Gardening for Amateurs 



30 inches high, and then all round this 

 numbers of side growths appear and con- 

 tinue the floral display. Pentstemons de- 

 light in deep, rich soil, but in ordinary 

 garden ground enriched with manure they 

 will give full satisfaction. During the dry 

 weather in summer give copious supplies of 

 water and occasional applications of liquid 

 manure. 



In some gardens Pentstemon plants sur- 

 vive the winter, as they are really evergreen 

 shrubs ; in fact, in the warmer parts of the 

 south and west this is how one often sees 

 fchem growing. In most gardens, however, 

 if not killed outright by frost, the plants 

 suffer so much from cold, wind, wet, and 

 fogs that it is far better to rely entirely 

 on young plants propagated annually from 

 cuttings and seeds. 



A good selection of ten large -flowered sorts 



is as follows : Countess of Strathmore, dark 

 crimson, white throat ; Crimson Gem, crim 

 son-scarlet ; Edwin Beckett, rosy -scarlet, 

 cinnamon margin ; Henry Lachambre, dark 

 scarlet, white throat ; Jane Dieulafoy, almost 

 white ; Mrs. Forbes, crimson, veined throat ; 

 M. Millardet, rich crimson, streaked throat ; 

 Paul Cambon, violet plum, white throat ; 

 Phryne, brilliant scarlet, white throat ; and 

 Spitzberg, white. 



For bedding in quantity many growers 

 prefer certain varieties with smaller flowers ; 

 these produce innumerable spikes forming 

 sheets of rich colours when planted in masses. 

 They are also popular for cutting, the spikes 

 of flowers being light and graceful. Two 

 favourite sorts of this particular type are 

 Newbury Gem, brilliant scarlet, and South- 

 gate Gem, fine scarlet with white markings 

 in the throat. 



To Kill Tree Stumps. At times it is 

 desirable to get rid of tree stumps after a tree 

 of some size has been sawn down. The 

 physical method of digging it out is not by 

 any means to be recommended for it involves 

 much loss of time and a great deal of harassing 

 work. An easier plan is to bore deep holes 

 in the stump and to fill these during dry 

 weather with any corrosive substance like 

 vitriol or with a poisonous liquid like weed- 

 killer ; strong brine is also said to work 

 wonders, and after a few months' treatment 

 by any of these methods the stump will 

 have rotted away sufficiently to disappear. 

 Another plan is to make up a strong solution 

 of saltpetre and to pour this into the holes at 

 intervals for some months ; on a dry day some 

 months after this has been done pieces of 

 waste are pushed into the holes and soaked 

 with oil. These are set on fire immediately 

 afterwards, and the stump will continue to 

 smoulder away for some hours, eventually 

 disappearing altogether. 



Thinning Growths. During the summer 

 months the gardener is frequently among his 

 plants and bushes, examining them to see if 

 his ambitious hopes are to be fully realised 

 when the season of blossom comes round. 

 At that tune he will invariably notice that 

 many of the young growths coming up from 



the centres of herbaceous plants are weakly, 

 diminutive, or likely to crowd the strong, 

 healthy ones. It is a good plan and wise 

 practice to remove these shoots, for they 

 either do not bear blossom or produce such 

 inferior results that the charm of the good 

 ones is lessened. Break or pull them off and 

 the sturdy growths will have more light and 

 room for development, while the nutritive sap 

 collected by the roots will be turned into 

 channels where it can do better work. The 

 thinning of crops is carried out for a simlar 

 purpose. It is much better to have a limited 

 number of products that will mature and 

 ripen healthily than bulky, bushy plants only 

 50 per cent, productive. 



Bluebottles Destroying Grapes. 

 While the familiar bluebottle flies are not 

 generally classified among pests that haunt 

 the garden yet they occasionally find their 

 way inside the greenhouse and do damage to 

 the ripening grapes. They are difficult to 

 get rid of by fumigation or by insect icidal 

 washes, but attractive substances may be 

 employed to keep them back from the grapes. 

 Mix together in a saucer half-teaspoonful of 

 black pepper, one teaspoonful brown or soft 

 sugar and one tablespoonful of cream ; stir 

 these thoroughly and place near the grapes ; 

 then no further damage will be done. 





