334 



CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS FOR JULY. 



because in most cases it is the 

 finest, though, if taken off before 

 it begins to swell, the second 

 takes its place. Tie the stems 

 carefully to the stakes ; as they 

 grow up they must be able to 

 push tlie tie up with them, or 

 they might damage. See that no 

 vermin infest them, and be liberal 

 of the water. When tlie pods 

 have swelled full tie a piece of 

 matting round the middle, and, as 

 soon as it will allow of the opera- 

 tion, tear down the green covering 

 or calyx all round to the band; 

 the green will divide in five, and 

 easily come down ; this enables 

 the petals to open all round alike, 

 whereas, if the green were not 

 torn down in all five divisions, 

 they would have burst on one side 

 first, and nothing afterwards could 

 make it even. Put a round card 

 on the jjod half way up it close to 

 the tie, and the petals may be 

 placed in their proper situations : 

 the large - formed petals first 

 brought down to form a circular 

 dish, as it were; those of the next 

 size may be brought down to cover 

 the places where the others lap 

 over; and a third row, rather 

 smallei', may be set again upon 

 these : whatever else is left may 

 form a crown, which, with the 

 horned pistil, is a good finish. To 

 get the card on, a slit is made 

 from the side to the hole in the 

 centre. 



Chri/santhemums. — Strike the 

 last tops to form dwarf plants. A 

 little bottom heat would be desir- 

 able, as they do not strike so free 

 this month as last, or the month 

 before; but, as they have grown 

 near their Ml length, they have 

 not much further to grow without 

 flowering. As soon as they are 

 struck pot them in forty eight 

 sized pots. 



' Climbing plants, such as Honey- 

 ' suckle, Clematis, and others re- 

 quiring support, should be often 

 looked at, and their new growth 

 that is loose properly fastened as 

 the shoots advance. Climbing 

 Eoses want constant watching. 



Cockscombs. — Give plenty of 

 nourishment and heat, repot as 

 soon as the roots reach the side, 

 give occasionally liquid manure 

 when the pots are getting pretty 

 full of roots, keep the heat up 

 to sixty-five or seventy, and keep 

 them close to the glass. 



Dahlias. — Tliese are getting 

 rapidly forward, requiring one 

 man's time to fasten out the 

 branches, clear them of useless 

 growth, pull oif all their imperfect 

 buds, catch the earwigs, and give 

 water, although, as before, we 

 would rather they had one good 

 watering all over the ground once 

 a week than a moderate or partial 

 one once a day; besides, wlien 

 the waterings are further apart, 

 there is the better chance of a 

 shower of rain relieving us from 

 the trouble. As the blooms come 

 out you have to make up your 

 mind whetiier you will grow them 

 naturally or artificially, that is, 

 whether you will cover them up 

 or let them take their chance. If 

 you intend to pot them, get square 

 boards as large as will hold a 

 thirty-two sized flower- pot ; let 

 there be holes at the corners, or 

 at two corners, to hold legs that 

 shall support them the height of a 

 flower, whether it be at the bottom 

 or half way up. A ^^lit sawn in 

 this board so as to reach the 

 centre enables you to pass the 

 stem of a bud to the centre of the 

 board, and this slit may be sttified 

 full of moss or cotton, by which 

 the stem is kept in its place, and 

 the crack will let nothing through. 



