962 



Gardening for Amateurs 



Turnips. These are at times grown with 

 the Radishes in the place of Carrots, or they 

 may be sown in small clumps several inches 

 apart over the frames instead of planting 

 Lettuces as is usually done. Whether broad- 

 casted or set out as mentioned the crop must 

 be grown thinly, and each little clump of 

 seedlings reduced to one plant. This is 

 generally a profitable crop, as there is a fair 

 demand for the bunches of young, long, white 

 Turnips before there are any fit for use 

 from the open ground. I might mention 

 here that all the root crops, before or after 

 bunching, must be properly washed and 

 made presentable before packing for market. 

 A good variety of Turnip to grow in frames 

 is Long White Frame. When setting the 

 seeds out in clumps it is an easy matter to 

 make a slight depression with the finger, 

 but some growers have a kind of frame to 

 which pegs are secured, and these, dropped 

 into the light, which they fit, make the holes 

 at the proper distances with a minimum of 

 trouble. 



Violets. It should be pointed out that 

 frames used for Violets will not be at liberty 

 until some two or more months after the 

 commencement of the usual season for 

 sowing and planting in French gardens, but 

 the frames will come in for the crop of Melons 

 or Cucumbers. The young plants are put 

 out a foot apart in good soil in April and 

 induced to make free growth by generous 

 treatment in regard to watering and manure. 



In September or October they will be ready 

 for placing in frames from 9 inches to 1 foot 

 apart according to the varieties grown. 

 The winter treatment consists of supplying 

 water only when required, occasionally 

 stirring the surface soil between the plants 

 and the removal of decayed foliage. In 

 severe weather the frames must be well 

 protected, the lights covered by mats, and 

 the frames banked up with litter to keep out 

 the frost. But the grower will do well to 

 remember that Violets do not thrive in a 

 close atmosphere, and during all mild periods 

 ventilation must be ample removing the 

 frame lights entirely as favourable weather 

 occurs. The varieties usually grown in frames 

 are Lady Hume Campbell, Marie Louise and 

 Princess of Wales. It may be that there are 

 very few districts in which Violets could be 

 profitably grown in this manner. There is 

 stiff competition from the South of France. 

 With these, as with some other things, the 

 grower must proceed carefully, and gradually 

 work up a connection. 



In regard to most if not all these subjects 

 which have been treated of in connection 

 with French gardening there is no reason 

 why they should not be grown in pipe-heated 

 pits and frames. I have grown many of 

 them in this manner. There is some ad- 

 dition to the capital outlay in the beginning, 

 but the difference in yearly working expenses 

 is inconsiderable, and the annual outlay for 

 manure not nearly so heavy. 



Bought Fruit : A Caution. At no 



time in the era of horticultural science have 

 insect and fungoid pests been so virulently 

 destructive, and where fruit - growing is 

 practised on an extensive and intensive scale 

 the process of extirpation has assumed the 

 dignity of first consideration. In colonial 

 and foreign orchards this is particularly so, 

 with the result that those fruits sold in our 

 markets are not unlikely to bear a greater 

 or less percentage of insecticide or fungicide 

 upon their outer surface. That some of these 

 are present in dangerous amounts has been 

 proved in certain cases, so that people must 

 take warning and be careful how they deal 

 with foreign or colonial fruits. The principal 



poisons are arsenic and copper compounds, 

 frequently noticeable as a greyish film over 

 the surface of the fruits, but more particu- 

 larly in the hollows at the eye, or where the 

 stem is. All fruit from unknown sources, 

 then, should be wiped before use, or, if 

 possible, peeled, and children in particular 

 ought to be encouraged never to eat that 

 part usually known as " the core." While 

 we have never heard of any fatal cases of 

 poisoning, we are able to state that every 

 year brings quite a number of cases where 

 alarming symptoms result from the con- 

 sumption of one or other of the above 

 poisons in appreciable quantities on fruits 

 received from abroad. 



