September Waning and Waking Flowers 



plants, but it does not follow, as I have found, that less 

 strict methods will prove unsuccessful. The cuttings of 

 Viola and Pentstemon will form roots if placed in pots or 

 boxes of sandy soil in an open frame, though they take 

 rather longer to do so. Both are perfectly hardy plants, 

 at least in southern districts. In my garden, which is in 

 Middlesex, I treat Pentstemons as hardy perennials, and 

 they pass through the winter safely, although the soil is 

 heavy and gets very wet. The shrubby Calceolaria, with 

 which we are now concerned, is almost hardy, and a few 

 degrees of frost will not harm the plants if they are com- 

 paratively dry in a frame. Watering must be practised 

 with care during winter; the soil ought not to be moistened 

 until it is dry. Water may not be needed for weeks 

 together. 



All greenhouse plants that have been out of doors 

 or in a cold frame during summer ought to be brought 

 under glass during the latter part of the month ; such, 

 for example, as Chrysanthemum, Zonal Pelargonium, 

 Perpetual Carnation, and others. The greenhouse should 

 be thoroughly cleansed in readiness for them. 



In the Fruit and Kitchen Garden 







One of the chief tasks of this month is that of lifting 

 Potatoes as soon as the haulm has died down. If they are 

 left in the ground, and wet weather sets in, they may 

 start growing. If no shed is available in which to store 

 them a " clamp " out of doors answers well. A shallow 

 trench which will act as a drain is dug round the selected 

 site ; a ridge-shaped or conical heap of tubers is made and 

 covered with a layer of straw, this being covered with soil 

 made firm with the spade. A few wisps of straw are 

 pulled through the soil for purposes of ventilation. 



Cabbages for spring, which were raised from a sowing 

 late in July or early August, should be planted now, the 

 plants being put 12 inches apart in rows about 15 inches 



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