IN MY LADY'S GARDEN 



considerably it is apt to become untidy. The only blight 

 which troubles it is scale, a most injurious insect, which 

 should never be allowed to obtain a footing on this plant. 

 In a bad case it may be necessary to cut the jasmine down to 

 within a foot or so of the ground in spring, when the bare 

 stem left can easily be cleansed with hot soap and water, 

 afterwards spraying it with methylated spirits from a small 

 scent spray, in case of the escape of any insects. Cuttings 

 of the half-ripened shoots can be put in during the early 

 summer, and will soon make good plants. 



Heliotrope, grown against a sunny wall in the border of a 

 greenhouse, will provide plenty of flowers throughout the 

 winter if pruned back in August ; for every fresh shoot will 

 contain a spray of blossom. But this plant needs plenty of 

 light and warmth to open its buds, as well as rich soil. If 

 well supported, it will bloom continuously throughout the 

 year. 



Apples and pears are not often too abundant in our 

 gardens, and therefore it is as well to take extra precautions 

 that the crop be not wasted, as, unfortunately, so much 

 British fruit appears to be. It is not always understood by 

 the ordinary gardener that each separate variety needs to be 

 gathered in at one special date ; for there are only a very 

 few days in which the pears are ready to fall to the ground 

 and yet have not done so. They are not then ripe, strictly 

 speaking ; in fact, some late pears and apples need to lie in 

 a dry cellar or a fruit-room for several months before they 

 are fit to eat ; but if the skin of the fruit should receive a 

 bruise or any injury, however slight, rottenness will take 

 place before ripeness, and so the crop is lost. 



Shallow flat baskets, padded with a cloth, are the best for 

 gathering fruit, and the right moment can be ascertained by 

 lifting the pear to a horizontal position in the palm of the 

 left hand, when it will part from the stem if ready to do so ; 

 and it should be conveyed to the shelves in a dark, dry cellar, 

 or room, with a medium temperature free from frost, with- 

 out any bruise whatever. Fruit already stored needs to be 

 looked over often in case of any injured specimen setting 



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