592 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 16, 1896. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Watering Shrubs.— Dwellers in suburban residences 
often complain, and we are bound to confess not 
without reason, that the shrubs in their front gardens 
go so shabby and dirty looking. They are fain to 
blame the pollution of the atmosphere for this, and 
to regard this shabbiness in a philosophical manner 
as if it were a necessary evil. Now the smoke of the 
town or the city is certainly net so favourable an 
environment for vegetable growth as the fresh, pure 
air of the country, but we must not lay the whole of 
the blame to its account. The soil in the front 
gardens of the majority of villas is composed of 
notoriously rum stuff, not infrequently consisting of 
a goodly percentage of brick-bats, lime rubble, and 
any other rubbish the builder wanted to get rid of. 
During periods of drought, therefore, any plants that 
are growing in it are apt to come badly off unless, 
they are kept well watered. 
In the minds cf some amateurs the precise meaning 
of the term " well watered ” is not properly grasped. 
It is too often taken to mean that the surface of the 
soil must be nicely damped. A few days ago we 
saw a good lady who was giving herself an infinite 
amount of pains in carefully sprinkling with water 
the soil in which a privet hedge was growing through 
the medium of a small rose can. We can only pity 
the poor hedge if that was to be the only water it 
was to get. 
At the present time we are wanting rain badly, and 
in many parts the soil is as full of cracks as if it were 
the month of July, and a dry July at that. Here 
comes in the exercise of the gardener’s art, when the 
supply of water from the clouds falls short the hose 
and the watering can must be called into play and 
water given, not in driblets, but in quantities sufficient 
to penetrate to the lowest roots, so that all may have 
a taste of the all-important fluid. 
Newly planted trees and shrubs, that is to say 
those that have been shifted during the past planting 
season need especial care during such periods of 
drought as that through which we have been passing 
of late. 
Mulching.—This is the term applied by gardeners 
to top-dressings of various kinds given to plants 
growing out of doors. Such top-dressings may 
consist of rotten manure of various kinds, leaf soil, 
old tan, or Cocoanut fibre refuse. A mulch of any of 
these materials given to plants during dry weather is 
of great value, inasmuch as it checks excessive 
evaporation of moisture from the soil it covers, 
serves to keep it cool and moist, and thus prevents it 
from becoming hard baked during periods of hot, 
bright sunshine. 
When rotten stable manure or old horse droppings 
are applied as a mulch the benefits resulting there¬ 
from are twofold, for the plants profit by the nutri¬ 
ment contained in the manure as well as by its 
subsequent protection to their roots. Cocoanut 
fibre refuse and leaf soil are excellent materials for 
mulching beds of zonal Pelargoniums, Carnations, 
and indeed any other class of beddiog plants. 
Border Carnations in Pots.—Almost everybody 
who has a garden grows Carnations nowadays, 
either in the outdoor garden, or in pots. It may 
seem a waste of pot room to some people to grow 
such hardy plants as these in pots, when they will 
do quite well out of doors (of course this has no 
reference to the Malmaison section), but there are 
several advantages to be derived from cultivating 
even the hardy Carnation in pots instead of in the 
open ground. The first is that the plants begin to 
flower a couple of weeks earlier than their friends 
growing outside ; the second that they are out of the 
way of bad weather, and this is surely something 
worth consideration. In growing blooms for exhibi¬ 
tion, pot plants, if not exactly indispensable, are at 
least much safer to depend upon than those in the 
open ground, as they are not liable to have the 
beauty of their flowers marred by an awkward 
shower of rain. Just now the plants are in full 
vigour of growth, and if they were given plenty of 
drainage when they were potted they will need a 
good deal of water. Liquid cow manure and a 
solution of soot are excellent stimulants to use, and 
their effects will soon be observed in the dark green 
hue of the “grass.” A pinch of Clay’s Fertiliser 
scattered over the surface of the soil immediately 
previous to watering will afford a good and useful 
change of diet. 
Canterbury Bells.—Whether it be in the open 
border or in pots in the greenhouse or cool conserva¬ 
tory, the Canterbury Bells, or, to give them their 
Sunday name. Campanula media calycanthema, 
always give an excellent account of themselves. In 
pots they are as thirsty subjects as can well be 
imagined, that is when they are in anything like 
condition, and they must be looked over now morn¬ 
ing and afternoon with the water pot. If by any 
chance they get at all dry, repeated waterings are 
necessary until the balls get watered thoroughly 
through. Manure water, too, may also be liberally 
given. 
Freesias that have lost their foliage may be stored 
away, pots and all, in any handy corner out of the way 
of rain, so that they may enjoy their usual summer 
sleep. They will need no water, and may just be let 
alone until about the middle of August, when it will 
be time to pot them up again. 
Nerine curvifolia sarniensis. — As soon as these 
have lost their foliage they may be served in the 
same way as the Freesias. For some time past they 
will have been gradually drying off, and now they 
will not want any water at all until the middle of 
August or thereabouts, when their flower scapes will 
begin to show. These are very easily grown bulbs, 
and any amateur who has a little greenhouse or a 
cold frame or two may grow them with ease. They 
do not need potting each year, and indeed they do 
not seem to mind in the least if they are allowed to 
stay in the same pots for several years They profit 
a good deal, however, by a yearly top-dressing with 
good rich soil, and this is an attention that should 
be paid them just as they are being started into 
growth. 
Shading Seedlings.—Now that the sun is so bright 
it will be necessary to exercise a deal of caution in 
seeing that all seedlings in frames are shielded from 
the hot sun. Tiffany is the ideal shading material, 
as it permits of the passage of diffused light, whilst 
at the same time it excludes the direct rays of the 
sun. Old Russian mats are better than new ones 
for the same reason. New ones should not be 
employed if it can possibly be avoided. 
Thinning Hardy Annuals.—As the young seed¬ 
lings make their appearance they should be thinned 
out by degrees. The smallest and weakest plants 
may be removed just at first so that the strong ones 
may have a chance to grow still stronger. Asters 
and Stocks that have been sown rather thickly in 
pans or boxes under glass, or in prepared seed beds 
out of doors, should be carefully lifted and pricked 
out in some favourable position, where they will not 
be exposed too much to the full blaze of the sun and 
yet will not be directly overhung by thick leafy trees 
or shrubs. These plants are usually too precious to 
thin out in the way that ordinary annuals are, and 
even the weak and small ones if their tender roots 
are not damaged through the lifting will make fairly 
good stocky stuff in about a month’s lime. 
Coleuses —During the summer months these gay 
foliage plants succeed admirably in the cool conserva¬ 
tory or cottage window. A little heat, such as that 
derived from a hot bed, is necessary to get the 
cuttings to root quickly and well, but subsequently 
they will go ahead finely in a cold frame if kept a 
little bit close at first. Rooted cuttings potted up 
now into 48 or 32-sized pots will not be long in 
making shapely plants. Where the cuttings have 
been inserted singly into thumb pots or small 6o's 
they should be pinched or allowed to break into 
growth at the sides before they are shifted into their 
roomier quarters. Shade them carefully for a few 
days immediately subsequent to potting, and draw 
the syringe over them morniDg and evening, or failing 
this sprinkle them with a watering pot to which a 
rose has been affixed. Once the plants are growing 
well they will not need shading, as the more sun 
they get the more highly coloured will be the leaves. 
Syringing, of course, must be conducted, when no 
shade is given, only early in the morning, so as to 
allow time for the plants to dry before the sun gets 
too hot, or late in the afternoon when the heat of the 
day is over.— Rex. 
Humboldt estimated that the earth contained 
36,000 species of plants: but the Genera Plantarum 
made a rough estimate of 100,000 flowering plants. 
Even the latter figure would be doubled, if the 
estimate were made by such monographers as have 
recently dealt with Roses, Rubi and Hawkweeds. 
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. 
Sizes of Pots—The number of inches given, such 
as 2J in. 5 in. and 10 in., refers to the inside 
diameter of the pots from rim to rim at the widest 
part, A'., and not to the diameter from outside to 
outside. The old measurements of 40's, 32’s, i6's, 
etc., refers to the number of pots in a cast ” of 
clay, a “ cast ” being a certain definite quantity. As 
the pots become larger, therefore, the numbers by 
which they are designated decrease. 
Tree Mignonette.— Will you give me directions 
as to how to grow Mignonette, through the medium 
of the Amateurs Page.— J. Holland. 
You may sow seed any time from now to mid¬ 
summer in carefully-prepared pots— 4 in. pots are a 
handy size. Place the seed pots in a cold frame, 
and as soon as the seedlings make their appearance 
commence thinning out Finally only one plant 
to a pot should be left. Pot on as occasion 
requires into 8, 9, or 10-in. pots according to the 
size wanted. A mixture of two parts of good 
loam, one of leaf soil, and one of cow manure dried 
and rubbed through a sieve, with plenty of sharp 
sand will answer well. If a straight stem with a 
head at the top is wanted, stopping must not be re¬ 
sorted to until the desired height has been obtained, 
whilst all the side growths must be pinched out 
carefully as far up the stem as it is desired to have 
clear of branches. For the ordinary bushes stopping 
the central stem must be seen to earlier, and side 
growths must be encouraged, training these latter 
out to sticks set in for the purpose. Of course, all 
flowers must be kept closely pinched out. Good 
bush plants may be easily obtained by next spring 
from seed sown now. 
Lifting Tulips.—The Tulips in my garden have 
been very pretty, but the flowers are now all over. 
When will it be safe to lift the bulbs so as to make 
room for the summer things ?—IF. Mears. 
Your best plan will be to leave the Tulips undis¬ 
turbed as long as you can, that is until it will be 
quite safe to put the summer bedding plants out-of- 
doors. This will be sometime about the end of the 
present month or the beginning of the next. Then 
lift the Tulips carefully so as not to bruise the 
bulbs or injure the roots, and lay them in by the 
heels in a bed of ashes or soil in a sunny part of the 
garden to finish their growth and to ripen off. The 
bulbs may be buried as deeply as they were when 
growing in the beds. 
Watering Yiolas.—You will find W.R. that your 
Violas will take any amount of water during such 
dry weather as has fallen to our share of late, par¬ 
ticularly as your soil is of so thirsty a nature. A 
good watering overhead at night-time will do the 
plants all the good in the world, and they will soon 
begin to make headway. 
St, Joseph’s Lily is the popular name bestowed 
upon Lilium candidum, S. Carnarvon, for why it 
would be difficult to tell. History does not tell us 
just exactly what St. Joseph had to do with it. 
Anyhow, the plant is a very beautiful one, and easy 
of cultivation. It may frequently be seen adorning 
cottage gardens. 
Farmyard Manure.—By all means utilise some of 
the liquid manure from the farmyard adjoining you, 
P. It will answer admirably either for plants in 
pots or those growing in the open garden. In 
applying it to your greenhouse plants you must be 
careful not to use it too strong. Put just enough of 
it [into clear water to colour it alight brown. Manure 
of this kind needs careful handling for it is so apt to 
vary in strength from day to day. 
What is an annual ? is the question propounded 
by Enrique ? He has asked several people and finds 
that they hold different views upon the subject. 
Any plant that comes from seed, flowers, and dies 
in the course of a single year is an annual. There 
are many garden subjects whose life is not strictly 
of annual duration that are treated in this way for 
