11 Aug., 1919.] Orchard and Garden Notes. 509 



The Flower Garden. 



All winter-flowering shrubs that have dropped their blossoms maj 

 now be pruned. It is important to prune these immediately after 

 flowering, so that the plant may be able to make plenty of flowering 

 wood for next season. 



Seed beds and plots need constant cleaning and weeding. Weeds 

 must now be kept out of the garden, both by hoeing and hand picking. 

 The seedlings growing in their permanent situations should be thinned 

 out and given a good chance to develop strong and sturdy plants. 



Divisions of herbaceous plants such as delphiniums, cannas, shasta 

 daisy, herbaceous chrysanthemums, rudbeckias, salvias, and phlox, may 

 still be planted out. If it is intended to leave the plants in the places 

 they occupied last season, they should be lifted, the soil being well dug 

 and manured, and the crowns planted back again. By this means the 

 plants retain their vigour, and are able to produce good flowers each 

 season. 



Evergeen shrubs may now be planted out, if the spots chosen for them 

 have been well dug and aired. All beds should be well dug over by this 

 time, manure and refuse litter having been dug into the soil. 



A few corms and .tubers of early summer flowering bulbous plants 

 may now be planted. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



The plots should be well dug over at this time, adding gypsum or 

 lime where any pests have been prevalent. In other beds stable manure 

 should be well worked into the soil. 



The soil should be rich, well worked, and warm, so that a quick 

 growth may result. Vegetables quickly raised are generally more 

 tender than slowly grown ones; and frequent changes of crops in the 

 plots will give better results. At this season, the weeds will require 

 constant checking; frequent use of the hoe will, therefore, be neces- 

 sary, and in the rows hand-weeding should be resorted to. 



All seedlings should be planted out, especially seedlings of cabbage, 

 cauliflower, lettuce, and onion. Seeds of peas, carrots, parsnips, radish, 

 lettuce, tomato, and broad beans may be sown. 



Where they can be sheltered and protected from frosts, young tomato 

 plants may be planted out for early fruiting. One method of managing 

 these early plants is to place the young plant a few inches below the 

 surface, and then a box, 8 or 9 inches deep, with top and bottom re 

 moved, over the plant at ground level. This can then be covered 

 loosely with a piece of glass whenever necessary. 



Potatoes, artichokes, and asparagus crowns may be planted. 

 Asparagus beds should be kept free from weeds ; they should have a 

 loose surface, and a light top dressing with old manure would be 

 beneficial. 



In the frames, cucumbei, vegetable marrow, melon, pumpkin, water 

 and rock melon seeds may be planted. These are best planted in pote 

 placing three or four seeds in each pot; they then suffer no check 

 when being transplanted into beds. 



