THE GARDEN AT HOME 



If I tell him his Carnations are running to flower too 

 soon and ought to be " stopped," will he not have good 

 reason for asking why they do not walk, and so save him 

 the trouble of stopping them ? And how is he to define 

 the difference between a thumb pot and a thimble pot ? 

 While it is conceivable that he knows what a pot is, how 

 is he to arrive at the meaning of pan, for the gardener 

 uses this word to describe two strange and entirely 'dif- 

 ferent things. When the text-books tell him to " prick 

 out" seedlings, to take care that they do not get 

 " drawn " or there will be " leggy " plants, to " plunge " 

 flower-pots, to give these plants a " dewing " and those 

 plants a " dusting," why, then, in despair the home 

 gardener must surely cry " Enough," and allow that I 

 have proved my case. So here's to an elucidation of 

 some of the most remarkable gardening terms. 



A Shift. A plant needs " a shift " when it is cramped 

 in its present flower-pot and requires a bigger one. 



Ball. If you are told to lift a plant with a " good 

 ball," the instruction is to take it up so carefully that 

 plenty of soil adheres to the roots. 



Bleeding. If the stem of a vine is cut in early spring 

 when growth is commencing, a flow of sap ensues from 

 the cut surface, and when this happens for some strange 

 reason the vine " bleeds." Pruning should be completed 

 before growth starts, then " bleeding " will not ensue. 

 Beetroots also " bleed " if bruised or cut. 



Breastwood is a curious term applied to the super- 



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