298 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 17,1884. 
in this stage, do well outside in a sheltered position. They 
might be plunged, but very careful attention is needed in 
watering. Where the rainfall is heavy it is not advisable to 
stand the plants outside, but the lights should be in readiness 
to place over them. This is of the greatest importance in 
autumn when their flower buds are formed, for if they become 
saturated they will often turn yellow instead of coming 
forward. It must be understood that E. gracilis must not be 
kept close for too long after potting. 
When E. hyemalis and E. Wilmoreana are growing freely, 
and it can be seen which shoots are taking the lead, a system 
of thinning out the shoots may with advantage be practised. 
Plants that have been cut back two or three times are apt to 
make a large number of small growths, but if some of these 
are removed those left will be much stronger and finer, for it 
is wiser to have a few well-bloomed shoots than a greater 
number of smaller ones. It will be seen in autumn whether 
these Heaths are going to flower well or not, and if any 
plants have not been sufficiently ripened they should be cut 
back without further delay, and when housed should have the 
same treatment as those that have been stopped for growing 
into large plants. In winter they require a light airy 
position in the greenhouse. They must be carefully watered, 
and although they like abundance of air cold draughts should 
be avoided. 
These plants require light shade from the direct rays of 
the sun for a time after potting and during the early part of 
the season. Whatever material is used for this purpose it 
must not exclude light, and should only be applied when 
very bright. Overshading is a great evil; the plants draw 
up weakly and will not flower satisfactorily—in fact, more 
Heaths are ruined through oversliading than would be the 
case if none was employed. The plan is to select for them 
a position during the early part of the season where the 
sun will not strike with all its force upon them, and then 
shading material will not be needed. In such a position, 
when the lights can be drawn off the sun will not injure the 
plants, but the pots must be protected from its rays. When 
a number of plants are standing together it is generally the 
outer rows that suffer. 
The secret of growing Ericas is in a judicious use of the 
water-pot, for if they are badly and carelessly watered, it does 
not matter how good the other treatment may be, success will 
not follow. More Heaths are killed through becoming dry 
than from overwatering. The general opinion is that they 
•should not be watered before they are dry. That is a great 
mistake, for they ought never be in that condition. If they 
suffer from an insufficient supply of water their silk-like roots 
are at once destroyed and the foliage turns yellow, death 
eventually ensuing. When watered they should have suffi¬ 
cient to soak the whole soil thoroughly. If one application 
will not do this they must have two or three, as the case may 
be. They should then be allowed to stand until they require 
it again. Hut all the moisture must not be evaporated from 
the soil before water is applied; it should, when water is 
required, contain sufficient to keep the roots from suffering. 
It is difficult to explain minutely when water is needed, for this 
■can only be gained by attention, observation, and experience. 
Heaths may be encouraged by liquid manure when their 
pots are full of roots, but I am no advocate for supplying 
’them through the spout of the water-pot. The only artificial 
manure I have tried for these plants is Standen’s, and it is 
~wery suitable. The smallest quantity only should be 
sprinkled upon the surface. Three or four applications 
during the season will be ample. Plants potted in the spring 
will not need it more than once. 
Mildew is the greatest enemy these plants have to contend 
against. It is easily destroyed by dusting the affected parts 
with flowers of sulphur. In applying it dew the plants with 
the syringe, and the dry sulphur will adhere to the foliage, 
or it may be mixed in water and the plants syringed with it. 
When applied be careful that the sulphur does not fall upon 
the soil and be washed down when watering the plants. The 
same care must be exercised when washing it off the plants 
after the mildew has been destroyed.— ¥m. Bardney. 
MOWING. 
The mowing machine is once again brought into action. On 
cold clay soils lawns that have been pretty well cut in the autumn 
do not make much progress before April, but in warmer soils it has 
scarcely ceased growing all this wonderfully mild winter,, and is 
now becoming untidy. If it is too long for the machine it is .much 
better to mow first with the scythe than to strain a machine in the 
endeavour to make it do work it was never intended to do. After 
the grass has been mown with the scythe and swept up it should be 
well rolled, and a few days afterwards the machine should be run 
over it in the usual way. If mowing with the scythe.is not necessary 
let the lawns be w r ell rolled a day or two before placing the machine 
upon them, and see that they are quite clear of stones, especially 
near walks where loose gravel is in use, as it is liable, to. be lifted 
with the foot or kicked on to the edges, and is very injurious to the 
machine. 
It is a great mistake (one that is very frequently made), to set the 
machine to cut very close. The beauty of a lawn consists not so 
much in its shortness as in the evenness of the sward. When cut 
very closely it is much more liable to be burned in dry hot weather, 
there being nothing to protect the roots from the sun. The setting 
and keeping in working order is a matter that needs some little care, 
and as far as possible one man should always see to it. 'I he first 
point is to adjust the knives to the sole-plate, so that it just touches, 
but they must not press against each other, or the mowing will be 
harder work, and there will be more wear on the machine than there 
need be. To regulate the height of the front rollers turn the machine 
on its side, place a straight-edge across the drum and front rollers, 
and measure the distance from the straight-edge to the sole-plate. 
The latter should stand about half an inch above the straight-edge. 
When the machine has front rollers it may be a little less, and when 
castors are substituted it may be a little more, as. in wet weather 
the weight of the collecting-box makes the latter sink into the turf 
more than continuous rollers would do. Once or twice during the 
season the cylinder se.t screws will want turning a little closer,.being 
careful to adjust both sides exactly alike. Other points in the 
management of a machine are to see that it is well oiled, and that the 
oil and grass are wiped off before it is put away after use. 
It is not my intention to enlarge on the merits of the various 
machines, all of which, according to the various makers’ ideas, are 
the best extant. There are not many gardeners who can boast of 
having had experience of all the machines in the market, and it is 
therefore the more difficult to decide which is the best. It is not so 
much a question as to which will give the greatest satisfaction, when 
fresh from the maker as it is a matter of which will be found in the 
best condition at the end of three or four years. My opinion, is that 
most if not all the machines now made are well suited to their work, 
and really more depends on the manner in which they are worked 
and kept in proper order than there is in selecting this or that 
maker in preference to others. Green’s may be mentioned as a 
thoroughly tested type of our English lawn mowers, both as to their 
work and their durability. I have had experience. of. Green’s for 
many years, and for an open level lawn I think it is excellent ; 
but when mowing close up to overhanging edges of flower beds, or 
shrubberies, or on sloping banks it is not so suitable as some of those 
light handy machines of which the “Archimedean” was the fore¬ 
runner. There is now a variety of these to choose from, all with 
their gearing neatly enclosed, preventing any chance of their getting 
entangled in any overhanging object, and they are equally adapted 
for working on sloping ground. ' . 
Large versus small machines is a question that has been previously 
discussed. Where there is a great extent of lawns comparatively 
open and but few trees and shrubs of course a horse or pony machine 
is preferable, if for no other reason than that it places the real hard 
labour on the shoulders of the horse instead of the man ; but where 
lawns are crowded with specimen trees and shrubs it is very much 
better to have two or three small hand machines instead ; and I also 
think that machines of 12 or 14 inches width are preferable to those 
of a larger size. Suppose, for instance, that a man and a lad work 
a 22 or 24-inch machine, and other two are working a 14-inch and 
a 12-inch, there is a gain in the space covered. Generally.speaking 
I think it will be admitted by practical men that 20 inches is enough 
for a man and a lad to mow and collect the grass, while they will, 
with a light machine each, mow and collect 26 inches with little more 
exertion. _ _ . . 
Another debatable question in connection with mowing is the 
collecting or non-collecting of the grass. Some have a great ob¬ 
jection to leaving the grass on the lawn, and no doubt it is objection¬ 
able when the grass is allowed to grow too rank before mowing. 
