86 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 6, 1888. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
- ~i~ - 
Bedding Plants. 
Pansies and Violas may still be propagated in frames 
or in sheltered warm borders at the foot of a south 
wall. In recent years the cultivation of this beautiful 
class of plants has been greatly neglected in the south ; 
but the many extremely beautiful forms of bedding 
Violas now in cultivation, it is to be hoped will find 
many not merely admirers, of which there are plenty, 
but cultivators. They require no sheltering under 
glass at all, and are, therefore, highly suitable to the 
requirements of amateurs. By mulching the beds with 
cocoa-nut fibre moisture is retained, and the beds look 
tidy rather than otherwise, even before they have been 
covered by the plants themselves. After pricking 
the cuttings into light rich soil give a good watering to 
settle the soil, and unless the autumn proves unusually 
dry no further trouble is necessary. No covering up 
or coddling is required. Calceolarias, the last of 
bedding plants that may be propagated, may now be 
put in. Prepare a light sandy but rich compost, and 
put it in a frame to the depth of 3 ins. or 4 ins. A 
hand-light may be used, and will answer the purpose 
equally well, should a frame not be at command or 
should the quantity required not be great. All bedding 
plants now rooted should be thoroughly exposed to the 
air night and day, except during rainy weather or when 
frosty nights are expected. They will keep all the 
better for this treatment. 
Auriculas. 
For the better keeping of choice kinds in pots it is 
necessary to house them now in frames with a southern 
aspect. They are still in a vigorous growing condition, 
and some of them may even be inclined to flower, in 
common with many other species of the genus, such 
as. Primroses and Polyanthus. It is not desirable, 
however, to weaken the plants by flowering at this 
season ; therefore, remove the trusses with the finger 
and thumb whenever they make their appearance. 
Remove decayed leaves, and otherwise keep them clean. 
Should green-fly make its appearance, fumigate the 
plants on two succeeding nights so as to destroy the 
pest. Should any of the plants appear sickly, there is 
a great chance that something is wrong with the roots 
or underground portions of the plants. It is un¬ 
desirable to pot any at this season, but in order to save 
the life of some weakly growing kinds it may be 
necessary to turn them out and examine the roots. 
Cut away all decayed portions with a sharp knife, and 
re-pot in fresh soil. Comparatively little water will be 
required by any of the plants at this season ; but those 
that require treatment of the above kind, and are 
re-potted, should not be watered for a week or more. 
A hand-light may be placed over them till they recover 
themselves. Healthy plants not undergoing such 
treatment should be kept fully exposed night and day 
except in severe weather, such as we have had this 
week, when it becomes necessary to place the sashes over 
' them. Even then plenty of ventilation should be given. 
Primula japonica and P. Sieboldi. 
Where these have been grown in the open air during 
the summer they should now be potted up ready to put 
under cover if necessary, that is if they are required 
for decoration of the greenhouse in spring. Being 
perfectly hardy it is not necessary to disturb them nor to 
give any protection when grown merely for the decora¬ 
tion of the rockery or the flower border. No fear need 
be entertained for them when they die down, as they 
are naturally deciduous, at least in our climate. The 
choice improved garden varieties, including the finer 
kinds of P. Sieboldi and P. japonica alba, are amongst 
the choicest of plants, and well repay cultivation in 
pots under glass, as the flowers are greatly improved in 
size, especially those of the former. They do best when 
kept perfectly cool in an unheated frame, close to the 
glass till coming into bloom, when they may be re¬ 
moved to the greenhouse, where their beauty will be 
greatly appreciated. 
Tree Carnations. 
The perpetual-flowering Carnations need not longer be 
left out of doors, but housed where they will be more 
directly under the eye, and escape the dashing rains 
and rough autumn weather. Such as require potting 
may now be done, taking care not to give them too great 
a shift. Use nice mellow loam with a good quantity of 
well-decayed stable manure, leaf-soil, and sand. 
Where potting is not required see that the drainage is 
perfect, as they dislike stagnant moisture. Stake the 
shoots neatly. 
Potatos. 
Lift and store the crops of such late kinds as are still 
in the ground, but in doing so be careful to have all 
showing any symptoms of disease sorted out. What is 
intended for table use should be exposed to light as 
little as possible after they get sufficiently dry for 
storing. If there is no convenient shed or cellar in 
which to place them, make them up in ridges on the 
soil and cover with a layer of straw or turves if they 
can be conveniently obtained, placing the green surface 
outermost. Those intended for seed may be exposed 
until they become green, for the matter of that; but 
at this late period of the year it is necessary to guard 
against frost. 
The Flower Garden. 
Much will depend upon the neatness of everything in 
this department as to the amount of pleasure which 
may be derived by the owners. As everything out of 
doors begins to decay and leaves become strewn 
about, the contrast produced by a well-kept garden is 
only known to those who take pleasure in having 
everything kept trim and neat. All decaying flowers, 
plants or their flower-stems should be cleared away to 
the rubbish heap at once, together with weeds and 
decaying matter of every description. If a hidden out- 
of-the-way corner can be spared as a receptacle for such 
rubbish, all woody material may be placed in a heap to 
be burnt, while the softer material is thrown into a 
heap to ferment, turning it occasionally so that all 
weeds and seeds may be killed. The residue forms 
excellent material for top-dressing or manuring. 
-- 
CONCERNING PEAS.* 
Without entering into any elaborate remarks upon 
the origin of the garden Pea, its chemical composition 
or nutritious qualities, I may plunge into my subject 
by saying that the garden varieties of Pisum sativum 
are by no means difficult to grow, but it is necessary 
that their various qualities in regard to habit, time of 
flowering and duration of bearing should be correctly 
known, to enable the amateur or the gardener to keep 
up a succession of fresh green Peas throughout the 
season. Peas delight in a good deep rich alluvial soil 
with a cool bottom, and if it contains a preponderance 
of lime, so much the better. The past season has been 
the worst I have experienced for a number of years as 
regards the yield of Peas ; we have had an exuberant 
amount of growth, but too many abortive pods, owing 
to the sunless weather and deficiency of pollen ; and as 
regards the later sorts, it seems quite evident that they 
will not crop before the frost crops them. 
The Seeds. 
These are generally classed in four divisions—viz., 
white and blue rounds, which are hardy, and the best 
for early sowing ; and white and green wrinkled or 
marrows, which are more tender and sweeter than the 
first-named. These primary characters of colour and 
form are better seen in a dried state than when the 
Peas are fresh, notwithstanding that everyone does not 
seem to know it. A querist once asked a contributor 
to one of the horticultural papers what colour the seeds 
were of some varieties that he had been eulogising, and 
the reply was that he could not tell, as the crop had 
been saved for seed ! 
Autumn Sowings. 
We are now on the verge of October, and may expect 
to see any day in the garden calendars :—“Sow Peas 
for early use under walls, or on a south border but the 
writers never say who the advice is intended for. 
Possibly in the southern counties it may be followed 
with fair success, but it will not do in our case. Such 
advice reminds me of the man, who, having told a ghost 
story, on being asked if he had ever seen a ghost, 
replied, No, but he had a friend who knew a person 
whose grandmother’s great-grandfather had seen one. 
So with the Peas from early sowing ; some have seen 
them, but I have not. I have myself tried to see such 
a ghost so late as the year 1885. I sowed in October, 
but in spring, so far from there being a ghost in sub¬ 
stance, there was not even a shadow. Every gardener 
must be his own guide, philosopher and friend in the 
matter of sowing Peas in our cold northern counties, or 
on a cold late soil anywhere. It is better to wait until 
spring and warmth returns, for if tlioso sown in the 
autumn escape, the February-sown ones are seldom 
much behind them. 
Spring Sowings. 
As to the proper time for sowing in spring, each one’s 
* Condensed from a paper read by Mr. B. Lockwood, Lindley, 
Huddersfield, at a meeting of the Huddersfield Paxton Society, 
on September 29th. 
special circumstances form the best guide. On sharp 
dry soils, resting on lime or sandstone, sowings may 
safely be made from the second week in February if the 
weather is at all congenial; but on stiff heavy loams, 
with clay beneath, I have found it best to sow 
between the 20th of March and the second week in 
April. When seeds are sown they immediately absorb 
moisture, whether the soil be warm or cold, and if there 
is not sufficient heat to assist germination the embryo is 
either soon exhausted altogether or greatly reduced in 
vigour. 
Sowing in Pots. 
If we cannot get heat outside when we want in spring, 
we can secure it under glass, and there are various 
means by which Peas can be brought forward in this 
way, such as sowing on turves, in troughs, or in small 
pots. Last spring I was fairly successful with a lot 
sown in some 120 11-in. Chrysanthemum pots. The 
plants had been cut down, but the pots had not been 
put outside, so we stirred up the soil round the crowns 
with a three-pronged hand-fork, and sowed Lightning, 
Earliest of All, and Chelsea Gem on February 21st. 
The plants were kept slightly on the move, with plenty 
of air, planted out in trenches early in April, and 
despite the cold spring, gave us fine plump pods by the 
end of May. The 120 pots when planted out gave us 
a row 120 ft. long, and 10 in. wide. 
Sowing for General and Late Crops. 
For these I strong^ advocate the plan of sowing over 
trenches with 1 ft. of good manure in the bottom, and 
6 ins. of fine soil on the top, putting in the seeds 2 ins. 
deep in furrows the width of a spade. I believe also 
in sowing moderately thick to provide against con¬ 
tingencies, for be it remembered that if the rows 
present a straggling appearance time is lost that cannot 
be regained, and if the seeds come up too thickly, well, 
they are very easily thinned. The soil in every case 
is sifted through a 3-in. mesh, and directly on to the 
Peas, and ashes are put over all to keep away mice. 
Old fish netting fixed with Y-shaped pegs about 1 ft. 
long is used to keep off birds, and under the nets ducks 
are freely allowed to roam in search of snails and slugs. 
When high enough the Peas are staked, and when the 
acknowledged height of each variety is attained the 
tops are pinched off, which not only helps the pods, 
but imparts a sturdiness to the haulm which materially 
helps the plants to withstand strong winds. As to the 
width between the rows, that is made to correspond 
with the heights of the varieties grown. We make a 
sowing of Telephone, Telegraph, Duke of Albany, and 
other sorts in the second week of April, and in the first 
and last weeks of May the last-named sowings, including 
general and late-cropping sorts such as Ne Plus Ultra, 
which are longer in coming to maturity, and in an 
ordinary season last until frost cuts them down. If 
dry weather sets in, all are mulched with stable manure 
and well watered. 
Peas for Exhibition. 
These are sown or planted in the same way as the 
ordinary crops—that is to say, in trenches ; but I have 
found that pig-manure is the best if well worked with 
the soil. Seeds should be sown 3 ins. apart in single 
rows, and be thinned out to 6 ins. when up. Guard 
against vermin, as before described, and when 3 ins. to 
4 ins. high, stake carefully between each plant. A 
sprinkling of soot will impart vigour to the plants. 
They should not carry more than six or seven pods, 
selecting the best, which can easily be determined by 
holding the “slats” up to the light, and counting the 
number of Peas formed in them. When the right pods 
have been selected, pinch off the top of the plant at the 
first point beyond the topmost “slat,” and all side 
laterals as fast as they make their appearance. When 
the pods are formed, weak liquid-manure may be given 
once a week, occasionally slightly diluted with lime- 
water if the soil be deficient in that element. The best 
sorts are : — Green Marrows : Duke of Albany, Abbott’s 
Duchess, Evergreen Surrey, and Telegraph. White 
Marrows: Prodigy, Magnificent,Telephone,and Jubilee. 
Conclusion. 
The trench system has not this season given such 
good results as usual, and the lateness of the season did 
not necessitate late sowings. We havo several sorts 
yet in flower which were sown on the 27th of May, 
and I am afraid that Jack Frost will have them instead 
of my employer, which I shall much regret, as some of 
them are new ones. However, I must console myself 
by hoping for the best, and if the worst comes must 
say, Alas, poor Empress, poor Sir Frederick, poor Bruce, 
I have watched in vain for you, but the Jubilee is gone 
and your or rather my Superiority too. You have been 
the Ne Plus Ultra of an Autocrat-ic mind, and your 
loss has nearly knocked the General Wynd-am out of me. 
