July 14. 1888.] 



THE GARDENER S' CHR ONICL E. 



41 



Painting and tarring. — Hurry on during dry and 

 warm weather the tarring of all fences, iron and 

 wood, the painting ol field-gates, outbuildings, and 

 tool-houses. Gas-tar is preferable to the tar varnish 

 now commonly in use for such purposes, and may, 

 if too thick for applying with a brush, be thinned 

 down to any consistency by applying a little crude 

 naphtha. In tarring fences a good preliminary step 

 is to have all grass and weeds cut low, particularly 

 around the posts and stays, so that the tar may be 

 applied well down to the ground-level. 



Clearing the falls. — Where faggots and firewood 

 have not yet been cleared from the falls this 

 should be accomplished with as much speed as 

 possible, else serious damage to the young and 

 tender growth will be wellnigh inevitable. Clear 

 out the branches and firewood first, and after that 

 the heavy timber may be dragged or carted. 



Dry weather should, if possible, be chosen in which 

 to drag timber from the woodlands, for if such work 

 is carried on when the roads are soft and gritty, the 

 small stones are apt to adhere to the trees and cause 

 serious annoyance to the sawyer when they are being 

 converted into workable boards and planks. 



Prices. — The larger branches, as well as crooked 

 poles and tree stems, may be formed into cartloads, 

 these selling readily enough at from 5s. to 7s. Qd. each. 

 All the smaller sprays can be converted into faggots, 

 these being usually formed into two kinds — one 

 for fire-lighting and the other for oven-heating. 

 Small faggots fetch 5s. per hundred, while those of 

 larger size often realise as much as 10s. or 12s, per 

 hundred. 



Heavy timber is now at a discount — indeed, certain 

 kinds are hardly saleable at any price. Oak, Ash, 

 and Elm meet with a fairly ready market, and for 

 local purposes they sometimes fetch a pretty remu- 

 nerative price. The following list will show at a 

 glance the average price per cube foot at present 

 realised for English-grown timber of fair qualitv 

 and size:— Oak, Is. 6.7.: Elm. U. 84 ; Ash, Is. 84 ; 

 Beech, 7d. ■ Birch, 94 ; Willow, 8d. ; Alder, 104 ; 

 Sycamore, Is. 84 ; (the price of Sycamore timber 

 varies very much with locality) ; Gean, Is. '2d. ; 

 Chestnut (Spanish), Is. Si?.; Horse Chestnut, 7''.; 

 Hornbeam, 8<7. ; Plane, Is. ; Scotch Fir, "id. ; Larch 

 Fir, Is. id. ; Austrian and Corsican Pine, 74 ; 5Tew 

 (if of large size), Is. Gd.; Cedar, Is.; Lime, 9(2.; 

 Silver Fir, 84 ; Spruce Fir, "</. : Poplar, 84 



Local demand frequently affects the price of 

 timber: thus, in boat-building districts, Oak, Elm, 

 and Larch usually find a ready market, and at prices 

 considerably higher than those above quoted. Alder 

 and Birch, where clog-making is considered as an 

 industry, sell very readily at the prices just 

 mentioned, which may also be said of small-sized 

 Svcamores. A. I). Webster, Holwood Park, Kent. 



Plants and Their Culture. 



Primula sinensis. — The earliest sowings will now 

 be sufficiently advanced to be potted. If the pots 

 used are 60s the compost ma)- be rather finer than 

 if a larger size be used, employing about one-half 

 loam and one-half leaf-mould or sifted rotten manuie 

 and sand. Make the plants moderately firm, as if 

 too loose, the soil does not keep in that equable 

 condition of moisture so essential for the well-being 

 of these plants. Do not pot the plants too high, or 

 rotting at the collar will take place, but let the base 

 of the leaves be so far in the soil that for some 

 time no other support is required to keep the plants 

 in position. Primulas like a temperature slightly 

 above that of an ordinary greenhouse. A suitable 

 place is a house or pit with a northern aspect, shaded 

 from the sun only during the brightest part of the 

 day, reducing the air as the sun declines, but always 

 being careful to prevent it becoming stagnant. 

 Damp down the house freely, but avoid wetting the 

 plants. 



Double Primulas. — These are easily increased by 

 cuttings put in about this time, the old plants having 

 had time to recuperate themselves since flowering, 

 and are now growing afresh, and the cuttings are not 

 so subject to damping off as earlier in the year. 

 Take off healthy crowns, trimming off as few leaves 

 as possible, and taking care that there is a good firm 

 base to the cuttings. Insert them singly in small 

 pots, using a light compost, with a pinch of sharp 

 sand about the cuttings. Secure them to small 

 sticks by neatly looping up the leaves. At this sea- 

 son a gentle hotbed, with some moderately moist 



material in which to plunge the pots, is a good place 

 in which to strike them. 



Succession sowings of seeds should still be made, 

 treating them as recommended at p. .">27, April 28. 

 Young seedlings are better pricked oft' into pans or 

 boxes, as they are then not so much exposed to the 

 varying state of wetness and dryness in the soil. 



Old plants kept over from last season, if slightly 

 reduced at the roots, and repotted, make fine speci- 

 mens by the autumn. I have seen some so treated 

 which were 2 feet over, and loaded with flower. It 

 is better to plant them rather deeply in the pots, and 

 give them a good soaking — afterwards watering 

 sparingly until the pots are filled with roots. F. Ross, 

 Pendell Court, Bletchingley. 



Dahlias. — These are now making rapid growth, and 

 will require close attention. Cut off weak lateral 

 growths, and in tying np the leaders make due 

 allowance for the stems to swell afterwards. If 

 large blooms are required, it will be a good plan to 

 pinch off all flower-buds that maybe appearing at 

 the present time. J. Horsefield. Hcytesbwy. 



The Flower Garden. 



Flower Beds. — Those that are planted with the 

 usual soft -wooded summer - flowering subjects are 

 filling up rapidly, many of them making such ram- 

 pant growth as to demand constant attention in 

 regard to pegging down, stopping, thinning-out and 

 regulating young shoots. Such work is impera- 

 tive amongst Verbenas, Heliotropes, Petunias, Gna- 

 phaliums and similar plants if a high degree of 

 keeping is to be maintained. The beds containing 

 Pelargoniums. Begonias, Calceolarias, &c, should 

 also be looked over at regular intervals, keeping 

 them free from weeds and the plants free from 

 withered flowers, seed-pods and dead leaves. Iresines, 

 Coleus, Perilla, Abutilons, and such like plants 

 will require attention, and should have the points 

 of all strong shoots pinched out so as to give them 

 a shapely appearance. Stachys lanata, when used 

 as an edging to the beds, should have all flower- 

 stems and misplaced growth cut off, otherwise it 

 will soon become unsightly as an edging plant. 



Carpet beds will need unremitting attention for 

 the next few weeks to maintain them in good order, 

 bearing in mind that to be pleasing they must 

 present a finished appearance. The various lines, 

 panels, or figures of which a design may be composed 

 should be kept as accurately as is practicable. No 

 plants, perhaps, require so much attention as Mentha, 

 Sedums, Cerastiums and Golden Pyrethrum; the last 

 named should be kept within bounds by pinching 

 back and not by clipping with hand-shears, as some- 

 times is the case, but which causes a stubby and 

 unsightly appearance. Few varieties of Alternan- 

 tlieras require but little done to them beyond keep- 

 ing them in line. Echeverias are generally considered 

 to be more effective with the flowers taken off, but it 

 is a matter of taste, and had better be treated as 

 such. Ageratums and Iresines ought to be pegged 

 down to keep them at the same level as other plants 

 growing near them, and the strongest shoots of the 

 last named should be stopped as often as it becomes 

 necessary. Mesembryanthemums will need the shoots 

 to be thinned out at times, in addition to the usual 

 regulating and pinching back of leading growths. 



Shrubs. — Evergreen and deciduous flowering sub- 

 jects, when the flowers begin to fall, should be pruned ; 

 this will consist of shortening back such shoots as 

 have produced flowers, leaving a greater or less 

 length of wood, according to habit. Some plants 

 will also be benefited by a judicious thinning out of 

 the young growths, removing only the weakest and 

 misplaced ones, which will have the effect of admitting 

 more air and light to facilitate the ripening of the 

 wood, without which abundance of flowers cannot be 

 obtained the succeeding year. The present time is 

 also opportune for taking notes with regard to 

 planting and transplanting operations in the autumn. 



Pinks. — Pipings of these may be put in without 

 further delay, and may be taken off with a bud 

 and cut just below a well ripened joint, cutting off 

 the points of the leaves and putting them under a wet 

 cloth immediately afterwards. Two modes of pro- 

 pagation may be resorted to : they may be inserted 

 firmly in a sandy compost about 2 inches apart under 

 hand-lights on a shady border, or they may be put 

 in boxes or 6-inch pots well drained, and stood in a 

 frame where they can have the assistance of a little 

 bottom-heat as soon as rooted ; gradually harden off, 

 when they are struck, preparatory to planting out in 

 beds. The last method I regard as being the better 

 of the two, and if they are kept shaded from bright 

 sunshine and properly attended to in regard to mois- 

 ture few losses will occur. Propagate in quantity 

 such varieties as Mrs. Sinkins and Anne Boleyn, 

 these being two varieties most useful for cutting 

 purposes. 



Fruits Under Glass. 



Vines. — Early houses from which the crop is cut 

 should be kept cool and well watered, and if red- 

 spider has attacked the foliage, well syringe the vines 

 once a week with petroleum, in the proportion of a 

 wineglassful to four gallons of rain-water heated to 

 a temperature of So 3 , and on all other days with clear 

 water only. I once syringed a couple of Black Ham- 

 burgh vines with petroleum in the proportion recom- 

 mended when the fruit was half-coloured. It com- 

 pletelv destroyed the spider, but it arrested the 

 colouring of the fruit, although it was quite as well 

 flavoured as any other vine which was not so syringed. 

 Houses in which the Grapes are ripe must be kept 

 cool and airy, and if the weather be dull and wet a 

 little warmth may be allowed in the hot-water pipes 

 to prevent stagnation of the air. Muscats and other 

 white Grapes will stand any amount of direct sun- 

 shine and be all the better for it ; Black Hamburghs, on 

 the other hand, will rapidly lose colour after they 

 have reached maturity, and it is better therefore to 

 afford the vines a light shade. This must, however, 

 not be of such a nature as to darken the house, other- 

 wise much harm will be done to the vines. Gros 

 Colmar and other Grapes which hang during winter 

 should be gone over now the fruit is on the point of 

 colouring and any berries which are too close may be 

 eased by removing some of them. The late rains 

 have lessened the labour of watering outside borders, 

 but borders inside must have strict attention in regard 

 to watering, guano in small quantities being mixed 

 with the water used with advantage when vines are 

 swelling a heavy crop of fruit. Let a night 

 temperature of 75° to 80° be maintained in 

 houses swelling their crops, and it may be allowed 

 to run up to 90° for a short time after the houses 

 are closed, with abundance of atmospheric moisture, 

 but after 6 p.m. air may be admitted in small quanti- 

 ties by the front ventilators and during the night. 



Young vines which are being prepared for fruit- 

 ing next year should have all the lateral growths 

 pinched to one leaf, and kept to that in the mean- 

 time, the excess of sap being allowed to develope 

 growth at the end of the rod. If the vines are very 

 vigorous, two or three of the top buds may break, 

 and when this takes place, these can be allowed to 

 extend to two or three leaves, and then little 

 danger to the future fruit-buds need be apprehended. 

 YouDg vines which were planted this spring should 

 be making rapid progress, and should be allowed to 

 develope as much growth as there is space to occupy, 

 as the canes will be cut back to the first wire after 

 the foliage has dropped. 



Any vines which have not yet been planted may 

 be put in. Choose young plants struck from eyes 

 this season : keep the house well syringed after 

 planting, and good progress can yet be looked for. 

 Such vines will have "a decided advantage over 

 others planted next spring. 



When it is deemed advisable to renew the borders 

 of any of the vineries after the crop is gathered, 

 preparations should be made by getting the neces- 

 sarv soil and other ingredients mixed, so as to be 

 ready when the work is undertaken. W. M. Baillir, 

 Luton Hoo. 



WEIGELA AMABILIS. — What a rich legacy of 

 beauty the large amount of sunshine of the last 

 summer left us, as seen in the abundant blossom- 

 ing of. among other things, our old-fashioned shrubs. 

 An old bush in the York Nurseries of Weigela 

 amabilis has been very conspicuous in this respect. 

 The bush has about' 100 branches, each bearing 

 twenty-five to thirty trusses of its rosy-pink flowers, 

 with fifteen to twenty blossoms in a truss. Its 

 appearance has been exquisite ; the semi-drooping 

 habit adding to its gracefulness of outline. J. S. G. 

 [As a specimen shrub on the lawn when well 

 grown, there are few better. Deutzia scabra, which 

 flowers at the same time of the year, and which will 

 grow to 6 feet in height, is an excellent com- 

 panion to it — the one rose-coloured the other 

 white. Ed] 



