6o4 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF GARDENING. 



MTHIONEMA. 



end of the month a sowing may be made of Ne Plus Ultra, 

 or Long-podded Negro Dwarf Kidney Beans, on a warm 

 border, and a row of Ne Plus Ultra Scarlet Runners also, 

 ridges of soil being left on each side, across which Fir 

 branches may be laid, to protect the plants for a week or 

 two at night should frosts prevail. At the beginning of 

 the month the customary sow ing of Onion seed, in shallow 

 drills I2in. apart, should be made on good rich soil, and at 

 the end of the month Onion plants raised under glass may be 

 put out where they are to grow lor the summer. Sowings also 

 in shallow drills may be made of both Nantes and Inter- 

 mediate Carrot seed, and whilst Turnip-rooted Beet should 

 be sown early in the month, tapering-rooted varieties 

 should be sown at the end of the month. A further sowing 

 of either Victoria or Long Standard Spinach should be 

 made as before, also of Milan Turnip. Salsify and 

 Scorzonera should also be sown thinly in drills. Where 

 plants are needed, make in the middle of the month a 

 sowing of Seakale seed in wide drills, and at the same 

 time, where young plants are needed, sow Asparagus seeds 

 in drills I2in. apart. Lettuce, Cabbage, Radish, and 

 Mustard and Cress seed may be sown each month. In a 

 warm house or frame sow Vegetable Marrow, Tomato, and 

 Cucumber seed. Make outdoor sowings of Brussels Sprouts, 

 White Broccoli, Giant Cauliflower, Savoy Cabbage, Red 

 Cabbages, and various winter Kales. 



The Fruit Garden. — Bloom on fruit trees, especially 

 on walls, opens so freely in April that it is needful to furnish 

 some description of protection to it from late white frosts. 

 This is best done in the form of tiffany, frigi domo, a 

 scrim canvas, which, fixed to rollers in long lengths, can be 

 let down over the trees at night and be raised in the 

 morning after the frosts have gone off. It is difficult to 

 furnish similar protection to bushes or pyramid trees in the 

 open garden, but these do not habitually flower so early. 

 In all cases when the sun shines out warmly, expanded 

 bloom on trees may be helped to set or become fertile by 

 running a bunch of soft feathers tied to a stick over the 

 bloom, also by topping the branches to dislodge the pollen 

 grains. Where early Strawberry plants are showing 

 bloom trusses, after giving the soil between the rows a good 



hoeing, a mulch of long litter or manure may be strewn 

 down, as that will mulch, and then later keep the fruits 

 clean. Keep an early look-out for evidences of caterpillars 

 on Gooseberry bushes, and hand pick them. Also, again, 

 look after mite-infested buds on Black Currants, and pick 

 them off, burning them at once. In the vinery early-started 

 shoots should now show the prospective bunches, and bear 

 gradual but very gentle tieing down to the wires. Remove 

 all but one good shoot to a stern that carries the best bunch. 

 Later, houses may be shut closer and kept warm to start 

 the vines. Go over later Peach, Nectarine, or other stone 

 fruit trees in houses, and fertilise the flowers as previously 

 advised. In the case of the earlier trees all foreright and 

 back wood growths, w ith one-half the rest, may be rubbed 

 out. The chief buds to save are those that spring Irom the 

 bases of the present shoots. Get more Strawberry plant- 

 in pots under glass, and the latest batch should now be in 

 cool frames, to bring them on gradually to bloom without 

 heat. 



MAY. 



The Flower and Indoor Garden. — Almost all 



kinds of plants are now in full growth, and require a 

 little stimulant in the way of liquid manure. Pelar- 

 goniums require assistance of this kind. An important work 

 which must not 1)6 neglected is the thinning of seedlings. 

 When too crowded the growth is spindly and unsatis- 

 factory. Early in the month Calceolarias and the hardier 

 bedders may be put out, and later on everything except 

 the most tender kinds will bear planting — Zonal Pelar- 

 goniums, and so forth. In the earlier chapters of the 

 book much information is given with regard to bedding. Lift 

 spring-flowering bulbs when the foliage has died down, not 

 before, unless, of course, their removal is necessary, whether 

 the bulbs are in leaf or otherwise. Keep a sharp look-out 

 for green fly, which increases tremendously at this season, 

 inflicting Roses in particular. Before it has made much 

 headway it is wise to syringe sharply and freely with clear 

 water, but if the pest has obtained much hold then fumigaf" 

 with tobacco, or in the case of plants in the open ground dip 

 the shoots in tobacco water. 



The Vegetable Garden.— This month the grower, in 



