696 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
July 4th, 1885. 
Til AMATEUIIS' IfAMEN. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
Atmospheric Moisture. —The great difficulty that 
presents itself at this season in the management of the 
greenhouse is to keep up a sufficiency of atmospheric 
moisture to maintain the plants in health and fresh¬ 
ness of leaf and flower, which can only be done by 
sprinkling with water the floor or under part of the 
stage two or three times a day, according to the state 
of the weather. 
Roof Climbers.— These will require thinning and 
regulating, but the less training they have the better, 
as it gives them a stiff appearance, and in no way do 
they look so well as when growing loosely, depending 
from the rafters in theirown natural manner, and espe¬ 
cially is this so with Passion Flowers and Tacsonias, 
which are adapted for that mode of culture. As these 
and other roof-plants will now be making active 
demands on the roots, the borders should be well 
soaked and then left till they become moderately dry 
again, except in the case of Lapagerias, which only 
do well when they are kept constantly watered at this 
season, and until they have done blooming late in 
the autumn. 
Primulas and Cinerarias. —The best place for 
these at this time, and on through the summer, is 
a common garden frame, placed somewhere in a cool 
shady spot, and the floor made or covered with coal 
ashs 3 to keep out the worms. On this the plants 
should be stood thinly and sprinkled regularly over¬ 
head every afternoon, which will refreshen the foliage 
and keep the atmosphere damp. To prevent drawing 
and induce a sturdy habit plenty of air is neces¬ 
sary both night and day, which is best afforded by 
tilting the lights at the back, as then all draught is 
avoided. 
Chrysanthemums.— Plants of these that are being 
grown for furnishing purposes, and are required dwarf, 
may now be stopped for the last time by nipping out 
the points of the shoots, but in cases where the object 
is to produce fine flowers the shoots must be allowed 
to run as they are, and the plants receive their final 
shift, giving them good rich soil, and potting some¬ 
what firmly, and as soon as this is done the plants 
should be stood on boards or pieces of slate to prevent 
the ingress of worms. To shade the pots there is 
nothing better than loose straw pushed among them, 
which is preferable to plunging in any close material, 
but if they are plunged the pots should only be dropped 
half way, or the plants are apt to get too wet at the 
roots. 
Pelargoniums of the show and fancy kinds are fast 
losing their beauty, and as soon as the flowers fade 
the plants should be stood in some sunny spot out¬ 
doors, and kept rather short of water, which will bring 
on a gradual ripening of the wood, and as soon as 
this becomes fairly hard the shoots may be cut back 
to within the last three or four joints, and the tops 
used for cuttings. These strike freely put in under 
handlights on any half-shady border, and they also 
strike readily dibbled in in the open. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Watering. — The season for summer - flowering 
plants is but short at best, and therefore every care 
should be taken to assist them in their growth so as 
to get the beds filled and covered as quickly as possible, 
or the autumn will be here before they get well into 
bloom. What will help them more than anything is 
frequent watering, if the weather sets in dry, for as 
yet their roots have not got far away from the balls 
into the new soil, and till they ramify further the 
plants are notin a position to take care of themselves. 
Mulching is one of the greatest aids towards this, as 
it prevents rapid evaporation, and thus conserves the 
moisture, so that when a watering is given it tells, 
and instead of being taken out, it soaks down and 
remains in the ground till it gradually drains off 
below. Perennials of nearly all kinds, and especially 
such things as Larkspurs, Phloxes, and others of 
that class, are greatly benefited by the same kind of 
attention, and it will do them much good if they now 
and then have a soaking of liquid manure. 
Staking and Tying. —To keep the spikes and flowers 
erect and prevent damage by wind, staking and tying 
will be necessary from time to time, but for small 
growing subjects, like Pinks and Carnations, it is 
better to use brushy twigs, such as Birch, which can 
be stuck around the plants quickly and made to 
afford the requisite support, and not only do they 
answer this purpose well, but the flowers they hold up 
are available for cutting without any bother of getting 
them loosed. 
Roses.— Those who would have fine blooms of 
these must mulch the ground with half-rotten dung 
and not be at all sparing with liquid manure, which 
however should not be given strong, but weak and 
often, and in sufficient quantity to get well down to 
the roots. To ease the plants as much as possible, 
let them be looked over frequently and have all faded 
blossoms removed, and if there are no more buds on 
the shoots to open, they should be shortened back a 
little, soon after which they will break and flower 
again in the autumn. These remarks apply more 
particularly to Perpetuals, as the climbing Teas and 
Noisettes require different treatment, and that is to 
lay the young growths in, or let them run full length, 
but as they are subject to mildew and aphis, they will 
need watching, and if the former shows itself, a 
dusting with sulphur will stop it, and tobacco-powder 
or liquid will soon kill the green-fly. 
Budding Roses. —Those who have Briers and who 
can do their own budding, will find this a good time to 
begin, as the bark runs freely now, and the buds are 
plump and ripe enough for taking off, conditions that 
go a long -way towards ensuring success. The opera¬ 
tion of budding is simple enough, but why many fail 
is in bruising the rind when taking the wood of the 
bud out, which requires some practice and dexterity, 
for if the bark is doubled back it turns black soon 
after and dies away instead of uniting as it other¬ 
wise would. The way to bud is first to rub off all 
spines from the base of the shoot where the bud is to 
be inserted, and having done this, the next thing is 
to draw the knife across so as to just cut through the 
bark, and then with the point make a slit about an 
inch long up to it, -when the sides may be raised and 
the bud pushed in, after which the top should be 
snipped off to fit the cross, and the bud tied in by 
running a piece of worsted or soft darning cotton 
round two or three times to keep the slit from gaping 
and hold the bud close. 
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 
Peaches and Nectarines.— The cold, changeable 
weather has been much against these, as when they 
cannot make quick growth, green-fly is almost sure to 
assail them; but these must be kept down at all 
costs, or they soon cripple the shoots, and not only 
injure the trees greatly for this year, but spoil them 
for next, as they are unable to form and mature the 
buds, which must have healthy foliage to feed them 
and bring them up plump. This being so, the points 
of the infested shoots should be dipped in tobacco- 
water, or some other insecticide, or dusted with 
tobacco-powder, and then syringed soon after to 
wash them clean and knock the fly off, when they 
may be tied or nailed in at once. Red-spider is also 
troublesome on Peaches and Nectarines, but what 
causes these in most cases is letting the trees bear 
too much fruit, and dryness at the root, by which they 
suffer through being impoverished. The remedy for 
this is timely thinning and watering, and in addi¬ 
tion, it will be a great help if the garden engine 
or syringe is brought into play, as red-spider cannot 
bear frequent wetting, especially if the water is 
sent at them with force, by doing which their webs 
are broken, and the young insects washed off the 
leaves. 
Vineries. —Grapes will now be swelling fast, and 
should have every assistance afforded them by giving 
the border a thorough soaking with liquid manure, of 
which Vines seldom get enough, or of water, at this 
season, a time when the roots require plenty of 
moisture to meet the demands made on them by the 
fruit and foliage, from the latter of which it evapo¬ 
rates at a great rate when the sun is hot, and there is 
air on the house. The proper time to close is between 
three and four, when the floors and interior should 
be damped down, but on no account ought the Vines 
to be syringed, except any that are young and without 
bunches, as the water is sure to spot the berries 
and interfere with their colouring. If there are any 
laterals showing, as there will be from time to time, 
if the Vines are strong, they should be taken off at 
once, as they soon overshadow the main leaves, and 
not only that, but they take away or divert the sap 
from the Grapes, and thus prevent them getting their 
full share of food. Young rods may be allowed to 
run, as the more top they make the more roots they 
form, and the faster the rods swell; and instead of 
taking two or three years to come into a bearing 
state, they will reach that stage in one. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Tomatos will now be moving fast, and must be well 
looked after in the way of thinning and training of the 
shoots, the great point in then successful cultivation 
being to expose the flowers and fruit to the sun and 
air, without which they do not set and ripen properly, 
neither will they if the plants become dry at the roots. 
To avoid having them suffer in this way and prevent 
them shedding their blooms, the best plan is to lay 
some half-rotten dung round them, and every few days 
give a good soaking of liquid manure, but before doing 
this it should be exposed that it may be warmed, or it 
will cause a check by lowering the temperature of the 
soil and thus retarding their growth. 
Ridge Cucumbers and Vegetable Marrows will 
require similar attention; the first-named besides 
being thinned should have the laterals stopped, one 
joint above the fruits, and the main leaders pegged 
out over the ground they are expected to cover. 
Seakale.— This is generally left pretty much to 
itself, but the way to manage it so as to get fine crowns 
is to thin out and cut aw T ay all weak ones now, as well 
as any flower or seed heads, that the foliage may have 
plenty of room, and the strength of the plants be con¬ 
centrated on those left, which will then develope, and 
reach a large size by the autumn. 
Asparagus. —Beds of this that have been cut from 
late will be much benefited by having a sprinkling of 
salt and after that a thorough soaking with liquid 
manure, rvhich should be repeated as often as is con¬ 
venient during the summer, as without the plants 
make plenty of top the produce next year will be 
small. In exposed places the stems often get twisted 
or broken by the wind, and to prevent this it is a good 
plan to stake and tie up the strongest and tallest, or 
to put a few Pea sticks about in the beds, which will 
afford support and enable the one plant to help hold 
up the other. 
Broad Beans. —The tendency of these in good soil 
is to run too much to leaf without filling their pods, 
and to force them to do this the tops should be taken 
off 6 ins. or so down, which will not only make the 
Beans swell quickly, but stop the ravages of black- 
fly and prevent them spoiling the bloom. 
Scarlet Runners.—To get these to set freely, liberal 
supplies of water must be given, and if the sticks are 
at all short, the plants should be stopped by nipping 
out the points, rvhich will make them break lower 
down, and for the chance of a late supply more seed 
may be sown, and the same with the dwarf French 
kinds; the most suitable place for putting these now 
being on a south border, or other sheltered position 
well exposed to the sun. Parsley is always in great 
request, and to have a supply during the winter it is a 
good plan to dibble in a row of young plants close 
along the foot of a wall or fence, or sow a bed now in 
a warm spot where it can be protected by placing a 
frame or some old lights over it to keep away some 
of the frost. 
- 0 _ • _ 9 - 
TRITONIAS. 
Allow me to bring to the notice of those who 
appreciate sterling good things, a plant which has 
been grown in gardens for several years, but not to 
such an extent as its merits deserve. This is Tritonia 
Brilliant, probably a variety of T. crocata, and which 
bears flowers of a rich orange-scarlet colour. If 
treated the same as Ixias and Sparaxis, that is to say, 
potted in 32-sized pots in September, in sandy loam 
and leaf-soil, with plenty of drainage, putting eight 
to a dozen bulbs in a pot, and given cool treatment 
during winter, it will follow the Ixias, &c., into bloom 
in early summer and yield a supply of flowers for cut¬ 
ting that will prove most valuable. The way to treat 
