LATE SHOWERS & EARLY FLOWERS 



Veitch's self-clinging Virginian Creeper, Ampelopsis April 

 Veitchi (or Vitis inconstans of botanists), is naturally a ^'^S 

 great favourite, as it grows rapidly, covers a wall with 

 greenery in summer, and turns to a bright red in autumn. 



Wistaria (or Wisteria, the common spelling) Sinensis 

 is an old favourite. It is a slow grower, but its lilac 

 racemes are very beautiful when the plant has got 

 strong enough to bear freely. There is a giant-flowered 

 Japanese species called Multijuga, which can now be 

 bought from florists. 



Climbers and shrubs on walls which now either fail 

 completely or drag out a miserable existence, owe their 

 unsatisfactory condition to want of thoroughness on the 

 part of the planter, in most cases. He does not prepare 

 the soil well enough, nor plant early enough. If the 

 soil is poor (and soil under walls generally is), some of 

 it ought to be removed to a couple of feet of depth and 

 width, and decayed turves and manure substituted. 

 Moreover, good soakings of water should be given in 

 dry weather. 



Fruit 



The grafting of fruit trees, the details of which were 

 given in the last chapter, ought to be completed in the 

 early part of April. 



Vines will be starting in unheated houses. Thin 

 Grapes on early Vines, when the fruit has set and is 

 beginning to swell, using a pair of long, slender "grape- 

 scissors," procured from the seedsman. Begin at the 

 bottom of the bunch, and work upward. Thin with 

 judgment, forming an idea of what space each berry 

 will require when it has swollen to its full size. Avoid 

 touching the berries with the fingers or hair. 



Melons in frames. — The present is a good time to 

 prepare a frame for Melons. A bed of warm stable 



185 „' 



