122 
THE FLOKIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ August, 
died by loosening tbe surface of tbe beds. 
There is this further advantage, that when 
rain comes it will not run off, but be enabled 
to soak into the ground. Vases and ornamental 
baskets of flowers on lawns and by-walks are 
objects of great decorative beauty in a flower- 
garden, and they need close attention in the 
matter of watering, and keeping them clean 
and tidy. Little attentions go a long way to¬ 
wards making a flower garden bright and plea¬ 
sant for a lengthened time. Hollyhocks , Dahlias , 
Delphinums , and other large-growing things 
will require plenty of water, and the two former 
will be greatly assisted by a mulching of dung 
and rotten leaves. Carnations , Picotees , and 
Cloves are now fine objects in the flower garden, 
and shorild be kept neatly tied up. Clematises 
are now getting well into bloom, and by keep¬ 
ing the shoots well tied out, the flowers are 
seen to the best advantage. Pick all dead 
Poses from the trees, give them a further mulch¬ 
ing with manure, and syringe the trees occa¬ 
sionally. This will encourage them to grow, 
and give good heads of bloom in September. 
Kitchen Garden. — Cabbages for Spring use 
may be sown early this month, and Cauliflowers 
may be sown, making two attempts, one early 
in the month, the other about the end. The 
best variety of Cabbage for spring use is 
the Enfield Market; and the best Cauliflower 
the Walcheren—true. Those who are fond of 
large Onions in early summer, should make a 
sowing of the White Italian Tripoli and the 
Giant Kocca the last week in the month. 
Prickly Spinach for spring use should also be 
sown, choosing a warm border as the site of the 
Spinach bed. On plots of ground cleared by 
lifting Potatos and clearing-away Peas and 
Beans , sow Improved Snowball Turnips. Keep 
Celery well watered, and the garden as free 
from weeds as possible. 
Fruit Garden. —All wall trees should be 
neatly trained, taking out superfluous growth, 
and laying in such wood as may be required for 
next season. In the case of Peach , Nectarine , 
and Plum trees bearing fruits, wood-lice and 
earwigs, as well as snails, become troublesome, 
preying on the fruit, and disfiguring them. 
These pests need to be well looked after, giving 
them no quarter. Those who have a crop of 
Morello Cherries on walls, and may desire to 
preserve them, must net the trees over to keep 
the birds from them, and keep a look-out for 
snails also. The latter are very plentiful just 
now. We are sorry to have to note that Apples 
are falling very fast from the trees, as if 
from imperfect development; and the Plum 
crop is being thinned in the same way; it is a 
general complaint, not being confined to one 
district, and bodes a yet greater scarcity of 
fruit than we had feared. It is a matter for 
regret that the crop of both apples and plums 
is surely becoming smaller.— Suburbanus. 
SEED GERMINATION. 
(jppN a recent number of the Weiner Obst-und 
<s\ rfj Garten Zeitung , Superintendent Ober- 
OUO dieck relates his experience in inducing 
growth in old seeds of the Pansy. It has often 
been observed, he says, that old seeds of the 
Pansy will not readily germinate, and it has, 
moreover, been found by experience that even 
two-year-old seed will not germinate when sown 
in the open ground if frequently watered. On 
the other hand, self-sown seeds, which have 
fallen on the surface of the ground, where 
shaded by the plants, generally produce a thick 
crop of seedlings. This led him to adopt the 
following course of treatment, with the best 
results :—He filled a box with soil, which was 
pressed down level and firm with the smooth 
bottom of a small flower-pot, and then watered 
so thoroughly that the moisture necessarily 
held out for a considerable time without any 
fresh application. Then he sowed the seeds 
on the surface, pressed them a little into the 
soil with the hand, and set the box down in 
the shade. The little germs were soon seen to 
be sprouting, and the rootlets quickly found 
their way into the soil, so that the experiment 
was successful. 
The result was even more satisfactory when 
subsequently sheets of glass were laid over the 
boxes, these being taken off when the seeds had 
germinated. A repetition of the experiment 
gave again quite satisfactory results. The 
seeds were covered with a little fine earth 
passed through a sieve, and they germinated 
well, as did also others four years old, which 
had been kept in small paper bags, and was 
picked before the capsule opened naturally, 
and scattered the seeds. Herr Oberdieck has 
kept Pansy seeds (also those of Auriculas), 
buried at the bottom of a flower-pot, be¬ 
tween two thin layers of soil, over which were 
laid some pieces of wood, the pot being then 
filled up and buried two feet deep in the soil. 
When required for sowing they were taken 
up, the earth removed down to the wood, and 
then the rest of the soil with the seeds was 
sown in a box and covered by a sheet of glass. 
In this way old seeds (some stored a very long 
time) germinated freely ; and as pansy seed is 
only obtainable in favourable years, it is well 
to know how one can safely preserve it in a 
state fit for germination. 
Mr. Cannell, in his Floral Guide, advises in 
the sowing of seeds to ensure germination 
by covering them up and keeping them in 
total darkness until they begin to peep above 
the soil; then gently and gradually to expose 
them to the light. “ When a frame, pot, or 
pan is covered completely, it ensures a uniform 
degree of moisture and temperature, conse¬ 
quently even seed possessing the merest life 
will be sure to grow.” 
