8o 



Gardening for Amateurs 



trees and burn them, and do not plant in 

 the same soil for a long period. The disease 

 is easily recognised from the fact that the 

 leaves take on a silvery appearance. Plums 

 are most liable to its attacks. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN 



Edible Peas. Make a sowing in the 

 open of Early Giant or Early Morn Peas. 

 The former grows to a height of 4 feet 

 under good cultivation ; the latter a foot 

 less. Moisten the seeds and cover with 

 red lead previous to sowing. 



Potatoes. Second early and main crop 

 Potatoes should be planted by the end of 

 the month. It is preferable to rely on 

 varieties known to succeed hi the district, 

 and the value of a change of seed every 

 few years cannot be over-estimated. Plant 

 15 inches apart in rows 2 feet 6 inches 

 distant from each other. 



Onion. Rich and deeply dug soil is 

 necessary for success with this crop, and the 

 seed-bed can scarcely be made too firm. 

 Sow in drills 9 inches apart, and after 

 covering the seed, tread the surface of the 

 bed and finish with the rake. Ailsa Crag 

 is a variety reliable alike for culinary and 

 show purposes. 



Cauliflower. Make another sowing under 

 glass, Early Emperor being a suitable variety. 

 Give the plants in frames abundant ventila- 

 tion to prepare them for planting out of doors 

 next month. 



Planting Broad Beans. After being 

 thoroughly hardened the Broad Beans raised 

 in boxes in frames should be planted out 

 during suitable weather. A little earth 

 may be drawn up round the stems after 

 planting. 



Turnip. On a fairly sheltered border 

 sow Little Marvel Turnip in drills a foot 

 apart. Successive sowings should be made 

 in the open at intervals of three weeks. 



Lettuce. Seed of both Cos and Cabbage 

 varieties should be sown at short intervals 

 from now onwards, to maintain a suc- 

 cession. Giant White Cos and Holborn 

 Standard Cabbage are reliable varieties of 

 Lettuce. 



Celery. For the main crop sow in 

 flower pans (shallow pots) now, and place 

 them in a greenhouse temperature of 

 about 55 until the seedlings are well 

 through the soil, when a slightly lower 

 temperature will suit. Sow thinly to prevent 

 the seedlings from damping off, and cover 

 each pan with a sheet of glass. The variety 

 Standard Bearer can be recommended. 



Carrot. To follow the early roots ob- 

 tained by sowing over a hotbed, sow a small 

 quantity of Early Gem now on a sheltered 

 border. 



Cucumber. Sow Lockie's Perfection or 

 Improved Telegraph in a temperature of 

 65 for cultivation in frames. The former 

 is comparatively small, but wonderfully 

 productive. 



Removing Faded Blossoms. If only 

 on account of tidiness in the garden, a point 

 should be made of regularly removing all 

 faded flowers from the various plants. 

 But there is another and equally important 

 reason why this should not be neglected. 

 Such plants as Campanulas and Violas will 

 cease flowering if seed-pods are allowed to 

 form, as the energies of the plants are then 

 devoted to the formation of seeds. There- 

 tore never allow seed pods to form. 



Dirty Flower Pots. Dirty pots are 

 the trade mark of careless gardening, and 

 should be avoided by all who earnestly wish 

 to secure the acme of success. Disease 

 germs and spores of fungi may be carried 



from one crop to another by them ; plants 

 can with difficulty be removed from pots 

 which were not cleaned and, to say the very 

 least, they are unsightly, and betray slovenly 

 work. Wash them out in water, preferably 

 warm, and scrub them clean with a brush ; 

 let them dry thoroughly before use. To 

 sterilise the pots scald them with boiling 

 water, or else steep them in a solution of 

 sulphate of iron, an ounce to the gallon ; 

 this chemical is very effective, does no 

 damage to the plants, and can be bought 

 for a penny per pound of the commercial 

 crystals. A little attention paid to this 

 item of garden work will save a lot of 

 trouble later on. 



