Round the Year in the Garden 



hardy the Chinese Primulas are. I have plants blooming 

 in an unheated greenhouse in which several degrees of 

 frost have been registered. Primula seed is small, and 

 should be sown thinly in well-drained pans of sifted 

 soil ; it is covered only with a slight sprinkling of sand. 

 A temperature of 50 or 55 is high enough to ensure 

 germination within a few weeks. 



Perpetual -flowering Carnations. These are simply 

 invaluable to amateurs possessing a greenhouse in 

 which a minimum temperature of 50 can be maintained. 

 If seed is sown this month the seedlings will blossom 

 next winter. As with Border Carnations, it is neces- 

 sary to obtain the best seed, otherwise the flowers will 

 be poor, and it is no more trouble to grow good varieties 

 than indifferent ones. This, too, is the best time to take 

 cuttings to provide plants for next winter and early 

 spring. Although the Perpetual - flowering Carnation 

 is primarily a greenhouse plant, those that have 

 blossomed during winter will continue to do so throughout 

 the summer if planted out of doors in May. The cuttings 

 take root most readily in pots filled with silver sand 

 placed just above the hot- water pipes ; the pots must 

 be covered with glass, which ought to be wiped dry at 

 least once every day. When roots have formed each 

 plant is potted separately in a small pot ; when it is 

 about 6 inches high the point is pulled out to cause 

 side shoots to form. An excellent selection consists 

 of Winsor, rose ; White Perfection, white ; R. F. 

 Felton, pink ; Duchess of Devonshire, crimson ; 

 Enchantress, pink ; Mrs. T. M. Crook, spotted with 

 crimson ; Rose Dore, salmon red ; Mikado, heliotrope ; 

 Britannia, red ; and Mary Allwood, rose pink. 



In the Fruit Garden 



The pruning of hardy fruit trees has been explained 

 in the notes dealing with garden work in December, but 



126 



