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Gardening for Amateurs 



out they cannot hold themselves up, but 

 fall over and suffer a severe check. Sow 

 thinly to begin with, and thin the plants 

 which come up until they have sufficient 

 room to develop ; the results of bad thinning 

 in vegetables are even more pronounced 

 than in the case of flowers, and unless the 

 thinning is done thoroughly, and early, the 

 products are very inferior. Once the true 

 leaves begin to appear on the plant get the 

 thinning done, the earlier the better. Those 

 requiring thinning are Carrots, which should 

 be 6 inches apart ; Turnips, 6 to 10 inches ; 

 small Onions, 3 to 4 inches ; large Onions, 

 6 to 8 inches ; Leeks, 6 to 8 inches ; Parsnips, 

 10 inches ; Globe Beetroot, 8 inches ; large 

 Beetroot, 10 inches. Spinach is usually 

 thinned out to 6 inches ; Lettuce to 8 or 10 

 inches ; Radishes, 2 to 3 inches ; Salsify, 

 10 inches ; Scorzonera, 15 inches ; and 

 Chicory, 10 inches. The numbers are vari- 

 able according to the demands of the gardener, 

 but those mentioned may be regarded as 

 minima. 



When to " Thin." All plants are best 

 thinned in dull weather, in case the sun 

 may dry up the freshly-exposed soil too 

 much ; in the case of Carrots and Onions 

 water the plants immediately afterwards to 

 consolidate the soil. Nearly all plants will 

 benefit greatly if they are watered the first 

 evening after thinning with a solution of 

 nitrate of soda, one teaspoonful to the 

 gallon. 



Thinning Fruits. A certain number 

 of the less ambitious gardeners seem to be 

 perfectly willing to take Nature's products 

 as they come, without doing much to assist 

 her in the production of large and choice 

 fruits. Let it be understood, however, that 

 in the case of all common garden bushes or 

 trees a judicious thinning out of the berries 

 or fruits early in the season results in better 

 individual products as well as a lessened 

 drain on the plant's vitality. When the 

 bush is one which sets its fruit freely, dis- 

 budding can be carried out before the fruits 

 are formed, but in the more unreliable trees 

 the fruit should be allowed to form, and the 

 thinning out process completed after that. 



The sole idea is to reduce the number of the 

 products by pinching out some where they 

 grow thickly, and, of course, choosing for 

 removal such as are small, badly shaped, 

 and unlikely to develop well. Those that 

 remain will swell out proportionately, while 

 the tree is not so apt to exhaust itself and 

 prove unable to bear a satisfactory crop 

 the following season. The work may be 

 carried out at any time, but as early as 

 possible after the tiny fruits have set. 

 Apples, Pears, Plums, Peaches, Nectarines, 

 Gooseberries, and, indeed, all the common 

 crops, can be so treated. 



Thinning Grapes. Bunches of Grapes 

 demand special consideration, and their 

 thinning greater skill. When the berries on 

 the bunches are the size of Sweet Pea seeds 

 the process begins, and on three several 

 occasions must the berries be examined ; 

 the work is best done in the evening, or at 

 least when the sun is not too strong. On 

 the first occasion all small berries are cut 

 out more especially from the centres of the 

 bunches, leaving a nice uniform collection ; 

 when the berries are the size of ordinary 

 peas they are again examined, and at this 

 operation the process is performed chiefly 

 to thin out the fruits sufficiently to leave 

 room for the rest to swell properly. The last 

 thinning is done after the stones or seeds 

 have formed, principally for the purpose of 

 cutting away all badly shaped berries, 

 shrivelled or diseased ones, and such others 

 as spoil the shape of the bunch or are un- 

 likely to have any chance of proper develop- 

 ment. On no account must the grapes be 

 touched with the scissors or with the hands ; 

 a piece of fine wire with a hook on it or a 

 thin stick with a forked end is employed to 

 steady the branches of the bunch, and the 

 undesirable berries are snipped off with 

 long, tapering grape scissors. Explanation 

 is .of little avail in a case like this, but an 

 hour's attendance on an experienced gardener 

 would enlighten the tyro in every detail, 

 and he is strongly urged before thinning 

 his own grapes to see someone else doing 

 similar work. If thinning is wrongly 

 performed the bunches may be spoilt. 



PRINTED BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLB SAUVAGB. LONDON, E.G. 



