1876. ] 
GAEDEN WOEK FOE APEIL. 
85 
severing tlie leaves; even holly and yew hedges are not exceptions to this rule. 
On the whole, the French secateur is the best instrument to use for such work, 
and a man will go over a large surface in a day, but when there is a large extent 
to do, all hands should be put on, and the prunings and litter burnt out of sight 
as quickly as possible. Gravel walks should be attended to, and the verges of 
these and macadamised roads edged, and otherwise rendered sightly, smooth, 
and neat. Loosening the surface of the soil in beds and borders filled with spring 
flowers, and raking, and otherwise making everything trim and neat by edging the 
turf or trimming box-edging, will be work requiring attention on dry, suitable 
days. Mignonette and any other annual of a permanent useful nature, should 
be sown in the open bed or in boxes, and planted out when ready. Old 
plants of Fuchsias might be planted out before they make any growth into 
their summer quarters ; these and mignonette go admirably together. 
Conservatory: Camellias will now be going out of flower, and they should 
get any pruning done to them that may be required. These and all the Citrus 
family should get a pruning every year, to keep them in a reasonable shape, or 
in other words, they should be guided by judicious pruning into a self-supporting 
state, with perhaps only the aid of a central stake. Young lanky plants should 
be well cut back in order to induce a bushy well-formed habit. They should be 
well watered, and syringed overhead occasionally, and sponged to free them from 
insects and dirt previous to making growth. Cactuses^ especially the large- 
flowering kinds, should be potted, or where convenient, planted out in suitable 
positions, if light enough, on walls or pillars. Very few flowers equal the Cereus 
speciosissinius in brilliancy of colour; a compost of loam and river-sand in 
equal proportions suits them. The old Cantua dependens is well worth planting 
out, for it flowers very poorly in a pot. Hovea Celsi also is a grand plant in a 
planted-out state, and when it has good root-hold it will make growths 2 ft. or 3 ft. 
long in a season. Now is a good moment to plant out any of the Sikkim Rhodo¬ 
dendrons,^ in well-prepared beds of soil, in which a good deal of sand is mixed. I 
have such a great faith in river-sand, that I use it very liberally in almost all 
composts, and even in this case, these Ehododendfons thrive well in loam and 
sand in equal parts, in a planted-out state or in pots. In planting out such flbrous- 
rooted plants, great care should be exercised in making the soil very firm around 
the balls, treading or ramming it in, and making it as hard as the ball; and from 
this one may reasonably infer that the soil must be in as dry a condition as possi¬ 
ble. A basin must be left around the stem of each, large enough to contain a 
gallon of water, and in this way the ball is kept moister than the surrounding soil, 
which is the most important point to keep in view after planting—never to allow the 
ball to get dry. Keep the atmosphere genial and warm during the day, allowing 
the sun-heat to raise it as much as possible. With a high day temperature, fire- 
heat may be dispensed with, or nearly so, at night. 
Greenhouses: Lily of the Valley out of flower should be put in a cold frame, 
and the leaves cared for, the pots being plunged out-of-doors in coal-ashes when 
the weather is warm enough. If two years in the same pot, they can be divided and 
potted previous to plunging; and the same may be said of Spircea or Astilhe 
japonica. Some growers plant these things out, but I And the repotting, and 
plunging, and manure-watering process the best of all. The main thing is to 
be careful of the leaves after removing them from the houses, not pushing them 
out of the way of pit or frame protection at the expense of bedding-plants. Roses,, 
both in pots and planted out, will now be gay with flowers. Give these liberal 
waterings, and avoid cold in any way, as this is a sure source of mildew. Where 
Tea Roses are wanted in quantity, they are best planted out. Richardia cethiopica 
