782 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 8, 1891. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
SEASONABLE WORK inthe GARDEN. 
Roman Hyacinths. —The lists of this and other 
early-flowering bulbs are now coming in, and intend¬ 
ing cultivators will do well to secure a stock early. Pot 
them up at once in good fibrous loam, well-rotted 
dung, and a sufficient amount of clean sand to keep 
the soil open. Stand the pots in a frame with a sunny 
. exposure, and cover with cocoa-nut fibre in preference 
to ashes if early growth is desired. Give a good 
watering before covering up. 
Nerines. —Bulbs of this class should be potted up 
at once, as growth is, or should be, commencing at an 
early date. The Guernsey Lily (Nerine sarniensis) 
comes into flower naturally during September and 
October, hence the necessity of seeing to it at once. 
Other fine and indispensable kinds are N. curvifolium, 
better known as N. Fothergilli majus, N. flexuosa, 
N. sarniensis corusca, and N. s. venusta, all of which 
should receive attention at once. Sandy loam and 
leaf soil will meet their requirements. 
Pinks and Carnations.— Any further propaga¬ 
tion of these by cuttings should be completed at once, 
as good plants cannot be expected from cuttings put 
in after this date. Cuttings of Carnations are only 
desirable in cases where the shoots of any choice 
kind are too short to be layered in the usual way. 
Phloxes. —Take cuttings of the best kinds and in¬ 
sert them in sandy soil in a frame where they may 
have the additional protection of a handlight to main¬ 
tain a moist atmosphere till rooting takes place. Give 
shade if necessary during bright sunshine, but 
remember that for every hour the cuttings are 
darkened after the sun declines so much will they be 
robbed of their natural vigour and ability to form 
good roots. 
Hollyhock s.—Go over the plantations of seedlings 
and mark those which are worthy of preservation, so 
that the worthless ones may be destroyed in autumn. 
Propagate all good kinds of which it is desirable to 
get stock by means of eyes, which may be obtained 
from side shoots not yet showing flower, or which 
are not yet far enough advanced to be useless for 
propagation. Put the eyes in boxes in sandy soil, 
and stand the boxes in a shady place, behind a wall 
or under trees, and keep them moist. 
Auriculas. —At this season of the year the plants 
are liable to be infested with green fly. The best 
way to destroy them is to dust the crowns with 
tobacco powder, making sure that the aphides get 
well dusted. After the latter are dead, lay the plants 
on their sides and wash out the tobacco and dead 
insects with the syringe. 
Annuals for Spring Flowering. —Now is the 
time to sow seeds in the open border of such things 
as Silene pendula compacta, Colinsia bicolor, C. 
verna, Nemophila maculata, N. insignis, Iberis 
umbellata and its varieties, I. amara, Saponaria 
calabrica, and other hardy subjects that will stand 
the winter without protection. 
Acalyphas. —The utility of these for table decora¬ 
tion at night should be sufficient recommendation 
to ensure a useful stock always being kept in 
hand. The rich tints of colour of the foliage show 
well under artificial light, and plants are always in 
demand for decorative purposes. Some cuttings 
should be put in to root now to furnish young plants 
for winter work. 
Dracaenas. —If kept in a dry warm atmosphere 
plants of this class are pecularly liable to be infested 
with thrips, which soon make the plants unsightly if 
allowed to establish themselves. Sponging with 
Fir-tree oil, Gishurst Compound, or some other 
insecticide, if applied in time will remedy the evil. 
Continued propagation of Dracaenas is necessary to 
keep up a stock of useful-sized plants. The tops 
may be taken oft, put in small pots and plunged in a 
good bottom heat. The old stems may be buried in 
cocoa-nut fibre to encourage the development of 
side shoots which may also be taken off and rooted. 
Stove Aquatics. —The tanks during summer are 
liable to be overgrown with a species of Conferva 
and other vegetable organisms of an aquatic nature, 
much to the detriment of the Nymphaeas and other 
subjects grown in them. It will, therefore, be 
necessary to fteqqgfijiy glear the surface of the water 
of those low organisms nat only for appearance aftke, 
but for the welfare of the cultivated subjects. 
Rooted runners of Trapa natans, Limnocharis Hum- 
boldtii, and others may be taken off and potted up. 
See that Salvinia natans, Pistia stratiotes, and 
other small aquatics are not being destroyed by the 
weedy vegetation above mentioned. 
Winter Onions. —Make a sowing of Onions in 
rich well-prepared ground in an open and fully- 
exposed situation. Avoid ground that is in any way 
shaded by trees or walls. A coating of soot will help 
to keep wireworms away from the young plants. Sow 
in lines 12 ins. to 15 ins. apart. 
Cabbages and Cauliflower. —Cabbages for 
spring and early summer use should be sown at once 
in well-prepared beds. Ellam's Early, Battersea, 
Early Etamps and Early York are good early kinds, 
and some of the later ones may be sown for succes¬ 
sion according to the demand. Cauliflower need not 
be sown till the third or last week of the month, as 
the seedlings will get large enough for keeping over 
winter. Keep the beds clean, and thin out the seed¬ 
lings in good time to encourage a dwarf and 
sturdy habit. Protect the seeds from birds. 
Lettuces.— Make successional sowings of hardy 
Cabbage varieties in well-drained soil in sheltered 
situations, but at the same time well exposed to light. 
A west aspect border where the sun cannot get 
upon the plants early in frosty mornings would be 
suitable. If the beds are raised all the better ; 
and in cold northern localities, a narrow border 
under a west or southern aspect wall will afford 
additional protection. 
The Culture of Early Cabbages. 
Cultivators who are desirous of having a supply of 
this useful spring vegetable as soon after the middle 
of April as possible, recognise the advantage gained 
by pricking out the seedlings several weeks prior 
to finally planting them out. Plants of a dwarf 
sturdy character are thus secured, and are calculated 
to stand severe frost and sudden changes of weather 
much better than those which are transferred from 
the seed bed to their permanent quarters. Some 
half dozen years ago, when the fame of that invaluable 
early sort, Ellam's Early Dwarf, became established, 
I obtained a batch of plants from a nursery the 
rootstems of which reminded me of the stems of strong 
seedling fir-trees. These were planted about the 
end of August, and by the end of the following 
March heads were coming in for use. This was the 
earliest crop of Cabbages I ever cut, and I attributed 
the result chiefly to the system of cultivation to 
which the seedlings had been subjected before I 
received them. Where time or sufficient space 
cannot be afforded to prick out a large number of 
se'edlings, they should at least be well thinned out.— 
D. M., Ayrshire. 
Cabbage Lettuce. 
The prolonged drought of this season has afforded 
a good opportunity of testing the value of varieties 
of these. In the Cabbage section we, in common 
with many growers, adhere pretty closely to All 
the Year Round, a well-known good sort. But 
since attention was directed to the excellence of 
New York in your pages, a few years ago, I have 
been induced to give it atrial, and I find that, besides 
the handsome size of the heads, they remain 
longer fit for use than any other variety I have 
tried; in fact, as one writer indicated, it seems to 
have a tendency to rot rather than run to seed. 
The extraordinary size to which New York 
grows may preclude it from being .useful as an early 
Lettuce, but as a standard sort for summer supply, 
it would certainly be difficult to raise a better sub¬ 
stitute for it.—D. M., Ayrshire. 
The Hydrangea as a Decorative Plant.— 
At a recent flower show a collection of plants was 
shown, not for competition, by the Messrs. Daniels 
of Norwich, in which there were a good sprinkling 
of Hydrangeas, many of them plants with one stem 
and a good truss of flowers, there were also plants 
of greater size freely flowered, but the single stemmed 
plants quite took the general fancy. They are suit¬ 
able for small as well as large greenhouses where a 
variety of flowers has to be grown, There are some 
half-dozen or more varieties, but I tjijnH th? H. 
Hortensis is the finest still—T l} 7 , 
FUCHSIAS IN HYDE PARK. 
A few years ago Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, 
Lobelias, Alternantheras, and similar low plants, 
graduated as to height, monopolised the flower 
garden, and constituted the sum and substance of 
summer gardening and carpet bedding. This is 
gradually giving place to a more natural style, 
and instead of a uniform mass of something, or a 
mixture after the same pattern, a kind of gardening is 
being evolved which shows off the individual form 
and habit of the plants themselves. This applies not 
only to Fuchsias, but Heliotropes, Pelargoniums, 
Petunias, and even Verbenas may be utilised in the 
same way with fine and ever-varying effect. 
The beds under notice are situated along the side 
of Park Lane, east of the Grosvenor Gate ; they are 
arranged in a single file along one side of a walk, and 
in double file along the other side of the same. To 
the west of that gate there is only a single row of 
beds on one side of the walk. All alternate with 
beds planted with a variety of other subjects. The 
number of varieties of Fuchsia is considerable, but 
it is evident that many other kinds might be 
employed to advantage in the same space of ground. 
For instance, every bed at present occupied with 
Fuchsias might be planted with a different sort. 
Plants of various heights might be employed accord¬ 
ing to the size of the bed. Some erect-habited kinds 
might be employed to advantage when only 9 ins. or 
12 ins. high, for planting closely together, so as to do 
away with the necessity of a ground-work of some¬ 
thing else. Two or more kinds of similar habit 
might be associated together in the same bed ; and 
some of the old-fashioned and floriferous though 
small flowered kinds, such as Rose of Castile and 
Venus de Medici, would not be amiss. 
West of the Grosvenor Gate is a bed of Fuchsia 
Ab-del-Kadir, with red sepals and violet purple petals, 
on a ground-work of Viola Mrs. Turner, a charming 
soft-lilac variety shaded lavender. The edging is of 
Coleus Verschaffelti, and blue Lobelia Emperor 
William. Passing eastward there is a bed of 
Fuchsia Mrs. Russell, with red sepals and violet 
purple petals, mixed with F. gracilis variegata, and 
on a ground-work of Viola Beauty of Chipping 
Norton, very dark blue, with a double edging. The 
next bed consists of F. Madame Corneilisson, with 
spreading red sepals, white petals and red stems, on 
a ground-work of Viola Lilacina, light blue. The 
white sepals and rosy carmine petals of Mrs. 
Marshall contrast well with the last-named Viola in 
another bed. Fuchsia Empress of Germany has 
short broad, red sepals and a double-bluish purple 
corolla. This is mixed with F. Sunray, having 
•variegated foliage, on a ground-work of Viola Mrs. 
Turner flowering grandly. The whole is edged with 
a bicolor Pelargonium named Queen of Queens and 
blue Lobelia. 
East of the Grosvenor Gate, as already stated, the 
beds are much more numerous, as the ground at 
command is more spacious. On the south side of 
the walk the beds are in pairs, planted to match or 
nearly so. Near the gate are two large beds of 
Fuchsia Empress of Germany, mixed with Vitis 
heterophylla variegata, on a ground-work of Viola 
Beauty of Chipping Norton, edged with a bicolor 
Pelargonium and Viola Blue Bell. The Fuchsias 
are 3 ft. high, and form bushy, pyramidal specimens. 
Two beds are planted with Tower of London, a very 
floriferous Fuchsia, about 2 ft. high, with red sepals 
and purple petals. The ground-work consists of 
Eurya latifolia variegata, pegged down, and Viola 
Mrs. Turner, with an edging of Pelargonium Golden 
Fleece and blue Lobelia. The next two Fuchsia 
beds are occupied with Mrs. Marshall, mixed with 
large plants of Iresine Herbstii, on a ground-work of 
Viola Lilacina. The edging here is of Iresine 
Lindeni and Tropseolum Ball of Fire, pegged into a 
neat line. There were also two large beds of mixed 
varieties, interspersed with the purple - foliaged 
Lobelia splendens Victoriae, on a ground-work of 
Viola Blue Bell, 
A side bed, filled with Fuchsia gracilis variegata, 
the purple-leaved Lobelia, Dracaena congesta, 
Funkia Sieboldi variegata, and Geranium sanguineum 
on a ground-work of Alternantheras, looks very 
graceful and pretty, as may be imagined from the 
character of the plants themselves. Fuchsia Golden 
Treasure, a yellow-foliaged sort, is mixed with the 
soft, glaucous, fern-like foliage of Melianthus major 
jn another bed on a ground-work of niixed Pansies. 
