816 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 22, 1896. 
Mints for ||mateurs. 
Potting Ferns.— It often happens that if the plants 
have been well looked after during the summer 
months, and have grown vigorously in consequence, 
that they have produced a mass of roots at the 
bottom, and round the sides of the pot, and these 
roots will have crept through the hole in the bottom 
of the pot, and rooted amongst the shingle upon 
which they are standing. In cases of this kind a 
further shift may be of advantage, provided a cer¬ 
tain amount of care is exercised. It must be borne 
in mind that potting in autumn, or late summer, is 
very different to potting in spring. In the latter 
case the plants have the greater part of the growing 
season in front of them, and even if the shift is rather 
a large one no harm results, as the roots soon run 
amongst the new soil with freedom. Now, however, 
it is very different! Root action may be vigorous 
enough for a while, undoubtedly, but the days are 
rapidly shortening. As week after week passes, the 
dew lies longer upon the grass, the nights get cooler 
and damper, and any water that may be given dries 
up more slowly. The roots will be less active dur¬ 
ing the period when nature gradually sinks to rest, 
and it would greatly imperil the chances of a plant 
passing successfully through the winter if a lot of 
cold wet soil is allowed to hang about the roots. 
Even this brief survey of the conditions under 
which plant life is placed during the latter part of 
the year will convince the amateur that potting now 
needs a deal of careful and judicious consideration, 
if it is to be productive of good and not of harm. 
A size larger pot than the one the plants are at 
present occupying will be quite sufficient, and under 
no consideration would it be advisable to allow more 
room than this. Such a shift will admit of a little 
fresh compost being worked all round the sides of 
the ball where the young and active roots are situ¬ 
ated and this is really all that is required. 
Preparing the plants for potting.—After knock¬ 
ing the plants out of the pots, the crocks at the 
bottom must be carefully removed, if possible. We 
say " if possible " advisedly, for the removal of the 
crocks is often a very delicate operation, owing to 
the matting of the roots around them. If the 
drainage cannot be removed without breaking away 
a lot of these young roots it will be better to let it 
remain just as it is, rather than to run the risk. The 
roots round the sides of the ball should be gently 
picked out by means of a pointed stick. This will 
set the ends free, and they will the more readily take 
hold of the new soil. 
The compost may consist of equal parts of peat 
and loam, with plenty of sharp silver sand. If peat 
cannot be procured, leaf soil will answer the purpose 
very well. Before using it, however, it should be 
freed from all rubbish, such as sticks, and stones, of 
which there is sure to be a fair proportion present. 
Top-dressing Ferns. — Such plants as it is not 
thought advisable to pot may be smartened up con¬ 
siderably by a good top-dressing. Some of the sur¬ 
face soil may be removed by means of a pointed 
stick, and fresh soil substituted for it. By adding more 
sand to the compost employed for potting, some 
excellent material for top-dressing purposes may be 
obtained. 
Autumn Sown Onions.— The present is an ad¬ 
mirable time for making an autumn sowing of 
Onions. Where the peculiar flavour of young 
Onions is appreciated in the salad bowl, it is no bad 
thing to have such a source of supply as a seed bed 
sown down some time about the middle of August. 
The time of sowing is of considerable importance, 
as the young plants should be of sufficient size to be 
useful before winter sets in in earnest, and yet not 
advanced enough to be liable to sustain injury from 
severe frost. After the long spell of dry weather the 
ground will be very warm, and will retain its heat 
for some time. In the event, therefore, of the latter 
part of August turning out showery, germination will 
be very rapid. It is true that in some parts of the 
country, particularly in the neighbourhood of 
London, some grand falls of rain have taken place, 
but in others the rain has been more conspicuous by 
its absence. 
Position. — This should be warm, and sheltered 
from cold east and north winds, yet open to the rays 
of the sun. A south border is an ideal place, and if 
a portion of space can be spared here, by all means 
give the Onions the benefit of it. 
Preparation of the Soil.—It will scarcely be 
necessary to make such elaborate preparations as 
for a spring sown bed. A good dressing of soot or 
wood ashes is to be strongly recommended. This 
should be thoroughly incorporated with the soil by 
means of a good forking over. Afterwards the 
surface may be levelled and trodden firmly, as if for 
the spring crop. The drills should be rather shal¬ 
low, and may be drawn about a foot apart. 
Yarieties.—There are several really good varieties 
that do splendidly for autumn sowing. Giant Zittau 
grows to a great size, and is favoured above all 
other sorts by many who grow for exhibition. 
Giant Rocca is very hardy, keeps well, possesses a 
very fine flavour, and, as it reaches a large size, is 
likewise suitable for growing for exhibition purposes. 
The lemon-coloured Giant Rocca is also well worth 
growing. Ailsa Craig and Giant Tripoli are two 
other excellent sorts for autumn sowing. From this 
selection of five varieties, any amateur may be sure 
of obtaining something to suit him, for all can be 
confidently recommended. 
Strawberries.—If Strawberry plantations have 
not been given their annual trimming, no time 
should be lost in seeing about it. By this time many 
of the runners will have rooted naturally 
into the soil. By going over the bed with a trowel 
first of all and carefully lifting the strongest and 
best rooted layers a supply of decent plants may be 
obtained. These should be planted out for the time 
being in a prepared border where they will soon 
pick up. Bye-and-bye when new plantations have to 
be made, or vacancies filled up, these chance plants 
will come in very handy. In many country places 
the trimming up of the old Strawberry stools is apt 
to be a somewhat barbarous operation ; for often 
we have seen the stumps with every vestige of 
leaf ruthlessly cut away. Now this, to say the 
least of it, is not enlightened gardening, and the 
practice is capable of a good deal of improvement. 
A moment’s thought will convince the operator that 
it is a serious thing thus to absolutely defoliate any 
plant, at any stage of its growth, and if the Straw¬ 
berry puts up with it better than other things it is 
only because it is blessed with a stronger constitu¬ 
tion. All the runners and the greater part of the 
old leaves may be removed without fear, but a few 
leaves towards the centre of the crown must be left 
to carry on the work of the plant until new leaves 
have been made in the course of subsequent growth. 
All rubbish, weeds, trimmings, etc., should be 
carted off the ground as soon as possible and burnt 
out of the way. The ashes will make valuable 
manure.— Rex. 
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Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
A nyone 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. 
Runners on Violets.—Yes, John Jones, you must 
keep the runners cut off your Violets in order to 
obtain strong stocky plants fit for putting in frames 
next month. As long as the drought lasts you must 
keep them supplied with water or they will suffer 
greatly, not only from the direct effects of the 
drought, but red spider will be very likely to have a 
say in the matter. 
Striking zonal Pelargoniums.—You need have no 
fear, S. 0 . N., of the success of the plan you propose 
to adopt with your bedding Pelargoniums. Cuttings 
strike even more readily in the open ground than 
they do when inserted in pots. The only drawback 
to the system is that on the approach of frost the 
plants have all to be lifted and potted up out of 
harm’s way. This may occasion a little check to 
the plants, but nothing serious if ordinary care is 
taken. 
Making Strawberry Beds.—There is no time 
better than the present for making fresh plantations 
of Strawberries, Castor. The sooner your plants are 
in the better, as it will give them a longer season 
wherein to become established before the approach 
of winter. The varieties you mention, Royal 
Sovereign, Auguste Nicaise, and Latest of All, are 
all good and well worth growing. Royal Sovereign 
is probably the best alround Strawberry in cultiva¬ 
tion. 
Propagating Lobelias.—The ordinary bedding 
Lobelias may be raised each year from seed sown in 
heat about the middle of March. The seedlings 
will bloom the same year quite as freely as plants 
produced from cuttings. Those gardeners who are 
very particular as to their strain of flowers usually 
prefer the cutting system, and if you have a fair 
amount of conveniences, Fob, you may expect success 
in either direction. 
Sweet Pea Cupid.—We are not surprised that 
you feel disappointed with Cupid, B. T. There are 
many people, chiefly of the old maid type, that have 
declared him to be a fraud. Sooth to say the dwarf 
Sweet Pea of which the winged urchin is name- 
father has not fulfilled the glowing promises with 
which it was introduced to us. Still the public have 
itself to blame. It wants curiosities, and curiosities 
it will have, and Cupid is the only dwarf Sweet Pea 
as yet that is worth anything. 
Carpet Bedding.—The centre lines of which you 
speak, Dianthus, will be better if worked out with 
Coleus Verschaffeltii, as they will then stand out 
more prominently than if done with the Alternanthera. 
No. 9, the outline of the butterfly, will be composed 
of the the same plants as Nos. 5, 5, 6, 6, that is, 
either Alternanthera paronychoides, or A. amoena. 
Of course there are other plants besides those we 
have mentioned that would suit j our purpose equally 
well. Their employment, however, is largely a 
matter of taste. 
Traps for Woodlice.—You cannot do better, J. 
Williams, than cut a few Potatos in halves, slightly 
hollowing each half out and laying these about your 
house as traps. By examining them and killing 
their contents several times a day you may make a 
sensible diminution in the number of the pests. 
Ants on a Palm.—It is a very dangerous practice 
to stand a Palm infested with ants in a saucerful of 
petroleum, F. Henten. We do not wonder that the 
plant died, for the petroleum would pass up the sides 
of the pot, and coming in contact with the delicate 
roots would be sure to cause death. Another time 
when you want to get rid of ants syringe the affected 
plants several times with a weak solution of Lemon 
Oil insecticide. Whoever told you of the petroleum 
dodge was evidently very ignorant of the consequences 
of the application of his physic. 
Yellow Peach Leaves.—Your tree is badly affected 
with red spider, Northants. The hot dry summer 
has been very favourable to its growth, and if you 
have not looked after your tree very closely some of 
it will be almost sure to put in an appearance. If 
the fruit is ripening you cannot syringe now, but as 
soon as the fruit is plucked you may set the syringe 
to work as hard as you like. This will soon make 
short work of the red spider. 
Manure for Yines.—As soon as the berries are 
colouring well, S. Ayres, you should cease giving 
manure water of any kind. The borders also may 
be allowed to get much drier than hitherto, but do 
not allow them to be parched up, or the quality of 
your fruit will suffer, and the constitution of the 
Vines likewise. 
Imantophyllums —You are wrong, L. L. S., in 
supposing that a stove temperature is necessary to 
grow Imantophyllums. It is true they love a 
tropical heat and flourish under its benign influence, 
but you need have no fear in attempting to grow 
them in a cool house. We have seen them pass 
through the winter in splendid condition in a house 
in which the temperature often sank as low as 35 0 
during winter nights, and in which the night tempera¬ 
ture through the winter would not average much 
more than 40°. During the summer time of course 
they will grow out of doors if need be. 
Summer pinching Pear trees.—You are only 
partly correct in your surmise, S. Ayres. The great 
reason for pinching the shoots of Pear trees in 
summer is to encourage the formation of fruit buds 
instead of simply wood buds at their bases. 
Planting Narcissi in grass —There's no time like 
the present, Enquirer. You may set about planting 
the Narcissi as soon as you like. Instead of going 
