116 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



FEBRrART 10, 1912. 



SPRING 



INGS IN THE 



KITCHEN GARDEN. 



The season of sowing commences in real 

 earnest as soon as the month of February 

 is ushered in. A great many seeds have 

 to be got in during this month, and very 

 frequently it happens that the vegetablt^s 

 are neglected. Dwarf peas of a good 

 variety may be sown at the end of the 

 month in eight-inch pots, and sometimes a 

 few peas and beans are sown outside be- 

 fore the end of January, but the latter 

 are at the best chance crops, and it is 

 doubtful whether the attention bestowed 

 on them is ever rewarded with success. 

 Certainly, a useful crop to sow towards 

 the end of January or during the first week 

 in February is tomatoes, provided they can 

 be grown on ste^adily near the glass ; a too 

 strong heat must be avoided, however, foi- 

 the plants become soft and long-jointed, 

 and produce few early bunches of bloom. 



Peas. 



On light soils and in early localities no 

 time should be lost in making a first sow- 

 ing of this important crop. In every gar- 

 den, large or small, peas are given prece- 

 dence over all other vegetables^ and earnest 

 attempts are made to provide the first dish 

 at the earliest possible date, and the la^st 

 at the latest. It is recognised hy every 

 professional gardener that peas grown on 

 heavily manured soil are not only superior 

 in quality, but the crop is far heavier, and 

 the peas keep fresh for a far longer 

 period. 



Light soils require to be made fairly firm, 

 for the pea does not seem to succeed at 

 all well in a loose rooting ine(l:um. Also, 

 on any description of land, tliorough deep 

 trenching is a necessary part of the pre- 

 paratory work for peas ; indeed, the differ- 

 ence between peas grown on deeply trenched 

 soil and on that which has been merely 

 dug over, is sufficient to demonstrate this 

 point. 



Of the earliest varieties, Carter's Eight 

 Weeks, Gradus, Reading Wonder, and 

 Early Giant are all deserving of attention, 

 the first-named kind being a very 

 hardy pea of the marrowfat type, 

 growing to a height of only fifteen inches. 

 About three weeks after the first sowings 

 the mid-season varieties may be put in, a 

 good selection being Duke of Albany, Cen- 

 tenary, Dreadnought, and Quite Content. 

 The last-named is considered by some 

 growers to be the best pea now in cultiva- 

 tion, especially for exhibition, as it bears 

 pods seven inches in length. 



Walcheren are both excellent varieties for 

 autumn use, while of other varieties which 

 head in twelve months after sowing the 

 seeds, there are Snow White, Leamington, 

 Sutton's Perfection, and Reading Giant. 

 Late Queen and Latest of All are later- 

 maturing kinds. 



Some gardeners prefer to roJl all seeds ot 

 the cabbage tribe in red lead before sowing, 

 in order to prevent injury from birds or 

 mice. In dry weather it is well to stir 

 the soil well betw^een the rows of cabbage, 

 Brussels sprouts, and spinach, etc, for this 

 will conduce materially towards rapidity of 

 growth. 



Bread Beans. 



For fi,rst sowings, Green Longpod is a 

 serviceable kind, and is almost as early as 

 Mazagan. A well-prepared soil is most es- 

 sential for beans, and the work should have 

 been got in hand some time previous to 

 sowing. Little trouble wdl then be ex- 

 perienced in levelling dcwn and planting. 

 Any deep, cool, and retentive soil does for 

 beans, and profitable crops can be secured 

 from well-cultivated clay lands. The main 

 supply is derived from the crop raised 

 from seed sown in February or March, and 

 for succession in April and May, in double 

 rows, three feet apart. 



ow 



be 



to sow a pinch of seed of some of the earliest 

 kinds of cauliflower, such a-^ Snowb iM ami 

 Early Dwarf Forcing ; if tlu\v ai e c-arefully 

 hardened before being planted out in a rich 

 soil they will be both early and useful. Only 

 a limited quantity should be sown, how- 

 ever as they do not stand very long. Where 

 cabbage has suffered badly during the win- 

 ter, the blank can be almost filled by sow- 

 ing Flower of Spring cauliflower in heat 

 in February, jyi-icking off into boxes as 

 soon as ready, and placing as near the 

 glass as possible. As soon as they commence 

 to show the rough leaf, remove them to 

 frames, and gradually harden. Other 

 good varieties of cauliflower to sow are 

 AVhite Queen, Veitch\s Autumn Giant, Sut- 

 ton's Purity, Veitch's Pearl, and Eairly 

 Emperor. 



Broccoli depends a great deal on the 

 weather, but if brick pits are available, a 

 succession frfim October to June can be 

 ily obtained. Michaelmas White and A. 



Lettuce. 



Both the cos and cabbage varieties of 

 lettuce are extremely ■ popular in all gar- 

 dens, and with good reason, for they adapt 

 themselves to practically all soils, and fur- 

 nish a wealth of valuable greenstuff dur- 

 ing the summer months, when salads are 

 so much in request. Sowings should be 

 made at once under glass, and in the open 

 from the first week in March until mid- 

 summer. This will enable the growers to 

 keep up a successional supply during the 

 whole of the season. Watering is most 

 essential, for the plants are so constituted 

 that a more than usual amount of ijioisture 

 is required to start and keep them going 

 than is the case with most other subjects. 

 Among the best varieties of letuce are All 

 the Year Round, Golden Ball, Grosse 

 Pareusse, and Drumhead, of the cabbage 

 section : and Mammoth White and Superb 

 White of the cos lettuces. A Dutch hoo 

 is a very useful implement to use between 

 rows of lettuce, and copious supplies of 

 water are further beneficial during dry 

 weather. 



Radishes. 



A dry^ warm spot is best suited for early 

 sowings of radishes made during February, 

 and during severe weather it is well to 

 cover them with fern or bracken ^ or light 

 litter, so as to form some protection against 

 exposure. The turnip-rooted radishes are 

 the best to sow during the present month, 

 about one ounce of seed being used to every 

 two square yards of ground, the seeds being 

 covered Avith an inch of fine earth, and the 

 surface made firm with the back of a spade 

 if necessary. Large seeds are best, it being 

 advisable in all cases to discard the smaller 



CHOICE EARLY-FLOWERING 



HARDY SHRUBS. 



Singular importance invests the early- 

 flowering hardy shrubs ; precocious by 

 nature, they brighten our gardens at the 

 dullest' period of the year, yet it is probably 

 on account of this attribute that we find 

 them entirely ignored in the majority of 

 gardens. In many instances the colouring 

 of the flowers is extremely vivid, so that 

 when in season they impart a rich glow of 

 warmth to their suiTOundings ; othersthere 

 ai-e that excite unstinted admiration owing 

 to the curious character and arrangement 

 of the flowers. 



Although perfectly hardy, as far as 

 growth is concerned, all early-flowering 

 shrubs have their beauty marred when the 

 flowers are subjected to rigorous weather, 

 either in the form of intense frost or vio- 

 lent winds, hence it is imperative when 

 planting, to choose a position where the 

 exposure to these climatic conditions is not 

 undidy strained. This is l>est attained by 

 planting in sheltered ravines or glades, or 

 a position in the angle of shrub beds would 

 readily invite success. 



To this group of hardy plants belong 

 Hamamelis arbor ea and H. mollis, two 

 shrubs of inestimable value in garden deco- 

 ration, as, although comparatively slo\r 

 growing in their early stages, when once 

 established they make annual growths a 

 yard in length that, later, becomes entirely 

 wreathed with flowers of a bright yellow or 

 orange colour, so that both plants arf 

 capable of a bright and lasting display. Thev 

 succeed in a loamy soil inclined to heavi- 

 ness, and they generally prove most satis- 

 factory if left uninterrupted for a number 

 of years. 



Another meritorious spring-flowerin:: 

 shrub is Daphne Mezereum ; this specie-, 

 like, the foregoing, produces the flowers 

 the naked branches ; the type gives flow(n v 

 of a rich purplish-re<l, the colonr varymg to 

 some extent in different individuals, while 

 there lare ajso single and double white 

 forms, all of which are deliciously scented. 

 Daphne Mezereum, although an old shrub, 

 still forms one of the most delightful spring 

 pictures when wreathed with its ruddy 



scented blossoms. , 

 A choice and interesting subject is found 

 in Edgworthia chrysantha, a shrub that is 

 hardy in mild and favoured districts ; it 

 froms an erect bush, producing ear j 

 March, on the naked branches, tubular 

 flowers in inverted cliistei-s ; in the indn ■ 

 dual flower the lower part of the segments 

 are united into an elongated tube, that is 

 white and downy ; while the free ends reti^^ 

 and are coloured a bright orange-yelloW: 

 the whole aspect of the flower bemg ^a^" 

 like in testure, and suir^estive ot some 



ones. 

 Old Basing. 



J. C. Newsham. 



RubUS lasiOStylUS.— For a gr€at 

 many years, the Himalayan Eubns biflorus 

 has ranked as the most noteworthy of the 

 white-stemmed brambles, but it has now a 

 formidable rival in the newer Chinese Kubus 

 lasiostvlus, in which the whitened stems are 

 very pronounced. There are several species 

 in which this character is more or less pro- 

 minent, but the two above-named are the 

 best and in a mass or clump they form a 

 striking woodland feature. They are much 

 more effective when arraugfed somewhat 

 thinly in comparatively larg^e groups than 

 wh^n nlanted sinely.— W. T. 



tender exotic. 



Of the earliest flowering rhododendrons. 

 R. pr^fox and U. NoMeanum are two m 

 portant examples for garden decoration, 

 they unite extreme floriferousness 



be- 

 the 



great beauty of colour, and both '^^'^ , 

 liable. They are hybrid forms ot gaui 

 origin, the first-namecl being a cross 

 tween R dauricum and R. cihatum, 

 latter a hybrid of R. arboreum and K. ^ 

 casicum. Both are evergreen, but ^'^^^.^ 

 distinct from each orther. R. 

 small hirsute leaves, and produces sn -^ 

 rose-pink flowers on the terminal P^^"'^.;.ii 

 the branches, and they open kmcUy . 



In habit it 



anched 



dauricum in this respect, but being a , .gd 

 grower, and having larg^^r, paler-co 



flowers than this parent; it ^j^ocl^- 

 more desirable as a garden plant. 



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