202 



GARDENERS' MA GAZINE 



pinching out the points of the longest shoots if the plants appear to be drawing up 

 weakly. Late batches of cinerarias should be placed in a north house or pit, 

 which will not only retard their flowering, proving an advantage at times, but the 

 foliage and flowers come a much richer colour than when exposed to the sun. 

 Sow successional batches of seed according to the demand there is for these 

 plants, keep the soil thoroughly moist at all times, and stand the vessel containing 

 the seed on a shelf in the stove, or, what is better, plunge it in a gentle hotbed. 

 Prick off young stock, and keep them in a growing atmosphere for a few weeks 

 onger before {removing them to cooler quarters. The same remarks apply to 



Some do not trouble to save cyclamens after the first year, and trust to 



It is not desirable save any that are 



primulas. 



seedlings each season to furnish the plants. 



not of good form and colour, but with a good strain l preter to grow the bulbs on 

 for a year or two. In this case remove the plants as they pass out of flower to a 

 cold pit, but water should be afforded regularly for a time, or the bulbs shrink and 

 are much weakened As the season is upon us when there will be a great demand 

 for flowering plants and cut bloom, it is necessary to examine carefully the stock 

 at command, hastening «ome and retarding others, so as to save disappointment. — 

 Richard Parker, Goodwood Gardens. 



THE FLOWER GARDEN, 



In the frames placed on slight hot-beds, a^ recently advised, the annuals should 

 now, or within the next week or two, be sown. Among the principal or most 

 useful subjects best sown under glass are : zinnias, double and single ; stocks, 

 asters, salpiglossis, Nemesia strumosa, Phlox Drummondi, Gaillardia picta Loren- 

 ziana, and petunias. For sowing draw out shallow drills about four inches apart, 

 covering the seeds at a depth according to their size. Very small seeds, as those 

 of salpiglossis and petunias must be covered very slightly with finely-sifted soil. 

 The frames should be kept close and shaded until the seedlings appear, afterwards 

 gradually withholding the shading and admitting air in greater quantities as the 

 seedlings develop, to prevent them drawing up spindly. Double zinnias, gail- 

 lardias, Phlox Drummondi, and marigolds in variety, form useful bedding plants, 

 and may be used as substitutes for bedding pelargoniums. If the flower beds or 

 borders are unoccupied in which these are to be planted, they may be lifted care- 

 fully from the frame early in May and be planted direct, affording shade with a few 

 branches for a day or two if the weather be warm with bright sunshine. Stocks 

 and asters may be treated in the same way, or be pricked off into other frames or 

 a sheltered border as soon as large enough to handle. Seeds of Lobelia speciosa, 

 pentstemons, and antirrhinums, if not already sown, should be put in forthwith, 

 sowing in pans or boxes of light soil, and afterwards standing in a forcing house 

 or on a good hot-bed. The same remark may apply to seeds of various sub- 

 tropical bedding plants as ricinus, Cannabis gigantea, Melianthus major, nicotiana, 

 Solanum robustum, variegated maize, and Perilla nankinensis. Dahlia roots 

 stored in dark places under benches and similar positions and which it is intended 

 to plant again in the borders, should be brought into a lighter position as soon as 

 growth starts, or they may be placed together in a sheltered corner outside, and be 

 just covered with leaf-soil or cocoanut fibre refuse. Treated thus the shoots ma de 

 are strong and sturdy. A few mats or other covering should be kept in readiness, 

 after growth has started, in the event of frost occurring. Young plants struck 

 rom cuttings recently should be potted off singly and grown on for a short time in 

 warmth. Cuttings may still be inserted if it is desired to further increase the 

 choicer varieties. ^ Tuberous begonias intended for bedding should be placed in 

 pots of a suitable size, or they may be boxed up in leaf-soil or Jadoo fibre and be 

 grown on sturdily to the end of May, using very little artificial heat. Seedlings 

 should be forwarded for a time in a warm house. The potting off of bedding 

 pelargoniums should now be completed, and the plants kept rather warmer until 

 re-established. The propagation of irisines, coleus, alternantheras, Mesem- 

 bryanthum cordifolium variegatum, ageratums, and similar subjects, may be 

 carried on as fast as cuttings are obtainable ; but several of these mav be increased 

 very rapidly a little later where frames or hot-beds are available for dibbling in 

 the cuttings thickly, and where they strike in a few days and produce a further 

 supply of cuttings to be treated in a similar manner. 



The present and the next few weeks will be found a suitable time or the 

 spring planting of rhododendrons and other American plants. Too late planting 

 is not advisable, but with showery weather and an ample supply of water for 

 application to the roots if required, these subjects may be moved with safety as 

 lale as the middle of May. At the time of writing the weather remains dry and 

 cold, but this can scarcely last long, seeing the exceptionally dry winter and 

 spring up to the present experienced, and the chances are that the coming month 

 may be somewhat wet. Unless a heavy rainfall occur shortly, trees and shrubs gener- 

 ally must .suffer considerably should a dry summer follow, the water supply in many 

 districts being now extremely low. Where the natural soil consists of a heavy 

 clay or much chalk it is useless planting rhododendrons, and in this case made-up 

 beds or borders of a suitable compost becomes a necessity. This need noc neces- 

 sarily be of peat, as both rhododendrons and Ghent azaleas will grow and flower 

 Ireely in a compost of sandy loam and leaf-soil, and as these subjects are chiefly 

 surface rooting, a great depth of soil is not required. The plants should be 

 pressed firmly in the soil, and given one good watering if the weather remains 

 dry afterwards applying a good mulch of rotten leaves or other suitable material, 

 Kalmias, vacciniums, hollies, and other evergreen shrubs may also be safely 

 planted. The appearance throughout the summer of ivy on walls and fences is 

 much improved if all the old foliage be cut clean away at this season, a bright 

 Iresh growth soon taking the place of the old. This is easily done with hedge 

 shears or reaping hook, afterwards giving a brush over with a birch broom to 

 remove dirt and rubbish. Any necessary pruning of trees and shrubs should 

 be finished off forthwith. Laurel hedges require a considerable amount of cutting 

 to keep them in good form, and all small shoots are best cut with a knife or 

 m^i^&^i^L^J^ "ay be clipped with the hedge shears. 



March 



26 



grass 



J the 



'dens. 



HARDY FRUITS. 



there % "■IJSS ^5*^ iSii^y^^ ^ ~T £ W*"** ?*» " 

 as nr#»vir™,ci„ o 1 1 , . ,n °eea, the reverse, if the trees and scions were prepared 



^d^^L^" 6 ^ ° ,d ** s ' or those of any age, is so well Jnder- 

 sSet£?ifJ l^^SE? the F^edure here. I would, however, 



smaUer s he then 1 » ^ than i$ USUal are left ' 1 mean those of ■ 

 ^A^^^S^t ? e S ^es a fruiting condition 

 none are superior to whip gTaftiL antt g *" g ' < !£& Ti. 1 ^ ^ 

 proved method, but not appdcabie in a l. "f^ ther ,? 15 an , ln ?" 



large or old or for trees thli I V a , U cases ; u ,s advised when the stock s 



should bJi&ed wTth ^e aTft :^e: ded ^ ^ ^ 



possible, and make a complete InlS that * he ». to ? 35 near 'y as 



p«hc union. I prefer wax to clay for binding, as, if used 



n a warm state, it is superior in every way Crown r • — 

 the branches were previously shortened, the cut nort; ° g 1S differ ent, as thr 

 pieee removed to provide a new surface to work unori U0 ~, ma X now need'aiL, 

 sons freely on all branches able to support them as it " "° loss * pS 

 sooner. Many condemn grafting, and would £ all W dS " P the 

 but by judicious grafting, and careful selection of stocks w e ^ ^ ow ° £f 

 our best orchards and fruit gardens in the country. Pears Jftl buiS 

 before apples, as they are more forward, and thoueh sliaSi ^ taken 

 rosts, growth is more advanced than usual. Cherri^ ! L , eckei 



ti 



_ pears Km 



these trees ere this Plums are often buddeTin * Zmmer ^ ? ecessar y to' M 

 to adopt this plan with stone fruits, but if grafted there must h \ man >' 

 and apples may be done last, as these are the latest n ° 0n ger delay 



Now is the time to shorten back newly planted fruit trees and k ■ 

 season anyone may see what buds are likely to take the lead O y k prunin S at tit 



s from a good source where attention has been ?iv^n I ■> - other tan 



pruning 



with 

 the trees 



much may eventually be done by pinching the growths in 



a green state. 



uoc of 

 •hoots. 



Dei 



make a gross growth the first season owing to the check rauEJk 7 ' Trees doiK * 

 if cut now the back buds will soon break. With wall trees I zmV^' 

 necessary to use more judgment in the selection of leaders' if the tie ltma y be 

 large, but even then if necessary to cut harder back it will benefit thet * * 

 work is done now. For all newly planted fruit trees March and Anril lf 

 months, as, owing to the prevalence of east winds, the trees if *t J\ a*Z tlyil % 

 roots, suffer and the bark shrivels ; this should be prevented as far as n™ ^ J 

 will produce canker and decay It is, therefore, well at this date to ^lVl 

 mulch, and under walls it may be necessary even to ^ive moisture to DromnT 

 root action. Much may be done to assist the trees by gently dewing them 

 early in the day and again directly the sun has left the skies if the growth 

 backward and the bark inclined to shrivel. All staking of trees in the open should 

 be completed ; the ties must jwt be tight enough to cut the' bark, nor Weened! 

 allow the tree to work loose in the soil. We have just finished making \he bord« 



of wall trees neat for the season by giving a top dressing, it is well to keeping 

 that raised bordersin very light soils dry quickly, our fruit borders are slightly low 

 than the borders in front and so the moisture does not run away so quicks 

 Cherries and apricots suffer more from drought than apples and pears indeed 

 peaches and nectarines may be included when the fruits are swelling* freelv 

 Drought is frequently the cause of aphis attacking the trees so early in the season 

 No time should be lost in giving trees which last year were infested with mealy 

 bug a thorough cleansing, and this can be done now, before the leaves appear, to 

 better advantage. In the case of young trees I have found it well to paint the 

 wood with soluble petroleum.— G. Wythes, Syon Gardens. 



T 



Dar 



Daffod 



The daffodil figures much in English poetry. One likes Quarles's gay name ft 

 her, " the gilt-bowl daffodilly." She occurs exquisitely in Marvell, in one of the 

 most liquid and dewy-fresh poems of the language : — 



" I am the mower Damon, known 

 Through all the meadows I have mown. 

 On me the mcrn her dew distils 



Before her darling daffodils ; 



And if at noon my toil me heat 

 The sun himself licks off my sweat. 

 While going home the evening sweet 

 In cowslip-watet bathes my feet." 



Nor must Drayton be forgotten, and his delicious pastoral, in which Daffod! 

 is a maid— " in a frock of Lincoln green." But the poets are full of her. 



Her name is beauty itself. If you think on it the English names of flowers arc 

 as near like to flowers as possible in nearly every case. She is supposed to den 

 her name from asphodel, which the old writers often call affodyl. They wen 

 like the peasants of to-day in giving even slightly resembling flowers the sum 

 name. Gerard speaks of her as daffadowndilly, and Lyte dubs her "yelk* 

 crowbels." The supremely happy namers of flowers of long ago gave her 10 

 prettier title among many than Sweet Nancy. 



, and sap 

 mJes and 

 When the 



Lyte : 



houses in spring time, the plant hath many physical properties 

 root was mixed with honey and applied as a plaster, it cured aches, paini, aal 

 strains. When eaten or drunk (an infusion of it) it helped coughs and colics, i* 

 mixed with vinegar and nettle-seed it was used as a cosmetic, breaking away sptf 

 from the face." M 



An old poet talks of Narcissus being turned into " a withered daffodil," m 

 though narcissus and daffodil are sisters, the daffodil is not the beautiful yoo£ 

 but the Poet's Narcissus. Hear a Scotch poet of the sixteenth century, Alexander 



Scott, usher in Spring : 



" The cushet croods, the corbie cries, 

 The cuckoo couks, the prattling pies 



To^geck there they beginne ; 

 The jargon of the jingling jays, 

 The crocking craws and keckling kays, 

 They deav'd me with their dinne. 



Can on his May-cock call, 

 The turtle wails on withered trees, 



And Echo answers al. 

 Repeating, with greeting. 

 How faire Narcissus fell 

 By lyeing and spying w 

 His shadowe in a well. 



The painted pawn with Argus eyes 



It was the Poet's Narcissus that Proserpine let fall from Dis's wa^oo. 

 being the last she had gathered, it has been accounted by the supersw 

 flower of imminent death. 



I: 



— — w ■ ■ 



But the association of the narcissus with death comes not 



Rhodes naiBej l*J 



with dethe, should worthily be crowned with a dulling flower.' .^-^ 

 of the herbalists assure us that the scent of the narcissus causes a aro 



may be fatal. 



The Fates wore wreaths of narcissus about their heads 



Europa too, 



with to 



nymphs, plucked the narcissus : 



" That wench with these this wench with those 

 Trim flowers themselves did all delight. 



She with Narcissus good in scent 

 And she with the Hyacinth content 



know) 



mm 



m uevon, dirterent varieties of the single wmte uai^- — d TyCDt .ra** 

 minately as gooseflaps, grade and goosie daisies, Lent-pitcner, 

 and-a theft from the cowslip - tosty- toss. The double yellow * 0* 



are butter and eggs and curds and cream. The double white m ^ ^ 9 

 Lady's ruffles, a name shared with a double campanula, lne cup 

 thought to contain the vain tears Narcissus shed.— Fad J/a - w 



