26 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 13, 1890. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN- 
Txoras and Rondeletias. —Where these are 
grown for the sake of cut flowers, the supply may be 
continued till late in the autumn, by encouraging the 
plants with weak liquid manure. The night tempe¬ 
rature should be kept up to 68' or 70°, and the plants 
fully exposed to sunlight at all times. 
Gloxinias. —Before the plants go entirely out of 
flower, the best kinds should be marked for preservation. 
All the poorly marked colours may then be discarded 
after they go out of flower or when they get shabby. 
Those that are preserved may be started into growth in 
February, to constitute an early batch. For later work 
a batch may be raised from seed sown when the others 
are started. By seed sowing and selection of the finest, 
a good collection may be obtained. 
Ferns. —Where these are rather crowded, it will be 
well to see that the fronds do not become a prey to 
damp, which they are likely to do, more especially 
where ventilation is not carefully attended to. All 
decaying fronds should promptly be removed, and ven¬ 
tilation given at favourable times, in order to harden 
the tissues against the dull, dark days of winter. 
Hippeastrum aulicum. — Where this fine 
autumn-flowering species continues to be grown, it will 
now be. commencing to throw up its flower-scapes. 
Assistance given with weak liquid manure will enable 
the bulbs to throw up stronger scapes bearing pro¬ 
portionately large flowers. If placed in a little heat, 
growth will be all the more vigorous and rapid. 
Xiilium Auratum.—As pot-grown plants of this 
Lily go out of flower, they should be stood out of doors 
in a sheltered but well-exposed place to gradually ripen 
off and mature their bulbs. It is a mistake to hasten 
this process by withholding water till the leaves shrivel 
through starvation. The bulbs under such conditions 
cannot be so plump as they otherwise should be. 
Bouvardias for Winter Flowering. —A large 
supply of cut flowers may be obtained during winter 
and spring by planting out a batch of Bouvardias in 
the bed of some pit which may conveniently be spared 
for the purpose. It should have the command of 
plenty of artificial heat when necessary. The tempera¬ 
ture of an intermediate house would be most suitable 
for the Bouvardias, and when planted out the latter 
with a minimum of care will supply a large amount of 
cut bloom all through the winter. 
Auriculas.— Plants that have been kept during 
summer in a frame with a northern aspect should be 
retained there till the end of this month, to guard 
against giving any undue excitement to the plants 
should the weather happen to be fine. In such a case 
flower buds are often thrown up to the disadvantage of 
the plant, militating against a good display in spring. 
Pot off seedlings raised from seed sown in July. Water 
carefully, not giving any unless it is actually required. 
Dahlias. —The principal work to attend to at 
present is pruning, tying, and occasionally assisting the 
plants with liquid manure. At this season the plants 
are liable to run grossly to growth without producing 
anything like a proportionate amount of bloom. To 
guard against this, prune away or thin out the side 
shoots, leaving only sufficient to properly occupy the 
space, so that those which are left may be urged into a 
flowering condition. Lay traps for earwigs, which will 
be very active during this month. 
Hollyhocks. —Pot off cuttings singly into 3-in. pots 
as soon as they become properly rooted. The pots may 
be stood in a cold frame, or out of doors in some 
sheltered place. Shade them for a day or two after 
potting should there be bright sunshine, but after that 
full exposure will be beneficial rather than otherwise. 
Bedding Violas. —Any desired quantity of cuttings 
may be put in now in sheltered borders under walls 
facing south or west. A quantity of sand and leaf-soil 
added to the natural soil will prove of great advantage 
to them. A little shading may be given them for a 
day or two if the sun is bright, but after that no further 
attention will be required till spring. Those who live 
in the vicinity of smoky towns will find it more 
advantageous to insert their cuttings in cold frames, so 
that the sooty deposits may be kept off the cuttings by 
the aid of the glass. 
Orchard House. —Trees that were re-potted at the 
proper time should now have fairly taken hold of the 
fresh soil. If they are intended for forcing they should 
be prepared by standing them out in the open air to 
ripen the foliage and plump up the buds. Stand the 
pots on a hard bottom, or in the absence of such, upon 
slates, slabs, or boards, to prevent the entrance of 
worms to the pots. See that the trees are freed from 
insect pests, such as red spider and brown scale. 
Early Vinery.—In the case of Vines that are 
planted out and intended for forcing, they should now 
be in a forward state, but if the leaves are still mostly 
green, a little fire heat with plenty of ventilation 
should be given in order to hasten maturity. The rods 
may be pruned about the end of this month, and after 
the house has been thoroughly cleaned, the rods 
should be tied down in a horizontal position to 
encourage them to break evenly. In pruning, cut the 
laterals back to a good size, even if that be a few inches 
from the base. 
-- 
TREATMENT OF PEACH TREES 
AFTER CROPPING-. 
How frequently do we see thrips and red-spider run 
riot in the Peach houses after the crops have been 
gathered ; indeed, sometimes while they are finishing. 
It must be apparent to every man worthy of the name 
of gardener, that this is inconsistent, seeing how 
important a part the leaves of all plants play in the 
flow and elaboration of the sap. It is doggedly 
injudicious to permit insects of any kind to gain a 
footing amongst plants at any time ; and there is no 
term too severe to apply to those who allow their 
Peach and Nectarine trees to be robbed of their energy 
by these persistent insects. This wholesale neglect 
savours a good deal of ungratefulness, and who would 
be so ungrateful as to withhold a cup of water from a 
man fatigued with a hard day’s toil ? In a similar 
sense our Peach and Nectarine trees recently denuded of 
a heavy crop—which has cost them no little energy to 
finish to perfection—require a cup of water to quench 
their thirst ; and are also, like the manual and mental 
toilers, all the better for an evening bath. I do not 
mean, however, to philosophise, and now to the point. 
The mid-season crops are for the most part all over, 
and whether these were good or otherwise, the trees 
must be prepared for work next season. The first 
thing that demands attention when the crops have been 
gathered, is watering and syringing, and where thrips 
or red-spider show their unwelcome presence—as they 
will do when watering has been insufficient, or high 
and dry temperatures maintained to finish fruit for a 
given date or occasion—a good quantity of sulphur 
in the water when syringing will settle the latter, while 
a few whiffs of tobacco smoke on two or three consecutive 
evenings will put the former out of the way. Syring¬ 
ing should have attention on the afternoons of dry, 
warm days, until the foliage is dropping, when it may 
be discontinued. A copious watering at the roots 
immediately after the crops have been gathered goes 
further to build up the buds for future work than 
does ,a few driblets at intervals, and this should be 
substantial—adding liquid manure. 
At this stage we perform all pruning, except where 
root pruning is contemplated, which we also do now, 
and those trees requiring the latter operation are left 
with their full complement of growth undisturbed until 
they have shed all their foliage. This at once encourages 
a freer flow of sap, and consequent growth at the roots. 
All trees so operated upon should be slightly shaded 
from bright sunshine for a week or more, and also have 
a mulching over the roots. In the event of no root- 
pruning being necessary, all surface dressings of fresh 
soil should now be applied, as the roots being active 
will soon lay hold of it, and be ready to make the 
most of it as growth advances next season. This done 
now, a slight dusting of Thomson’s Vine Manure at inter¬ 
vals after the stoning will be found productive of good, 
not only in the condition of the trees, but also 
in the quality of the fruit. In the application 
of fresh soil when root-pruning or top-dressing, it 
is essential to pack all hard, and for this purpose a 
wooden “ beater ” is preferable to the common practice 
of driving hard home with the feet, the heel being 
detrimental to clefted roots, and frequently tearing 
fibre. For top-dressing we use good sound loam, 
charcoal, mortar rubbish, and a dash of Thomson’s 
Vine Manure. It is needless to say all inert soil should 
be removed previous to top-dressing, and this should 
be carefully done, easing all clear of the roots with a 
fork. This at the same time affords the operator an 
opportunity of observing the condition of the roots, 
whether gross or otherwise, thus enabling him to 
exercise his discretion in the use or withholding of the 
knife. "We have no belief in long bare thongs, and are 
quite impatient of the least appearance of- warty roots 
(forerunners of suckers), which are cut clean away. 
It will thus be observed we root-prune to a certain 
extent as we top-dress ; but for a thorough root 
pruning it is necessary, if the operation is to be per¬ 
formed on a satisfactory basis, that all roots, both 
under and over, must be laid bare. When a tree 
becomes too gross, nothing short of entire lifting should 
be countenanced, and then the gross roots may be 
removed at discretion. It is quite unnecessary to leave 
them several feet long—as is so far successfully prac¬ 
tised by some—but they may be cut clean off if there 
is a few stu’oby roots and good fibre at command to 
work on. If these roots have to be sawn, the wounds 
should be carefully smoothed over with a sharp knife, 
so that all may heal up and quickly emit fresh roots. It 
is astonishing how well in hand Peach and Nectarine 
trees may be kept in this way. In short, in no circum¬ 
stances is it a number of long, rambling, bare shoots 
that will produce the best wood (except for timber) or 
fruit. It is quite out of the question to expect short- 
jointed, well-consolidated wood where the roots have 
their freedom of the soil at their own “sweet will.” 
We have trees here (in fact, all our trees) from each of 
which we annually gather heavy crops of Peaches and 
Nectarines, and their roots might any day be put in an 
ordinary sized tub. The advantages of this are 
obvious—viz., watering can be applied when every drop 
will be utilised, and feeding, whether in liquid or solid 
form, is responded to at once. 
No doubt trees thus limited require more feeding 
than those wooded more extensively, but still, one has 
the satisfaction of knowing that nothing is lost, 
whereas in borders with a root here and another there, 
the greater quantity of any application is lost. All 
trees newly root-pruned should bo mulched with some 
good farm-yard manure to prevent evaporation, as also 
to keep the roots in an equable temperature. Full 
ventilation, too, for a time should be avoided, and this 
is easily done by keeping the front ventilators closed. 
Of course, where the root pruning has been severe the 
trees will be all the better for the house being kept 
close, at least as far as practicable, for a time. Any 
sign of flagging must be counteracted at once with 
shading and syringing, if possible never permitting it 
to occur, as all these little checks, however simple or 
common they may appear, have an effect the reverse of 
assuring, and tend to throw the trees into an enfeebled 
state for the ensuing season, and may probably prove 
the precursor of mildew, thrips, and red-spider. 
The ripening of the wood of Peach trees in some 
houses, seasons, and localities, is attended with diffi¬ 
culties that frequently demand special consideration, 
and to which there is no golden rule. Circumstances, 
perplexing enough in their magnitude, in the setting of 
the blossom may be attributed to imperfectly-ripened 
wood; hence the importance of ripening wood for 
future crops cannot be over estimated. In houses 
where crops are gathered before the end of August these 
difficulties do not present themselves in such a for¬ 
midable form as do those in late houses ; yet, with 
rampant growth, and the consequent presence of watery 
shoots, this evil, even in early houses, may lead to 
disappointments. These extremes are perhaps better 
for a passing word ; but, still, with due attention to 
root-pruning and firmly-packed soil, no such extremes 
occur. Free ventilation at top aud bottom in houses 
of any construction—not excepting the old rumbling 
sashes, where the rains have free access to all parts of 
the house—is the best and surest means of ripening 
wood ; and where very alarmingly behind, the appli¬ 
cation of artificial heat must be resorted to. This, 
however, should always be the last resort, and coun¬ 
tenanced only as a necessary evil. — J. Proctor, 
Glenfinart. 
-- 
Cucumber, Colne Valley Favourite. — Even 
in Cucumbers every gardener has his own “old 
reliable ” sort, such as I think this variety will become. 
I was agreeably astonished recently at a small span- 
roofed house full of this sort growing for seed, and 
belonging to Mr. George Elliott, seedsman of this town. 
It is a white spine, of perfect shape, with neck and 
ends nearly blunt, 12 ins. to 18 ins. long, perfectly 
solid, and of remarkable colour. Some of the fruits 
measured 10 ins. in circumference, but, of course, no 
one desires slices of Cucumber half the size of his plate. 
The younger fruits were, however, equally proportioned, 
and for exhibition or table use it is a useful sort. — 
B. L., Huddersfield. 
