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THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 18th, 1885. 
Tn Amatmis- Gaum. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
Roof Climbers will now be making rapid growth, 
and should be kept thinned out and regulated, that 
the plants beneath may have the full benefit of light 
to prevent drawing and assist in ripening and harden¬ 
ing their growth. To ensure this latter being carried 
out, it is a good plan to place most of the hard-wooded 
section in some favoured spot in the open, the most 
suitable situation being a partially-shaded position 
shut in by shrubs or trees, which will keep off the 
wind and thus save the plants from injury through 
being broken about. As the change from the house 
at first will be great, the plants will need syringing 
overhead to counteract the drying influence of the air, 
and they will also require watching to see that they do 
not suffer from want of water at the roots, but 'when 
any is given, it should always be sufficient to soak 
right through the ball and wet the whole body of 
soil. 
Cinerarias. —The first batch of these ought to be 
progressing fast, and large enough for repotting, which 
should be done in light rich mould and the plants 
stood in a cold frame placed behind a shady wall, 
where, if kept with plenty of air and sprinkled during 
the evening, the growth of the plants will be sturdy 
and strong. To succeed the early lot, a few more may 
be raised now by again sowing seed, or taking suckers 
from any old ones that have been saved, and if these 
latter are kept close and moist, they soon root and 
make nice useful stuff. 
Primulas and Mignonette. —These do well under 
similar treatment to that recommended for Cinerarias, 
and the two may therefore be grown together and 
potted in the same kind of soil, but for the Primulas 
it is better to employ more sand to let the water pass 
freely through. To have Mignonette in bloom early 
in the autumn and winter, seed must be sown soon, 
the handiest sized pots for growing the plants in 
being 32's, which should be well-drained, and then 
filled with rich loam, rammed hard, and on this the 
seed should be sown and slightly covered, and if then 
gently watered it will soon be up, when the plants 
will need thinning so as to leave only about five in a 
pot. 
PITS AND FRAMES. 
These ought to be doing good service now in growing 
Cucumbers, Melons, and Tomatos, as well as pre¬ 
paring plants for winter-blooming, such as Bouvardias, 
Cinerarias, Primulas, &c., for which purposes pits 
and frames are well adapted at this season. To get 
a good crop of Melons, the plants must only be 
allowed to run out with their main shoots and laterals 
from them, on which the fruit shows, and directly 
the flowers are open they should be set, immediately 
after which the Melons should swell. To push them 
on as fast as possible, the way is to sprinkle them 
well over about three o’clock in the afternoon, and 
then close the frame, when the sun will raise the 
temperature considerably and do the plants good. 
The same course of management will suit the Cucum¬ 
bers, but they do not require setting, and only need 
plenty of heat and moisture to keep them productive, 
towards which manure-water is a very great help. 
This should be stood in the sun before being used, 
to make it warm, and the same with any water, or 
the roots will be chilled. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Nothing distresses plants so much, and checks 
their continuous flowering, as seed-bearing, which is 
a great tax on the energies of the plants; and to 
relieve them of the strain and encourage further 
growth and free blooming, the seed-heads or pods 
should be removed directly the petals fall, as the 
taking them off not only does good in the way 
referred to, but keeps the beds or borders tidy, 
especially where there are Roses, which, if not looked 
over frequently, litter the ground with their blossoms. 
As soon as these are off, the strong shoots that have 
borne them ought to be shortened back, with a view 
to getting another crop of flowers in the autumn, and 
this the plants will yield if they are w T ell looked after, 
so as to keep them free from mildew and greenfly, 
parasites they are very subject to at this season, but 
the first named may be easily stopped or eradicated 
by the use of fine sulphur, and the aphis by appli¬ 
cations of tobacco-dust and heavy syringings of clear 
water to knock the fly off. 
Propagating Roses. —If the budding of Briars is 
not yet done, no time should now be lost, as the buds 
will go on well after the rain we have just had, which 
will set the sap in rapid motion, and make the bark 
run freely ; and when it does this, there is nothing in 
the way of success. Not only is it a good season for 
budding, but it is also the best for putting in Rose 
cuttings, and as many sorts do better on their own 
roots than when worked, it is advisable to propagate 
and grow a lot in that manner, the way to make and 
manage the cuttings being to select medium-sized 
shoots that are firm and half ripe, and cut them into 
lengths of 6 ins. or so, with a bud at the base. This 
done, they should then be inserted in sandy soil, 
under handlights, placed on a shady border, and if 
there kept close, and damped occasionally, they will 
strike, as also in pits or frames on half-spent hot¬ 
beds, where they soon root. 
Shrubs of the evergreen class may be rooted in 
the same way, but the surest method with these is to 
layer up by burying a portion of the stems of the 
lower branches after pegging them down. Any plants 
that are getting too large, or encroaching on others, 
may now be pruned in, or cut into shape, and hedges 
clipped, as they will break again, and make sufficient 
foliage to hide the wounds, and look well for the 
winter. 
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 
The Vinery. —Grapes will now be swelling fast, and 
should have every assistance by way of watering, but 
the mistake many make is in giving little and often 
instead of a thorough good soaking, and then leaving 
the border till it becomes moderately dry again, by 
doing which the soil is kept in a good condition, 
favourable to healthy root action, instead of being made 
sodden and sour on the surface, and it frequently 
occurs that when in that state there it is wanting in 
moisture below. The best way to manage in all cases 
where the border is outside the house is to mulch, and 
for this purpose nothing is more suitable than short 
stable dung, which answers the purpose of shade and 
lies light, and therefore does not obstruct the passage 
of the air, but prevents too rapid evaporation. Where 
it can be got there is nothing like liquid manure for 
Vines, especially such as are fruiting, and till the 
Grapes begin to colour it should be given freely, but if 
strong it will be necessary to dilute it before putting 
it on. 
Not only is it requisite to have the borders in good 
order, but the atmosphere in the house must be kept 
moist by frequently damping the floors, or red spider 
will soon be rife, and if this insiduous little enemy 
gets on the leaves they soon turn brown, and the Vines 
suffer and become unable to finish their fruit. When 
this begins to colour a little air should be left on the 
ventilators by night or put on very early in the 
morning, or the moisture that arises will condense on 
the berries and spoil the nice bloom, or prevent them 
putting it on. As the growth of laterals only robs the 
Grapes, they ought not to be left, but pinched or cut 
out as they show themselves, till the fruit is fully 
swelled and coloured, after which it does good to let 
them run as they will, and the same with young Vines 
now, for the more leaves they make the more roots 
w r ill they form and the faster will the rods swell, the 
action of the one helping and controlling the other. 
Peaches. —These, like Vines, require a thorough 
soaking of the border, as, while the fruit is swelling, 
rapid demands are made on the trees, and unless the 
roots are well supplied with moisture the Peaches are 
liable to fall off, or if they remain on they are sure to 
be of small size and poor and the leaves to become 
affected with red spider, which must be kept off by 
heavy syringing both morning and evening till the 
fruit becomes well advanced. The same remarks 
apply to trees out-of-doors on walls, the shoots of which 
should now be kept closely nailed or tied in that the 
fruit may have full exposure to the sun and light, 
without which it is impossible to get the fruit a good 
colour, or to have it of fine quality and flavour. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
The Dry Weather is telling unfavourably on all 
vegetable crops, which are now suffering from dryness 
at the roots, and though it is impossible to water all, 
Peas, Scarlet Runners, and Cauliflowers should be kept 
going, as they are the most important, and are likely 
to fail first; but it is surprising what a help a good 
mulching is along the sides of the rows. Almost any 
littery rubbish does for this, but the best stuff is long 
dung, the juices of which are washed down in watering 
and are of great assistance by the stimulus they afford 
to the plants. Liquid manure is also of much benefit, 
and where it can be got in quantity should be applied 
freely, by giving good soakings, and the same with 
water, as dribbles of either only bring the roots to the 
surface, where they perish, but if the earth is 
moistened below, they strike down and can then take 
care of themselves. Celery being half aquatic in its 
nature, cannot have too much water, but like the 
Peas, &c., when any is given, it should be in such 
quantity as to soak the soil, and as Celery is a gross 
feeder, it will take any amount of liquid manure. 
Tomatos.— The only way to get these to set freely is 
to keep them well watered, as when allowed to become 
dry they shed their blooms, and if the first show of 
these is lost the crop of fruit must be late. To help 
the Tomatos to swell and ripen, the plants must be 
kept thinned, the right way being to run the main 
shoots as high as the wall, fence, or supports will 
admit, and to keep cut out, or pinched back, all side 
branches or suckers that may push up below, and it 
may be necessary to remove some of the old leaves 
that overshadow the bunches of fruit. 
Turnips. —A late crop of these should now be got in, 
a suitable situation for them being a piece of ground 
that has been cleared of Potatos, which will not need 
digging, but only a forking over and levelling with a 
rake to make the surface sufficiently fine for sowing 
the seed. To get this to germinate, the best way is to 
wait for rain before putting it in, after vhich it will 
be up quickly and the Turnips soon grow and run 
ahead of the fly, which does so much harm when the 
■weather is dry. 
Cauliflowers. —It is now time to make a sowing of 
these for handlights, or to place under frames, or at 
the foot of a wall, to stand the winter; the way to get 
the plants up being to water the ground before sowing, 
and after it has become a little dry again the seed may 
be put in, and when covered with soil have a mat 
thrown over the bed. 
Cabbages may be raised in the same manner, 
the best early kind to sow now being Ellam s, which 
has a nice close compact little heart, and turns in well 
in the spring, when it is very tender and good. To 
succeed the one mentioned, the Fulham or Enfield 
Market are as desirable as any, and may be sown at 
once, or a week or so later on. 
--— 
POLEMONIUM RICHARDSONI. 
This charmingly pretty Greek Valerian, though it 
has been under cultivation in gardens for some years, 
is but very little known, yet it deserves a prominent 
place in every mixed border of hardy plants. It is a 
native of Arctic North America, and is closely allied, 
although superior in every respect, to that old favourite 
P. cceruleum, commonly known as Jacob’s Ladder, 
itself one of the most elegant of spring-flowering 
herbaceous plants. P. Richardsoni, so named in 
honour of Dr. Richardson, a celebrated Arctic ex¬ 
plorer, who found it in 1826 near the Great Bear 
Lake, forms neat, attractive tufts of angular hairy 
branching stems, wflth bright green alternate, pinnate 
leaves, and in good soil grows to nearly the height of 
2 ft., and from May onwards until the present time 
yields a continuous crop of large and showy azure- 
blue saucer-shaped blossoms, in terminal panicles, and 
rendered all the more attractive by reason of its 
golden anthers. The plant is thoroughly hardy, is 
easily increased by division, and will grow freely in 
any ordinary garden soil, so that there is little excuse 
for its cultivation not becoming general. At the 
meeting of the Floral Committee, held on May 26th 
last, Mr. T. S. Ware showed some beautiful plants, 
and received a First-Class Certificate for it. Our 
engraving was also, we may add, prepared from 
specimens kindly forwarded by Mr. Ware, in whose 
nursery at Tottenham it has this season been a great 
feature. 
