744 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
July 25th, 1885. 
The 6-asben. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
Roof Climbers, such as Passion Flowers, Tacsonias, 
and others of that class that are of free growth, will 
require frequent looking over to keep them thinned 
and regulated, and not only that, but they must have 
plenty of water at the roots, which should be given in 
sufficient quantity, when it is administered, to soak 
the borders through, as though they may appear in 
a moist state above, it often happens that they become 
dry below, and this condition of the soil soon affects 
the health of the plants. 
Lapagerias. —These are now making their summer 
shoots, some of the strongest of which spring from 
the base, and these the slugs or woodlice are almost 
sure to find out and devour. To keep the first-named 
insects off till they can be caught, there is nothing 
better than the broken chimney of a lamp put over 
each shoot, and the woodlice may be trapped by putting 
down small flower pots baited with boiled Potato, and 
thrusting a wisp of hay in at the top, under which 
they will lurk. 
Fuchsias.— To have young plants of these early 
next year, cuttings must be put in now, the best 
shoots for the purpose being those that have but 
little bloom on them, which should be taken off about 
3 ins. long, and then trimmed and inserted in sharp 
sandy soil, when if placed under a handlight in some 
shady situation, or stood and kept close in a cold 
rame, they will soon root. 
Solanums. —These, when full of their bright berries, 
are among the most useful of decorative subjects 
during the winter, but they often fail to set through 
inattention in watering, which causes the flowers to 
fall, and to prevent this, the plants should be plunged 
and kept moist at the roots, as well as sprinkled or 
syringed overhead, which damping of the foliage will 
ward off red-spider and maintain the leaves healthy 
and clean. 
Chrysanthemums. —It is time now that these had 
their last shift, which should be done by giving them 
good sized pots, and using rich loam, and after they 
are potted, the plants ought to be plunged in an 
open sunny position, as there the wood they make 
will be short jointed and firm, and such as is sure to 
produce fine heads of bloom ; but to get them to do 
this, the shoots must not be stopped any more, but 
allowed to grow on as they may. As these will now 
be getting long, it is necessary for them to be tied 
and supported to stakes, and the points of the shoots 
will also need watching, as they are very subject to 
thrip and green-fly, which attack the tender leaves 
and soon cripple the plants. To prevent this, they 
should be dusted with tobacco-powder, or wetted with 
tobacco-water, and syringed soon after to wash the 
insects out and clear the foliage of any deposit they 
may have left on its surface. 
Azaleas, Camelllas, and other greenhouse plants 
stood out to harden and ripen their wood must be 
well looked to ; see that the balls do not become dry, 
which they are apt to do by cracking away from the 
sides of the pots and letting the water pass without 
wetting the soil. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Staking and Training. —Although the rains have 
done an immense deal of good, they, and the wind, 
have also done much harm in weighing or breaking 
down the branches and heads of plants, most of which 
were getting heavy under the weight of their load of 
bloom, and to remedy this, all beds and borders should 
be looked over, and stakes and ties applied to such 
subjects as need their assistance, taking care when 
supporting the shoots not to bundle them up broom 
fashion, as is too often done, but to tie them neatly 
and loosely, that the plants may have an easy, natural 
appearance. For Sweet or Everlasting Peas, as well 
as such climbers as Nasturtiums, there is nothing that 
looks or answers better than tall brushy sticks, up 
which they run and attach themselves to, and show 
off in the greatest state of perfection. 
If there are thin spare trees near any of the plants, 
it is a good plan to train the Tropseolums on them, 
and let these rapid-growing climbers clothe their 
bare stems and twine about among the branches’ 
which they will soon do, and adorn them with beauty. 
Clematises also look remarkably well in the same 
way, and likewise on dead stumps, or rambling at 
their ease on trellised walls, associated with the 
Canary Creeper, which contrasts splendidly against 
such kinds as C. Jaekmanii, and produces a striking 
effect. To have the Nasturtiums continuously in bloom 
it is necessary to pick off the seeds, and it is a great 
assistance to the Clematis if they now and then 
have a good soaking of liquid manure. 
Bedding Plants have made quick progress of late, 
and to keep these gay as long as possible they should 
have every attention in the way of removing seed 
heads, thinning and pegging out the branches so as to 
make them cover the ground and be neat in appear¬ 
ance. Border flowers, such as Carnations and Pinks, 
may be propagated now, the last named being easily 
struck from cuttings made from the young growth, 
and the Carnations increase readily from layers, 
which root in a few weeks if the shoots are partly 
cut through before pegging them down. The way to 
make the Pink cuttings is to take them off just below 
a joint, and thenjinsert them in sandy soil in a shady 
place under a handlight, which should be kept close 
till they strike. 
PITS AND FRAMES. 
Cucumbers and Melons.— In cases where frames are 
so built or placed that linings can be added, they will 
be a great help now in affording fresh bottom-heat 
to Cucumbers and Melons, the latter of which need 
such assistance to enable them to set freely, and 
Cucumbers are always much better and crisper when 
they swell rapidly than they are after slow growth, 
as then they are generally bitter and hard and 
unpleasant to eat. To prevent this, and aid the 
Melons, the pits or frames they are in should be shut 
up by three o’clock or so every afternoon, after 
syringing or sprinkling the plants, which will raise 
the temperature greatly, and the syringing cause a 
genial atmosphere that will keep the plants healthy 
and strong. 
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 
The Fruit Crop. —Although there was every 
promise of a great crop of fruit, the season has turned 
out very unfavourable, as Apples are blighted and 
the foliage curled, and affected with several kinds of 
insect pests, the worst being the maggot or cater¬ 
pillar, and the other red-spider, the latter of which 
got on owing to the long spell of harsh winds and 
drought. Where the trees are small and a pressure can 
be obtained to force water on, the remedy is easy 
enough, as by a well-directed stream the parasites 
may be washed off and the leaves made clean, which 
will be a fine help towards swelling the fruit; but to 
get this to its full size, all that is deformed should be 
taken off, and a soaking of sewage given to the roots, 
as the soil is still dry in depth, and the same course 
ought to be pursued with Pears, but before the sewage 
is administered, it is necessary to mulch the ground 
round the trees, or the surface of the soil will crack 
and let the moisture out quickly, and make matters 
worse than before. 
Peaches and Apricots on walls require precisely 
the same treatment, and the first-named should also 
be kept well syringed, or red-spider will get hold of 
the leaves and greatly injure the trees. If the shoots 
are not already nailed or tied close in, no time ought 
to be lost in carrying out the work, as they shade the 
fruit, and unless this is fully exposed to the 
influence of sun and light, both colour and flavour 
will be very deficient. 
Strawberries. —Most of these are now over, and 
whether the plantations are to remain on for another 
season must depend on their age, and the vigour and 
fertility of the plants, but, as a rule, they should not 
be left longer than three years at most, as it is 
always better to have young beds than to trust to 
those that are old. If it is decided to keep them, the 
way to manage is to go over the rows and trim up the 
plants by cutting off every runner and the lower 
shabby leaves, but on no account ought the fresh 
foliage be taken away, as that is necessary in 
plumping up and forming the crowns, and its early 
removal is the most frequent cause of Strawberries 
failing to flower. 
If fresh beds are to be made, the first preliminary 
towards success is to get good plants, and this can 
only be done by selecting the strongest and best 
runners and layering them in pots filled with rich soil, 
where, to hold the runners in their place, they should 
be pegged, or have a stone laid on each, after which, 
if kept watered daily, they will soon root and be ready 
for planting out in the bed, the necessary preparation 
for which will be written about later on. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
Gathering Peas and Beans.— It has been pointed 
out again and again what a heavy tax seed-bearing 
is to plants, and therefore the necessity of relieving 
Peas and Broad and Scarlet Runner Beans of all 
their pods as soon as they are full enough or large 
enough for use will be plain to everyone, as the plants 
will then continue bearing, especially if attended to 
in the matter of watering, good soakings of which are 
requisite for both Scarlet Runners and Peas, if the 
weather keeps at all dry. The importance of mulch¬ 
ing has also been urged, and the benefit of this on 
light soils can scarcely be overrated, as the shade it 
affords prevents the land from becoming heated, and 
by intercepting evaporation, maintains a uniform 
degree of moisture about the roots, which are then in 
a position to feed and nourish the plants. 
Celery. —The same remarks apply to Celery, which 
should have short, fresh horse-dung, or something of 
that kind, scattered alongside of the roots, where it will 
not only act in the way referred to above, but prevent 
the wash that otherwise results from heavy and 
frequent watering, and the cracking and opening of 
the soil after. If there are any plants yet to go out, 
no time should be lost in getting them in the trenches, 
which ought to be made about 15 ins. wide and 6 ins. 
deep, when, after being manured and dug, the plants 
may be planted 10 ins. apart. In doing this it is 
necessary to lift them with good balls, so as to secure 
as many roots as possible, as then they suffer little or 
no check, but start off at once. 
Lettuces. —To have a late supply of these, seed 
must be sown now, and it is a good plan to do this 
where they are to grow, a favourable situation being 
on ground between rows of Celery, where they get 
great depth of fresh earth and stand well in the 
autumn. The best kinds to depend on at this season 
are Hick’s Hardy Green, and the old Bath Cos, both 
of which are very hardy, and turn in with fine close 
hearts without any tying. 
Cabbage and Cauliflower. —A sowing of both these 
should also be made to come in early in the spring, 
the most desirable sorts of the first-named being 
Ellam’s, and the latter Snowball and Early London, 
the latter being a very old favourite. 
HOYA BELLA. 
A month ago we received some cut blooms of this 
lovely East Indian species from Mr. Atkins, gardener 
at Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire, accompanied by 
a note on its culture which we published at p. 682. 
Of all the species in cultivation, and there are only a 
few much known in gardens, Hoya bella is the best 
for growing in baskets, and for such work there are 
few better adapted. The flowers are waxy-white with 
a crimson centre, borne in umbels almost uniformly 
with seven pips in each, and deliciously scented. It 
flowers most freely from the axils of the leaves, and 
when suspended from the roof of a stove or inter¬ 
mediate house, produces a very fine effect. Mr. Atkins, 
who grows the plant so well, gives it a compost of peat, 
loam, sand, and leaf-soil, with a few pieces of charcoal 
to keep it open and sweet. It requires a warm 
temperature and full exposure to the sun. 
Phylloxera in Algeria.— Phylloxera has appeared 
amongst the Vines at Mansourah, province of Oran, 
Algeria. No one knows how the pest has been im¬ 
ported, but the authorities have promptly taken 
vigorous measures. The destruction of the affected 
Vines began on July 8th, and disinfection by means 
of petroleum is actively carried on while waiting for 
the receipt of sulphur of carbon in sufficient quanti¬ 
ties. The Governor-General of the country has 
issued a decree proclaiming the district infected for 
a radius of two kilometres beyond the actual spot. 
It is hoped these energetic measures will localize the 
evil, so much dreaded by the Vine-grower. 
