92 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October^l2, 1895. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Preparation for Frost. 
On every hand the foliage of the trees is commencing 
to assume the usual tints of autumn, the nights 
begin to grow colder, and the wind to sough among 
the branches with the low moaning cadences that 
may well sound to the fancifully-inclined as if it 
were mourning the glories of the summer, soon alas ! 
to leave us entirely ; but to the practical gardener's 
mind other ideas and thoughts than these are 
generated by the turn of the leaves. Cold weather 
is coming, frost may be expected at any moment, 
and I must make what preparation I can against its 
ravages, is the thought that prompts the action of the 
gardener. We have this year had a most excep¬ 
tional season, and the autumn-blooming plants have 
had a right royal time of it. Now, however, the end 
of their all-too-brief period of life and beauty is near 
at hand, for one night may work a terrible change in 
the appearance of the flower garden. 
Plants in Pots. —Of late years the custom of 
plunging large plants of Palms, Acacias, Fuchsias, 
etc., in tubs or pots, in beds, borders, or on lawns, 
has been extensively adopted. This is a fact upon 
which we may well congratulate ourselves as being 
a step in the right direction. Not only is it possible 
to get a great deal more of variety in the garden by 
this means, but a more tropical and luxuriant 
appearance is imparted to it. If the plunging is 
neatly done none other than a close observer could 
tell that the plants were not really growing in 
their several positions, whilst the fact of their being 
in pots or tubs renders it a comparatively simple 
matter to take them in out of harm’s way upon the 
threatened supervention of severe frost. It follows 
that it is but natural that the owner of the garden 
should like to leave the plants out of doors as long 
as the weather permits, but an exceedingly close 
watch must be kept upon the movements of the 
thermometer, or the too-consistent procrastinator 
may have cause to lament his undue tardiness. 
Vases.— It is astonishing how much a number of 
vases scattered about the garden add to its beauty, 
provided a little taste is exercised in filling them. If 
any Grevilleas, Fuchsias, etc., have been used for 
central plants, these will need to be taken out as 
soon as frost threatens. Instead of leaving the 
places they have occupied bare altogether a few 
dwarf hardy Conifers, also in pots, maybe dropped in. 
Suitable stuff may be obtained from the nurserymen 
at a surprisingly low cost, and indeed it will be 
found that the effect they produce will more than 
repay their cost. A few degrees of frost will not 
harm American Aloes to any appreciable extent, 
although these must on no account be left out too 
long. 
Cuttings. —It is now high time that all the 
cuttings which it is proposed to insert were seen to. 
Steps should likewise be taken to insure the safety 
of those which were put into pots or boxes early in 
September. These will now have rooted. Before 
consigning them to their winter quarters they should 
be looked over, and any leaves that are quite dead, 
and easily detachable on that account, picked off. 
Do not attempt to remove those leaves that are 
simply yellow or shabby, however, for to do so a 
great deal too much force would have to be exercised, 
and this would endanger the cutting, for if roughly 
uprooted the chances are greatly in favour of its 
going home some time during the ensuing winter. 
If room can be had in the greenhouse the best place 
for the cuttings is on a shelf near the glass, but fail¬ 
ing that let them be given a light position as near 
to the glass as possible. For the ordinary Zonal 
Pelargoniums but very little heat is necessary, 
providing the cuttings are healthy. A temperature 
of about 45 0 Fahr. is ample, providing a good 
circulation of air is kept up, damp being the greatest 
enemy this class of plant has to contend with. 
Plants to be Lifted.— It often happens that 
there are a few nice plants growing in beds or 
borders that it is desired to preserve during the 
winter. These, therefore, will have to be carefully 
lifted and potted up. It is a great mistake, more¬ 
over, to drive off the operation of lifting until the 
very last moment, although the feeling that prompts 
this, namely, of dislike to spoiling the beauty of the 
beds any sooner than can possibly be helped, is after 
all only a natural one. By potting such plants up 
before the autumn has too far advanced they are 
enabled to get somewhat recovered of the check 
through lifting, which they are bound to receive in a 
greater or less degree, no matter how carefully the 
operation is performed, and thus they stand a much 
better chance of battling with the low temperatures 
and damp, saturated atmospheres that autumn and 
winter bring in their train. 
Falling Leaves.— No matter whether the gar¬ 
dener be amateur or professional, he is usually 
sufficiently human to give vent to a series of growls, 
more or less vindictive, against the falling leaves 
which scatter themselves all over the place, whirled 
here and there by the fitful autumn winds, so sorely 
in opposition to his instincts and ideas of tidiness. 
How many wielders of the broom or rake can hide 
their feelings of despair when a playful gust of wind 
gently scatters a shower of the mobile leaves over 
the area so carefully swept or raked, as the case may 
be, a few moments before. Down goes the broom 
and the disappointed individual hisses out in tones, 
in which anger and sorrow struggle for the mastery, 
“ of what use is it to sweep ? That was clean and 
tidy a moment ago, and now look ! ”—after which, if 
he is a Briton and a philosopher, he will pick up his 
tool and start to work again with unabated ardour, 
until the next time. 
As we have remarked over and over again, one of 
the greatest advantages derived by the amateur 
gardener from his garden is the exercise that both 
body and mind receive in attending to it. This 
exercise is most apparent perhaps at this time of the 
year ; for that it gives plenty of employment to the 
body no one who has ever perspired at the end of a 
broom or rake will deny, whilst the exercise the 
mind receives is almost an undeniable fact, for on 
such occasions we have been surprised at the extent 
and comprehensiveness of some people’s vocabularies. 
There can be no doubt about it that to keep a garden 
tidy and free from fallen leaves at this time of the 
year will keep a man busy, whilst it also usually 
makes him talk in a more less excited strain. In 
previous issues we have laid stress upon the 
advisability of keeping the grass regularly mown. 
The advantage of doing this will now be apparent in 
the comparative ease with which the broom or rake 
may be used upon well-kept lawns. 
Leaf Mould. —All amateur gardeners who have 
had any experience at all are aware of the value of a 
heap of good leaf mould. In picking up a gardening 
book or paper even the veriest tyro can scarcely 
have failed to notice that the usual formula 
for the soil in which to grow any particular 
plant is so much loam, so much leaf soil, and 
so much sand; and this is repeated so often 
that it becomes monotonous, and the novice is 
inclined to wonder whatever is in this leaf soil to 
make it so necessary as it would appear to be ? 
This, of course, is a question that we cannot attempt 
to answer at present; it must suffice to say that leaf 
soil is an important ingredient in making up com¬ 
posts for pot plants, and happy is the amateur who 
has a supply of it ready for use when required. 
Those who have hitherto had to purchase the 
necessary quantity of leaf mould might well, by dint 
of a little labour now, lay up a stock of their own, 
and thus 'utilise the fallen leaves which they have 
been at such pains to collect, and which they have 
doubtless pretty freely anathematised. A heap 
should be made in an out-of-the-way corner of the 
kitchen garden, and if it can be surrounded by boards 
or mesh-wire so much the better, as this will prevent 
the leaves from blowing about again. Should they 
get dry they may be watered occasionally to assist 
decomposition, giving them a turn over and a shake 
up with the fork now and again.— Rex. 
■ I« - 
PEACH LEAVES. 
No, Vents, you must not be too impatient with your 
Peach tree. It is quite natural that you should 
wish to give your Chrysanthemums as much light 
as possible, for as you rightly say they will get 
rather drawn if subjected to too much loss of light. 
This, however, is one of the small evils which you 
must put up with, and the injury to the “ mums ” 
may, after all, not be of a serious nature. Anyway, 
unless you wish to injure your Peach tree, which 
you say has borne such a fine crop of fruit this year, 
you must not be too heavy-handed in forcing off the 
leaves, as these have a work to perform, and if you 
remove them prematurely, well, the work is not 
done, that is all. A soft broom may be drawn lightly 
over the tree, starting from the base and working 
upwards. This will remove all the leaves that 
are properly matured without injury to the buds. 
-- 
AGAPANTHOS UMBELLATUS. 
I became possessed of two fine plants of Agapanthus 
umbellatus in the spring, and they have bloomed 
grandly with me all the summer, writes Acqua. Are 
they hardy ? and if not, when must I take them in ? 
No time should be lost in seeing about housing 
the plants, as they are not hardy, and a few degrees 
of frost may injure them. They will pass through 
the winter safely if given a place in the greenhouse, 
although they must not be dried off and kept entirely 
without water till spiring, as we sometimes see done. 
Agapanthus umbellatus is possessed of a splendidly 
robust constitution, and its cultivation may be confi¬ 
dently undertaken by even the most amateurish— 
Amateur. 
MY FUCHSIAS. 
My Fuchsias have been blooming splendidly all 
the summer in the greenhouse and in the 
windows of the dwelling house, but now they 
are decidedly shabby; what am I to do with 
them ? This is the burden of the cry of 
more than one amateur now, a fact that speaks 
sufficiently decisively of the high esteem in which 
Fuchsias are held by the flower-loving public. 
During the winter months they may be kept easily 
enough in any shed or cellar from which the frost is 
excluded. It is a very common practice, and one 
that may be confidently recommended, to lay the 
plants on their sides under the greenhouse stage. 
But a certain amount of preparation is necessary 
before this plan can be carried out; the plants must 
be allowed' to shed their leaves naturally, the wood 
must be induced to ripen off nicely, and they must 
be permitted to pass into the resting period only by 
very easy and gradual stages. Some place should 
be found for them now where they will get the 
benefit of all the sunlight obtainable. It they are 
put out of doors during the day they must be taken 
in at night in case of frosts. Water meanwhile may 
be gradually withheld until finally, as the roots lapse 
into a state of inactivity, none will be required. By 
this time the wood will have attained the necessary 
degree of firmness, and the plants may be safely put 
away for the winter in the place that has been found 
most convenient for them. Take notice that the 
labels, if they are named sorts, are firmly inserted, 
for as the soil shrinks from the sides of the pots the 
labels often drop out and the names are lost, or, 
worse still, mixed up, not a little worry and vexation 
being thus caused. 
- ■!> 
FORDHOOK FARM, PENNSYLVANIA. 
The south-eastern corner of Pennsylvania is con¬ 
sidered the garden of that State—a term that applies 
not only to cultivation but the natural scenery as 
well. Here is situated Fordhook Farm, the extensive 
seed farm and trial grounds of Messrs. W. Atlee 
Burpee & Co., of Philadelphia. It is situated 
within a mile and a half of Doylestown station on 
the Reading railroad. The visitor to this locality is 
charmed with the natural scenery as well as with 
the various trials, experiments, and acres of a vast 
assemblage of all sorts of flowers and vegetables, 
useful and ornamental, grown for the production of 
seed. Last year something like 6,722 samples of 
seeds were placed under observation in the trial pots 
and beds. The whole farm is admirably managed 
by a large staff of workmen under the various depart¬ 
mental foremen. All the necessary plant for the 
harvesting, cleaning and storing of seeds, as well as 
a seed house, are fitted up on the farm, so that w^hen 
the weather outside forbids, inside occupation can be 
found for a large number of tjie staff'. 
An outsider has written up a history of the work- 
done at Fordhook Farm, in the shape of a pamphlet 
which is profusely illustrated with reproductions of 
photographs of various subjects under trial as well 
as local scenery. Amongst trials of flowers, there 
are representations of China Asters, Sweet Peas, 
Pansies, Ricinus zanzibarensis, beds of rare flowers for 
seed, largest [flowering Petunias, Phlox Drummondi 
grandifiora, in bloom and also being harvested, 
Tropaeolums, and many other subjects. Vegetables 
are also represented by fields of young Asparagus, 
