304 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 11, 1896. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Cold Frames. 
It would indeed be a very small garden that did not 
include within its limits one or more of these useful 
contrivances, for by their aid many half hardy 
plants may be kept in fairly good condition through 
an ordinary winter. Handy as a small greenhouse 
undoubtedly is, to an amateur who is fond of plants, 
it can scarcely exceed the frame in its usefulness. In 
larger gardens which are plentifully supplied with 
the latest triumphs of modern horticultural engineer¬ 
ing a Dumber of cold frames are practically 
indispensable. Of late years Alpine plants have 
become especially popular, and many an amateur 
exhibits a passing fondness for their simple, 
unaffected and yet beautiful flowers. Many of these, 
however, arc very impatient of the continuous wet 
weather which goes to make up such a considerable 
portion of our British winters. For these, therefore, 
an unheated frame will prove a safe and welcome 
refuge during the season when the sun tarries with 
us but a short time, and damp and darkness hold 
undisputed sway for protracted periods. Many 
bedding plants, too, can be kept through the winter 
with no other protection than that afforded by a 
properly-managed frame. Bulbs of all kinds can 
also be accommodated ; in fact there is no end to the 
uses to which the humblest of all glass-houses can be 
put, provided they and their occupants are well 
looked after. 
Aye ! there’s the rub, proper management. Last 
week we dealt with the greenhouse, and gave a few 
hints as to the way that it should be treated ; now we 
will take into consideration very briefly the manner 
in which unheated frames must be managed. 
Damp. —In referring to this, and to the malign 
influence it ofttimes exercises upon plants in the 
greenhouse, we stated that it was one of the greatest 
enemies with which we had to deal at this particular 
season of the year. But if this is true of plants 
growing in a house where damp can be kept at bay 
by artificial heat how much more true will it be of 
plants placed in unhealed structures ? 
Ventilation is, therefore, the most important 
item in the programme of management throughout 
the winter, and it must be thoroughly well looked 
after if the mortality is to be kept down. Up to the 
present we have been singularly free from frost, and 
there has been nothing to prevent the giving of 
plenty of air. As long as this state of things 
continues, well and good. The lights may be pulled 
right off such subjects as Carnations, Violets, and the 
majority of the Alpines during dry weather, closing 
them the last thing at night in case of rain falling, 
In wet weather air must be given in such a way as 
to exclude the rain. A few blocks of wood, say 
about 2 in. square, should be procured, and the lights 
tilted up at the back by means of these. 
Watering.— Very little of this will bs required 
now, and it is far better to err on the side of giving 
too little than too much, at least for the next six 
weeks or so. It will readily be understood that the 
transpiration of water, which is always going on from 
the leaves of living plants, is much less, at a time when 
the atmosphere is full of moisture almost to satura¬ 
tion point, as it has been of late, than it is when the 
drier air of spring and summer prevails. It follows, 
therefore, that as the transpiration of water from the 
leaves is checked considerably in volume the supply 
needed by the roots must be less in proportion ; 
hence the watering-can must be used with great 
discretion. As was advised in dealing with the 
greenhouse, so in this case, any watering that is 
necessary must be seen to before midday. In using 
the can the spout must be lowered as far as possible 
until it nearly rests upon the rim of the pot. If it is 
held higher up, the soil is either lashed into a mud or 
washed over the sides of the pots; and besides, the 
foliage all around is wetted, a state of things that is 
sure to aggravate the mischief caused by damp, and 
which must therefore be studiously guarded against. 
Covering Up. —This also is a matter of the 
utmost importance. Frost has to be excluded as far 
as possible, and the only way to keep it out of cold 
frames is to cover them up each night regularly with 
light and dry protective material. But it may be 
asked “ What is the use of covering them up every 
night during such a season as we are having at the 
present, when frost does not seem inclined to come ? ” 
Now this is a very natural question to ask, but we 
must reply that it is needful to cover up in this way 
in order to ” make assurance doubly sure.” If we 
had a less fickle climate in which it was not possible 
for the thermometer to stand over 40° Fahr. at night 
aDd to indicate 6°, 7 0 , or even io° of frost in the 
morning, well and good, but British weather is like 
public opinion, a decidedly uncertain commodity, 
and as long as it continues to be so, we must not 
trust anything to chance. 
With regard to the best covering to use we have a 
number of different kinds that can easily be obtained 
and all more or less effective. Russian mats are 
wonderfully handy, as well as being fairly cheap. 
Tiffany, tarpaulin, and frigi-domo are all excellent, 
although the two former are rather expensive. 
Nothing beats for protective value a heap of dry 
bracken, and where this can be obtained we should 
always advise an amateur to lay in a stock. Straw, 
too, may also be used, although it makes the place 
look too much like a farmyard, for the influence of 
wind on straws is proverbial. 
Removal of Coverings. —The uncovering in the 
morning must be as regularly looked to as the 
covering up at night—of course, supposing the 
weather is favourable. The first operation then 
should be to let the light of day into the plants by 
taking off the coverings. It may happen, however, 
that during a spell of hard frost this is impracticable, 
but instead of allowing the plants to remain for a 
week or two right off in complete darkness, the 
opportunity must be taken of rolling back the mats, 
or whatever the frames are covered with, for a few 
hours in the middle of the day. 
The utmost care must be exercised in keeping all 
coverings as diy as possible, and if, in the morning, 
they are observed to be wet, steps should be taken to 
dry them somewhat before night, for it must be 
borne in mind that the drier such material is, the 
more effectually will it exclude the frost.— Rex. 
--9-- 
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. 
Pruning Gooseberries. —We are troubled with 
sparrows picking the buds out of Gooseberries and 
Red and White Currant bushes; black ones they do 
not touch in this part of Lancashire. I give my ex¬ 
periences of many years freely, for the benefit of all 
who are troubled with this pest. The only way we 
can secure a crop in spite of the ravages of sparrows 
in this neighbourhood, who, picking out the fruit buds 
spoil the shape of the trees, and in time kill them out¬ 
right, is as follows : 
I prune the Gooseberry bushes from the middle of 
October to the end of November. The sparrows 
begin attacking them about that time. I prune 
earlier if the leaves have all fallen off the bushes. 
After pruning the bushes to shape the tree, I run 
some cotton weft, which I get at the weaving sheds 
in our towD, pretty thickly all over the bushes. This 
prevents the sparrows from alighting on the branches 
to pick out the buds. I think they do this to get the 
juice out of the bud. I have seen one or two 
sparrows, who have been more venturesome than the 
rest, alight on the branches, but they have got their 
feet entangled in the weft and could not get loose, 
the result being that they have died there. 
Persons who do not live in close proximity to 
weaving sheds or are not able to get weft to put round 
the bushes may use fine sewing cotton, which will 
do just as well. Neither weft nor cotton interferes 
with the growth of the trees, as they generally decay 
away in the summer months. 
Those who try this method will be amply repaid 
for the extra trouble that it takes by having well¬ 
shaped bushes, and a good crop of fruit into the 
bargain. I have practised it most successfully in 
this district (Lancashire) and I feel sure those who 
try it will have a like experience. I treat the Currant 
bushes in the same way, but I do not put the weft or 
cotton thread on them quite so thickly as I do on the 
Gooseberry bushes.— Henry Brook. 
Offsets on Cinerarias-—Kindly say if it is desirable 
to remove offsets or secondary growths from Ciner¬ 
arias, to a single stem. The plants are very strong 
and healthy, the leaves at the base measuring 9 in. 
across. The flowers are appearing.— F. H 
As a rule when Cinerarias take to throwing up 
growths from the base in the manner you mention, 
the result is to be seen in deformed specimens that 
never produce fine heads of bloom. As your plants 
have reached such an advanced stage as to be showing 
for flower, and as, moreover, they are so vigorous, 
the offsets of which you speak cannot be very large 
or strong. Even if they were, it would do no good 
to remove them now, as the plants would thereby be 
severely crippled. It will be your best plan to leave 
them as they are, and to feed pretty liberally with 
manure water. 
Seakaie.—This is surely getting into high favour 
as a vegetable, for Q. comes up with the query (im¬ 
possible to get a query without a Q), as to whether 
Seakaie can be raised from seed. 
Certainly it can ! The seed may be sown in drills 
towards the end of March or beginning of April. 
The young plants may be thinned to about 6 in. 
apart as soon as they are large enough to handle 
comfortably, and allowed to grow on undisturbed 
till the winter, when they must be lifted. The buds 
at the apices of the roots must be cut off, and then 
the latter may be re-planted, taking care to put them 
in straight, and with their tops about a couple of 
inches below the level of the soil. 
Seakaie from Seed.—If I sow seed of Seakaie in 
spring will the plants make roots strong enough for 
forcing next winter?— Tomato. 
It takes two years to obtain Seakaie crowns strong 
enough for forcing from seed, and thus if you want 
to obtain a supply of good forcing crowns you must 
adopt other means. Your best plan will be to obtain 
a quantity of the small side roots that are attached 
to the main root. Cut these up into lengths of about 
4 in. and insert them as cuttiDgs in the open ground 
about the beginning of next April. These will 
furnish you with nice strong crowns by next winter. 
Fruit for a West Wall.—Please say what sort of 
fruit trees would do best on a west wall.— Tomato. 
You make no mention in your letter of the locality 
in which you live, whether north or south, and thus 
it is impossible to answer your question as definitely 
as we should have liked. In the south of England 
Peaches, Apricots, Plums and Pears will do well, 
although in northern counties the two latter will be 
the most suitable, as Teaches and Apricots require a 
wall facing due south to properly ripen their fruit. 
Write us again and inform us as to the locality and 
we shall be pleased to give you a selection of good 
varieties. 
Crops for newly broken-up ground.— We think the 
best thing you can do, Tomato, would be to plant the 
land you intend to make a kitchen garden of with 
Potatos. If, as you say, you can find a ready 
sale for any vegetables that you may be able 
to grow, it would doubtless pay you to sell the 
crop as new Potatos. You thus get an early return, 
and, what is nearly as important, you help to put the 
land in working order, for a crop of Potatos does not 
need any special preparation of the soil, and it cleans 
the land wonderfully. If the tubers are lifted early, 
a crcp of such Cauliflowers as Veitch's Autumn 
Giant and Dwarf Mammoth may follow, or batches 
of Lettuce may be put in to occupy the ground for 
a while. These soon turn into money and often 
come in handy as a catch crop. Afterwards the land 
may undergo a good trenching and manuring in order 
to render it suitable for a crop of spring Cabbages. 
With regard to flowers which you may be able to 
grow, most of the hardy annuals would do well, and 
bring in a quick return in the way of cut flowers. 
The seed may be sown under glass, sometime towards 
the end of February or beginning of March, and the 
seedlings planted out as soon as the danger of frost 
is over. If the soil is fairly free from wireworms 
Carnations should prove very profitable also. 
Is Gas injurious to Window Plants ? is the question 
propounded by J. Greig. An India-rubber plant by 
which he sets great store has got, sajs our facetious 
correspondent, a fit of the "colly-wobbles,” or some¬ 
thing equally bad. Anyway it looks very sickly, and 
as a great deal of gas has been burnt of late in the 
room in which it is standing, he fancies that that 
may have something to do with it. 
And he is right! Gas is most injurious to plants 
which are being kept in rooms, and, although we are 
not acquainted with the particular disease cf " colly 
wobbles,” there is little doubt that the ill-health of 
the plant is in a great measure due to the burning of 
so much gas. We should advise taking it into 
another room each evening. 
