746 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 26, 1890. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN. 
Show and Fancy Pelargoniums.—The plants 
that flowered in May and early in June should now he 
ready to cut down after having been thoroughly dried 
off and the stems ripened. Later hatches, as they go 
out of bloom, may be stood in the full sun, and water 
withheld. In the event of rainy weather, lay the plants 
upon their sides to prevent the soil getting soddened- 
After cutting down the plants, stand them in a frame’ 
and occasionally syringe the naked wood, to induce the 
buds to start afresh, after which they may be re-potted 
into smaller sizes. 
Zonal Pelargoniums. — Plants intended for 
autumn and winter flowering should now receive their 
final shift, for unless the pots are well filled with root s 
before dull weather and the short days set in, they 
cannot be expected to flower well. Stand them in full 
sun, or plunge the pots to save watering. In this way 
the nodes will be short, and the wood well ripened and 
firm. 
Solanums.—If the plants for winter decoration are 
grown in pots, they must not be neglected in the 
matter of watering, otherwise the foliage will lose in 
colour, and drop to an extent proportionate to the neglect 
they suffer. On fine days they should also be heavily 
syringed at least twice, say in the morning and again 
in the afternoon, to keep red-spider in check. If 
planted out there will be less danger of their getting 
dry at the root, but syringing will even here prove 
very beneficial, and should not be neglected. 
Chrysanthemums.—Continue to tie up the stems 
as they advance to prevent any breakage by the wind. 
Heavy supplies of water will be necessary to maintain 
the vigour of the foliage. Syringing morning and 
evening will also prove of great advantage during warm 
and dry weather. 
Fuchsias.—The vigour of old plants can be greatly 
sustained by the use of liquid manure, whether that 
from the drainings of the stable, or made by steeping 
manure in tub. In all cases be careful that the liquid 
used is not thick and muddy, otherwise the pores of 
the soil will be choked up. Syringe the plants over 
head and give plenty of ventilation, to keep the 
young, growing shoots short and sturdy. A cool 
play of air about the plants will tend to keep them 
much longer in a flowering state than if they are 
coddled in any way. 
Roses in Pots.—Every encouragement should be 
given to make good growth during the present time. 
The pots should be plunged in ashes, and the surface 
dressed with horse-droppings, which will tend not only 
to keep the roots cool, but the manurial properties will 
be washed down to the roots, and so enable the plants to 
make good wood and lay up a store of material to 
encourage them to flower well when forced during the 
winter. 
Vineries.—Still continue to use a little fire-heat at 
nights where such varieties as Alicante, Lady Downes, 
Gros Colmar, and Madresfield Court are in process of 
ripening. By so doing more ventilation can be left on 
at night, and by thus keeping up a circulation of air 
the flavour of the fruit will be materially improved. 
Figs.—The wood of trees in pots should be well 
matured under glass, and then taken to the open air 
to finish off and rest, preparatory to their being put in 
the forcing pit in November. Trees that have been 
bearing for several months past will require frequent 
and heavy syiingings to destroy red-spider, which will 
be sure to have gained a footing if the plants have not 
been closely looked after and well watered at the roots, 
as well as syringed overhead after every gathering of 
the ripe fruit. 
Melons.—Feed liberally with manure-water where 
the fruits are now swelling ; but on no account give it 
in a strong condition, as the roots are unable to appro¬ 
priate it, and harm rather than good is the result. 
Should the plants be grown in frames, care will have to 
be exercised not to wet the fruits, or they will be liable 
to split. This tendency will be augmented if the frames 
are badly ventilated. 
Cucumbers—-These can be kept in a fruitful con¬ 
dition if stopping and thinning out are frequently 
attended to. Old wood should also be replaced by new 
when it ceases to be productive. Nothing tends so 
much to make the plants unfruitful as where they 
are allowed to form a matted mass of shoots and leaves, 
obstructing the free entrance of light and air. 
Hollyhocks.—If a sewing of seed is made now, 
the seedlings will be of a suitable size to plant out next 
spring, when they will make excellent growth during 
the season, and flower well later on. 
Layering Carnations.—This should be done 
about the latter end of July or the beginning of August. 
Before commencing, a compost should be made up 
consisting of equal parts of loam, leaf-soil and sand. 
This should be spread over the bed or around the 
plants to a depth of 2 ins, or in dry localities a little of 
the soil around the plants to be layered may be drawn 
back, and left so as to form a shallow basin around 
each. The basin may be filled with the freshly made 
compost, and thus the shallow receptacle formed will 
readily retain any moisture it may receive, whether 
in the form of rain or applied artificially. Should 
the weather be dry after layering has been done, 
frequent watering will be necessary to the production of 
roots. 
“When the compost has been prepared, a supply of 
hooked pegs should be procured, wherewith to fix down 
the layers. A faggot of brushwood will generally 
supply any number of pegs, cutting the shoots so that 
a side branch will form the hook. Failing a supply 
from this source, pegs can be cut from old and dry 
bracken, which will readily rot in the ground after it 
is no longer wanted. Wooden pegs, on the other hand, 
would have to be collected from the ground when the 
layers are dug up. Hair-pins and other wire pegs 
should not be used, as they are liable to corrode, to the 
injury of the plants. 
All should now be in readiness to proceed with the 
layering. Remove a few of the lower leaves from the 
shoot to be layered, so as to lay bare the stem. Then 
at a point which can be conveniently brought in 
contact with the soil make a clean cut with a sharp 
knife, entering at a joint and passing upwards for 
about £ in. This will form a tongue which will 
open when the shoot is bent ; and after putting the 
latter into position, fasten it dowm with one of the 
prepared pegs, and cover it with about 1 in. of the 
compost. The full complement of soil may be given to 
each plant when the whole of its shoots have been 
layered. Before leaving oft' work at any time givh the 
plants that have been operated upon a good watering 
through a rosed pot.— Wild Pink. 
"WTiite Candytuft.—Name the best time to sow 
White Candytuft for spring blooming. — Omega. 
[About the end of August for your district.] 
Tke York and Lancaster Rose.—Why is the 
white and red Rose called the York and Lancaster?— 
Omega. [The red and white striped Rose, popularly 
known as the York and Lancaster, is a variety of Rosa 
gallica, but is not the true York and Lancaster, which 
is a variety of Rosa Damascena, with smaller flowers, 
in which the colours red and white are more blended 
and not striped. It was so named in commemoration 
of the union of the rival Houses of York and Lancaster, 
who fought in the Wars of the Roses. “Omega” 
should look up his English History.] 
--—•>**- - 
HINTS ON THINNING. 
In gardening phraseology the word “thinning” em¬ 
braces a wide meaning, and is, at the same time, all 
important. Many years ago a “fair” horticulturist 
wished to impress upon me the importance of leaving 
all to Dame Nature’s thinning, and emphatically pro¬ 
nounced her as the best thinner. Quoting a few 
instances, such as Hollies, Hawthorns, Beeches, Oaks, 
&c., I was asked to note how the superfluous fruits 
dropped at a certain stage of their growth, thus making 
room for others, and so on. “Taking Apples, Pears, 
Plums, &c., they, too, drop in quantity, and if left 
alone, are naturally and evenly thinned.” 
These are instances which, to the uninitiated, may 
seem quite feasible ; but to those whose aspirations are 
measured by a higher standard of excellence—not to 
say qualification—they are not worth the candle. 
Instances innumerable might be cited where Nature 
works her wondrous marvels, and, in short, where we 
might be gladdened by the prospect of her assistance, 
and also assured of her valuable teaching ; but there is 
a limit to all this, and it must be the aim of the would- 
be successful horticulturist to assist Nature in her 
work, and no doubt she will be satisfied with a fair 
balancing. Dame Nature seems to make an effort to 
recuperate her failing energy, and, perchance, her late 
pristine dignity, or more likely still, to assist or per¬ 
petuate her supreme position, by growing many fruits 
on an enfeebled tree, thereby multiplying her chances 
of regeneration. It is well, therefore, to observe this, 
and assist her out of the difficulty and imminent 
danger of thwarting her over-zealous intuitions by a 
judicious thinning, balancing in the mind the condition 
of the tree, and thus forming a fair conclusion of its 
ability or otherwise, and thinning accordingly. No 
sane man would ever be guilty of ignoring Nature’s 
teaching, or of failing to profit by the many lessons she 
teaches at all seasons of the year ; but still we must not 
leave all to the mercy, not to say benefit, of her busy 
hands. 
Thinning of vegetable crops in general will, for the 
most part, be well advanced before these remarks 
appear in print, so also will the thinning of annuals, 
&c. My object in writing, however, is not so much for 
those things as for the hardy fruits ; and thus it may 
not be inopportune to offer a few remarks on the 
thinning of these, which, by the way, I regret to learn 
are not over-abundant, as a rule. Those who are 
favoured with a good crop may be over-ambitious, 
leaving all to Nature’s thinning, and so qualify the 
above remarks in substance. This is at once erroneous 
and grossly misleading—first, in the weakening of the 
trees for future crops, and secondly, for the supposed 
quantity to be harvested. The quantity, taking it 
numerically, may be great; but in selecting for the 
most ordinary uses or purposes, the non-thinning 
theory will reveal itself as very poor policy indeed. 
Better have half-a-dozen good presentable fruits of 
any kind than double that number of inferior, 
gnarled, and stunted-grown ones. Not only is this 
the case for their individual appearance, but it also 
holds good in their quality. In short, quality versus 
quantity is a very good maxim, and one as a rule that 
will commend itself to men of ordinary intelligence, 
and that will rarely be called into question by the 
consumer. It is simply impossible to have superior 
quality where the tree is taxed to the uttermost to 
finish its crop. This applies with equal force to the 
thinning of small fruits. 'Where the object of the 
cultivator is to have even Gooseberries of excellent 
quality, he must let quantity go to the wall, and thin 
these also. The Lancashire growers “cap” us all in 
that; and in the general cultivation of Gooseberries, 
and to their management of these, many gardeners are 
everlastingly indebted for their training in that par¬ 
ticular art—the writer included. 
The thinning of Apples, Fears, Plums, &e., now 
demand attention, and where not gone over in June 
should be seen to at once, and this to be well and 
economically done must be performed piece-meal, by 
first going over all and moving malformed fruits, and 
at the same time reducing the number in close clusters, 
so that each fruit stands clear of its fellow. This at 
once reduces all needless energy pn the part of the trees, 
and concentrates any vigour they have towards the 
important end in view. In a short time it will be 
quite apparent which fruits are taking the “lead,” and 
to further encourage these it may be necessary to give 
another thinning by attacking any that may seem 
lagging behind. In the majority of fruits this thinning 
may suffice, so that all may be taken off that may seem 
necessary for the equal balancing of the crop and its 
ultimate results. Plums frequently drop a good deal 
at the stoning period, and many causes may be attri¬ 
buted to this, such as imperfectly fertilised blossoms, 
imperfectly ripened wood—perhaps the result of an 
over-crop the previous year—an over-crop at the present 
time, dryness at the roots, and general debility. Any 
of these defects would cause, and undoubtedly do cause, 
this dropping of not only Plums, but also Apples, 
Pears, &c. All the causes except the latter are easily 
remedied, and for that matter there is also a remedy 
for the latter in cutting hard back and renewing the 
trees, or ordering afresh from the nurseries. The latter 
is preferable, as young Plum trees, and indeed others, 
can be got to give very good crops in two or three 
seasons after planting, and that can rarely be accom¬ 
plished with old “ cut backs ; ” indeed, this is 
commendable all round, as old enfeebled trees rarely 
produce satisfactory results. 
The operation of thinning most fruits should be 
performed with scissors ; the knife is apt to touch and 
injure others, while the finger and thumb method is 
rarely satisfactory, through many fruits being broken 
off that are not intended to be so. In the hands of an 
observant and pains-taking man it is astonishing what 
progress will be made in a short time with a good pair 
of scissors, and for this purpose there is nothing better 
than the long-pointed secateurs. Such fruits as Goose¬ 
berries, however, may be thinned by the hand without 
scissors, but on trial the ordinary Grape scissors will 
