.115 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, May 26,1857. 
deep that is better than digging it. The reasons for the 
difference are as plain as they are simple. The average 
time from the sprouting of, the seeds in the spring till 
the plants are in bloom is just seven weeks, and at the 
end of the seven weeks is the most oppressive period for 
plants in the whole season ; therefore, unless the roots 
can penetrate rapidly into a rich, stimulating pasture, the 
flowers will not hold on long enough to make it worth 
while growing them ; and those annuals which are sown 
in August have from six to seven months between the 
sprouting and the flowering seasons, and cold is not 
nearly so bad for them as extra heat. Having very 
scant pasture for the roots, they grow slowly, which is the 
reason why they stand the frost better than more succu¬ 
lent plants,which spring up on deep-wrought soil; and 
it is the same reason why self-sown seeds in the shrub¬ 
bery are more sure to be depended on than those sown 
carefully in the kitchen garden, which brings us round 
to the long row of Eschscholtzia which was too much 
for our border last year, and which row received a very 
different treatment this spring. Eighteen inches from 
the side of the walk have been left undug for it the whole 
way, and half an inch of fresh soil from the digging of 
the inner part of the border was scattered over the 
space. The seeds of the Eschscholtzia came up through 
this as thickly as they always do, and being a perennial, 
but thus treated as an autumn-sown annual, its fibreless, 
fleshy roots cannot reach deep enough to escape the 
heat and drought of summer, and that will make it 
less free in growth and more flowery. There is not a 
flower in the garden which is more misused than the 
Eschscholtzia, and certainly none is more easy to 
manage. It is allowed to rise from self-sown seed till it 
is a weed as it were, and any plant is a weed out of its 
proper place. But there are three ways by which it looks 
better than any other way—as a long row by the side of 
a walk or carriage-drive, as an edging to a large bed, and 
as a rock plant. For the row and edging sow early in 
April, and do not stir the ground more than three or 
four inches deep for it unless you want it to spread 
wide ; pick off the seed-pods as fast as they come, and 
you will have bloom to the middle or end of September. 
Plant the roots of old Eschscholtzias high up on a rock 
or rock work, and they will last for years, and rival the 
Stonecrop. D. Beaton. 
WINDOW GARDENING FOR SUMMER. 
Having dwelt so much on the minutiae of management 
for spring, and these being applicable also to summer— 
which I shall suppose to extend from the middle of May to 
the middle or end of August—I shall merely mention some 
things necessary to be attended to, preferring to give a short 
outline of the various plants mentioned in a division by 
themselves. 
1. Watering will now be required more frequently as the 
sun gains power, but the frequency and quantity must ever 
be proportioned to the wants of the plant. After June, or 
even the last fortnight in May, it will seldom be necessary 
to have water any warmer than what standing in the sun 
will make it. Syringings and sprinklings overhead on a 
warm evening will keep the plants healthy and clean. 
2. Ventilation may now be given with more freedom. 
After June the plants will enjoy fresh air all night. Cal¬ 
ceolarias and Cinerarias will be benefited not only by plenty 
of fresh air, but by being kept cool, by standing on damp 
moss, and a little shaken on the surface of the pot. 
3. By the end of May many plants established in their 
pots will thrive better outside the window than inside, such 
as Pelargoniums—scarlet, florist, and fancy—Calceolarias, 
Fuchsias, &c., either standing in their pots-and saucers, or, 
much better, placed in boxes and vases. 
4. This turning out of the inmates of the window after 
they have been gradually inured to full sunshine and air 
will not only keep the plants healthy and free from insects, 
but it will give you the inside of your window as a space in 
which to prick off and pot off some of the things I mentioned 
as desirable to be sown and propagated by cuttings in spring, 
such as dwarf Lobelias for the inside and outside in the 
one case, and Balsams in the other. Nothing is better for 
pricking off than a lady’s bone or ivory bodkin, and when the 
seedlings are small plant them at first in little patches. 
5. By this means the necessary shading will be confined 
chiefly to such fresh-potted plants; and, as a general rule, 
never forget that though shading from the sun will keep a 
plant longer in bloom, the constitution of the plant is 
always Aveakened by defective light. 
6. Potting for the season will now, after these small 
things alluded to, be chiefly confined to repotting into 
larger pots Fuchsias, Geraniums, &c., that are in small pots, 
and want more room to carry them on into successional 
blooming. 
7. Cleaning plants from insects must be attended to as 
soon as one appears; but, if comparative coolness and abun¬ 
dance of air and free syringing or washing are given, insects 
will be easily kept down. 
8. Manure Avaterings, if given Aveakly—such as an ounce 
of guano to four gallons of water, or a small tea-cupful of 
soot for the same quantity, will be useful when the flower- 
buds appear, but given before that time it would encourage 
foliage too much. 
0. By the middle of June the AA T eather will be too hot for 
herbaceous Calceolarias and Cinerarias, and these should 
therefore be cut down and removed to a cool, shady place; if 
planted in such a cool border all the better, and they will 
furnish plants by division in the autumn. Such plants as 
Lobelia splendens should be brought from their Avinter quarters 
in May, and grown on Avith plenty of water. All the succulent 
tribe Avill now want water and full exposure to sunshine. 
Cuttings of WallfloAvers and Geraniums to bloom early next 
season may be inserted in June. Almost every desirable 
Avindow plant may be struck out of doors at Midsummer if 
planted in sandy soil, and covered with a handlight and 
shaded. The best substitute for a handlight is a pot with 
its bottom knocked out, and then a square of glass placed 
over Avhere the bottom should be. Wooden boxes with 
neither top nor bottom would answer nearly equally Avell. 
Chrysanthemum cuttings may be so inserted at the end of 
May, or the roots be divided in June. Acacias, Camellias, 
Cytisus, Daphne, &c., Avould be better out of doors after 
July. Most of the Pelargonium family Avill strike freely in 
a sandy border in August. 
Errata. — Page 66, first column, first line, “haseled” 
should be “ hazeled .” It is not yet a dictionary Avord I 
believe, but is used professionally to signify soil getting nice 
and dryish on the surface. — Page 66, second column, 
twentieth line from the top, and first word in the hue, 
“ flame” should be “ frame or box.” R. Fish. 
(To be continued.) 
FORMATION OF LAWNS. 
It will be admitted by all that good velvety turf is 
one of the most ornamental objects of which dressed 
ground can boast; therefore any hint in the way of 
improving a lawn not very good is at all times ac¬ 
ceptable, especially as there is much unsightly turf to 
be seen in various places, some of which might be 
improved by a little judicious outlay; others, by the 
peculiarities of the situation, cannot well be rendered 
good Avithout considerable expense, but may, neverthe¬ 
less, be improved. It is, therefore, best to take a survey 
of Avhat is generally seen or found. 
In the first place let us suppose that a sort of hungry 
gravel has to be covered with lawn turf. Here the 
predominance of stones is a great draAvback, as the 
earth recedes from them, and leaves them standing in 
bold relief when the seed is sown, for we presume the 
case will not admit of turf being imported into it. 
From a soil of this sort it is prudent to rake off all the 
stones that can bo had from the surface, and if a 
