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Gardening for Amateurs 



iii 



A well-flowered bush of Lilac. 



growing of the early kinds. Mature plants 

 sometimes exceed 10 feet in height, with a 

 similar spread. The flowers are white, and 

 appear in profusion in May. All these kinds 

 are excellent for forcing, in addition to being 

 suitable for groups in shrubberies, isolated 

 plants, and specimen beds. They succeed 

 in good loamy soil, appreciate a surface 

 dressing of manure every second year, require 

 no other pruning save cutting back when 

 outgrowing their positions, and may be in- 

 creased by means of cuttings or layers. 



Staphylea introduces a family of decora- 

 tive, free-flowering shrubs which are recog- 

 nised by their pinnate leaves, clusters of 

 white flowers, and inflated bladder - like 

 fruits. S. colchica, a Caucasian shrub, 

 growing 10 feet high, and S. Coulombieri, 

 of hybrid origin, are the best. Both flower 

 freely, and are often used for forcing. The 

 Southern European Bladder-nut (S. pinnata) 

 is the commonest kind ; it grows 15 or 18 

 feet high, and bears rather small flowers. 



Syringa (Lilac). This 



family is better known as the 

 Lilac famity, and it is possible 

 that no shrub is more popular 

 than the common garden 

 Lilac. The common Lilac is 

 a native of Eastern Europe, 

 and its correct name is Syringa 

 vulgaris. It is known as a 

 bush 12 to 20 feet high, 

 bearing large heads of lilac 

 fragrant flowers during May. 

 But in the hands of the 

 horticulturist it has undergone 

 many changes, and we find a 

 very large range of varieties 

 which differ to a considerable 

 extent in the colour of the 

 flowers and in the size of the 

 inflorescences, whilst there are 

 also many forms with double 

 flowers. Generally thev give 

 good results with little trouble, 

 but complaints are sometimes 

 heard of plants which fail to 

 blossom satisfactorily. This 

 can generally be traced to 

 poverty of soil, resulting in 

 weak growth, or to an abun- 

 dance of sucker shoots from 

 the base which interfere with the proper 

 development of flowering wood. All weak 

 growths should be removed from the base 

 of such plants, and the weak shoots must 

 be cut out from the centre. This will 

 allow of the full energy of the plants 

 being concentrated upon the building up 

 of the flowering stems. In May a sur- 

 face dressing of well - rotted manure may 

 be applied with good results, whilst one 

 or two applications of manure water 

 during the growing season will also be 

 appreciated. Even plants which are in the 

 habit of flowering fairly well may be im- 

 proved by the occasional removal of weak 

 inside growths. It is a good plan to remove 

 them as they form, say early in June. All 

 flower-heads should also be cut away as soon 

 as the flowers are dead. 



Propagation may be effected by layers, or 

 by grafting the better varieties upon stocks 

 of the type, the former method being pre- 

 ferable. The best soil for Lilacs is that of a 



