448 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
March 14, 1896. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Look to Your Seeds ! 
“ March— many weathers,” is an old-fashioned 
saying that will be familiar to not a few of our 
readers. The gardener, whether professional or 
amateur, is often inclined to parody it and apply it 
to himself as, “ March—many jobs.” In this month 
we are getting a glimpse, as it were, of better 
weather ahead, and now and again the sun shines warm 
and bright, and the air has a soft, balmy feeling, 
strongly suggestive of spring. But anon the wind 
blows keen and cold, or storms of hail and snow 
sweep wildly o’er the landscape, and we are fain to 
retire within our heaviest winter overcoats and say, 
" What a miserable month this is.” 
Still, while the weather out of doors is too bleak 
and wintry to do much in the out-door garden with 
any degree of personal comfort, something may be 
done to expediate matters indoors. As the season is 
now fast approaching when a vast number of 
different kinds of seeds have to be committed to the 
ground, a little time may well be spent in overhaul¬ 
ing these seeds and taking stock of what there is in 
hand. We, of course, take it for granted that the 
seed order for the year has been sent in long ago to 
the favourite seedsman, and that it has been executed 
in due course. 
Seeds such as these, which have come straight 
from the hands of the seedsman, will be good enough, 
but not infrequently it happens that there is a greater 
or less quantity of last year's stock left over. If this 
has been kept in a cool, fairly dry place, it should 
not have taken a very great deal of hurt; still it will 
not do to place too much confidence in its germina¬ 
ting powers, or the owner may presently find himself 
minus both plants and patience, with the year 
creeping rapidly on. A better plan will be to sow a 
small pinch from each packet at once. These, if 
placed in a gentle heat, will not be long in germina¬ 
ting, that is supposing they are in good condition. 
Seed that it is proposed to sow in pots under glass 
towards the end of the month, instead of in the open 
ground at the beginning of April, should be handled 
cautiously. Seed sowing is at all times a delicate 
operation, and an amateur is extremely likely to make 
a mess of it if he has not had some amount of 
practice. It will be better, therefore, to sow only a 
portion of the stock of seed at one time, reserving 
the rest for later sowirgs. In the case of the first 
one proving a failure—it may be, perhaps, from 
being buried too deeply—the wisdom of not putting 
all the eggs in one basket will be fully demonstrated. 
Sweet Peas. —As these may be sown at any time 
now when the soil is in fit condition for working on, 
they should be got in readiness in the meantime. 
Seed saved from last year will have kept very nicely 
up to the present in the pods, if they have been 
stored in a cool and dry place. An early oppor¬ 
tunity, therefore, should be taken of shelling them, 
putting them into paper bags and carefully labelling 
them in order to avoid confusion.— 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. 
Replies. — J. Ringwood notices in the Orchid calen¬ 
dar in a recent issue of The Gardening World 
that it is advised to have the blinds fixed, and to 
shade the house for a couple of hours or so during 
the middle of the day. He asks whether it is 
necessary to shade the plants in his greenhouse 
in a similar way. He need not worry himself about 
this for another week or ten days more at the least, 
for Orchids need to be somewhat differently treated 
to the usual run of plants. An ordinary greenhouse 
will take no harm until the end of March. , A 
little shade for an hour or two on bright days will 
be required after that time if there are any plants in 
flower in the house. 
You will gather from this, M., that it is yet too 
early to talk of putting permanent shading upon 
your house. We might say that if that house be¬ 
longed to us instead of to you we should try and utilise 
blinds for shading purposes, rather than the 
" summer-cloud ” shading, of which you make men¬ 
tion. The latter is excellent for excluding the sun’s 
rays from plants situated in odd corners, where the 
inequality of the roof precludes the possibility of 
getting blinds to work properly, but, where you have 
only an ordinary span-roof, a blind that can be 
moved up and down as required is far preferable. 
The cost of the same is so small as to bring it well 
within the reach of most amateur gardeners. 
Abram has at last got a taste of the bitters of 
amateur gardening as well as the sweets, and he likes 
them so little as to want to know how he can manage 
to escape tasting them again. In an unlucky hour, 
he says, he started to fumigate his greenhouse wdth 
tobacco rag. Doubtless, the smoke resulting from 
the burning of this was strong, and it would seem to 
have affected his language slightly. He asks if 
there is any other preparation that -will kill the 
insects without half killing the man who runs the 
fumigator. We should advise Abram, as well as B. 
and G. Lawton, both of whom are in search of a 
similar article, to try G. H. Richards' XL All 
Vapouriser, or McDougall Bros.’Fumigating Sheets, 
either of which are very effective, easy to use, and 
cheap. L. R. asks if it is necessary to stop in a 
greenhouse all the time it is being fumigated. Cer¬ 
tainly not; the fumigator may be stood close to the 
door, and the operator may keep guard over it from 
the outside. To prevent the tobacco paper from 
flaring have a quantity of dry sand or soil ready to 
hand. This is much better than using the watering- 
pot. 
You are quite safe in keeping your young Chry¬ 
santhemums in a cold frame, Ayton Castle. We do 
not believe in coddling them, for this is sure to pro¬ 
duce drawn, weakly specimens. Be sure and cover 
the frame well each night—-at least, until the end of 
the month. Give plenty of air, but keep a sharp 
look out for the appearance of mildew. You are 
keeping your Chrysanthemums too close, S. T. Try 
the same treatment as we have recommended to 
Ayton Castle. Yes, Coma, you may still put in cut¬ 
tings of Chrysanthemums. Indeed, if you are care¬ 
ful to choose good material these later-struck cuttings 
will not be so very far behind those inserted six 
weeks ago, for growth during the early months of 
the year is but slow, carried on, as it often is, under 
rather unfavourable conditions. Before leaving the 
consideration of Chrysanthemums we may tell 
Aylesbury that old plants maybe grown on for several 
years with excellent results if it is desired so to do. 
But we do not advise it in his case, on account of 
the lack of room. Such plants are sure to become 
clumsy with regard to size, and clumsiness is a grave 
defect in any plant that an amateur with limited con¬ 
veniences is trying to grow. It will be far better, 
A-y’esbury, for you either to take the cuttings from 
the old plants now and put them in, or to buy a few 
youQg plants from the nearest nurseryman. 
Do not be in too much of a hurry, Scotia, to plant 
out your Carnations. About the middle of March is 
a good time if the weather proves favourable. The 
ground they are to occupy meanwhile should receive a 
sprinkling of soot, and may afterwards be nicely 
forked over. Do not keep the plants too dry now, as 
they will have filled their pots with roots ere this. 
We would ask you to take note of this also, H. A. 
It is true that Carnations do not require a lot of 
water during the autumn and winter, but now the 
season is getting on, and to starve them for lack of 
the necessary fluid would be attended with fatal 
consequences. Carnations planted out in autumn, 
Regular Subscriber (how we like that name!), have a 
multitude of enemies to contend with. Beneath the 
surface of the soil there lurks the insidious wire- 
worm, and rot usually has a say in the matter, 
whilst overhead,rabbits, pheasants, and the ubiquitous 
sparrow nibble the leaves, thereby crippling the 
plants. Rabbits may be kept out by running a piece 
of wire round the plantation, pheasants may be 
frightened away, and you must trust to providence 
for the sparrows. 
You may make a sowing of Sweet Peas at any 
time now, Anxious. The position you suggest will 
suit them very well. You may also grow them in 
little clumps or batches about a couple of feet in 
diameter at various intervals in your herbaceous 
border, providing the same is of fair width. The 
plants will require staking as soon as they are 2 iD. 
or 3 in. in height. 
Peach Buds not Opening.—With regard to the 
Peach tree, of which A. P. makes mention in a 
previous issue, the flower buds of which refuse to 
open, it is extremely doubtful whether these buds 
will open at all now, seeing that growth has so far 
progressed. Most likely the root system of the tree 
was very weak previous to the lifting last autumn. 
The check, consequent on shifting, no matter how 
carefully it may have been performed, has still 
further complicated matters, and as a result the 
flower buds are practically disabled. Close and 
careful attention during the coming season’s growth 
should enable the tree to recover itself sufficiently to 
put matters straight for next season. 
Deutzias.—Will you be so good as to tell me the 
best way to propagate the white Deutzias, and how 
long it will take before large plants can be obtained ? 
— W. Kirkland. 
Deutzia gracilis may be propagated very readily 
from cuttings. Small side growths of the young 
wood will strike readily enough in the spring if 
put in a gentle heat. Larger pieces of the nearly 
ripened wood may be taken off in the autumn. 
These will soon root if placed in a cold frame and 
covered with a bell glass. The following spring they 
may be planted out of doors in a prepared border 
where they will grow much faster than they would if 
kept in pots. Fine plants may be obtained in two 
years by this method, although for very large ones 
it will take longer. 
Scarlet Runner Beans.—I have only a small garden 
but I am anxious to grow some Scarlet Runner 
Beans in it. A few hints will be of service. — Edi.h 
Stohwasser. 
If you have a wooden fence or a wall that is 
unoccupied you might sow a row of Beans close to it, 
fastening them against the wall or fence. If these 
are not high enough you must have recourse to 
stakes. Such a row has not only the quality of 
usefulness, but it is extremely ornamental as well. 
You may make a sowing about the middle cf May. 
It is not of much use to sow before this, as the 
plants are rather delicate and wou Id most likely fall 
victims to late frosts, if we should chance to get any 
of these unwelcome visitants. 
Manures.—Is it advisable to use cow manure for 
mixing with the loam used for sowing seeds in ? Is 
dog’s manure of any good ?— E. S. 
We should not advise the mixture of any manure 
with the soil in which seed is to be sown. After¬ 
wards, when the plants are a fair size, cow manure is 
an excellent addition to the soil in which they are 
growing, particularly with free-growing subjects that 
need a rich soil. In this case the manure must be 
dried beforehand and broken up finely, so as to 
facilitate its thorough incorporation with the soil. 
Or, if so desired, the cow manure and the loam may 
be placed in a heap in alternate layers at least six 
months before it is required for use. Canine manure 
is of no special value and is too scarce to be of 
service. 
Bedding Begonias —I have a number of tuberous 
Begonias which were lifted from the flower garden 
last autumn, and which I propose planting out of 
doors again this season. When will it be necessary 
to start them? Kindly give me a few particulars of 
how to do it when the time has arrived.— Reading. 
You may start your Begonias as soon as you like. 
You do not say how you have kept them through the 
winter. If in sand, they may be taken out of this, 
placed in shallow wooden boxes and covered with 
nice light soil. You may allow about 4 in. of space 
between the tubers. Place them as near the glass as 
you can, and keep the soil moist, but not too wet. 
As you have only an ordinary greenhouse to 
accommodate them, growth will be rather slow for 
a time, but will of course improve as the season 
wears on. By the time the plants have made gocd 
growth, say about the end of May, you will be able 
to lift them out of the boxes and transfer them to the 
quarters in which they are intended to flower. 
Mildew on Chrysanthemums.—Please tell me how 
to cure mildew on Chrysanthemums? I have a 
number of small plants in a frame, and they appear 
to have got it very badly. I am puzzled to account 
for its appearance, as I have taken every possible 
care with regard to the giving of air, watering, etc.— 
T. Bryson. 
It is often a puzzle to find a reason for the 
appearance of mildew. No matter how much care is 
exercised it will creep in somewhere. Possibly your 
plants, T. Bryson, have been coddled too much at the 
start, and are somewhat weakly in consequence, and 
