Gardening for Amateurs 



of soft soap in 2 quarts of boiling soft water. 

 Remove from the fire, and when still hot 

 add 1 pint of paraffin ; churn the whole for 

 ten minutes, and dilute when used with ten 

 times the amount of soft water. Tobacco 

 water may be used. It is made by placing 

 1 oz. of tobacco leaf or shag tobacco in a 

 vessel and pouring on it 1 quart of hot soft 

 water, covering close and leaving overnight ; 

 then make up to 1 gallon with soft water, 

 strain, and apply by means of a syringe with 

 a spraying nozzle. Or use the nicotine washes, 

 as advertised, at fortnightly intervals. Tar 

 water is useful. Boil 1 oz. of gas tar in 2 

 quarts of soft water for half-an-hour or until 

 it will readily mix with water, and then dilute 

 to 6J gallons. Spray the stages and all parts 

 of the house with the tar water, as well as 

 the plants. 



The Celery Fly. The fly first appears in 

 April, and infests several wild plants as well 

 as the cultivated Celery and Parsnip. It is 

 tawny brown in colour, about inch in 

 length, and has a wing expanse of nearly 

 inch. The eggs are laid singly upon the upper 

 surface of the Celery or Parsnip leaves. The 

 eggs hatch out in about six days, and the 

 larvae at once bury themselves in the leaf 

 tissues, forming mines within them. In 

 about fourteen days the larvae changes to a 

 pupa inside a pupa-case or puparium, either 

 remaining in the leaf or falling to the ground. 

 The fly emerges in a few days, and there are 

 several broods in a season. The last genera- 

 tion remain in the puparium stage in the 

 earth, and also on pieces of leaf and stalk, 

 throughout the winter. A mixture of finely 

 powdered soot and lime, in the proportion of 

 1 bushel of lime to 3 bushels of soot, has 

 been found efficacious, if put on when the 

 leaves are damp from dew or rain. Com- 

 mence the dusting before infection takes 

 place, and repeat at not longer than fort- 

 nightly intervals, so as to coat the foliage as 

 it forms. A mixture of paraffin and soft soap 

 and water, at the rate of 1 quart of paraffin 

 and Ib. of soft soap to 10 gallons of water, 

 has also been found effective. The paraffin 

 and soft soap must be thoroughly incor- 

 porated in a small quantity of hot soft water 

 before being mixed with the cold water. The 

 preparation should be sprayed lightly on 

 the plants by means of a syringe with a 



spraying nozzle or knapsack machine, and 

 applied in advance of attack, being repeated 

 at intervals as new growth is made. 



Malmaison Carnations. These hand- 

 some flowers are principally grown for sum- 

 mer display, and during the time they are 

 at their best they are unsurpassed by any 

 other greenhouse flower. The advent of 

 the perpetual -flowering Malmaison marks a 

 new era in the cultivation of these flowers, 

 and some growers claim that the new type 

 will eventually oust the old Malmaison from 

 popular favour. Such an event is, of course, 

 possible ; but it is not likely to take place 

 for many years, for at present the flowers of 

 the perpetual sorts are not equal to the 

 old ones. The cultivation of Malmaisons 

 presents few difficulties, but to grow them 

 well it is necessary to devote a greenhouse 

 to them. They require an abundance of air 

 at all periods of their growth, and it is essen- 

 tial to keep the atmosphere dry and buoy- 

 ant. The plants are propagated by layer- 

 ing, which should be performed in July or 

 early in August. It is an advantage to stand 

 the plants out in the open for a week or so 

 before layering, as this helps to harden 

 the growths a little, and renders them less 

 brittle. It is also advisable to thin the shoots 

 a little if they are crowded, retaining only 

 the more vigorous ones. The plants may be 

 layered in an ordinary frame, in which it is 

 necessary to have a layer of fine sandy soil 

 quite 3 inches thick. A mixture of loam, 

 leaf-soil, and coarse sand in equal parts will 

 do very well, and should be passed through 

 a sieve. The ball of each plant must be 

 planted in the soil so that the Carnation lies 

 flat on the soil to admit of the layers being 

 pegged down. The lower leaves are stripped 

 off, leaving about four pairs of leaves on the 

 end of each shoot. A sharp knife is required 

 for layering, so that a clean cut can be 

 made. Insert the knife immediately below 

 the joint next to the bottom pair of leaves, 

 and cut upwards through the centre of the 

 stem almost to the next joint, then peg the 

 shoot down firmly in the fine soil. When 

 layering is finished, water thoroughly and 

 spray daily, and shade from bright sun- 

 shine until they become rooted. Very little 

 air is needed at first, but when roots are 

 formed increase the amount until the lights 



