144 
OPERATIONS FOR JULW 
and more abundantly, by merely nipping off the earlier blossoms as their beauty becomes defaced. 
Among numbers of greenhouse shrubs, which flower from month to month, and in which the 
opening blossoms are increased in size when the dead and the dying are abstracted, we may 
instance the Pimelea decussata, which almost doubles the magnitude of its heads with this 
attention. We need not say more ; a short trial will best convince of the extent of its influence. 
An improvement may be effected in the flowering of China Roses, by continually cutting back 
those shoots which have done flowering : a more regular and plentiful succession will be thus 
maintained. The length of shoot left must be regulated by the season : during the present 
month they may be cut low, as the most vigorous-flowering shoots will always be obtained from 
near the base ; but in after months they must be more sparingly pruned, because the growths 
produced from the buds higher on the former shoot, will sooner reach a flowering state than 
those which issue from the vicinity of its base. 
Whatever spring-flowering bulbs yet remain in any of the flower-beds, may, for the most part, 
be removed safely in the course of the present month. If the ground is to be planted, and any 
are not sufficiently ripened, they may be taken with what soil will adhere to them, to the 
reserve garden. Others must be stored up till the period for re-planting. Bulbs in pots that 
have finished blooming, should be placed by themselves to ripen ; where they will be kept dry, 
and fully exposed to the sun. The tubers of Tropoeolums which are sufficiently matured, may be 
taken out of the pots and packed in bags of sand till they begin to sprout again. It is a good 
plan before repotting, to lay them in boxes of dry sand in a warm place, till the shoots have grown 
two or three inches in length. 
Greenhouse plants in pots, such as Pelargoniums that have done flowering, should be cut 
down, the balls of earth reduced, the roots dressed, and then replaced with fresh soil in smaller 
pots, and committed to a frame to renew their growth. Cuttings may be prepared from the parts 
cut away, and encouraged to grow, so that they may make strong plants before winter. 
Roses may be increased during the present month both by budding and layering. Layers 
formed at this season root more readily than those done in spring. This is the proper time also 
for layering Carnations, &c , and putting in pipings of pinks. An extensive stock of Pansies of 
the commoner kinds should be raised this month to fill the flower-beds in spring. 
Greenhouse plants set out in the open air in pots, should be as much as possible secured from 
strong winds, and carefully supplied with water if the weather prove dry. A copious syringing 
overhead will be beneficial in the evening of sunny days, and will help to keep the foliage clear 
of dust, and free from the inroads of insects. 
It will be quite necessary to have the greenhouse shaded for at least four or five hours in the 
after part of clear days. The material employed for this purpose should be thin and light, merely 
sufficient to mellow the sunlight. Shade will be required the greater part of the day in the 
orchidaceous house ; but here, also, it would be advisable to adopt some lighter substance than 
what we generally find in use. The advantages of span-roofed houses with regard to shading, 
are very perspicuous ; one side only requiring to be shaded in the morning and the other in the 
afternoon. 
As the new shoots and pseudo-bulbs of most orchidaceous plants will now be far advanced in 
growth, and about the maximum of their vigour, they will require a larger supply of humidity in 
the atmosphere and at the roots, than at any other season of the year. Nevertheless, here, as 
well as in all other plant structures, syringing the plants, and damping the floors, must be partly 
regulated by the external weather. 
Pits and frames will be very useful now for bringing forward a supply of soft-wooded, quick- 
growing plants to maintain a good show of flowers in the greenhouse. For this purpose Balsams 
and other tender annuals should not be despised for their commonness. 
Where there is an Arboretum, this, and the following months of summer, are the best for 
examining the correctness of the names attached to the plants. As loose tallies are apt to get 
misplaced through the inadvertency of workmen, it is advisable, in private collections, to have 
also others stamped with numbers fastened to the trees and shrubs, with reference to a catalogue, 
to avoid confusion. 
Erratum.— At p. 109, second line from the bottom, instead of " Gardening for Ladies" read 
" Ladies* Country Companion" 
