672 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
June 20, 1896. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Asparagus Beds.—Although Asparagus is usually 
looked upon as a luxury even now, that idea is 
surely, if somewhat slowly, being dispelled, and the 
occupier of many a small garden is able to enjoy in 
season the exquisite flavour of the delicate shoots. 
Cutting, however, should now cease entirely, and the 
plants be allowed to send up as many shoots as they 
wish, and grow away just as they like. The recent 
ains will have done an incalculable amount of good, 
and it will be surprising how soon the young stems 
will increase in size. 
Weeds will now begin to give trouble, and as it is 
not practicable to extirpate them by means of the 
hoe for obvious reasons, hand picking must be 
resorted to. The alleys between the beds may of 
course be kept clean by the hoe. Many growers fill 
up these intervening paths by cropping them with 
some other vegetable. This is very well in its way, 
but it may easilj be carried too far. It is most 
emphatically not good policy to crop in between 
Asparagus beds with vegetables that take a great 
deal out of the soil, for the beds naturally become 
impoverished thereby. A crop or two of Lettuces, 
however, may very well be obtained without doing 
very much towards robbing the Asparagus of its 
necessary and rightful nutriment. 
Supporting the Stems.—As growth proceeds it 
will be necessary to aflord some of the largest of the 
stems, at all events, some support against gales of 
wind. It must be borne in mind that even a 
moderate wind exercises a deal of effect upon the 
slender stems, the outspread of the branches being 
so great. If these stems are snapped, the roots 
carrying them are very greatly the losers, and are 
unable to develop a store of buds for the next 
season, or at the best if the buds are formed they 
are too weak to be of much use. The best method 
of guarding against this is to insert ordinary Pea 
sticks at intervals all over the bed, so as to break the 
force of the wind. 
Very often we see beds in which the growths have 
been allowed to hang over all round the edges just 
as they like. Now this is not only an indication of 
untidiness, and on that account an undesirable prac¬ 
tice, but it is also fraught with danger to the well 
being of the plants, as we have pointed out. A few 
stout stakes should be driven in all round the beds 
and some fairly strong tarred twine tied to these. 
Neatness and safety will thus be obtained, and both 
are of importance. 
Dressing with Salt.—Ordinary garden salt is a 
capital manure for Asparagus, and an occasional 
dressing proves of great service. It should be 
applied by hand, giving the ground a slight sprinkle 
as if sowing seed broadcast. Besides acting directly 
as a fertiliser, salt serves to keep the soil cool and 
moist, and also to check the growth of weeds. 
EndiYe. — Next to Lettuces this is one of the most 
important and most useful of saladings, and for filling 
the salad bowl in winter it is well nigh an indispens¬ 
able. As a rule Endive is not so eagerly sought for 
until the supply of Lettuce commences to run short, 
although there are many who prefer its flavour to 
that of Lettuce. Early sowings may be made 
towards the end of April, but for the main and most 
important sowing the middle of June is a capital 
time. By the exercise of a little trouble heads may 
be obtained as early in the autumn as they are 
required, whilst the more backward plants will keep 
up the supply right through the winter till spring. 
Where there is only one sowing to be made, there¬ 
fore, the present is the most suitable time to make it. 
Select a warm sheltered position, and draw the 
drills an inch deep and 6 in. apart. As soon as the 
seedliDgs are large enough to handle they should be 
carefully drawn out, with as little injury to their 
roots as possible, and transplanted to a prepared 
position, where the soil is light, but rich, and where 
they will receive the full benefit of the sun's rays. 
For the curled varieties a foot should be allowed 
each way. This will admit of the plants growing to 
a good size and making large heads. The broad 
leaved varieties are, as a rule, rather stronger 
growers, and therefore 15 in. of space each way will 
not be a whit too much to give, as the plants will 
soon cover the allotted space. Should the weather 
keep dry occasional waterings will be of great 
service. 
Instead of transplanting the young seedlings 
straight from the seed rows to their permanent 
quarters many good [growers prefer to put them 
through an intermediate stage, and treat them in 
much the same way as Celery. A small plot of 
ground is chosen, carefully forked over, and levelled, 
and the young plants dibbled in pretty closely, say 
3 in. or 4 in. apart. These nursery 4 beds receive 
especial attention, and as soon as the plants have 
attained a good size, they are carefully lifted with 
nice balls of earth attached, and planted with the 
trowel in their permanent quarters. The greatest 
advantage pertaining to this system is that the 
plants turn in rather sooner than they do under 
other conditions. 
Seed Rows.—After all the necessary stock has 
been drawn from the seed rows the remaining plants 
may be thinned to about 15 in. apart. These plants 
not having been moved at all will also come in fairly 
early, and although in ordinary seasons they will 
scarcely be so large as the later ones, yet they will 
furnish some excellent material. 
Subsequent Treatment. —During the summer 
months all that is required is an occasional watering 
if severe drought prevails. Weeds of course must 
be assiduously kept down. In fact it is an excellent 
plan to put the Dutch hoe to work now and again, 
whether there are many weeds present or no. The 
surface of the soil is thus kept nicely broken up, and 
prevented from becoming baked into a hard crust by 
the sun, whilst seedling weeds are destroyed in their 
infancy. 
Mustard and Cress.—Make a sowing of this every 
week to insure a constant supply of good material. 
The quantity of seed sown on each occasion will of 
course depend upon the demand. Shaded portions 
of the garden should be chosen, and the beds must 
be kept covered by a mat or other heavy shading. 
Plenty of water and close shade are both necessary 
if really good Mustard and Cress are to be forth¬ 
coming. 
Tuberous Begonias. — Where the pot plants are 
growing away strongly, it may be advisable to give 
some of the largest specimens a further shift. In 
such cases the roots of the plants operated on must 
be disturbed as little as possible. The plants should 
be simply knocked out and transferred, with the 
exception of the crocks at the base, into their new 
quarters. The compost may then be worked all 
round the balls by means of a thin lath. Do not pot 
too firmly, and above all do not fill the pots too full, 
as Begonias like plenty of water if they are to do 
really well. The soil should be fairly rich. Equal 
parts of good fibrous loam, peat, and dried horse 
droppings, the latter rubbed through a sieve, with 
sand, will answer well. Begonias in baskets must 
be looked after very closely for water, as they dry 
up so very quickly in hot weather. Any new shoots 
that have been thrown up by the plants from the 
bottom should be carefully tied to the rim of the 
basket, so as to exercise a gentle pressure down¬ 
wards. The strings may be tightened gradually 
until finally the shoots hang in the desired position. 
— 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. 
Rotten Pots. —Having received five dozen 10 in. 
pots for Chrysanthemums, I put them to soak on 
Saturday evening and took them out of the water the 
first thing Monday morning. Now I find there are 
eighteen of them so rotten that you can’t pick them 
up by taking hold of the top with one hand. What 
is the true cause of it ? is it injurious to the pots to 
soak them ? or are the pots in fault ?— Islander. 
There can be no doubt about it that the pots are 
entirely to blame, bad clay perhaps, or insufficient 
baking. It is always advisable to soak new pots or 
pans in water before using them, and such soakings 
do no harm to the pots whatever. Certainly the 
length of time yours were lying in the water should 
have had no effect upon them if they were properly 
made in the first place. 
Caterpillars on Gooseberry Bushes. — The best 
method of getting rid of the caterpillars from your 
Gooseberries, H. G., is to dust the affected shoots 
with Hellebore powder. This may be obtained from 
the chemist. As it is a deadly poison you must keep 
it out of the way of children and animals. The best 
method of applying it is to put it in a muslin bag, 
and holding the shoots with one hand, which should 
be gloved for obvious reasons, shake the bag con¬ 
taining the powder with the other. The powder 
may be left on for about twenty-four hours, during 
which time it will have effectually settled the cater¬ 
pillars. It will be well, however, to wash it off by 
means of the syringe at the expiration of that time. 
Climbing Roses. —Marechal Niel, Gloire de Dijon, 
and W. A. Richardson are certainly three of the very 
best climbing Roses, Exul. Cheshunt Hybrid and 
Crimson Rambler are also two varieties that should 
not be forgotten. 
Tuberous Begonias. —You may certainly pot your 
Begonias on into a larger size, J. Arran. You will 
find that Rex has something to say this week about 
this subject, which will we think give you just the 
information you need. 
Transplanting Mignonette. —It is very true that 
the idea has got about that Mignonette will not 
transplant properly, S. Devon, but it is after all only 
an idea. Given proper care and attention you will 
find that the greater part of the seedling plants will 
grow. Thus where seed has been of inferior quality, 
and gaps are observed in the rows, some of the plants 
may well be taken out of the places where they are 
thickest, and deficiencies thus made good. Frequent 
waterings in dry weather will greatly assist. 
New Zealand Flax. —This is the popular name 
of Phormium tenax, Ludo. The two species belong 
ing to the genus yield a quantity of fibre which 
is used for a variety of purposes. P. tenax, and its 
variegated varieties, are frequently used for sub¬ 
tropical gardening, as they do very well out of doors 
in our country during the summer months. They 
certainly cannot be considered hardy plants for they 
require protection during the winter. The plants 
are usually lifted therefore towards the close of 
autumn, although they are sometimes covered up as 
they stand and left outside. It would only be safe, 
however, to pursue this latter course in the southern 
counties. 
Trimming Palms.—S. Adcett asks if it is injurious 
to Palms to snip off the ends of the leaves with 
scissors as he has seen done ; also as to the cause for 
Palms going off in this way. 
Taking the latter question first, we may at once 
say that adverse conditions cause the fronds of Palms 
to become shabby, and anyone who knows how 
trying to the constitution of plants is the atmosphere 
of some dwelling rooms, will wonder rather that the 
poor plants stand it so well, rather than that they 
hang out signs of distress. 
Snipping off the dead portions with scissors can do 
no possible harm, and is, in fact, the only way of 
making the plants look presentable, once they get 
into a bad condition. 
Campanula isophylla alba. —Inquirer wishes to 
know how to propagate this pretty little Campanula, 
and asks if it is worth while for him to attempt it, as 
he is by no means a skilled gardener. 
Certainly ! have a try by all means, for success in 
this case is not very difficult of attainment. Take 
off the points of the shoots, say about 2 in. in length, 
and insert them five or six in a small pot in light 
sandy soil. Stand the cuttings in a cold frame, 
water them carefully whenever they are dry, and 
shade them from the sun. In two or three weeks' 
time, supposing they are treated well, they will have 
made roots, and may then be potted off. 
Arum Lilies.—In the answer to T. L., on page 640, 
I notice that he is advised to plant his Arum Lilies 
out in the open during the summer months after they 
have done flowering. I am perfectly well aware that 
this is the course pursued by many, but personally I 
do not think it to be so profitable as the method of 
potting the plants on after a brief rest. I find that 
plants that are kept growing in pots invariably 
flower sooner than those which are planted out of 
doors and lifted and potted up in the autumn. 
About the middle of June, therefore, I shake the old 
plants out, divide them up if necessary, and pot 
them up in rich soil. They are then consigned to a 
cold frame. No water is given them at first, but 
they are sprinkled over with the syringe occasionally. 
They soon commence to grow, and by autumn make 
