946 



Gardening for Amateurs 



Early Chrysanthemum Cuttings. If 



Chrysanthemums are grown for exhibition, 

 or for producing big blooms for any other 

 purpose, a commencement must be made 

 with the propagation of suitable varieties. 

 Mix some loam and leaf-soil about equal 

 parts of each and add plenty of sand. 

 The soil must be passed through a fine sieve. 

 Fill the requisite number of small pots and 

 cover the surface with a layer of sand, so 

 that a little of this goes into the base of each 

 hole for the cutting to rest on. Water the 

 cuttings in, and place in a box covered with 

 glass. The latter must be turned daily. 



Flowering Plants. The greenhouse 

 should be quite gay at this season with 

 various flowering plants, including early 

 bulbs. Maintain a warm, dry, airy atmo- 

 sphere, but do not overheat the pipes, or 

 the blossoms will not last long. 



THE FRUIT GARDEN 

 Pruning Wall Trees. If summer prun- 

 ing of wall fruit trees is properly carried 

 out winter pruning is lessened considerably ; 

 but if neglected, much time is taken up at 

 present by nailing in growths after the actual 

 pruning is finished. Generally speaking, 

 young growths should be nailed in where 

 room can be found for them without undue 

 overcrowding. With Apricots, Peaches and 

 Morello Cherries the crop is largely borne on 

 one-year-old shoots, although the former 

 also fruit freely on spurs. Therefore the 

 older growths are cut out wherever they 

 can be replaced by new ones. 



Plums. These are the most popular of 

 wall fruit trees, and once the required 

 space is properly furnished with stems, the 

 pruning is a simple matter. It consists 

 simply in " spurring back " all the shoots 

 made during the current year to two or 

 three buds, and replacing branches that 

 become worn out by younger ones. Where 

 extension is necessary, the shoots at the ends 

 of the branches are left about 9 inches in 

 length, and nailed or tied in as the case may 

 be. Some varieties of Plums bear fruit 

 chiefly on last year's shoots, and where this 

 is observed the trees may be treated very 

 similarly to Peaches. 



Pears on Walls. Pear Trees are usually 

 trained as espaliers when planted against 



walls, and while younger trees should be 

 allowed to extend from 9 inches to 1 foot 

 annually, older specimens merely need 

 " spurring " in the same way as Plums. 

 The central leading growth must be cut at 

 such a point as will cause the resulting side 

 branches to be the same distance from the 

 last " tier " as the various tiers are from 

 each other. 



Pruning Old Trees. Many old Pear 

 and other trees on walls fail to bear 

 reasonable crops owing to their being over- 

 crowded. Often the spurs, particularly 

 towards the tops of the trees, are so thick 

 that the wall is scarcely seen even at this 

 time of the year. In such cases good crops 

 cannot be expected, and the only remedy 

 to adopt is drastic thinning, spreading this 

 over two or three seasons if it appears to be 

 too severe an operation for one year. Cut 

 the worst spurs out with a saw, and smooth 

 the cuts with a knife. Many of those left 

 should be shortened when they are projecting 

 some considerable distance from the wall, 

 and many more will benefit by a little 

 thinning. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN 

 Forcing Asparagus. Asparagus is not 

 difficult to force, but in small gardens it is 

 impossible to raise plants for this purpose, 

 so that they have to be purchased. Make a 

 hotbed in a frame, and on this place a few 

 inches of soil. The roots are placed quite 

 closely on this, and covered with light soil. 

 Give a good watering with tepid water, 

 and keep the frame closed until growth 

 appears, when a very little air may be 

 given with advantage. It is necessary to 

 mat up the lights at night to preserve the 

 warmth. 



Lettuces in Frames. Damp proves 

 more injurious than frost to Lettuces growing 

 in frames, so that every opportunity should 

 be taken to remove the lights when fine 

 weather prevails. On damp, foggy days the 

 frames are best kept shut. Keep decaying 

 leaves picked off, and stir the soil between 

 the plants with a stick occasionally. 



Stored Root Crops. Onions, Potatoes, 

 etc., stored under cover need to be occasionally 

 looked over, in case any have commenced to 

 decay. If this happens to be the case, and 



