228 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 6, 1888. 
held after a tiny tuber has been formed and the top has commenced to di e 
down. Late-raised seedlings which are not large enough to plant out 
will form small bulbs before the tops die down, and if these are kept in 
a cool house, pit, or dry shed they will be available for bedding out next 
season. On the whole Begonias have done well this season, and are far 
more effective than Zonal Pelargoniums. 
Verbenas .—A showery summer suits Verbenas much better than hot 
and dry weather, and plenty of clean healthy young cuttings are avail¬ 
able in most instances. The best for striking are the young flowerless 
shoots that spring from the centre of the plant, and these root readily 
in gentle heat. They should be made into short cuttings, at once, 
dibbled thinly in well drained 5-inch pots filled with light loamy soil 
faced with sand, and then placed in a frame set on a gentle hotbed. 
The soil ought not to be kept very dry at any time, either before or after 
the cuttings are rooted ; a little shade should be given in bright weather, 
and a small amount of air on the least signs of damping off. When 
well established the plants are best kept in cool frames, pits, or green¬ 
houses, where they will remain cleaner and healthier than if wintered 
among a variety of other plants in heated houses. They will stand a 
little frost better than much fire heat. 
Heliotropes .—These have done surprisingly well this season, and 
ought to become more popular than ever for bedding out purposes. If 
stock plants are needed it is advisable to make a number of young 
shoots into cuttings, and s'rike these much as advised in the case of 
Verbenas. They are not nearly so hardy as Verbenas, and can rarely be 
wintered in cold frames or pits, but can be kept on the shelf of a well 
heated greenhouse. The surest way of securing plenty of strong cut¬ 
tings in the spring is to grow a number of plants in 5-inch or 6-inch 
pots, these flowering in the autumn in a greenhouse, or nearly up to mid¬ 
winter in gentle heat. After being rested for a time they may be re¬ 
started in a forcing house, and will soon produce abundance of cuttings. 
Ageratums .—Much that has been advanced concerning the Helio¬ 
tropes also applies to Ageratums. The latter, however, do not produce 
cuttings so freely at any time, being much the most floriferous. Soft 
flowerless tops, if these can be procured, soon strike root in gentle 
heat, and the plants thus obtained should be potted off singly and 
kept steadily growing throughout the winter. A few old plants kept 
in pots sometimes do good service, and a few that are not so profusely 
flowered as the rest may be lifted from the ground later on. A 
stock of plants may be most easily raised from seed, but these are not 
of such good habit as those struck from cuttings. 
Lobelias .—Seedlings of these have done better than plants raised 
from cuttings or by dividing old plants, the latter being of the most 
dsnse habit, and therefore the first to damp off in very wet weather. 
Seedlings, though very much better as regards habit of growth and 
freedom of flowering than they used to be, do not equal struck plants 
of named varieties. The surest method of obtaining plenty of cuttings 
in the autumn is to put out a few plants each season in the kitchen 
garden, and these not being allowed to flower are certain to produce 
plenty of strong tops which strike readily in gentle heat. A considerable 
member of cuttings may also be obtained from the flowering plants this 
season, and these may be struck and treated in every respect similarly 
to Verbenas. Seedlings are more easily raised now than in the spring, 
when so many other matters require attention. Seed should be sown 
thinly on the surface of pans filled with fine sandy soil, this being 
moistened prior to sowing the seed. Set the pans in a cold frame, pit 
or handlights, cover closely with squares of glass, and shade from bright 
sunshine. The soil whenever at all dry should be carefully moistened, 
preferably by immersion in a tub of water, and the seedlings will 
require plenty of air to prevent their damping off. In this manner a 
capital lot of seedlings will be available for pricking out next spring, 
and which will require no heat to keep them growing strongly. 
Various. — Alyssum or Koniga maritima cuttings may be struck in 
gentle heat, and if need be Fuchsias, Iresines, Alternantheras,and Coleuses 
may also be struck now for stock purposes. Shrubby Calceolarias, Violas, 
and Gazanias need not be attended to till October, late-struck cuttings 
being the most easily wintered. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Lettuces and Endive for Winter. —Where salads are valued 
in winter Lettuces and Endive must always form an important part of 
them, and attention should be given to them before the season is too 
far advanced. Some varieties of Lettuces will grow a little throughout 
the winter, but so little that it would never do to trust to small plants 
coming on during that season, and they should be a good size before 
November. Indeed, we have had them almost full sized by that time, 
and kept them on all the winter. From the seed advised to be sown 
■seme time ago the plants will now be several inches high, and now is 
the time to take them in hand. Do not draw them all up from the seed 
bed, but merely thin them and allow a crop to remain. These will gain 
maturity before those that are transplanted, but the thinnings should 
all be planted elsewhere, and they should be planted m two or three 
places. If some of them are placed along the bottom of a wall or hedge 
where they qan have a little shelter they will do well. Plant others on 
•a sunny south border, some in open frames, or in positions where frames 
can be placed over them, as, let the weather be what it may, there will 
then always be a supply of Lettuces and Endive. Do not pamper them 
at first, as the more robustly they can be grown now and during the 
next two months the better will they be able to bear severe weather. 
Plant about one foot apart each way, and only in moderately rich soil, 
as sturdy growth is of more importance than having huge heads before 
the severe weather or short days set in. 
Planting Savoys. —It is now late to plant winter Greens, but 
Savoys of the Tom Thumb type may still be planted to be of service in 
winter. We have now some vacant quarters in the garden, and Savoys 
are being largely planted, as we do not approve of unoccupied ground in 
kitchen gardens at any time, and these Savoys will be valuable by 
Christmas and long after that time. 
Leeks for Spring. —Very often Leeks lor spring are. planted too 
early. When half or nearly full grown now they will have lost much 
of their value by March, and it is generally at that time that they are 
in demand. After a severe winter they are most welcome in the months 
of March and April, and we advise all, especially small garden owners, 
to plant extensively now for the demands at that season. Open drills 
about 4 inches deep and 15 inches apart, and plant in these at a distance 
of 10 inches. Throughout the winter the soil on the sides of the drills 
will fall back, and this will blanch the stems sufficiently to make them 
acceptable. 
Tomatoes in the Open Air. —We have frequently advocated the 
cultivation of Tomatoes in the open air, and those who have followed 
our advice for the first time this year may feel disappointed, as this is 
without exception the worst season for open-air Tomatoes we ever knew. 
It is an exception, not the rule. The plants have refused to grow as 
they ought, and as for the fruit it is scarce, poor, and almost a 
failure. The only ripe fruit we have had in the open air during August 
was from plants plunged in pots and trained up a south wall. What 
September may do for others we cannot tell, but we have ceased to 
depend on the weather this season, and surplus lights from the frames 
are now being placed over the plants growing against the walls. These 
will draw the heat, keep the rain from them, and place them so much 
on the same footing as the plants under glass that we hope ripe fruits 
may be secured by .October. Some such assistance as this is the only 
way of securing open-air Tomatoes this season, and no time should be 
lost in affording them protection. Do not stimulate them to make 
superfluous growth ; be satisfied with small fruits, and keep them quite 
clear of the shade of the leaves. Of late we have been gathering many 
fine Tomatoes from plants under glass that have not been allowed to 
carry half so much foliage as is generally seen on Tomatoes. Shade 
does not agree with them in any position. 
Late Peas. —Like many others our late Peas always suffer from 
the depredations of birds, particularly sparrows. They destroy the pods 
almost as fast as they fill. There is no use in trying to frighten the 
birds, but if the crops can be netted they will be safe. Indeed, this 
is the only mode of preserving them, and we advise all late Peas to be 
netted as soon as possible. If the nets can be placed on when the 
plants are in flower so much the better, as we have known the pods to 
be injured before there was any Peas in them, and very late Peas are 
so valuable that all attention possible should be given them. 
Autumn Weeds. —Many things have failed to come to the highest 
maturity this season, but weeds are not amongst these, as they have 
grown enormously and in multitudes. In fact it is a “ weedy year,” and 
as “• one year's seed ” undoubtedly produces “ nine years’ weed,” efforts 
should be made during September to root them up and clear them away. 
If the weather is dry this may be done by hoeing and raking ; if wet, 
hand-weeding must be resorted to. Some may think so long as they can 
see the crops fairly above the weeds that no harm is being done, but 
this is a mistake, and a weedy garden, in winter especially, is no credit 
to its owner. 
Material for Mushroom Beds.— Collect all the horse droppings 
that can be procured and spread them under Cover to dry previous to 
making up the Mushroom beds. Only the longest straw should be shaken 
out, and the heap may be turned over every other day to allow the 
superfluous moisture to escape. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Abntilons .—Strong cuttings of soft wood may now be inserted singly 
in small pots ; these will root quickly in the propagating frame if kept 
close and shaded from the sun. As soon as they are rooted expose 
them gradually to full sunshine, and grow them in an intermediate 
temperature. When the small pots are full of roots place them into 
4 and 5-inch. The compost, consisting of loam, sand, and one-seventh of 
decayed manure, should be pressed firmly into the pots to prevent the 
plants making a soft rapid growth, and if propei ly treated should not 
be above 9 inches or 1 foot high by the time they commence flowering, 
and are ready for the stove or any other moderately warm structure in 
whidi they may be required. When once good plants are produced 
they must have sufficient warmth to keep them growing slowly or they 
quickly cease flowering. 
Bouvardias .—Where these have been planted outside and are 
intended for pots, lifting and repotting now need attention. Lift the 
plants with good balls of roots, and all the loose soil carefully worked 
from amongst them, so that they may be placed into pots of a convenient 
size. When grown on this principle it is often necessary to use larger 
pots than when they are confined to pots the whole season. After pot¬ 
ting place the plants in a shady position, water liberally, and syringe 
freely until they become established. The past season has been of the 
worst possible description to ripen the wood, which is important if they 
are to flow r er freely. When the wood is only half-ripened trusses are 
frequently only produced at the ends of the shoots, and even then they 
are small. When well ripened they break freely after the removal of 
the terminal truss and flower on short growths from every joint. When 
