714 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 12, 1890. 
The Amateurs' Garden. 
—-j-- 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN. 
Balsams.—"When grown in stove heat it is abso¬ 
lutely necessary that Balsams should be placed in a 
light position near the glass, of a well-ventilated house, 
otherwise the steins get drawn and lank}’. Close 
attention should also be paid to watering, damping 
down and syringing, for in a high temperature there 
will be a great expenditure of moisture, and should 
they be subjected to an arid atmosphere they soon get 
covered with red-spider. When in flower the plants 
will, of course, be relegated to the cooler atmosphere 
of the greenhouse and conservatory. 
Climbers in Stoves and Greenhouses.— 
Growth at the present time is proceeding with great 
rapidity, and if not constantly attended to the young 
shoots soon get into a tangled mass, from which it is 
difficult to extricate them. Such things as Tacsonias, 
Passion Flowers and Allamandas cannot be cut back 
with propriety, otherwise no flowers will be obtained. 
On the other hand, if Bignonias, Tecomas, Harden- 
bergias, and similar things are cut back now, they 
cannot be expected to flower next year. The best plan 
is to cut away all unnecessary and weak shoots, allow¬ 
ing the be3t ones free play so long as they are not 
crowded. 
Chrysanthemums. — Notwithstanding the fre¬ 
quent heavy drenchings of rain with which we have 
been visited during the early part of this month, the 
watering of Chrysanthemums must be attended to, for 
if overlooked it will be found on the first outburst of 
sunshine that many of them have been dry, for the 
heavy foliage of some varieties is sufficient to throw off 
a large amount of rain. The plants then flag in bright 
sunshine, and are apt to lose the bottom foliage, 
greatly to their disfigurement. They should now be 
put in their flowering pots, using good fibrous loam 
chiefly. 
Cslosias.—These include Cockscombs, as well as 
the branching pyramidal kinds. They must be kept 
growing vigorously in a pit or other structure with a 
stove temperature and moist atmosphere. Keep syring¬ 
ing them till the plumes or inflorescences make their 
appearance, after which it must be discontinued, or 
their bright hues will get discoloured. 
Carnations Out of Doors.—It would be well to 
see that all flower stems are tied to neat stakes before 
they get broken down by their own weight and the 
heavy rains. As the buds commence to expand, the 
calyx tube of choice kinds may be tied to prevent their 
splitting in the case of double flowers. 
Rhododendrons and Azaleas.— As soon as 
these go out of flower they should be examined, and 
all the seed pods picked off to concentrate the energy 
of the plants upon the development of wood and buds 
for next season’s flowering. A sharp knife or shears 
should be employed, to prevent injury by pulling off 
the seed vessels. 
Budding of Roses.—The budding of Briar stocks 
may now be taken in hand, and should the weather 
prove even moderately moist it will greatly favour the 
operation, and the buds will be less liable to become 
dried up while a union is being effected. In the case 
of dwarf or bush Roses the bud should be inserted close 
to the ground, so that in transplanting afterwards the 
point of insertion should be covered up by planting 
a little deeper. 
Vineries.—During the prevalence of cold wet 
weather it will be necessary to use more artificial heat 
in houses where the fruit is j ust colouring than when 
the weather is bright. Of course, it should always be 
given at night. A free play of air is also necessary to 
ensure good flavour. The strongest laterals should be 
stopped where by their vigour they would disturb the 
even balancing of the Vine. 
Peaches.—In houses where the fruit is beginning 
to colour, all superfluous shoots should be cut away, 
and the fruits well exposed to light by moving the 
foliage on one side, as well as by elevating the fruits 
themselves by means of a label or piece of stake placed 
underneath the shoot bearing them, and supporting 
either end of the stake by elevating it above 
neighbouring shoots on either side of the fruit-bearing 
one. Give supplies of liquid manure to the borders 
where the fruits are still swelling. 
Melons.—Plants grown in frames, and which are 
healthy and of vigorous constitution, will require little 
shading ; in fact, plenty of exposure to sunlight will do 
much towards developing fine fruit, and if free play of 
air is permitted, the quality of the fruit will be greatly 
improved. 
Cucilmbers.—Where these are grown in frames, a 
light shading of tiffany will be necessary during the 
middle of the day in bright weather, if the plants have 
a southern exposure. Water must also be attended to, 
and in bright weather, syringing ought to be done twice 
a day to keep down red-spider. Ventilate freely to 
maintain the vigour and texture of the foliage. 
Herbaceous Borders.—Attend to the staking 
and tying of all those things which are likely to get 
broken down by storms of rain or wind, for when once 
the stems get twisted and bent about they can 
never be made to look so tidy afterwards. Hollyhocks, 
Dahlias, Everlasting Peas, Delphiniums, Potentillas, 
Campanulas, Spiraeas, and similar things must not be 
overlooked, while their condition can be improved by 
attention. 
The Fringed Catchfly.—As a border flower 
this merits a place in every collection of any 
pretensions, for when seen in a mass, as they are 
produced on a plant with ten or twelve stems, they 
are both elegant and pretty. It is the Silene 
fimbriata of the botanist, an old introduction from 
the Caucasus, and varies from 30 ins. to 4 ft. in height 
according to the vigour and size of the plant, as well 
as the fertility of the soil. The leaves are ovate- 
lanceolate, light green, and larger than those of any 
of our British species. The flowers are white and 
about the size of a shilling, or even larger, and are 
produced in large terminal panicles that overtop the 
foliage. Its culture is of the easiest, for when once 
established it will thrive for many years in the same 
position without any special attention, beyond the 
ordinary treatment given to an herbaceous border. A 
fine piece may be seen on the rockery at Chiswick, in 
the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society. 
The Rock Bramble.—A few of the dwarfer 
Brambles are worthy of cultivation on banks and 
moist peaty corners of large rockeries, where the 
elegance of their foliage or the beauty of their 
flowers, as well as the interest attached to them, gain 
them many admirers. The Rock Bramble (Rubus 
saxatilis) is a native of Britain, and although very 
pretty is seldom seen in cultivation. The leaves are 
small, and divided into three plaited leaflets, or, less 
commonly, the lateral leaflets are deeply divided. 
The flowers are numerously produced in small racemes 
or clusters from the previous year’s wood, and being 
pure white are shown off to the best advantage against 
the rich green of the foliage. The stems are prostrate, 
and may almost be called creeping, and as slender as 
straws, interlacing and crossing each other till a perfect 
mat of foliage is produced. Seeing that this mat does 
not rise above a height of 6 ins. or 12 ins., the species 
is well adapted for the situations above mentioned, and 
is both pretty and interesting. A large mass of it may 
be seen in a peat bed cn a bank alongside the aquatic 
tank by the herbaceous ground at Kew, where it has 
been flowering for some time past. 
Canterbury Bells.—A quantity of flowers of 
different colours of Campanula Medium calycanthema— 
popularly known as Cups and Saucers—was shown by 
Mr. R. Dean, Ealing, at the Drill Hall on the 8th 
inst., and an Award of Merit was granted for the 
strain. The flowers were dark and light blue, pink, 
blush, and purple. The calyx was large, and 
coloured like the corolla is in the race known as C. 
Medium calycanthema; and in some cases it was 
very deeply lobed, in others deeply united, forming a 
broad saucer-shaped piece. Some of the flowers were 
double, or rather hose-in-hose. The forms come true 
from seed, or a large percentage of them. 
Carnation, Mrs. Sanders.—The great merit of 
this Carnation is as a border and decorative variety. 
The foliage is ample and glaucous, while the stems range 
from 2 ft. to 3 ft. in height, and bear a large quantity 
of bloom if not disbudded. If the latter operation 
is performed, the flowers are of great size, with 
broad petals shallowly toothed at the apex. They 
are of a light soft yellow, and very effective. A 
group of plants shown by Mr. H. J. Jones, Ryecroft 
Nursery, Lewisham, at the Drill Hall on Tuesday last, 
had been grown under glass, otherwise the stems would 
have been much shorter. An Award of Merit was 
granted it. 
GARDENERS MUTUAL IMPROVE¬ 
MENT ASSOCIATIONS.* 
There can be no doubt that the existence of G ardeners 
Improvement Associations has a beneficial and edu¬ 
cational influence upon those drawn within their sphere 
of operations, and this influence for good will be 
proportionate to the mannerin which they are conducted. 
The craft is clannish to a degree, and despite the 
unavoidable isolation, we have always been Socialistic, 
and these societies will make us more so, by giving us 
opportunities of knowing each other better and of 
uniting our forces for the general welfare of our body. 
Moreover the meetings of the associations are calculated 
to induce young men to employ their spare time 
profitably. This is an important step, as it will lead 
them on to the high road of thoughtfulness, which leads 
to self respect, and the resolve to be somebodies. Such 
associations, too, inspire young men with the desirable 
ambition of being able to express their thoughts 
intelligibly, and if this was the only result achieved by 
attendance at such meetings, it would be of the greatest 
service to them in after life, when filling positions f 
trust. In many private places the gardener must 
possess conversational powers, and- be able to converse 
freely about his calling with those whom he is serving. 
A good address in a man is a valuable accomplishment. 
It wants, however, to be properly balanced, so as not 
to degenerate into mere talkativeness. “Work, not 
words,” is a good old maxim. 
Reverting to our subject, such associations are, if 
properly conducted, a great power for good. They 
create, as already observed, a social intercourse between 
members of the craft, and are the means of dissemin¬ 
ating the knowledge of the elder among the younger 
members, and what is more, the discussions that ensue 
have a tendency to destroy false or wrong notions, and 
often create new ideas that only remain to be put into 
practice to prove the fallacy of earlier notions on the 
same subject. One direct aim of such associations is 
to diffuse knowledge. It is the positive duty of all to 
acquire knowledge by observation, by reflection, by 
reading, and by listening to the informed ; for the 
greater the general stock of knowledge of each indivi¬ 
dual, the more is his own well-being promoted and the 
more is society benefited. Knowledge is not limited 
in its quantity, its portals are ever thrown open wide to 
all who may choose to enter, and is not, fortunately, 
in the age in which we live, confined to particular 
classes. The first step in the successful acquisition 
of any branch of knowledge is to learn to exercise the 
powers, of observation. It is, for example, by con¬ 
stantly observing the peculiarities in plant life—that 
truly wonderful and beautiful field of exploration— 
that the readiest perception is acquired of their struc¬ 
ture and habits and qualities which a less practised 
observer would entirely overlook. 
It has been urged as an objection to gardeners’ 
associations that they encourage high - flown and 
scientific ideas ; and yet, undoubtedly, the gardener 
who can combine a true knowledge of science with his 
daily practice is bound to become a successful cultivator. 
I recollect that at a certain association, a paper was 
announced to be read on “Vegetable Physiology.” 
One of the “old school ’’ of gardeners remarked to me, 
“I am successful without knowing anything of 
physiology ! Many good gardeners do not clearly 
understand the word.” This may be, but they would 
be all the better gardeners by a correct understanding 
of it. Every gardener in this age who aspires to being 
a somebody in his profession, should have some 
knowledge of vegetable physiology. He ought at least 
to be so far acquainted with its true principles, as to 
be able to conduct his operations with some degree of 
certainty. 
Officers. 
Under this general heading I will venture to throw out 
some hints as to the selection of the members of the 
executive of these associations. Relative to the com¬ 
position of the managing body or executive committee, 
it is most important to success that a good chairman be 
secured. He should be a man of tact, winning manners, 
business aptitude, strict impartiality, broad-minded 
views, used to presiding at such meetings, and well 
versed in horticultural matters. Do not think I am 
creating an ideal man. Men possessing the character¬ 
istics I have mentioned may be found for the looking 
and when applied to will be found willing to place theit 
services in the hands of those requiring them. The 
chairman’s authority should always be upheld by the 
members generally. A good man will never exceed it. 
* Prize Essay, by Mr. J. Barry, Chiswick Gardeners’ Mutual 
Improvement Association. 
