712 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 11th, 1885. 
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THE GREENHOUSE. 
Fuchsias. —To have a continuous succession of 
flowers, and keep the greenhouse gay, a great variety 
of plants must be grown, but none come in more 
useful at this season than Fuchsias, which ought to 
be at their best now, and to keep them in this 
condition as long as possible they should be supplied 
with weak liquid manure, which may be given daily, 
or as often as the plants are dry, when, by affording 
them this assistance, they will go on blooming for 
months to come. Although Fuchsias do not like 
the full sun, they require plenty of light, which keeps 
the shoots short-jointed and strong, and makes them 
firm and hard, as does also exposure to the open-air, 
and therefore any plants desired to come in late 
may be stood out-of-doors to advantage. 
Pelargoniums of the Zonal class are all very 
showy and fine for summer decoration, but to have 
them at their best they must not be subjected to 
a particle of shade till they get well advanced, and 
the nearer they can be stood to the glass, the more 
compact will they be. Those required to come in late 
should be out on some sunny border, either plunged 
or placed on a board, but not potted in large pots, as 
they flower most freely when pinched at the roots, 
the growth they make then being solid, and later on, 
when the plants need assistance, it may be afforded 
by giving them liquid manure. The show and fancy 
kinds will now be as well laid on their sides, or if not 
placed in that position, they should be kept dry to hasten 
the ripening of the wood, and as soon as this is of a 
nutty brown colour and firm, the shoots may at once 
be shortened back to within two or three eyes of their 
base, after which they will soon break, and the plants 
be ready for shaking out and re-potting. 
Calceolarias of the shrubby varieties make a 
grand show at and after this season, and should be 
largely grown, the best way of managing them being 
to plunge them in some half-shady spot out-of-doors, 
when, if kept sprinkled overhead and properly 
watered, they will flower profusely, and be very 
telling after they are arranged on the stage in the 
greenhouse. The herbaceous sorts are even more 
desirable, as they come in at a time when there is not 
much else, but although this is so, many do not 
cultivate them owing to the difficulty they have in 
getting them up, which after all is a very simple 
matter, if only a little care is taken in sowing the 
seed. The way to do this is to prepare a pot by well 
draining it and then filling it with finely sifted soil, 
which should be pressed down slightly and made 
smooth on the surface, when after being watered, the 
seed may be sown, the next thing being to cover 
the pot it is in with a pane of glass, to keep the air 
close and moist, without which the seed will not 
germinate. The most suitable place to induce it to 
do this, is in a cool, shady damp spot under a hand- 
light stood behind a north wall, and to keep slugs 
away, it is a good plan to have the pot on a brick 
in a pan of water, which will not only prevent these 
greedy insects reaching the plants, but be of great 
use in improving the atmosphere and insuring a 
healthy, free growth. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Mulching and Watering. —Those who have taken 
the advice given, and have mulched their flower-beds, 
will long ere this have found out what a benefit it is to 
the plants, and the vast amount of labour it saves in 
watering, which in most gardens has been a heavy 
work of late, for the weather has been very dry and 
parching, and as yet there appears no sign of rain to 
give the thirsty earth a soaking. This being so, it 
will be necessary to do it artificially, and fortunate 
are they who have water laid on, and can use it 
unstintingly, as with a plentiful supply, and hot 
weather, much may be done, and a green lawn kept, 
for if the turf gets a sprinkling by night, it will be 
sufficient to maintain the grass fresh, but to have it 
in this desirable condition, it must not be cut too 
close, or the sun will injure the roots. To prevent 
this, and afford a little shade, it is a good plan at 
the present season to take off the box from the 
machine and let the grass fall, as when not long 
enough to make it unsightly, it soon withers up and 
becomes lost to view. 
Weeds.— If bents are standing they should either 
be mown off with a scythe or pulled up, and any 
weeds extirpated, especially such as Daisies, Dan¬ 
delions, and Plantains, which spread quickly, and 
soon spoil or disfigure the turf. The readiest way 
perhaps of getting rid of these, is to touch their 
crowns with a stick dipped in vitriol, which will burn 
out the hearts and dry them all up, or they may be 
cut or dug up with a knife. Those of an annual kind 
on gravel, or in the Box edging, should be pulled out 
before they have time to seed, which they soon do if 
left to get large, but to stop their coming and growing 
there is nothing so effectual as giving a sprinkling of 
strong salt and water when the weather is dry and 
hot, as then the seed will not germinate. 
Roses.— The first flush of beauty with these is now 
over, but if expected to bloom freely again in the 
autumn, they must not be neglected, but have the 
faded flowers removed, and the strongest shoots 
shortened back, when they will break again if they 
are well soaked at the roots. 
Budding. —Although budding may be done for 
weeks yet to come, it is best carried out early, as not 
only does the bark of the stocks run more freely now, 
but the buds are in finer condition, and so much 
depends on the state they are in, the proper stage 
being when they show'up prominent and the rind is 
getting quite firm, at which period there is little fear 
of any going blind after being put in, or of bruising if 
they are carefully and dexterously handled. 
Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks. —The readiest 
way of supporting the flowers of these is to stick in 
a few twiggy pieces of Birch around them, or the 
main stems may be held up by pieces of spirally 
twisted galvanized wire, which look neat and save the 
trouble of ties. As the blooming is a great tax on 
the plants, they should be kept watered, and it is time 
now to begin to propagate, which may be done in two 
ways, the one by layering and the other by putting in 
cuttings or pipings. These can be made from the 
grass or shoots that are high up, which should be 
taken off and trimmed by removing the lower leaves, 
and after being]cut across with a sharp edged knife, 
just below a joint, inserted in sandy soil on a shady 
border under a handglass, where if kept close and 
sprinkled occasionally, they will soon strike and be 
ready for planting out in the open. 
The way to layer them is to make an incision in the 
shoot, carrying it about half-way through the stem, 
and along up for about half an inch, after which 
the shoot so operated on should be pegged down and 
have the part surrounded or buried with sharp gritty 
soil, when all that is necessary is to keep this moist 
to encourage the formation of roots. 
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 
Birds and the Fruit.— What with the mild winters 
and the Birds’ Protection Act, blackbirds and thrushes 
have increased and multiplied at such a rate that 
they swarm in gardens, and it is most difficult to 
prevent them devouring everything up, especially 
during such weather as we have experienced of late, 
for the earth is so dry that there is little or no insect 
food, and to appease their cravings these feathered 
depredators make onslaughts on green Strawberries, 
half-ripe Gooseberries and Currants, or anything in 
the fruit way they can get. To prevent this, and stop 
them having more than their share, measures must 
be taken at once, and as no one likes shooting these 
songsters, the only way is to net, and thus cover the 
bushes or trees, which must be done very securely, 
for so cute and persevering are they, that otherwise 
they are sure to find their way in. The best protection 
I have ever found for Gooseberries and Currants is 
fine-meshed wire netting, cut into lengths of 3 yds. or 
so, which pieces are handy for running round single 
bushes, but where many are grown, it is better to have 
them together and net over the whole. This should 
be done by first fencing round with the wire, tied and 
supported to stout stakes, when by running rods 
across or over the plantation or bed, 4 ft. or 5 ft. from 
the ground, the fish nets may be rested on and all 
made safe at the sides. 
Cherries and Plums.— -To keep these clean and 
free from aphis, they require close watching, and to 
have all shoots that are left for laying-in dipped in 
strong tobacco-water or other insecticide, after which 
the trees should be heavily syringed or well washed 
by the aid of the garden engine, which, if used 
frequently, will maintain the foliage in health, and be 
a great help in assisting the fruit to swell if the 
weather remains dry and hot. Peaches and Nectarines, 
as well as Apricots, will also be benefited by the same 
treatment, but as trees of these are on borders where 
the sun has full play, they should be mulched and 
heavily watered, or have a good soaking with liquid 
manure. 
Pears. —What makes these crack, and refuse to 
swell, is dryness at the root, from which they soon 
suffer when grafted on the Quince, as that is a plant 
that does not ramify very deep, and therefore, where 
trees are growing on this stock, they must have help, 
which is best afforded by frequent applications of 
sewage. The readiest way of giving them this, is 
to draw the earth away for a yard or so round the 
stem to make a saucer-like receptacle, into which the 
sewage can be poured, when, instead of running away 
on the surface, the whole will soak in -where it is 
wanted, but to prevent escape by evaporation after, 
the ground should be shaded by a dressing of manure. 
As all shoots beyond those needed are a waste of 
force, no time ought to be lost in going over the trees 
and stopping them back to the last three leaves, which 
may be done by giving them a bend against the edge of 
a knife, and breaking them off. If there is more 
fruit on than can be fairly carried, all that is small and 
mis-shapen should be taken off at once, which will give 
those left a chance to swell and reach their proper 
size and finish up well. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.; 
Watering. — The dry weather is telling sorely 
against Peas and Scarlet Runners, the latter of which 
if not kept watered will shed their blooms, and Peas 
cease to pod and swell, but what generally affects these 
at this season is thrip, -which gets into the points of 
the shoots and the expanding blossoms and cripples 
them both. To prevent this, we have found nothing 
equal to soot water, syringed on at night, the bitter 
of which these insects do not like, and if it does not 
kill them they take themselves off. 
Lettuces.— Those who sow in beds and transplant 
in the ordinary way will have found how difficult it 
is under such treatment to grow Lettuces fine and 
keep up a supply, as with the check of removal and 
the tap root broken, they are almost sure to bolt, but 
when sow T n where they are to stand, they turn in with 
good solid hearts, and remain crisp and juicy to eat. 
As it is difficult to get seed up while the earth is so 
dry, the best way to manage is to draw a shallow 
drill, and water it, soon after which the seed may be 
sown, and then covered with fine soil, which will 
conserve the moisture and enable the young plants 
to get through. As soon as these are large enough, 
they should be thinned by pulling up the small 
ones and leaving those that are strong, allowing them 
to stand about a foot apart, which will give plenty 
of room. The best sorts to sosv now are the Bath Cos 
and Hick’s Hardy Cos, both of which come in well in 
the autumn. 
Cabbages and Cauliflowers. —It is time now to 
make a first and last sowing of these for the season] 
the best and earliest Cabbage being Ellam’s Early, 
which is a small, close, compact-hearted kind, and 
among Cauliflowers, it has been proved that the Dwarf 
Erfurt comes in first, and some of this with the Early 
London should therefore be sown. To get the seed 
to germinate, the same means as that adopted for 
Lettuce is necessary, and it is a good plan to have 
the drills side-by-side in a small bed, that the whole 
may be covered with a mat to shade the ground for 
the first few days, which will bring the plants through. 
Potatos. —Land from which these have been dug 
may be utilized for Turnips, which if sown now will 
turn in fine for use during the autumn. Vegetable 
Marrows and Cucumbers will need thinning out to 
give the young shoots room, and to get the plants to 
fruit freely they must have plenty of water, which 
should be given in a tepid state, or the roots will be 
chilled. To have some always warm and ready to 
hand, it is a good plan to have a tub or other vessel 
