120 
OPERATIONS FOR JUNE. 
sparingly at two or three different times, so that it may soak into the ground thoroughly before 
any more is administered. 
If, from a want of time, or through fear of frost, any half-hardy plants are not yet trans- 
planted, they should be put out immediately, choosing the cloudiest or most showery weather for 
the purpose. The same sort of weather should also be selected for planting out the thinnings of 
the March and April-sown annuals, and likewise the tender annuals that have been raised in a 
hotbed. So common and so easily raised are Balsams, Schizanthus, &c., that a portion of those 
prepared for the greenhouse may be turned out into the flower-garden, where they will produce a 
beautiful effect. 
In thinning annuals that have been sown in the borders, care should be taken to do it early, so 
that the young plants do not get so crowded as to injure alike those which remain and such as are 
to be transplanted. The superfluous plants should also be taken up carefully, that neither their 
roots nor the roots of such as are left may be damaged. It is better always to leave the 
healthiest plants, and to thin them, at first, to about half the extent they will ultimately need ; 
that is, if six or eight plants are finally to flower in the spot, twelve or sixteen should be left 
in the first thinning. As it is more than probable that the wet weather will bring out an 
abundance of snails and slugs, a few of the outer leaves of the cabbage or lettuce should be 
strewed round each plot of annuals, and examined every morning, to remove and destroy those 
which attach themselves to their under surface. They may be renewed occasionally, as they 
wither or are eaten. This is the best way of catching such vermin, and should be pursued like- 
wise with the tender plants that have been brought from frames, particularly those which are 
at all succulent, as Dahlias, &c. 
Where annuals are required to decorate the greenhouse, the balconies, or rooms of the dwelling- 
house, the sides of flights of steps, the orangery, &c., during summer, a few of the best of those 
which are taken out in thinning the patches in the borders should be potted, and kept in the open 
air or in a frame. This will save the trouble of raising them in frames. 
As soon as any plants are transferred to the open beds or borders, they should at once be 
prepared for occupying their destined position. If they are to trail over the ground, let them be 
pegged down, and encouraged to do so. And if they are to grow erectly, let them be immediately 
staked and supported. No Dahlia should have more than one strong shoot ; and as this grows up, 
it should continually be kept fastened to its stake, that high winds may not break it, nor a long 
tendency to a wrong position cause it, when properly fastened, to have an unnatural appearance. 
As the stems of Dahlias and some other plants swell considerably during their advancement, they 
must be tied loosely at first, and often examined afterwards to see that the bands do not cut them. 
From the wetness of the season, it is most likely that Verbenas and all allied plants will grow 
rapidly and vigorously ; so that it will be necessary to keep the extremities of their shoots con- 
tinually pinched off, in order to keep down their luxuriance, and to make them branch and flower 
more profusely. By continuing to remove the early flowers for a time, the number, fineness, and 
durability of the later ones will be greatly augmented. 
In the management of house plants this month, there should be some alteration from that 
recommended in our last calendar. The sashes will now have to be opened more liberally, as 
well to lower the temperature, as to give the young wood the benefit of a good current of air- 
The frames and pits lately filled with half-hardy plants now being vacant, a quantity of the best 
dwarf greenhouse species should be transferred to them, where they can have any peculiar 
attention that may be needful ; and their rem.oval will give the rest m.ore space to stand in, so 
that they will receive an ample supply of air and light. Any tribe, such as Pelargoniums, that 
is yet in flower, should be shaded, to prolong their blooming season ; and Heaths should likewise 
be shaded at this time, wiietlier blooming or otherwise. Where a show-house for blooming 
specimens is kept, this ought always to have a thin canvass shading ; for the flowers will thus 
last much longer, and the house will be far more comfortable to enter. 
All plants in pots will require a great deal of water at this time ; and those of luxuriant habits 
should be watered with diluted liquid-manure. Hydrangeas that are blooming, Coxcombs, 
Balsams, Gloxinias, &c., are of this class. Syringing should be almost daily practised in the 
Orchidaceous-house, the stove, and the greenhouse ; and climbers, in any of these places, should 
be duly trained and kept in order. Propagation may still be carried on. 
