JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
456 
Melons .—Fruit now ripening will require great care in watering 
to prevent the fruit cracking, and atmospheric moisture must be 
reduced, but not discontinued, as the plants often go off quickly 
after a sudden check of this sort, especially when they are 
heavily laden ; and fruit which ripens after the foliage is gone or 
even damaged is invariably deficient in flavour. To lessen the 
necessity for water after the fruit gives indications of ripening, 
water moderately when those are apparent, and mulch with 3 or 
4 inches of short Mushroom-bed manure. Have a good stock of 
plants ready in pots to place out when the crops are removed, 
not cramping them in small pots, but shifting on, as by having 
strong plants 18 inches high or so three or more crops on different 
plants may be had from one house in a season. The cold weather 
has not been favourable to plants in frames, but where attention 
has been paid to linings and covering at nights the fruit will now 
be making rapid progress. Attend to stopping and thinning the 
growth before the foliage becomes crowded, employing quicklime 
upon the first appearance of canker. Raise the fruit on inverted 
flower pots, and mulch the beds after the final earthing to prevent 
rapid evaporation. Close early, and damp the foliage at the 
same time, the plants swelling their fruits. If the sun be powerful 
when the fruit is ripening a slight shade, as that of tissue paper 
over the fruit, will be beneficial when it commences changing 
colour. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Petunias are useful plants for decoration during the summer, 
especially dwarf-growing double forms. Those rooted in autumn 
■j and grown similarly to Fancy Pelargoniums are now showing 
flower. Others rooted some time ago should be potted as they 
require it, and. another batch of cuttings rooted at once. The 
secret of growing these plants well is to never allow them to 
suffer by the want of water or root room until they are in their 
flowering pots, and then feed them liberally. Pots 5 inches in 
diameter is a good size to grow these plants in for purposes of 
decoration. 
Fuchsias are now growing freely, and if wanted allow the 
earliest to come into flower; if not they can be pinched again, but 
this will scarcely be necessary if the plants were well furnished to 
start with. .Pot the young stock to flower in 5 and G-inch pots 
as they require it, and strike more cuttings to suceeed those pre¬ 
viously rooted and in various stages of development. 
Chrysanthemums should by this time be in cold frames, and if 
not placed in 6-inch pots no time should be lost. Those rooted 
first will be well established in this size, and will be growing 
rapidly. Ventilate freely during the day, and when mild at night 
also. Do not stop those intended to produce good blooms, but 
allow them to grow in an upright position. Pinch the Pompon 
varieties and those to be grown as bushes from time to time as 
they require it. Some care must be taken to have these plants 
thoroughly hardy before their 6-inch pots are full of roots, as 
from this size they should be placed in their flowering pots, and 
must be sufficiently hardy to stand outside in some sheltered 
position. This is one of the advantages of late propagation ; if 
rooted early the plants must either be checked by becoming root- 
bound or abundance of pit room is required to protect them before 
they can be placed outside. Cuttings of any kinds may still be 
rooted, and stopped once or twice afterwards or grown on with¬ 
out. It is a good plan to stop all large-flowering kinds once and 
allow them to produce three shoots, which will carry three good 
blooms if the crown bud is selected, or nine fair-sized blooms if 
the terminal shoots are allowed to form. 
Sow seed of Miles’ Hybrid Spiral Mignonette in 3-inch pots to 
be grown for the winter. A little more seed of Cineraria and 
Begonia semperflorens grandiflora may also be sown at the pre¬ 
sent time. 
out, but in this and other cases it sometimes happens that “ the 
more haste the less speed.” For instance, where some of the 
stock of bedding plants are crowded thickly in boxes, pans, or 
pots, and which it will be impossible to transplant with a good 
ball of earth, these may well be potted singly or in pairs in small 
pots. If these are stood in close frames or pits and shaded for a 
few days they will soon become well established, and will be in a 
better condition to withstand bright sunshine. Asters, Zinnias, 
Stocks, Eschscholtzias, and Helichrysums transplant badly in hot 
weather, and where grown thickly in seed beds, boxes, or pans 
well repay a little extra trouble in potting off. Care, however, 
must be taken not to keep them too long in pots, or they will 
be injured thereby. These—Marigolds, Everlasting Flowers and 
Grasses, Phlox Drummondii, Dianthuses, Tropseolums, Poppies, 
Godetias, and others—pricked out or thinly sown, ought now to 
be finally planted, selecting if possible dull showery days for the 
work. Till they are well established it will be advisable to lightly 
shade from bright sunshine, branches of trees being available for 
this purpose, and slugs should be kept closely trapped. All these 
are best adapted for mixed borders. 
Where the flower beds which are usually filled with the summer 
bedding plants above enumerated are cut out of turf, the latter 
should be mown and the edges cut prior to the trampling con¬ 
sequent upon planting. It is a common practice, in villa gardens 
especially, to have raised beds, or with centres only very high, 
the edges being low. This is quite a mistake, as unless thickly 
planted the beds have a poor appearance, and, besides, the 
occupants do not thrive in hot weather. These high centres 
should be levelled down to the edges, the whole being then 
slightly above the grass. By planting according to the respective 
heights of the plants, we then have slightly rounded and certainly 
more effective displays. The surface of the beds to a depth of 
6 inches should be broken up finely, and if dry and hard a 
watering overnight will greatly facilitate planting. The lines or 
circles ought to be very true, and this is best secured by marking 
the ground prior to planting. For this purpose we principally 
use large wooden compasses in two sizes, and which can easily 
be adjusted, one point of these being kept travelling along the 
edges of the beds, the other marking the proposed lines. This 
plan is quicker and more true than the common method of 
marking with the back of a rake. It is advisable to commence 
planting from the edges, or in the case of central groups from 
the outside lines or circles, and gradually fill in. By disposing 
the plants flatly or in a sloping direction, more especially the 
Pelargoniums and Verbenas, they may be easily pegged down 
and arranged so as to cover the beds evenly. The balls, where 
much root-bound, are best slightly loosened, and all alike should 
be in a moist state when planted, and when the ground is very 
dry should be watered in. Branches of trees may be employed 
for shading during the hottest part of the day, and during cold 
nights they would also prove of service in preventing the loss of 
beat by radiation. 
It would be difficult to suggest arrangements to suit many 
readers, as so much depends upon the variety and quantity of 
plants and the shape and position of the beds in every instance. 
Very glaring contrasts should be avoided ; at the same time if the 
surroundings are heavy the beds cannot well be made too bright. 
To produce a good effect not many kinds or varieties should be 
employed in one bed. A dwarf brightly coloured edging may be 
formed with either Lobelias, Pyrethrum, Mesembryanthemum, 
Alternantheras, Stellaria, Sedums, Dactylis variegata, Festuca 
glauca, Cerastiums, Gazanias, Violas, Ivyleaf Pelargoniums, Robert 
Fish Pelargoniums, Koniga, Stachys lanata, and Cineraria 
maritima, the six first named being best adapted for edging where 
the margins of the bed are faced with Echeveria secunda. The 
next line or circle may consist either of the more dwarf kinds of 
Pelargoniums (variegated or otherwise), Iresines kept stopped or 
pegged down, Verbenas, Calceolarias, Centaureas, Begonia 
Weltoniensis, Tuberous-rooted Begonias, Polemomum cseruleum 
variegatum, and Ageratum ; while Fuchsias, Calceolarias, tall- 
growing Pelargoniums, Iresines, Perilla, Verbena venosa, Helio¬ 
tropes, and Salvia patens are suitable for massing in the centres. 
In the centre circular beds a good-sized erect-growing specimen 
of Centaureas, Dracaena terminalis, D. Draco, D. australis, Yucca 
recurva pendula, Yucca aloifolia, Agave americana variegata, 
Palms in variety, Aralias, Cannas, Ricinus Gibsoni, Zea japonica, 
Solanums, Ficus elastica, or other fine-foliaged plants will greatly 
improve the appearance of the beds where flatness may be 
objected to. All the latter are available for grouping or dotting 
among dwarfer-growing bedding plants. The eight first men¬ 
tioned would in most cases be best plunged in pots, care being 
taken to keep them supplied with moisture. 
FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUNDS. 
Hints upon Planting .—It is altogether unsafe to predict, so 
very changeable and uncertain is our climate. Early in the 
month we ventured to assert that bedding-out would be late this 
season ; but the sudden transition from cold to heat has altered 
the whole state of affairs, and bedding-out, in early localities 
especially, is being rapidly proceeded with. The ground has been 
warmed considerably, and the sooner the plants are placed out 
the better. This applies to Pelargoniums, Calceolarias,’ Verbenas, 
Petunias, Centaureas, Polemonium, Koniga variegata, Golden 
Pyrethrum, Lobelias, Gazanias, Violas, and Dahlias. Iresines, 
Alternantheras, Amaranthuses, Coleus, Mesembryanthemums, 
Perilla, Castor Oil Plants, Solanums, Wigandias, and other tender 
plants will in most localities be best planted rather later, say 
during the second week in June. None should be planted in 
very poor soil. We are apt to be anxious to complete bedding- 
