102 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 13, 1888. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
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♦ 
Lifting Dahlias. 
There need be no hurry yet in lifting Dahlias where 
they have not been blackened or entirely destroyed by 
frost, seeing that should the weather prove mild, a 
quantity of flowers will yet be produced. Dahlias 
may frequently be noticed quite destroyed in one 
garden, while in another close by they may bo almost 
uninjured. The locality and the surroundings account 
for this singular and partial occurrence, and those 
whose Dahlias escape in this way may consider them¬ 
selves fortunate. Where the damage, however, has 
been so great that all hopes of any more bloom have 
gone, the sooner the plants are lifted the better. This 
should be done before frost can affect the lower part of 
the stem by the destruction of the foliage and the 
upper portion. Proceed to the work by cutting down 
the stems to a joint within 6 ins. or 8 ins. of the tuber, 
and pull out the stakes. The latter should be stored 
in a neat and orderly manner in some shed or dry 
place, where they may remain till required next year. 
Wheel the stems and foliage to the rubbish-heap, and 
then commence to dig up the tubers. This should be 
done with a strong fork, going down so deeply that the 
whole of the fleshy finger-like roots are dug out without 
breaking them. Clear away as much of the soil as 
possible, and lay down the roots to dry, a bright or 
warm day being chosen for the operation. Before 
collecting the tubers, carefully tie the label to the stem 
of each sort, so as to avoid mixing. Store them in 
some cool dry place, out of the reach of frost, and look 
over them in a few days to thoroughly clean them, and 
so prevent damping. 
Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, &c. 
All bedding plants intended for stock, and that have 
not been hopelessly injured, must now be lifted and 
potted if this work has not been already accomplished. 
Pelargoniums that have lost their foliage may still be 
of service if put in a little heat to induce fresh root- 
action, and Fuchsias will break out again if the stems 
are not injured. Indeed, in some sheltered localities 
they even continue in flower. The tubers of Salvia 
patens may be lifted with a little soil about them and 
laid in some cool, dry part of a greenhouse or frame, 
from whence the frost is kept out. The other occupants 
of the beds that are not required may be taken to the 
rubbish - heap as soon as they become unsightly. 
Calceolarias and some other things will remain in 
bloom till the occurrence of very severe weather, and 
may be left, provided the beds are not required for 
spring bedding. It is to be taken for granted that a 
sufficient stock of cuttings of Calceolarias has been 
put into frames before this time, otherwise a quantity 
may yet be put into frames and kept close for a time 
to induce rooting. 
Planting Bulbs. 
Those who intend planting Narcissi should allow no 
further time to be lost, but have the work completed 
with all due despatch, provided the ground is sufficiently 
dry and in workable order. Magnificent kinds are 
Narcissus bicolor Horsfieldi, N. b. Emperor and N. b. 
Empress. Then there are N. incomparabilis Sir 
Watkin, N. odorus, N. poeticus ornatus, and a host of 
other varieties of the above, besides the numerous 
forms of the English Daffodil (N. Pseudo-Narcissus) 
too numerous to mention, but all at the command of 
the amateur, and cheap. Hyacinths are still in good 
time, but they may now be planted as soon as the beds 
are empty, have been well dug, and are otherwise pre¬ 
pared to receive them. The beds may be edged with 
Crocuses, but Narcissi and Hyacinths should not be 
mixed, as they flower at different times, nor do they 
associate well together. If large quantities of a kind 
are grown, one bed may most appropriately be planted 
with one kind. Snowdrops may be used as edgings, 
but they never appear to better advantage than when 
planted as large isolated clumps on grass, under the 
shade of deciduous trees, or even in the ordinary 
borders. Crocuses and Narcissi also look well in 
scattered irregular clumps in semi-wild places on grass, 
where they come into bloom and are partly ripened off 
before the latter require to be cut. The foliage may 
even be spared after the first cutting or so, and the 
bulbs will greatly profit by it. The latter, together 
with Snowdrops, are admirable subjects for the wild 
garden. 
Shelter for Chrysanthemums. 
In mild winters amateurs have no difficulty in obtaining 
a display of Chrysanthemums in the open air till nearly 
Christmas; but when we have such sharp frosty 
nights as we have had lately, the blooms soon become 
irretrievably damaged, except they be sheltered. In 
the face of the recent sharp frosts, it seems as if 
an early winter is to follow upon a sunless cold summer. 
In order to save them from destruction, Chrysanthe¬ 
mums in the open ground should be lifted and potted, 
and, together with those in pots, put into some place of 
shelter. Here, as a rule, the difficulties of the amateur 
begin, on account of his want of accommodation for 
such tall-growing subjects. Where a greenhouse or 
conservatory is at command a good number can be 
stored either on the staging or floor till they have 
finished flowering. A temporary shelter may, however, 
be improvised in the absence of a greenhouse. By 
arranging the plants in a group by the side of a 
sheltering wall, a light temporary framework of some 
kind may be erected, over which a piece of canvas, 
mats, or anything else to hand can be thrown and 
secured by pieces of twine, or something that can 
readily be undone in the morning, when the canvas 
should be taken off, and again replaced at night. In 
the absence of glass, this is necessary in order to secure 
them from frosts of moderate severity, and to insure 
light during the day. By this means an enthusiastic 
amateur can do much to preserve his Chrysanthemum 
blooms from absolute destruction, and may even obtain 
wonderful results. 
The Lawn and Flower Garden. 
Do not relax attention to this department of the garden 
although the flowers are being destroyed by frost, and 
the falling leaves of the trees cause everything to 
assume an untidy appearance. Bake or sweep up the 
leaves before they get beaten into the walks or grass ; 
roll the turf and keep mowing if necessary till the grass 
ceases to grow so fast as to require it. Before mowing 
it may be necessary to sweep or roll the grass in order 
to destroy worm casts, which are liable to damage the 
mowing machine, as well as to appear untidy. The 
contrast between the well-kept gardens surrounding 
the house and the fields or lanes beyond, amply com¬ 
pensate for the trouble. 
-- 
HARKNESS’S NURSERIES AT 
BEDALE. 
Dear me, how time flies, for it is fully thirty years 
since I first visited Leeming Lane—then, as now, 
famous for its Boses, Dahlias, and other things ! 
There were the Mays—John, who died, and was suc¬ 
ceeded by his brother Henry, who was unfortunately 
thrown from his gig some years since and killed. Mr. 
Boston, now of Carthorpe, was their foreman for many 
years, and their Dahlias, Pelargoniums, Boses, &c., 
told a tale at the various exhibitions. Then there was 
John Harrison, of Darlington, afterwards of Catterick 
Bridge, one of the old school, who grew Dahlias exten¬ 
sively and grandly, as well as Boses. He, too, has 
joined the great majority, and the business has passed 
to Messrs. Mack & Sons, who are famous Bose growers. 
Mr. Boston also, at his nurseries at Carthorpe, grows 
Dahlias and Boses, so that the old prestige of Bedale is 
maintained, and very considerably strengthened by the 
addition of Messrs. Harkness & Sons, at their Exelby 
Lane, and The Grange Nurseries, Leeming Lane, close 
to Bedale. 
It is nine years since the two brothers (the father, 
although still hearty, takes no part in the business) 
resolved on commencing for themselves, and with a 
deep love for flowers, coupled with a determination to 
succeed in growing them, commenced their career as 
florists ; and if any one thing can bear testimony as to 
how great has been their success, why a visit to their 
extensive nurseries during the summer and autumn 
will do it. But they have a greater record of success 
in their competitions at leading flower shows. In 1881 
the firm was successfully competing at the larger 
autumn shows in the north—always a stronghold for 
florists’ flowers, and where the best cultivation was sure 
to be found. That year they succeeded in taking the 
premier prize at the great International Exhibition at 
Manchester for thirty-six and twenty-four Dahlias, in 
the face of a strong competition. The following year 
found them at the International Exhibition, where 
they again secured the premier prize for Dahlias, beating 
the stalwart sons of the “Land o’ Cakes,” and from 
that period the firm seems to have made marvellous 
progress. 
It was in 1884 when they seriously took Boses in 
hand and practically commenced budding them, and as 
a proof of the rapid progress made by the firm, I may 
say that two challenge trophies offered by the N.B.S. 
for seventy-two Boses, besides nearly fifty other first 
prizes, have fallen to their lot. This year their success 
has been great, sixty-five first prizes having been 
gained, and the fifty-guinea chaUenge trophy retained, 
notwithstanding a contest of unusual severity, eighteen 
of our best growers entering for this prize, and the 
majority of them staging. The result was the more 
creditable, as the winning collection contained seventeen 
superb Tea Boses, which were always supposed to he 
difficult to grow so far north. The season of 1888 
must be acknowledged to have been a most trying 
one, and decidedly against the full development of 
Teas—the loveliest of the Bose 'family. Still, the 
brothers have secured eighteen prizes out of twenty 
stands they staged during the season, and they speak 
well of the hardiness of many of the newer kinds 
especially, which should cause an extended cultivation 
of Tea Boses in the north. 
The stock of Boses annually propagated here is 
70,000, the Manetti and cutting Briar being used 
principally. From 8,000 to 10,000 “cut-backs” are 
kept going for cutting for exhibition during the early 
part of July, these being supplemented by tlie 
“maidens,” which are usually about fourteen days 
later here than in the south. Teas are grown with 
no protection beyond earthing up all round each plant, 
pretty much as Potatos are furrowed up, and the 
vigour of the plants is remarkable. 
But Boses are not the only things that are done well 
here. Carnations and Picotees occupy nearly half an 
acre, the leading popular border kinds mostly finding 
a place here, and of some of the well-known kinds 
2,000 plants of each are wanted to meet the demand. 
The plants were in full beauty when I saw them, and 
as careful hybridisation has been the order of the day, 
there were to be seen very fine home-raised kinds, in 
which the yellow-ground section was in great variety, 
many of them being very beautiful indeed. What 
grand border flowers these hardy free-growing kinds 
are ! 
Herbaceous plants are cultivated by the acre, for 
four acres are devoted to them. Pyrethrums (I was 
told there were 10,000) were blooming away, late as it 
was, and were a wonderful sight. Of the Perennial 
Sunflowers—Helianthus multiflorus and H. multiflorus 
pleno, the latter a very desirable kind, 5,000 plants 
are now growing. German Irises number several 
thousands. Early Chrysanthemums were exceedingly 
gay in the middle of September, and most useful for 
cutting, Madame Desgrange and its varieties especially 
so, also Madame Leonie Lassali and Mrs. T. B. Pitcher, 
both of later introduction. A large breadth of Gladioli 
is grown, and these were in perfection when I called at 
Leeming Lane. They were then cutting for the 
Manchester Show—a grand lot which I see has carried 
off the first prize. 
Iceland Poppies, Papaver nndicaule and its varieties, 
are here in abundance—beds of them, and few plants in 
masses have a brighter or more pleasing appearance. 
Beds of them were gloriously bright in September, their 
soft shades of scarlet, orange, and white contrasting so 
charmingly. Surely Iceland Poppies will become 
everybody’s plants, as they are so easy to grow! 
Pansies and Violas are two specialties, and close upon 
100,000 plants are annually sent out. Mrs. Sinkins 
Pink is about as well known now as any Pink, and in 
1887, a very hot dry summer as will be remembered, 
Messrs. Harkness succeeded in saving a batch of seed 
from it. This seed was sown in cold frames in October, 
and the seedlings planted out in April of this year, a 
good proportion of them flowering out of the 7,000 
plants, and not a single variety amongst them. I 
noticed several variations from the old type, some of 
them considerable improvements, and the batch will 
be an interesting one next year. 
I did not expect to see double Primroses grown 
to such a great extent as they are at Leeming Lane— 
bed after bed of the principal kinds in crimson, purple, 
yellow, white, lilac, and sulphur, many in full bloom 
in September, and growing so freely. It was truly a 
treat to see them in such health and quantities. Dean’s 
strain of hardy Giant Polyanthus, yellow, white, and 
coloured, is grown extensively, about 100,000 plants 
being now under cultivation. A large bed of Souvenir 
de la Malmaison Carnation was in luxuriant health, 
with evidently very little care bestowed upon it, but 
then they were sturdy, healthy plants with a good 
healthy look. 
Seedling Gaillardias, bed after bed, luxuriate here 
in the nursery beds from seed sown out of doors in 
March and transplanted; even such things as the 
better kinds of Aquilegias, Polemoniums, the white 
Everlasting Pea, Primula denticulata purpurea, and 
