404 



Gardening for Amateurs 



enough until the hot suns of early May 

 afford a good high temperature. 



Spring Hotbeds. If a hotbed is made 

 in spring the sides may be banked up with 

 earth, and various seeds sown in it. These 

 will germinate easily and flourish in the 

 heat which escapes from the hotbed, so that 

 quite a large amount of bedding-out material 



may be ready at the earliest opportunity for 

 transplanting. 



Manure from Hotbeds. After the 

 hotbed has passed its serviceable exist- 

 ence, the manure will then be in the 

 state known as rotted, decayed, or old 

 manure. It can be used for all purposes 

 about the garden. 



Shrubs and Fresh Manure. It is a 



great mistake to dig fresh manure in quantity 

 into ground which is to be planted at once 

 with trees and shrubs. On one hand the dis- 

 turbed roots are not in a fit condition to take 

 advantage of manure, and the fresh manure 

 coming in contact with injured roots may 

 even do serious harm. On the other hand 

 land dressed with fresh manure is liable to 

 sink and the trees and shrubs sink with it, 

 so causing them to become more deeply 

 buried than is consistent with good work. 

 If the ground has to be manured, give the 

 dressing six months before the shrubs are 

 planted and let it become well incorporated 

 with the soil. As a rule, good soil should be 

 added to poor land in preference to fresh 

 manure. 



Thinning Shrubberies. It is very 

 necessary that shrubberies should be looked 

 through occasionally with a view to the 

 removal of such plants as are outgrowing 

 their positions or crowding their more im- 

 portant neighbours, otherwise, instead of 

 the shrubbery appearing as an interesting 

 and decorative part of the garden, it will 

 develop into a tangled mass of plant growth 

 with practically no good specimen shrubs, 

 and the commonest subjects occupying the 

 most conspicuous places. Some of the surplus 

 shrubs may be moved to other positions, 

 but in other cases it will pay better to cut 

 them out and burn them. The careful 

 planter so orders his shrubbery that the more 

 important plants are originally spaced wide 

 enough apart to aUow of their full develop- 

 ment, then he fills the spaces in between with 

 commoner sorts, which can be removed as 

 the occasion warrants. 



The Value of Mulching Ground. 

 The value of a mulch or surface dressing of 

 manure, leaves, or some other material, to 



the surface of ground about the roots of trees, 

 shrubs, herbaceous plants, vegetables, fruit 

 trees, etc., cannot be overestimated, and its 

 beneficial results are easily noticeable, especi- 

 ally when a period of drought is experienced. 

 Such a mulch not only acts as food for surface 

 roots but it breaks the force of the sun's rays 

 on the ground, and prevents excessive 

 evaporation from the soil, thus preserving 

 moisture for the roots which would otherwise 

 pass away into the atmosphere. A good 

 time to apply a mulch is about the end of 

 May, for at that time the soil has become 

 warmed after the winter's cold. A mulch of 

 manure or leaves pays for itself in a very 

 short time by the time saved in watering. 

 Where unmulched plants would probably 

 require water every second day, those which 

 have been protected will often stand un- 

 watered for several weeks. 



Well-drained Pots. Although one can 

 hardly take up a gardening journal without 

 finding the words " use well -drained pots," 

 or others to that effect, how often do we find 

 plants suffering from insufficient drainage. 

 A great many of the failures attending the 

 cultivation of pot plants may be traced to 

 over-watering coupled with bad drainage. 

 When a plant is well established and the 

 pot full of roots it can look after itself, but 

 if too much water is given after repotting 

 before new roots are active, and superfluous 

 moisture cannot drain away freely, the soil 

 becomes sodden and sour, and the roots 

 cannot work into it. Therefore, drain pots 

 carefuUy. Place a large crock, hollow side 

 down over the hole, then place from 1 to 2 

 inches in depth of crocks, according to the 

 size of the pot, over and around, to cover the 

 bottom. All crocks should be placed hollow 

 side down, and be covered with coarse loam 

 or peat as the case may demand. 



