640 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
June 6, 1896. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Window Boxes.—No time should be lost in filling 
these with suitable plants, so that as long a season 
of beauty as possible may be obtained. With such 
a host of suitable subjects it should not be difficult 
to make the windows look gay and bright all through 
the summer, and it is astonishing how many pretty 
combinations of two or more subjects may be made 
by dint of the exercise of a little taste. 
For windows in a sunny position there are numbers 
of flowering subjects that will grow well and look 
well. White Marguerites come in splendidly for 
the back rows, and as they flower away all through 
the summer without intermission they are always 
showy. For a front row some plants of a pendant 
habit should be used, so that they may hang over 
the sides of the boxes and partially hide the edges. 
Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums are admirable for this 
purpose, and if the boxes are kept well watered, the 
plants will keep all their leaves and will flower pro¬ 
fusely. Yellow Calceolarias edged with blue Lobelias 
are very effective. Scarlet zonal Pelargoniums, too, 
come in wonderfully well for the back rows. Other 
showy plants are Fuchsias, single and double 
Petunias, and Nasturtiums. As all of these resist 
the smoke fairly well they answer admirably for 
villa windows in suburban districts. Whilst speaking 
of suitable plants we must not forget the Creeping 
Jenny, (Lysimachia Nummularia). This is a splendid 
plant for the front as once it is established it grows 
with great vigour, and is not long in making a 
show. 
In shaded windows, such as those with a northern 
or eastern aspect, hardy ferns revel. For an edging 
plant Isolepis gracilis, which is such a familar 
subject in our greenhouses and cool conservatories, 
is very suitable. All it seems to want is plenty of 
water, and a slight shading from the hot sun. Given 
these requisites it will look wonderfully fresh and 
green throughout the summer months. 
Soil for boxes. —Two thirds of good loam chopped 
up finely with the spade, one third of leaf soil which 
has been carefully freed from sticks and stones, and 
a sprinkling of coarse river sand, well mixed together, 
make an excellent compost for window boxes. It is 
not advisable to make the soil too rich, especially if 
it is proposed to plant Pelargoniums in it, as these 
make far too much growth if the soil is too fat, with 
the result that they do not flower so freely. It will 
be better to make the soil of medium richness now, 
and then to give a little manurial stimulant by and 
by when growth is further advanced, and the plants 
likely to reap more benefit from it. 
Drainage.—As window boxes take a great deal of 
water owing to their full exposure to the drying 
influences of wind and sun, it is very necessary to 
see that the drainage is ample. The holes in the 
bottoms of the boxes should first be covered with 
pieces of crock with the concave side placed down¬ 
wards. Next a layer of crocks or broken bricks to 
the depth of at least an inch for shallow boxes, and 
1 i in. to 2 in. for deeper ones. Upon the crocks a 
layer of moss should be placed so as to prevent the 
soil from being washed down among the drainage and 
thereby choking it up. 
Amaryllis.—As soon as the plants in the green¬ 
house have lost their flowers they should be taken 
out and placed in a frame, keeping this a little closer 
than usual. Plenty of water must be given to them 
as long as the leaves keep their freshness, but as 
soon as they begin to turn colour water may be 
gradually withheld, until finally the plants may be 
allowed to go entirely to rest. 
Heliotropes. —The value of these pretty plants for 
bedding purposes is well known, and although it 
cannot be claimed for them that they are the most 
showy of plants, still the delicious fragrance of their 
flowers makes up for a good deal. A bed or two 
filled with them is sure to receive a goodly share of 
attention during the summer months. The best plan 
in planting them is to put them in rather thinly and 
to " lay ” them down. This means that, instead of 
the central stem standing bolt upright, it should be 
inclined so as to rest upon the ground for a good 
part of its length. As growth proceeds the shoots 
may be distributed over the vacant spaces and pegged 
down by means of small wooden pegs. The inter¬ 
vening spaces will thus soon he covered, that is to 
say if the ladies of the household can be kept from 
exercising their scissors upon the plants. It is not 
altogether advantageous to be popular, and thus the 
poor Heliotrope from its suitability for filling flower 
vases in dwelling rooms often has a sad time of it 
and is cut well nigh to death. 
Top-dressing Cucumbers.—Where the hot bed 
was made up early in the season so as to get the 
plants in betimes, the said plants, if they have been 
fruiting freely, will by this time have become rather 
shabby and well nigh exhausted apparently. . There 
are of course two plans that may be put in practice. 
One is to root the old plants out and to put in fresh 
ones ; the other to endeavour to give the old ones a 
new lease of life. The latter plan has a good deal to 
recommend it, more especially the saving of time 
that is thereby effected. Fruit is much more quickly 
obtained from these old plants if they are coddled up 
a bit, than it would be from young ones, and the 
quality is about equal. Any old plants therefore 
that appear to have got nearly to the end of their 
tether should be gone over with the knife, and the 
greater part of the haulm cut clean out. A few of 
the strongest and healthiest looking pieces should be 
left and these may be evenly distributed over the 
surface of the bed, and if it is thought desirable, 
pegged down in their several positions. A top¬ 
dressing composed of good loam and cow manure 
well mixed together may then be spread over the 
whole of the bed to the depth of about i in. or ijin. 
The pit or frame must then be kept close and well 
shaded, and the syringe plied regularly twiceaday. It 
will not be long before the bare stems begin to throw 
out leaves. Roots will be formed at numerous nodes 
of the stems, in a very short space of time the plants 
will be in full bearing again, and as vigorous as ever 
they were. Plenty of heat, close shading, and 
abundance of moisture both in the atmosphere and 
at the roots are the essentials to success. 
Melons in frames. —Many amateurs run off with 
the idea that it is beyond their power to grow 
Melons because they are not able to command the 
latest patterns of heated houses; but this is a mistake, 
for Melons of excellent quality can be grown during 
the summer months in ordinary frames, providing a 
little care is exercised. Frames that have been 
utilised for growing early Potatos in will now be 
cleared of their contents, and they may very well be 
used for a crop of Melons. Some of the old soil may 
be taken out, and the remainder levelled down nicely, 
A barrowful of good loam may then be put into the 
centre of each light, so as to form a mound, the top 
of which may be about i ft. away from the glass. 
On this mound the young Melons may be planted, 
making the soil nicely firm about their roots by 
means of a wooden rammer. The young plants will 
need careful shadmg from the hot sun for a few days 
until they have quite got over the check of planting 
out. Afterwards, however, they must be given all 
the sunlight possible. Syringe the plants regularly 
night and morning in bright weather. During dull 
periods the syringe should not be called into action 
or the resulting moisture may do harm. The frame 
should be kept close at all times, and must be shut 
up early in the afternoon so as to imprison a good 
deal of the sun’s heat. The temperature will not 
then decline too much during the night. Air must 
at all times be given carefully, and anything like 
cold draughts studiously avoided, or good-bye to 
the chances of obtaining a crop.— Rex. 
-•*—- 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
"Amateurs' Page ” on the top of their letters. 
Saxifraga trifurcata is the name of the plant you 
send, A. Oban. It was brought from Spain about 
the year 1804. 
Weeds on Paths. —The best method of getting rid 
of the weeds upon your paths, Ion, is to invest in a 
quantity of one of the weed killers advertised from 
time to time in our columns. In applying any one 
of these you must be careful not to allow the fluid to 
touch the grass edges, or the grass will suffer. Any 
cans that are used for it should also be put carefully 
out of the way, and not used for watering other plants 
with. Salt may be employed certainly, but it is not 
so effective a remedy as the fluid destroyers. 
Lifting Tulips. —Please tell me if there is any test 
whereby I may ascertain when it is safe to lift my 
Tulips ? I am waiting to get the summer plants in, 
but am afraid to lift the Tulips for fear of injuring 
them.—IF. R. S. 
The drought this season has caused the Tulips to 
commence ripening off much quicker than they 
usually do in ordinary seasons. You may therefore 
lift your bulbs without much fear now. To make 
assurance doubly sure now, however, it will be as 
well to cover them with ashes in a nice open spot 
where they can finish ripening without being 
disturbed. In testing Tulips as to their fitness for 
lifting, the old florists used to bend the stems. If 
these would bend without breaking, the bulbs were 
considered to be ready for lifting. 
Removing male blossoms from Cucumbers.—It 
is very true that many gardeners keep the male 
blooms picked off their Cucumber plants, J. Williams, 
but the operation is not of the great importance that 
you imagine it to be. Some good is doubtless done by 
treating weak plants thus, but, as a rule, Cucumbers 
grow strongly enough without this little attention. 
You must pinch the points out of shoots that have 
reached to the sides of the frame, and if the growths 
are too thick a few of them may be cut clean out. 
Watering Cacti. —You appear to have got hold of 
only half the truth, G. All plants require some 
amount of moisture to enable them to live, although 
some, of course, need very much less than others. 
Cacti are a case in point. Yon may keep them on 
very much less water than you would, say, a Pelar¬ 
gonium, but do not dry them off altogether. Such a 
measure would be fatal. 
Agapanthus umbellatus. — The position you 
describe, Aloe, just by the side of a stream, would 
suit the noble Agapanthus splendidly. If the pots 
are standing 4 in. or 5 in. deep in the water all the 
better. Liquid manure occasionally will render good 
service. 
Grevillea robusta. —Will this plant do out of 
doors in the summer ? I propose plunging it, pot 
and all, in the centre of a circular bed. — P. P. 
Certainly it will, and it will look very pretty too. 
There is no objection to plunging the pot with it, but 
you must be careful not to let the plant suffer from 
lack of water, as when the roots are enclosed in the 
pot the plant will be, in a measure, prevented from 
making use of the water in the surrounding soil. 
Arum Lilies. —Your plants have done enough for 
the season, T.L., and the shabby look is perfectly 
natural. Gradually curtail the water supply so as 
to give them a rest. In the beginning of June you 
may plant them out in an open border for the 
summer. 
Wistaria sinensis. —The complaint you make of 
your Wistaria flowers going off quickly is all too 
common a one this season, J. Tiverton. The hot sun 
combined with the drought has been the cause of 
this. In some cases the colour has begun to fade 
from the flowers almost as soon as the buds 
expanded. 
Morello Cherries.—There is no reason why your 
tree should not finish its fruit nicely, L. A., if you 
are kind to it. The fact of its having borne a good 
crop last year is not sufficient to prevent its bearing 
one this, provided it is properly attended to. An 
occasional dose of weak farmyard manure will help 
it wonderfully. 
Yegetable Marrows. —To do these really well, 
5 . T. Grayson, they must be given a rich soil with 
which plenty of manure has been incorporated. 
Some of the finest Marrows we have ever seen or 
tasted were actually grown on the top of an old 
manure heap. They sent out strong shoots which 
extended a great distance from the spot in which the 
plants were growing. 
Plants for a Cottage Window. —From some few 
years experience of cottage shows, I should say the 
best window plants (see p. 624) are flowering 
Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, Musks, Begonias &c. But 
as these are only useful for a short season I should 
recommend Aspidistras, Araucaria excelsa, Aralia 
Sieboldii, Asparagus, Ivy, Palms &c. The two best 
house or window plants are the Aspidistra and 
Araucaria; these are hardy and will succeed with 
