126 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



EEMINDERS FOR GARDEN WORK IK APRIL. 



jjTG- up the borders in which there are herbaceous plants or bulbs as soon 

 as their contents are through the ground ; be careful not to injure 

 them ; then rake and clean the borders. 



Carnations and Picotees. — Pot them in No. 8 or No. 12 sized 

 pots ; put two inches of crocks at the bottom, then a quantity of the 

 mould got ready in February and turned over weekly since. The pot containing 

 the plants must be turned up and struck against a table or some other substance, 

 when the ball of earth will leave it, rub off the surface a little ; now let this be 

 adjusted in the large pot, to briDg the collar of the plant, that is, the lowest part 

 of the leaves, within half an inch of the top edge; fill up all round and water 

 gently. Let them be under a roof if possible, or at least in a sheltered place, and 

 be carefully looked after that they be not too wet nor too dry. All those that 

 cannot be potted for blowing, should be planted in rows, a foot apart in the rows, 

 and two feet from row to row. 



Dahlias. — Now put the whole of the old roots to work, if you have not done 

 it before. Pot them with the collar of the root above the surface of the soil, and 

 place them in the heat of a common hot-bed made up for cucumbers or for the 

 purpose. If you are only going to divide the roots instead of propagating 

 largely, throw them into the hot-bed without potting, and as soon as they show 

 their eyes, cut a piece of root to every eye, and pot them to grow slowly till 

 planting time. 



Tulips. — Use more diligence than ever to keep them from frost ; as they 

 advance they are more susceptible than ever of a check. 



Ranunculuses. — Stir the earth between them, and break it small, close it 

 about their roots. 



Take cuttings of all the ordinary clump and lawn plants, unless you struck 

 them in the autumn. Petunias, heliotropes, verbeni?, salvias, fuchsias, brug- 

 mansias, and other quickly-growing subjects, are all readily struck with a 

 little bottom-heat. Some gardeners use a pot only half full of soil, and then they 

 are able to cover them with a flat piece of glass ; but the whole of these strike 

 like weeds with a little bottom-heat. 



Annuals of the more hardy kind may be sown in the borders at the beginning 

 of the month, but all the ordinary border annuals may be sown at the end of it. 

 Tender annuals may be sown in a slight hot-bed. Those which have been 

 wintered in frames may be planted out towards the end of the month in the 

 places they are to bloom in. Mignonette may be sown in pots and boxes for the 

 windows. 



Auriculas are now rising for bloom fast. If the pips in a trus3 are crowding 

 each other, take out some of the smallest and weakest, leaving about eight to 

 perfect themselves ; but if there be a large number, thin them out only enough to 

 give room to the remainder. Towards the middle of the month they will begin 

 to bIiow colour. They must then be removed to a shady situation, where they 

 must be thoroughly covered from cold winds and shaded from the sun. The 

 smallest check by frost or cold winds will spoil the bloom ; as they open there 

 should be bits of cotton or moss stuck between the foot-stalks to keep the truss 

 all in its place, and give the flowers room to open properly ; they will then bloom 

 in perfection. 



Roses. — If the opening buds of roses disclose any symptoms of disease, they 

 must be examined and the grubs picked off. The latter end of the month the 

 portion of rosea left unpruned must be pruned a3 the former ones were ; it 

 will throw the flowering back a month, and make a second season. 



Bienniais, such as Canterbury bells, wallflowers, two-year stocks, sweet 

 Williams, hollyhocks, dwarf and tall rockets, etc., must be planted out where 

 they are to flower. 



Wall-eruit Trees and Trained Trees. — Cut off all shoots that grow out- 

 wards, and all others which grow in the way of better ones ; clear the walls 

 from snails, slugs, etc. 



