage- 



ment are contrast and symmetry — contrast such as will be 

 produced by placing the complementary colours pretty closely 

 together— as scarlet with white, purple with yellow, orange 

 with blue, and so on with the various shades of these colours ; 

 and symmetry, such as will result from every bed having a cor- 

 responding one in form and disposition when beds are planted 

 with flowers of the same colour. Where beds are planted on 

 grass and without a corresponding one near them, they should 

 bo belted with the complementary colour — as blue with an 

 orange margin, purple with yellow, and scarlet with white; or 

 as green is the proper contrast for scarlet, beds of that colour 

 may be left without a margin, and white, under such circum- 

 stances, used as a distinct bed. Where beds are on gravel, 

 which is of a warm colour, a cold colour should be the most 

 used, as blue, purple, and white, which for floricultural pur- 

 poses takes the place of green ; or if warm colours must be in- 

 troduced, it is indispensable that they be margined with cold 

 colours. In large gardens where there is a great prepon- 

 derance of green — as large lawns, or trees, and extensive lakes, 

 more especially if the trees are large to throw considerable 

 shade, nothing but warm colours should be used — as scarlet, 

 orange, and yellow, and these should be in large masses and 

 stand out prominently in the foreground of the scenery, and 

 especially near the water. Whoever has walked through the 

 metropolitan parks will have noticed how much more cheerful 

 is the aspect of the water in St. James's Park, than it is in the 

 Regent's Park, or Kensington Gardens, and this is because the 

 water is surrounded by gravel which gives the appearance of 

 warmth. Watering and thinning the young plants are the prin- 

 cipal work at the present time ; but double Primroses, Polyan- 

 thuses, itc, which are out of bloom and being removed from 

 the flower garden, must be parted, planted in rich soil in a 

 shaded situation, and watered. This is a good time to tie-out or 

 peg-down the branches of American plants, so that the young 

 shoots may take the right direction when they begin to grow. 

 In high and exposed situations the plants must have water, or 

 they wiU be unable to expand their blossoms properly. 



GREENHOUSE AN'D CONSERVATORY. 



Now that the season is so far advanced that many of the 

 older kinds of plants often wintered in conservatories may be 

 removed to temporary shelter, no plant, except in flower or a 

 fine specimen, ought to find a place in the conservatory from 

 this time to the end of September. As the spring Heaths go 

 out of flower remove them to cold pits. If they are young 

 plants this is the best time to prune them. As soon as the 

 growth of forced plants of Rhododendron arboreum is nearly 

 over remove them to a cool shaded place, as this and many of 

 its hybrids are easily induced to make a second growth, and, 

 consequently, produce no flowers next season. Keep all plants 

 well watered and in good shape. Encourage greenhouse 

 plants to make a rapid growth now. Keep the house warmer 

 and more moist than is generally done, and see that this 

 moisture does not deceive you. In watering, many pots may 

 look wet on the surface and yet be dry below. Train, pinch, 

 and prune them as circumstances may require, and, above all, 

 keep them perfectly clean. 



STOVE. 



Some of the more free- growing plants that were potted early 

 will now want another shift, and you may give them more pot 

 room now. Many young plants nursed in pits through the 

 spring will now be too high, or the pits may be wanted for 

 other purposes ; remove them to the stove, and for the first 

 week or two imitate the pit culture for them as far as your 

 house will allow. Keep them more shaded than the rest of 

 the plants, syringe them twice a-day, and keep them as far 

 from the ventUators as you can. 



FORCING riTs. 



Most of the spring-flowering plants are done with in these 

 pits. Roses will now bloom in any close house or pit. There 

 are many plants, however, that may be more or less forced for 

 the conservatory all the summer through, especially those 

 called intermediate or half-stove plants. Camellias, Azaleas, 

 and Rhododendrons that have been early forced may be grafted 

 as soon as the young wood begins to become hard. Of all the 

 modes of propagating rare plants, grafting is the easiest and 

 requires the least time and attention. — W. Keane. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



Saving Seeds. — When a person has the chance it is well to 

 ' save a few seeds of a favourite kind of Pea, as then it is more 



