GENERAL CULTIVATION 55 



From time to time weak doses of liquid manure should 

 be given the plants. Before the manure is used the beds 

 and borders should be hoed over and the plants given a 

 thorough good watering and the liquid manure applied 

 when the soil is quite moist. A good liquid manure 

 may be made by soaking a bushel of either horse, cow, 

 or sheep manure in go or 40 gallons of water, and the 

 solution thus obtained well stirred and diluted before 

 use. 



For a week or so before the show, the plants will need 

 shading, both as a preventative of the evil effects of dust 

 and rain, and in order to shield the blooms from the 

 burning and withering effects of the sun's rays. There 

 are many means by which this can be done, and large 

 growers generally have some pet system of their own 

 they use. 



In cases where the blooms are grown in rectangular 

 beds, a very cheap method of shading may be utilized in 

 the shape of a length of thin canvas or tiffany stretched 

 across the beds. Stout posts should be placed at each 

 end of the beds and a length of stout twine or cord, or 

 better still of wire, should be strained from post to post. 

 If a number of brass rings are now attached to the side 

 of the length of canvas, it can readily be drawn back- 

 wards and forwards over the bed along the string or 

 wire. 



Another good, though somewhat more expensive, 

 method is to erect a number of posts round the beds and 

 affix on these thin lengths of wood. In this way a 

 support for a number of frame lights can be made. 

 These when covered with paste or lime wash, make an 

 excellent shading medium. 



The shading should not be kept on for too long a 

 period, as the plants soon become drawn and spindley, 

 but should be removed on all possible occasions. On 

 clear dry nights this can be done with advantage, and 



