544 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 25, 1896. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Berried Solanums.—In very many instances after 
the berries have all dropped from the plants the 
latter are stood in some ouc-of-the-way corner, where 
they remain neglected and forgotten until they are 
to all intents and purposes spoiled, and fit for nothing 
but throwing away. Of course it is easy enough to 
raise fresh plants by sowing a packet of seed 
under glass fairly early in the spring, but it is not 
everyone who has the conveniences for raisiug 
plants from seed. In such cases by dint of a little 
attention given to the old plants now, they may be 
turned to very good account for another year. They 
should, therefore, be taken in hand without delay, 
and cut back rather hard, that is to say within two 
or three eyes of the old wood. This will make them 
look rather unsightly for a while perhaps, but their 
appearance will soon begm to improve, and the un¬ 
sightly heads of bare wood will be covered with fresh 
young shoots ere long. 
If there is a corner in a cold frame vacant, the 
plants, after being cut back, may be consigned to it. 
Keep them rather dry at the root for some time, in 
fact but very little water will be needed, as the 
foliage, which is the medium through which the 
plant gets rid of its superfluous water, will be nearly 
all removed. On fine days the syringe should be 
drawn lightly over the old stumps to assist them in 
breaking into growth. If a syringe is not amongst 
the amateur's stock-in-trade, a sprinkle'with a fine 
rose-can will answer the purpose nearly as well. 
Bye and bye, when all danger of frost is past, the 
old plants may be planted out of doors in a vacant 
corner of the garden, where they may remain all the 
summer until it is time to lift them in the autumn. 
The end of May will be quite soon enough to think 
of putting them out, however, and by that time they 
will have made fine heads of verdure. 
Black Fly on Peaches.—At this season of the 
year this troublesome fly is almost sure to put in an 
appearance. Once it obtains a footing it spreads 
with inconceivable rapidity, and good-bye to the 
foliage if this is allowed to go on. Fumigation with 
tobacco paper or rag, or Messrs. Corry & Co’s 
Lethorion, the latter a most valuable invention, must 
be speedily put in operation. But fumigation must 
not be undertaken carelessly or performed at any 
time, or the cure will be even worse than the disease. 
The sun is very bright now, and soon makes its 
presence felt in the mornings. Now it will be easily 
understood that it is a very dangerous practice to 
keep a cool house shut closely up with the sun beating 
down upon it strongly. The greatly increased 
temperature that is sure to result seriously affects 
the delicate youDg foliage. If it is desired to 
fumigate of a morning, therefore, it should be all 
finished and the house opened again before 8 a m. 
Evening, unquestionably is the best time of the day 
to " smoke, ” say about 6 p.m. Of course fumigation 
may be conducted in the middle of the day if it is a 
dull one, but then there is the risk of the sun popping 
out and doing mischief. 
Syringing.—Every amateur should possess a 
syringe. It is, in fact, a horticultural necessity, for, 
during the summer months it must be kept constantly 
in use. The best sort to use is one having a nozzle 
at the end, for then the force of the stream can be 
regulated at will by a slight pressure of the finger. 
Moreover the spray can be more easily directed upon 
the under surface of the leaves of the plants than it 
can when a rose is used. Right through the summer 
months all foliage plants are greatly benefited by a 
shower bath each day. The syringing must be done 
early enough in the morning, however, to let the 
plants dry somewhat before the sun’s rays get very 
fierce, unless shading is put on immediately after¬ 
wards. 
Tying Roses.—As the shoots upon Roses growing 
under glass will now have attained a considerable 
length, the trees should be gone over at the least 
twice a week, and all the growths that are long 
enough to handle, neatly tied in. It is folly to allow 
them to remain until they have all become entangled 
before anything is done to put them straight. We 
do not at all pity people who do this when they lose 
a considerable portion of skin and all their temper 
in attempting to put matters straight. Keep the 
sulphur duster handy, and do not fail to use it 
liberally upon the slightest signs ot mildew. 
Saxifraga cordifolia. — Possibly many of our 
readers know this plant better under its somewhat 
commoner, but less correct name, of Megasea 
cordifolia. It belongs to the section of large-leaved 
Saxifrages, amongst which are to be found so many 
pretty, interesting, and useful plants. S. cordifolia, 
at any rale, boasts of all three of these qualifications, 
to which may be added great vigour of constitution, 
and easyness of propagation, after which recital it 
need scarcely be said that it is a first class amateur's 
plant. At the present time it is one of the most con¬ 
spicuous of our hardy plants. It may be utilised with 
great advantage as a bordering plant for shrubberies, 
in which situation it rarely fails to do well. It is 
extensively employed in this manner in Battersea 
Park, and the deep green healthy hue of the large 
heart-shaped leaves throws into striking relief the 
rosy-red hue of the flowers. Propagation may be 
easily effected by division of the roots in early spring. 
Cuttings also strike pretty readily, and to those who 
have missed the root division the latter method may 
be recommended. The cuttings should be taken off 
towards the end of the summer, and inserted singly 
in light, sandy soil in small 6o-sized pots. In a cold 
frame they will not be long in making roots, and 
after they have been potted up into larger pots they 
will come in very handy for flowering in the conserva¬ 
tory. They may be had in bloom as early as 
Christmas if so desired, providing a little heat is 
given to hurry them on slightly. Great care must 
be taken in this respect, however, for the hardy 
Saxifrages take to forcing badly. It may interest 
some of our readers to know that S. cordifolia is a 
Siberian plant, and that it was brought from that 
land of ice and snow as far back as the year 1779, so 
that it is by no means anew introduction. 
Protecting Broccoli.— As the sowing of the main 
crops of Broccoli, Borecoles, etc., is made about this 
time the sparrows will be having the proverbial 
“high old time’’ if some measures are not taken to 
check their ravages, and at the same time insure the 
safety of the newly sown seed. Light dustings of 
soot or lime may be given the seed beds, or better 
still they may be netted completely over with old fish 
nets. If these latter are not to hand a shift may be 
made by sticking a number of small pegs in the 
ground, and running a few threads of ordinary 
sewing cotton over. Young seedlings of flowering 
annuals that are just peeping above the ground will 
also require a little protection in a similar way, for 
our friend the sparrow is not at all particular. 
Sowing Hardy Annuals.— If this has not 
hitherto received attention no time must be lost in 
getting the seeds into the ground. The sooner Sweet 
Peas, Nasturtiums, Clarkias, Linums, Godetias, and 
Nemophilas are in the better. The best plan to adopt 
with these is to sow them in patches in the mixed 
border, or wherever they are intended to flower. 
Cutting the Grass.—Now that the grass is 
growing so rapidly, it will be an item of the first 
importance to mow it frequently in order to keep 
things trim and tidy. Mowing is decidedly “ hard 
labour’’ when the operator is panting behind a 
wheezy old-fashioned machine, that after all rolls 
down more grass than it cuts, but it becomes only 
a pleasurable exercise when a well-built 
up-to-date machine is used. Messrs. Ransomes, 
Sims & Jefferies, Ipswich, have for long been famed 
for the excellence of their mowing machines. Their 
" New Automaton ’’ is a special build that may be had 
in all sizes, from those suitable for very small lawns 
to those which require two or three men to manage. 
By a special arrangement dirt and rubbish of all 
kinds are effectually excluded from the internals, 
whilst the simplicity and perfection of the design are 
such that it very rarely gets out of order. It works 
very easily, quietly, and satisfactorily, and what 
more can be expected from any mowing machine. 
The “Chair Automaton” differs from the “New 
Automaton” in being driven by chain instead of 
gearing, but is every whit as good as the first-named 
investment. The Anglo-Paris Mower is specially 
designed for cutting the grass on the banks and 
slopes, for the making of which we gave directions a 
few weeks back. No difficulty should be experienced 
by anyone in obtaining these machines, as with com¬ 
mendable farsightedness the firm in question have 
made arrangements to supply them through all 
respectable ironmongers throughout the country. — 
Rex. 
- .-.S- 
A pigmy variety of Maize is reported from Brazil. 
The cobs are about 3 in. long, and the seeds no 
larger than those of the Cabbage, 
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. 
Tuberous Begonias—"Will you please inform me in 
the Amateurs’ Page as to whether tuberous Begonias 
need much preparation before they are fit for 
planting out ? I started some in boxes at the end of 
March, and I am afraid they will get rather crowded 
before it is time to plant them cut in the open.— T. 
Griffiths. 
While tuberous Begonias may be grown with a 
minimum of trouble, a little extra care expended 
upon them previous to the planting out in the beds 
is always well repaid. If you have a vacant cold 
frame you may make up in it a bed of soil some 6 in. 
or 8 in. deep. You may then transfer your plants 
from the boxes in which you started them to these 
more commodious quarters. Carefully attend to 
watering and shading, and by the end of May you 
will have some large fine plants, which, while they 
will bear lifting very well, will produce an effect 
almost immediately. Besides this, the blooming 
season is lengthened by several weeks. In ordinary 
cases, the tubers are taken straight out of the boxes 
in which they have been started and transferred to 
the open ground. 
Pruning Fuchsias.—How shall I prune my 
Fuchsias ? I am told that it is necessary to do so. 
They are bursting rapidly into leaf.— L. A. 
The pruning of a Fuchsia is one of the simplest 
operations that can well be imagined. It simply 
consists in cutting back last year's growths to a 
sufficient extent to produce a symmetrically-shaped 
bush. As a rule each shoot may be cut back to about 
half its length. Use a sharp knife and lose no time 
in getting the operation performed. 
Soil for Fuchsias— Andy will find that one part of 
good loam, chopped up finely with a spade, but not 
sifted, one part of leaf soil, and one of dried cow 
manure, with a nice sprinkling of coarse liver sand, 
is an excellent compost for growing Fuchsias in. 
Take care not to fill the pots too full of the soil, as 
the plants are rather thirsty subjects during the 
summer months. 
White Primroses.— J. C. forwards a sample of a 
white Primrose growing in his locality. He wishes 
to know whether it would be worth while cultivating 
it for sale, as he only knows of one plant of the 
variety within a radius of ten miles from where he is 
living. 
He does not say whether the Primrose in question 
was wild or no. A wild, white Primrose is a com¬ 
parative rarity, and we have only once or twice come 
across it. The plant sent, however, would scarcely 
pay to cultivate, as there are rather better varieties 
now grown in many gardens. Perhaps this plant is 
an escape from some garden in the vicinity. If, on 
the other hand, it is a wilding, it may be worthwhile 
trying what effect cultivation would have in increas¬ 
ing the size of the flowers. In that case something 
might be made of it. 
Perilla nankinensis.—Is the dark-leaved Perilla 
very difficult to grow ? I saw some plants of it in a 
friend’s garden last year, and thought it looked very 
pretty. Is it hardier than the bedding Coleus ? 
How shall I keep the plants dwarf and bushy ? Any 
information on the subject will be appreciated by— 
Orlando. 
We presume you mean Perilla nankinensis, than 
which there is no more effective bedding subject. It 
always looks best when planted in variously sized 
masses or clumps, when the rich dark bronzy- 
purple of the foliage shows up very vividly. Any 
ordinary garden soil will suit the plants, so that you 
need not be afraid of failure. Any amount of strong 
young plants may be obtained by sowing a packet 
of seed under glass about the middle or end of 
March. You will thus see that you are too late this 
year for that part of the business. Perhaps you can 
find a neighbour who has rather more plants than 
he needs. In order to induce bushy growth, and to 
keep the plants dwarf, you must resort to pinchiDg 
out the points. The longest shoots may also be 
pegged down with light wooden pegs. There is 
little to choose between Perilla nankinensis and the 
