34^ 



Gardening for Amateurs 



Yellow ground Fancy Carnation, John Ridd. 



hoe constantly (with a Dutch hoe be it 

 understood), for it is as necessary to keep 

 the couple of inches on the surface loose as 

 it is to keep the lower soil firm. Mulching 

 and hoeing alike avert the necessity of 

 watering, which should always be avoided if 

 possible. But here again so much depends 

 upon the soil and aspect that no hard and 

 fast rule can be laid down. Remember that 

 the amateur gardener's most dangerous be- 

 setting sin is his tendency to misuse the 

 watering-can. He loves to sprinkle the 

 surface of the soil constantly, but he seems 

 to abhor the right rule, which is to give a 

 complete soaking or nothing. Every time 



cold water falls on a 

 plant the development 

 of its flowers is retarded. 

 On the other hand, the 

 roots must not be al- 

 lowed to become dust 

 dry, or the plants will 

 never recover from the 

 effects. It ought not to 

 be necessary to water 

 layers planted out in 

 October. If you have 

 to plant in September 

 it may be needful, but 

 it should be invariably 

 done then in the morn- 

 ing, as the nights at 

 that season are apt to 

 be cold. 



Hints on Watering. 

 Sometimes it is neces- 

 sary to water in May, 

 sometimes not till June, 

 sometimes you need not 

 water at all. Put it off 

 as long as possible. But 

 if you do water, then 

 water thoroughly. I 

 consider a hose is neces- 

 sary if you have many 

 Carnations. I often 

 take an hour to water 

 with a hose two borders 

 on either side of a path 

 about 40 feet long. It 

 would take many hours 

 to give the same amount 

 of water with a can. 

 I repeat the soaking next evening, and 

 the day after I hoe the borders, but I 

 don't water again for two days at least. 

 This allows the sun and air to act on the 

 soil and keep it sweet. 



Late spring is a trying time for Carna- 

 tions which are at all inclined to be sickly. 

 Many which have lived through the winter 

 in apparently perfect health will in April 

 and May develop spots and blotches, which 

 cause one as much anxiety as a fond mother 

 feels when her infant has tooth-rash. It is 

 a safe rule to cut off all spotted portions 

 of the grass (Carnation foliage is always 

 termed grass) and burn it. If the plant 



