650 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 14, 1890. 
The Amateurs' Garden. 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN. 
Gardenias. —The stock of young plants as well as old 
ones now out of flower will make the most satisfactory 
growth if put in a pit where the particular treatment 
they require can be given them. Fermenting material 
in which they can be plunged will give the most 
satisfactory results ; and if the syringe is used freely, 
it will keep down insects. 
"Winter-flowering Plants. —The stoves should 
now be released of the crowding, which has been 
unavoidable by reason of the increasing bulk of the 
batches of young stuff being grown on for winter 
decoration. Like Gardenias, they may be relegated to 
the pits, where plenty of heat is at command when 
necessary, either in the form of liot-water pipes or 
fermenting materials. Shrubby Begonias, Plumbagos, 
Sericographis, Thyrsacanthus, and others of that 
nature, will profit by being placed in a low-roofed 
structure near the glass. 
Balsams. —The earliest batch should now be ready 
to receive their final shift. For all ordinary decorative 
purposes 12-in. pots will be sufficiently large, although 
smaller sizes are frequently used for conservatory 
and greenhouse purposes. The soil should not be 
pressed very firmly, but left in an open and porous 
condition to encourage rapid growth. It should also 
he made very rich with well-decomposed manure. Tie 
out the shoots, and maintain the symmetry of the 
plants by good exposure to light on all sides. 
Camellias.— Pot plants that flowered early, and 
have completed their growth, may be stood in the open 
air in some sheltered position. If partially shaded at 
least till the foliage gets solidified and leathery, there 
will be little danger of the leaves getting browned, as is 
liable to happen if they are suddenly placed under full 
exposure immediately after removal from the greenhouse. 
Stand them on a bed of ashes or on bricks to prevent 
worms getting into the soil. 
Lilies in Pots.— "Where the practice is pursued of 
planting Lily bulbs near the bottom of the pots, with 
a view of filling up the latter after the stems have 
attained some length, it would be well now to have the 
operation completed, as the roots developed from the 
stems into it will be of great service in feeding the 
foliage and leaves. 
Green-fly and Lilies. — Unremitting attention 
should be given to Lilies under glass all through their 
period of growth, for it often happens that when a fine 
display of bloom should be expected disappointment is 
the result, through the injury done by green-fly crowd¬ 
ing round the growing shoots and secreting themselves 
in the buds and about the flowers. A good remedy is 
to dust the young shoots affected with tobacco powder, 
which should be syringed off the following day, 
together with the dead aphides. 
Gloxinias. —"While still preserving the atmospheric 
moisture in the house where these are grown, great care 
should be exercised not to spray or wet the flowers in 
any way in damping down, otherwise they will get 
spotted, and their appearance spoiled. 
Peaches. —"Where the fruit is now ripening, a much 
more buoyant atmosphere should he maintained than 
during the growing period. In order to avoid atmos¬ 
pheric moisture, while still keeping the borders in a 
sufficiently moist state for the sake of the roots, a 
mulching of clean hay might be given with advantage. 
Fruits that are not netted dropping on this do not 
suffer that injury they would if allowed to drop on 
the ground. 
Figs. —The second crop on trees that were started in 
November should now he swelling rapidly, and a few 
even ripening. If grown in pots, a watering of liquid 
manure should be given every other day to enable the 
plants to develop properly the heavy crop which they 
should be hearing. The quality of the fruit will also 
he greatly improved by good exposure to sunlight, 
with abundant ventilation. Red-spider will also he 
kept in check by the ammonia arising from the manure 
water. 
Melons. —Syringe young plants twice a day to keep 
down red-spider, excepting, of course, when the plants 
are in bloom. Yentilate early in the day and close 
early in the afternoon to economise sun heat. The 
exact time when this should he done will, of course, 
depend upon the nature of the weather and the aspect 
of the house. Damp down heavily at closing time, 
and allow the temperature to rise, if it may, to 90° 
with sun heat. 
Cucumbers. —Old plants that have been bearing for 
the last three months can be renewed by cutting back 
freely the lateral shoots, retaining the best, which 
should be regulated afresb. The surface of the soil 
should receive a top-dressing of good loam, with an 
admixture of well-rotted cow dung. Then water the 
border, and syringe the plants twice a? day during fine 
weather. Close early in the afternoon and damp 
down. 
Strawberries in the Open. —Although the show 
of bloom was excellent, the crop will certainly he a poor 
one, unless we get a greater supply of rain than pre¬ 
vailed during the last month. Thi3 state of matters 
should be remedied, as far as possible, by mulching, if 
that has not already been done, as it ought. A copious 
hosing twice a week would also render them invaluable 
assistance. 
Judging Small Greenhouses. —I was much pleased 
with your sensible reply to Mr. Salisbury last week, 
p. 631, on the subject of judging amateurs’ small 
greenhouses, or as I should put it, small amateurs 
greenhouses, meaning the greenhouses large and small, 
for I have seen both, owned hv working men. I have 
had some experience of this kind of work, and have 
found it mixed in character—amusing and annoying. 
I do not know what the practice is at Crewe, whether 
the judges call more than once or not, but if such com¬ 
petitions are to be of real benefit, I am convinced that 
one visit is not enough. It is better to leave the judges 
free to call as often as they please during a period of, 
say three months before the show takes place at which 
the prizes are awarded. In a wide district the work 
takes up so much time that the privilege of making 
surprise visits will not he abused, but the knowledge 
that the power exists does keep the competitors up to 
the mark. If the judge has a well-balanced mind, a 
keen perception of what is good and commendable, and 
can keep his own counsel until he finally makes his 
awards, he is a power for good in any district in which 
these competitions are encouraged .—A Secretary. 
The system adopted at Crewe, of giving small prizes 
to encourage artisans in the cultivation of plants under 
glass, is one which I should like to see adopted in all 
large centres of industry, because I know of nothing 
equal to an enthusiastic interest in a garden to keep a 
working man out of the public-house ; and as Cowper 
has said, “ He who loves a garden loves a greenhouse 
too.” I have often thought, when visiting cottagers’ 
flower shows, what a great benefit it would be to "this 
class if the committees would engage some experienced 
practical gardeners to speak to them at the prize dis¬ 
tributions on the proper way to manage a garden and 
small greenhouse, and above all things to note their 
errors and point them out. It is of what they should not 
do that so many of these worthy men want to he told, 
quite as much as what they may do—and overcrowding, 
to which you refer at p. 631, is one of the things which 
cannot be too often condemned. This practice amounts 
almost to a sin among the owners of small greenhouses 
in towns ; and next to this, nothing is more lamentable 
to an intelligent plant lover than the generally in¬ 
congruous character of the plants so closely packed 
together. 
"Where I have had an opportunity, I have made it a 
rule to encourage a “fancy” for some easily-grown 
class of plants—to make the man a specialist, in fact, 
and have often after a time been most gratified with 
the results. Let a working man once get a name for 
growing any particular flower or vegetable well, and it 
is wonderful what he will do to keep up his reputation. 
That is the spirit to foster at cottagers’ shows.— 
Lancastrian. 
Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, and Petunias for 
Exhibition. —I wish to exhibit some Fuchsias, zonal 
Pelargoniums, and double Petunias, and wish to know 
how long before the date of the show I should leave off 
stopping the shoots and pinching off the flower-buds.— 
A Novice. [It depends greatly upon the vigour of the 
plants. If the Fuchsias are growing strong and freely, 
and have plenty of good soil to root in at will, you should 
allow about eight weeks from the last stopping of the 
shoots, and about three weeks from the last removal of 
the flower-buds. In the case of the Pelargoniums and 
Petunias, five weeks for the shoots and three weeks for 
the flowers would be about right.— Ed.] 
Show Pinks. —My show Pinks are now throwing up 
flowering stalks and much short grass, too high up ever 
to layer. If I cut the lot off, and pipe them, will it 
improve both the blooms and the grass left to he 
layered later on? "What is a sure system of piping 
Pinks ? I have failed over and over again to get them 
to root.— N. H. F. [Let the “grass” alone for 
another week or two, then prepare a bed of sifted loam 
and leaf-soil, with about one-third of sand, in a shady 
position, and insert the pipings firmly into the bed on 
the first available wet day. If this is not convenient, 
get some boxes about 3 ins. deep, drain them, and fill 
up firmly with a similar compost, putting the finest on 
the top, and dibble in the pipings from 1 in. to 2 ins. 
apart each way, according to size. Give a good 
watering, and put the boxes in a close frame or under 
hand-lights under a north wall. Layering such small 
“grass” is a very tedious operation, and only worth 
resorting to when it has become too late to propagate 
by pipings. If you could put the cutting boxes on a 
gentle hot-bed, so much the better.—E d.] 
-■ »>;< «- 
A WORD TO YOUNG MEN. 
In a paper read before the New Jersey Social Florists 
Club (and published in the American Florist) Mr. 
John N. May defined the qualifications necessary to 
make a successful florist as : —(1), a thorough knowledge 
of his business ; (2), executive ability ; and (3), strict 
honesty in all his dealings. The studies most suitable, 
says Mr. May, to gain a thorough knowledge of the 
business are the first to consider. This commences 
with the first day’s employment in this business, by 
watching carefully how the work is dene by experienced 
hands ; no matter how trivial the job may appear to 
be try to do it well, and much will be accomplished 
from the start. As in all other walks of life many 
things which are not quite to your liking will fall to 
your lot, yet if you are determined to become a success¬ 
ful florist you will find them come much easier, and it 
is absolutely necessary that every one should begin at 
the bottom of the ladder. Cleaning fires, crocking 
pots, and many other such-like jobs are often not the 
most desirable things to do, yet they are all important 
and must be thoroughly understood by every one. All 
these items offer abundant room for study ; to stoke 
fires in the most economical way is a very important 
item, as waste and extravagance here means a consider¬ 
able loss of money in a year ; the same may be said of 
every item and branch of employment. 
The second item we touch upon is executive ability. 
This is all-important, and for the young beginner 
requires a special study. A man may be one of the 
best plantsmen in the country, but if he is not able to 
direct and manage workmen successfully he will never 
make a success either as a foreman for others or to 
manage a business for himself. Therefore in travelling 
around the country from place to place in search of 
knowledge do not overlook this. A safe plan to follow 
is to observe where the business is the most carefully 
and economically managed without waste or surplus 
labour, yet is done with consistent consideration of all 
concerned, and try to grasp the whole thing so that 
you can, when called upon, do as well or better—I say 
better here because our aim should always he to im¬ 
prove upon all we learn. 
This brings me to the last item I shall speak upon, 
namely, honesty and fair dealing. I need hardly say 
to you that this is not the least in importance. ISo 
man can hope to conduct a business and retain the 
respect of honest men unless he follows the golden rule, 
“ Honour before Riches.” And the word honesty opens 
up a wide range. It means not only that we must not 
openly rob our fellow man, but it has a very much 
wider range. It is just as dishonest to waste time by 
idleness, to recklessly destroy property, or tell an 
untruth to cover a fault, as it is to take something 
which does not belong to us. To waste time by idleness 
while in the employ of others is doubly dishonest by 
robbing our employer of what is justly his and also by 
robbing ourselves, as it is soon discovered and we are 
made to suffer in consequence. Almost any employer 
can soon tell if a boy or man is idling his time away, 
and it is only a question of a short time before the idle 
boy or man loses his situation and his employer’s good 
wishes, and you can readily understand the con¬ 
sequence. 
Passing on from the rudimentary point, we come to 
hooks, magazines, &c. Of these there are a vast 
number all more or less instructive. The ambitious 
student will try to read as many as comes within his 
reach, and if he is a careful reader will soon begin to 
discriminate between good, sound, practical writings 
and mere theoretical articles ; while the latter often 
contain many things that are pleasant to read and 
feasible enough on paper, yet they are not always safe 
to follow in everyday life. The former as a rule are 
the more sure for us to follow, hut even with these it is 
not safe to accept them in their entirety. It is far 
