228 



CASSELL'S POPULAK GAEDENING. 



signs of coming up. If any seedling plants are 

 intended to remain where sown, see that thoy are 

 thinned out should the seed have come up thickly. 

 This should he done as soon as the strongest plants 

 are discernible. If this is overlooked (and it very 

 frequently is), the young plants wlU draw one 

 another up in a weakly manner, shortening the 

 liowering season by many weeks. 



Buying Plants. — In the event of the requisite 

 quantity of young plants having to he bought, some 

 little advice in the selection is necessary to pur- 

 chasers, and that is to closely examine the plants ere 

 they buy them when offered for sale by other than 

 the growers. The plants may have been out of the 

 ground for some few days, and thus have lost many 

 of their fine fibrous roots by exposure, and have 

 probably suffered from drought ; the latter, com- 

 bined with a keen cutting easterly wind, will very 

 soon make their iU effects apparent, and which are 

 not always easily remedied after being re-planted. 

 These little minor detaUs should be looked into and 

 practised to insure the greatest possible amount of 

 success in the future. After a few failures (from 

 unexplained causes to those who are not well 

 acquainted with the requirements of plants), the 

 lover of a few garden flowers becomes discouraged, 

 and is inclined to give up in despair. The why and 

 wherefore of failures should, therefore, be investi- 

 gated as far as is possible, and the few hints 

 just given may explain the origin of many such 

 cases. 



Constant attention to the wants of plants is 

 essential; but when a study is made of this, one 

 piece of knowledge gained by experience will lead on 

 to further enlightenment. Some, we fear — and those 

 not a few — having planted their flowers, think that 

 no further attention is needed but to wait for their 

 floral beauties to develop. Now, this is a great 

 mistake. It is not in accord with the dictates of 

 nature to expect this trusting to chance to succeed. 

 Now and again there may be a case in which, by 

 mere good fortune, one has succeeded, but it is only 

 one record of success against many failures. "When 

 plants are obtained and inserted into the soil in the 

 position they are to occupy, see first that the latter 

 is in good condition, as far as it can so be made, to 

 meet one essential point to future success — -viz., the 

 encouragement of a fresh root-action as quickly as 

 possible. Do not plant after a heavy rain if the soil 

 is at all heavy and tenacious. In sandy soils this is 

 not so important, but even then planting should be 

 deferred if the ground be excessively wet, as it 

 cannot be worked around the roots of the plants 

 at such times in a proper manner, for ob\'iou3 

 J'easons. 



Watering. — ^When planting is finished a sufficient 

 quantity of water should be given to settle the soil 

 around the newly-iuserted plant. After-waterings 

 must be regulated according to the time of year and 

 the state of the weather. During the early spring — 

 in fact, up to about the time of planting " bedding " 

 plants — the greater part of this work is best 

 performed in the morning, thus allowing the plants 

 and soil to absorb the moisture before the chilly and 

 perhaps frosty air of the evening and early morning- 

 sets in. From the middle of May onwards through 

 the summer the watering may be moi-e advantageously 

 performed during the latter part of the afternoon 

 and evening. After a warm sunny day it wiU 

 greatly refresh the plants to have a gentle bedewing- 

 either from a syringe or through the fine rose 

 attached to a watering-pot. Thorough watering is 

 not essential every evening ; a goodly quantity 

 should be given, however, when it is done, so that 

 the soil is well penetrated therewith. Should the 

 latter have become somewhat hardened on the 

 surface, and thus cause the water to run off instead 

 of percolating downwards to the roots, a digging-- 

 fork shoiild be taken in hand and used cautiously to 

 break up the surface soU, but not deeply, for fear of 

 injury. This operation -will also act beneficially by 

 opening up the soil to the action of the air, and in 

 other ways. "Water should then be applied gently, 

 not flooded on to the soil in such a way as to cause 

 it to run to waste. When a, fork is not taken in 

 hand to break up the surface of the ground, a small 

 hoe — termed a " Dutch hoe " — wUl be the next best 

 thing to use. 



This is also an excellent tool for almost daily use 

 — in fact, it should be used as frequently as the broom 

 is for sweeping purposes. Careful use of the hoe 

 will aid materially in keeping down the weeds that 

 would otherwise grow up but too qidckly if left 

 undisturbed. It is far easier to destroy the weeds 

 in the earliest stages of their growth than to leave 

 them until they become an eyesore by their promi- 

 nence, impOTerishing the soil, and giving more 

 trouble in their extermination and removal. Hand- 

 pulling of weeds will, of course, have to be resorted 

 to when the plants have become grown together in 

 such a way as to endanger their safety in the use of 

 that implement. This operation should be performed 

 as soon as the weeds can be handled. It is an 

 excellent plan to surface or top-dress the flower-beds 

 and borders -with cocoa-fibre refuse. This is an 

 extremely valuable medium, both for conserving the 

 moisture in the soil and also for keeping the- 

 roots cooler and less susceptible to sudden changes 

 from atmospheric causes. In two ways, also, this 

 " refuse " will be a sa-ving of labour : it will be the 

 means of keeping in check the growth of weeds, as 



