Gardening for Amateurs 



61 



nus Fraxinella) can be freely propagated from 

 roots, so also can the Day Lily or Hemero- 

 callis. The delightful Incarvillea, belonging 

 to the Bignonia family, is one of our choicest 

 herbaceous plants. It ought to be more 

 commonly grown, for it thrives in light sandy 

 soil, and is readily increased by cutting up 

 the thick, fleshy roots. Incarvillea Delavayi, 

 rose-coloured ; I. grandiflora, rosy -crimson ; 

 and I. Olgae, bright rose, are the best. One 

 of the most charming rock plants, Morisia 

 hypogaea (the Mediterranean Cress), with 

 dainty golden flowers, only 3 inches high, 

 grows freely from scraps of the root. 



Most growers of Ostrowskia magnifica (the 

 Giant Bellflower) must have experienced 

 difficulty in transplanting this magnificent 

 hardy perennial with its long, carrot-like 



roots. Yet though the parent plant may 

 die, if pieces of the root are left in the soil 

 some of them invariably grow. 



Paeony and Oriental Poppy. The fact 

 that Paeonies can be propagated from root- 

 cuttings is, no doubt, familiar to many 

 readers. There is frequent evidence of the 

 ease with which the gorgeous Oriental 

 Poppies (Papaver orientale) are increased 

 by pieces of the root, for, though one may 

 lift the parent plant, if it is not done with 

 care the following year quite a colony of 

 small ones spring up. The white Calif ornian 

 Poppy (Romneya Coulteri), Senecio pulcher, 

 with its distinct crimson-purple flower- 

 heads, and the Comfreys (Symphytum 

 asperrimum, and S. caucasicum) may all 

 be propagated from pieces of root. 



Making and Using Wood Ashes. At 



certain times during the year the gardener 

 has accumulations of woody matter to dis- 

 pose of, and these he cannot do better than 

 reduce into the manurial powder known as 

 wood ashes. Collect all herbaceous matter, 

 primings, thorns, leaves and waste pieces of 

 wood after they have been thoroughly dried, 

 then spread them out over a vacant border 

 in the garden (to utilise the sterilising effect 

 of the heat), and set the mass on fire. 

 Let them burn away, but, once there is 

 nothing left but a glowing mass, sprinkle 

 a little water over this to stop the burn- 

 ing and ensure a large amount of charcoal. 

 Gather the matter before it gets washed 

 by heavy rains and store it under shelter. 

 It may then be used at the rate of J Ib. 

 or more per square yard ; the charcoal 

 lumps may be removed for potting purposes. 

 Wood ashes are rich in potash, and often 

 contain as much as 10 per cent, of that 

 valuable fertiliser ; a certain amount of 

 other manures is also present, including 

 small quantities of salts of iron and man- 

 ganese, which are distinctly conducive to the 

 health and activity of soil bacteria. Mixed 

 with farmyard manure the wood ashes form 

 a very rich nitrogenous fertilising compound, 

 speedy in action, and most valuable for leaf 

 crops or for application generally in tin- 

 garden. The charcoal present in the ash 



has a sweetening, antiseptic action that is 

 by no means to be despised. 



Making Liquid Manure. Very few 

 amateurs are able to obtain drainings from 

 stables or cowsheds for use as liquid manure, 

 but this is no reason for being entirely 

 without this very useful commodity. It 

 can easily be made on a small scale by 

 placing a quantity of sheep or cow manure 

 in a small, coarse bag, and dropping this into 

 a barrel or tank containing water. Soot 

 water can be made similarly by placing soot 

 in a bag, or a coarse piece of sacking, and 

 placing in water. In both cases the resulting 

 liquid must be well diluted before use. 



Obtaining Soft Water. For the pur- 

 poses of watering and syringing plants in 

 greenhouses soft water is always preferable 

 to hard. Therefore the rain which falls on 

 the greenhouse roof should never be allowed 

 to run to waste. Have a large tank placed in 

 a convenient position inside the house, and 

 let the pipe attached to the gutter outside 

 lead into this tank ; an overflow with a 

 convenient outlet should be provided. Thus 

 the water will be kept at the same temperature 

 as that of the house itself, which is a very 

 important point. When greenhouse plants 

 prove disappointing under apparently suit- 

 able conditions amateurs rarely think of 

 blaming the use of hard water. Yet, 

 especially if chalky, it may do much harm. 



