496 



Gardening for Amateurs 



not be regarded as a likely cure, but rather 

 as a preventive of rust. The best plan is to 

 cut off and burn leaves that are attacked 

 by this disease. It is most important to 

 keep the atmosphere dry and buoyant in 

 the winter, as nothing encourages rust so 

 much as a close, damp atmosphere. 



Perpetual Carnations for Planting 

 Out of Doors. Perpetual Carnations may 

 be grown outside during the summer months 

 with great success, and they make a dis- 

 play of bloom from May until late autumn. 

 During recent years they have been ex- 

 tensively used for bedding purposes in 

 parks and gardens in various parts of the 

 country. The best plants for this purpose 

 are those in 5-inch pots and well set with 

 flower buds when they are planted out in 

 May. To obtain such plants insert cut- 

 tings in April or May, grow them on in the 

 usual way, and keep them during the 

 winter in a house or frame with a minimum 

 temperature of 45. It is only necessary to 

 stop them once, when five or six strong 

 shoots will start growing. After various 

 experiments it has been found that plants 



grown in this way are the best for growing 

 out of doors. If plants are employed that 

 have been rooted in December they do not 

 commence to flower nearly so soon, although 

 they are suitable for late summer and 

 autumn display. The plants require well- 

 manured and deeply dug ground if they are 

 to make free growth, and the soil must be 

 pressed firmly around the roots at the time 

 of planting. Keep them neatly staked and 

 tied, and pick off all dead blooms as they 

 appear. 



The plants that have bloomed during the 

 winter in the greenhouse give good results 

 when planted out, as they will continue to 

 flower all the summer. When Perpetual 

 Carnations are required for providing cut 

 flowers only this is a very good way of 

 disposing of old plants. The plants, how- 

 ever, are tall and rather unsightly, and 

 should not be used for filling beds in a 

 prominent part of the garden. It is best 

 to put them on some reserve border and to 

 regard them solely as valuable for yielding 

 cut blooms, for which purpose they are 

 excellently suited. 



Night-scented Stock (Matthiola bicor- 

 nis). Were the seeds of this flower a guinea 

 instead of a few pence per ounce it would 

 enjoy a greater popularity than it does. 

 Many seedsmen fail to dispose of a single 

 ounce of seed in a whole year, and one rarely 

 sees it outside the cottage garden. The 

 flower is rather insignificant, it is true, yet 

 what other bloom excels it in delightful per- 

 fume. As the name suggests, the delicious 

 scent of the flowers is more pronounced 

 towards the close of the day, just when a 

 walk round the garden is most enjoyable. 



Longevity of Seeds. When seeds are 

 kept for any length of time they slowly lose 

 their germinating power, and become abso- 

 lutely inert. The period during which they 

 retain this power of springing into growth 

 when properly sown varies with the different 

 kinds ; some will sprout even after many 

 years, but some, again, lose their vitality in 

 the short space of one year. The seeds keep 

 best when in an atmosphere not too dry, and, 

 to see if they can germinate after being kept, 



place a few on a piece of wet flannel and keep 

 them in a sunny window for some weeks, the 

 cloth being kept moist. The following list 

 shows how long it is safe to preserve seeds 

 with any hope of their growing when sown, 

 but the period of years varies with circum- 

 stances, and this may be regarded as a 

 mean : 



Years Years 



Beans . 4 Onion . 2 to 3 



Beet . . 7 Parsley . 3 to 4 



Borecole . 6 Parsnip . 2 to 3 



Broccoli . 6 Peas . . 3 or 5 



Cabbage . 5 Radish . 5 or 7 



Carrot . 5 Rhubarb . 3 or 4 



.Cauliflower. 6 Sage. . 5 



Celery . 8 Salsify . 2 or 4 



Common Scorzonera . 2 or 3 



cress . 6 Seakale . 1 



Cucumber . 10 Spinach . 5 



Endive . 10 Strawberry 3 or 4 



Leek . . 4 or 5 Tomato . 6 

 Lettuce . 6 Turnip . 5 to 7 



Mustard . 6 Wormwood 4 



Old seeds germinate much more slowly than 

 new ones. 



