66o 



Gardening for Amateurs 



proof sheds, cellars, or in clamps in the open. 

 In the latter case see that the covering 

 of straw and soil is sufficiently deep to 

 exclude frost. If sets are required for seed 

 purposes they should be selected now and 

 placed by themselves ; but a change of seed 

 is desirable every few years. 



French Beans. Where the necessary 

 conveniences are available a sowing of 

 Dwarf Beans should now be made in 8-inch 

 pots. A light position in a house where the 

 temperature does not fall below 60 degrees is 

 necessary. The soil should consist of loam 

 with a little old hotbed manure added, and 

 it is a good plan to leave sufficient room for 

 a topdressing later on. 



Transplanting Cauliflowers. The plants 

 from a sowing of Cauliflower made as 

 advised last month are now large enough 



to prick out. Some should be placed in a 

 bed of soil under a cold frame, the rest being 

 put out on a sheltered border, where they 

 will usually stand the winter safely. 



Celery. Continue earthing Celery as 

 necessary, always choosing a dry day for the 

 work. Red varieties take longer to blanch 

 effectually than white sorts, the latter being 

 invariably grown solely for early crops. 



Brussels Sprouts. A curious practice 

 among cottagers and others is that of re- 

 moving the heads of Brussels Sprouts in 

 the autumn. The idea is to induce the earlier 

 formation of " buttons," but it is as ridiculous 

 a proceeding as could well be imagined. 

 The time for using these heads is in the 

 spring when the buttons have developed into 

 shoots, which is exactly what the early 

 removal of the tops is most likely to cause. 



Sowing Hardy Annuals. It is always 

 well to sow seeds of these plants as early as 

 possible, so that a vigorous foundation is 

 laid before dry and hot weather sets in. In 

 light soils seeds may be sown during early 

 autumn, and the young plants allowed to 

 stand in the border all winter. Elsewhere 

 they should be sown during the first fine 

 days of March, taking care to select a calm 

 day when the surface of the ground is 

 moderately dry and can be easily raked to 

 a fine tilth. The outlines of the various 

 patches should be marked, and the seeds 

 sown thinly over the surface, either raking 

 them in well afterwards or covering lightly 

 with fine soil. Some people prefer to rake 

 a little soil away before sowing, and after- 

 wards use it to cover the seeds. Thin sowing 

 is essential to success, and when the seedlings 

 appear and are large enough to handle con- 

 veniently they should be well thinned, for 

 densely-grown plants become tall and slender, 

 producing few flowers, whereas those with 

 plenty of room branch well and bear blossoms 

 freely for a considerable period. 



Planting Anemones. A hint worth re- 

 membering when planting Anemones in the 

 spring of the year, is to soak the roots in 

 water for six hours, so as to restore the 

 plumpness they have of necessity lost through 

 having been so long out of the ground. 



To Prevent Club Root. When planting 

 Cabbages and Cauliflowers, make a hole 

 with the trowel and place the roots at the 

 bottom, then drop in a handful of soot from 

 the chimney, say three months old. Fill up 

 the hole, then water well. In a few weeks' 

 time scrape away the soil from the stem, 

 place another handful of soot round, and 

 cover up. 



How to Get Manures. Gardeners now- 

 adays find it rather a difficult matter to 

 obtain yard manure. In summer time, when 

 mowing the lawn, save all grass cuttings, 

 also the verge clippings. The same applies 

 to sweepings in winter ; the leaves from 

 shrubberies will be very useful. Thus in the 

 course of the year you will have a nice heap 

 of manure. Mix a little soot with it to help 

 kill insects. 



Phloxes from Cuttings. The herbaceous 

 Phloxes are usually divided when increase 

 in the stock is desired, but though this method 

 is quite satisfactory a much larger number of 

 plants may be obtained from one clump by 

 inserting cuttings made from the young 

 shoots. They should be put into pots of 

 sandy soil and placed under a handlight 

 until rooted. These Phloxes always do best 

 when the root-run is cool, moist, and tolerably 

 rich ; on dry banks they are failures, espe- 

 cially in hot summers. 



