Gardening for Amateurs 



9 6 5 



Plan of Cropping. If the garden is of 

 fair extent it will be found convenient to 

 map out a rough plan of the ground to be 

 allotted for each crop, thus saving consider- 

 able time when sowing and planting com- 

 mence. If these plans are saved, the rotation 

 of the various crops which is of the greatest 

 importance can be easily arranged, as it is 

 not always easy to remember what crops a 

 given plot has carried for two or three 

 years. 



Hotbeds. If constructed now, preferably 

 in deep pits, good hotbeds will be most 

 valuable for raising early crops such as 

 Carrots, Radishes, Lettuces, etc. Make them 

 of about equal parts of dry leaves and long 

 fresh manure, and tread firmly. Fairly 

 rich, light soil should be placed over this for 

 sowing seeds in, but wait until the heat has 

 subsided somewhat before sowing. 



Forcing. Continue to lift Rhubarb and 

 Seakale for forcing in warm houses, or force 

 them in the open ground. Growth soon 

 commences now if the crowns are covered 



with suitable pots or pans, and fresh manure 

 packed around them. Moreover, outdoor 

 forcing results in better flavoured produce, 

 and the roots are not weakened to such an 

 extent as when lifted. 



Horseradish. Good sticks cannot be 

 grown in a haphazard way, and where re- 

 quired new beds may be formed now. Trench 

 the plot two spits deep, and place any manure 

 at the bottom, as only in this way can straight 

 roots be secured. Plant small pieces about 

 9 inches apart each way. 



Mustard and Gress. Sow every few 

 days on the surface of soil in shallow boxes 

 and place in warmth. Mustard is quicker 

 in growth than Cress, and therefore needs to 

 be sown more often ; if both are required 

 together sow the latter two days previously. 



Asparagus Beds. If these were not 

 manured in autumn give a dressing of well- 

 decayed manure now. Should the beds be 

 so situated as to render this objectionable, 

 the manure can always be lightly covered 

 with soil taken from the alleys. 



Thrips. Thrips are very tiny insects 

 which feed on and destroy flowers and plants 

 about the garden or inside the greenhouse. 

 There are many different species, but, as their 

 habits and the damage done by them are 

 practically the same, there is no need for the 

 gardener to trouble about their individual 

 identity. The mature insects are very small, 

 almost microscopic in size ; they are gener- 

 ally very dark in colour, furnished with 

 fringed wings, and have feet provided with 

 a kind of bladder. The average gardener 

 soon recognises the injury done by these 

 little pests ; they attack the most delicate 

 parts, often the petals or the inner structure 

 of the flower, but quite frequently doing 

 damage to leaves, fruits and even tender 

 twigs. The parts affected soon become 

 spotted, rusted or withered, and finally dis- 

 torted, and very unhealthy ; the bright 

 petals of flowers become spotted where they 

 have been, and so their purity is destroyed. 

 Almost all greenhouse plants are susceptible 

 to attacks from thrips, and even outdoor 

 subjects are far from being immune ; Peas, 

 Roses, and Sweet Peas may be injured. 



Regular syringing of the plants at short 

 intervals keeps down their numbers, but it 

 must be admitted that they have not the 

 same dislike for cold water as the destructive 

 red spiders. A very mild insecticide will 

 render the syringing much more efficacious ; 

 Abol is my favourite preparation, one 

 measure to the gallon of water, but I have 

 used with equal benefit nicotine insecticide, 

 home-brewed tobacco water, quassia solu- 

 tion, paraffin emulsion, and even soapy 

 water (made from carbolic soap). The pre- 

 paration used, whatever it may be, is much 

 more beneficial when used at short intervals 

 and weak rather than after prolonged delaj^. 



Inside the greenhouse, fumigation is the 

 speediest and surest plan for getting rid of 

 the multitudes of thrips. Nicotine prepara- 

 tions of almost any kind will serve excellently 

 well, but in this ca.se again eradication is only 

 secured by repeated efforts at short intervals ; 

 amateurs will find the fumigant cones or 

 Autoshreds of first-class value, and very 

 handy to use. The day after fumigating 

 syringe the plants with soapy water, and 

 then with pure water. 



