792 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August loth, 1885. 
Tie Amatiiis’ Garden. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
Cleaning and Painting. —Now that most plants 
may with safety be stood out, the present forms a good 
time for cleaning and painting the greenhouse, which 
should be done so as to be ready for filling and 
refurnishing again in the autumn. Before the paint 
is put on, it is always advisable to scrub and wash 
the woodwork and glass with soap and water, which 
will remove the dirt and give the paint a chance 
of covering the parts and drying properly, which it 
would not do with soot and dust under. For clean¬ 
sing and making the walls look fresh, nothing is equal 
to lime-wash, but if the glare of white is objectionable, 
it may be toned down with a little blue in it, which 
soft tint of colour, being nearly that of the sky, agrees 
with most plants, and looks well as a background 
to them. 
Achimenes. —Although these are generally con¬ 
sidered as stove subjects, they do w T ell when in bloom 
in a greenhouse, and may be grown most successfully 
in pits or frames, which are the best places for them 
during the summer, but they must be kept in a moist 
atmosphere by syringing or sprinkling them overhead, 
and have shade, which treatment is also requisite 
after the plants have done flowering, as then they 
should be assisted and looked after to maintain their 
foliage fresh and healthy till they have formed and 
matured their tubers, when they may be stored away 
in any dry shed. 
Stocks. —These come in so useful early in spring, 
and are so exceedingly showy and valuable for decora¬ 
tive purposes at that season, that some should be 
sown, the best being scarlet and white, intermediate 
kinds, and the Queen or Brompton, the first men¬ 
tioned being very dwarf and compact, and the latter 
strong growers, with a branching free habit of bloom. 
As Stocks are somewhat difficult to handle and trans¬ 
plant, the better way of managing them is to sow 
a few seeds in 32-sized pots, and thin out when up, 
leaving three plants standing triangularly at equal 
distances apart. The most suitable soil to grow them 
in is good fibry loam, made firm, and the best situa¬ 
tion during the winter is a pit or frame, where they 
should be plunged near the glass, and have plenty 
of ah-. 
Heliotrope. —Sweet-scented flowers are always in 
request, and none are more acceptable than Helio¬ 
trope, ■which may be had in throughout the winter by 
growing on now and getting good plants. These for 
the present do best out-of-doors, where they should be 
plunged in full sun so as to get firm shoots, which, 
when the plants are put under glass, will bloom 
profusely if not stopped at the points. 
Chrysanthemums. —These must now be well at¬ 
tended to and kept watered with weak liquid-manure, 
never allowing them to get dry, for if they suffer at 
the roots the leaves soon become shabby, and the 
plants leggy and poor. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Sowing Annuals, Perennlals, &c. —Although hardy 
annuals, biennials, and perennials are generally sown 
in the spring, much finer and earlier plants may be 
obtained by raising them now, as instead of being 
small and weak at the season referred to, they will be 
large and strong, and soon come into bloom. The 
way to manage with the biennials and perennials is to 
select a well drained, light sandy piece of ground and 
rake the same fine and smooth, when the seed should 
be sown thinly in shallow drills, drawn 1 ft. apart, 
which will give plenty of room for getting between to 
weed and clean, andlifting or thinning the plants, with¬ 
out disturbing those left. To ensure the drill being of 
a uniform depth, which is a most important matter in 
getting the seeds to germinate, the better plan is to 
use a straight-edged piece of wood, or the measuring 
rod, which may be pressed down regularly, and after 
the seeds are sown, they should be just covered with 
very fine soil. 
Hardy Annuals do best sown in patches where 
they are to stand, as then they can be thinned out and 
left to grow on without any check. Among the most 
desirable of these may be mentioned the Godetias, 
which are very showy in borders, as they produce in 
great profusion large Tulip-shaped flowers, that are 
exceedingly rich and varied in colour, the finest being 
G. Whitneyi, and the varieties, such as Lady 
Albemarle and others, raised from it. For spring 
beds, Nemophila insignis, the Virginian Stock, and 
Silene, must not be forgotten, as they are indispens¬ 
able for making a display early, and associate well 
with such things as Violas and Daisies, both of which 
must now be looked after, and well watered to keep 
them growing and get them strong and ready for 
transplanting when the beds are cleared in the 
autumn. 
Lawns. —Close cutting and watering, where it can 
be done, are the right courses to pursue with lawns, 
which should be kept at their very best now, as nothing 
adds so much to the beauty of flowers, and the enjoy¬ 
ment of a garden, as a piece of fresh green turf, which 
the eye never tires of, but to have the herbage fine, 
not only must the grass be cut frequently, but all 
weeds must be eradicated, as that is the only way to 
obtain and keep a good bottom. 
Walks. —These too ought to be in the most perfect 
order, a condition they may easily be preserved in, if 
the gravel is of a binding nature, by rolling immediately 
after rain, which will make the surface smooth and 
hard, and prevent the growth of weeds, but should 
there be any of these showing, the quickest way to get 
rid of them is to water with strong salt water sprinkled 
on through the rose of a pot. If this is done while 
the weather is dry and hot, the weeds will shrivel up 
at once and the walks will remain free and clean for a 
long time, but if there are live edgings, care must be 
taken not to go too near the sides and wet them, or 
they will turn rusty and die. 
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 
The Vinery. —Vines on which Grapes are swelling 
should now have all laterals removed so as to let in 
light and air and divert the sap to the finishing up of 
the bunches, which require all the assistance that can 
be given them to get their berries to the full size and 
colour, the latter of which and the bloom will be 
much improved by having gentle fires by night to 
dissipate damp and keep the air in motion. To insure 
this being done, it is necessary to have the ventilators 
a little way open, or the moisture drawn out from the 
soil or floor of the house will condense on the Grapes. 
If the roots of the Vines are inside, let the border 
have a good soaking of liquid manure and the same 
out, unless we get rain enough to wet the soil through. 
The way to manage young rods that are being run up 
for fruiting next year is to give them plenty of air and 
keep a dry atmosphere, for as growth has now ceased, 
or nearly so, the thing is to get them well ripened, 
and this can only be done by the agent referred to. 
Peaches and Nectarines Under Glass. —Trees of 
these from which fruit has been gathered will require 
close watching to keep them free from red-spider, 
which, if allowed to get on the foliage, will do much 
harm by preventing a proper nourishing and develop¬ 
ing of the buds, and unless these plump up properly, 
the flowers are sure to come weak and deformed. One 
of the best remedies against these insects is to syringe 
the leaves heavily, for the spider cannot endure wet, 
and another is to water the borders, as a frequent 
cause of their attack is allowing the trees to become 
dry at the roots. The same remarks apply to those 
out-of-doors, which should have similar attention, and 
all shoots nailed or tied in, that the fruit may be fully 
exposed, as it is only sun and air that will colour it 
up properly and give it fine flavour. 
Pears and Apples. —The weather has been such 
that neither of these swell, for both are starved 
through want of rain, to make up for the absence of 
which the only way is to water, but it is useless giving 
a little, as that would not get down to the roots. If 
liquid manure can be had, a soaking of it will have 
a most beneficial effect, especially on trees that have 
a heavy crop and look distressed through their load. 
Raspberries. — These having now done bearing 
should be gone over and have the old canes cut out, 
the removal of which will let in light and air to the 
young ones, and if there are more of these at a stool 
than three or four, they ought to be reduced to that 
number, as there will then be quite sufficient to tie in 
and leave for fruiting next year. 
Strawberries. —The way these are treated by some 
is cruel, as they are denuded of their foliage and have 
to make fresh leaves, and this at a time when they 
should be forming their crowns, which they are then 
unable to carry out properly, and the result is, that 
the plants go blind or fail to flower in the free manner 
they ought. Instead of stripping them in the manner 
referred to, all that should be done is to trim away 
the runners and clear the beds of all weeds, but on 
no account ought the rows to be dug between, or the 
soil disturbed beyond having the surface hoed, as to 
break it deeper destroys the roots, and Strawberries 
always do best when the ground they are in is firm on 
the top. Runners intended for making fresh planta¬ 
tions should be kept properly watered so as to get 
them well rooted and as strong as possible, and if not 
in pots they will be all the better for being put in 
fresh dug land, and there nursed on together till the 
beds are ready for them, when they will lift with good 
balls and may be transferred without feeling much 
check. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
Mushrooms. —Somehow or other people have a 
notion that these are difficult to grow and require a 
house, instead of which they are very easy to manage, 
and succeed well out-of-doors or in any shed or 
cellar, the only condition necessary to ensure success 
being a damp, close atmosphere, which may be 
secured by covering the beds over with a thick layer 
of hay, as that keeps the air confined and damp, and 
the young Mushrooms come up thickly under it and 
are soon fit to cut. The way to start with them is 
to get a quantity of horse-droppings or short, fresh 
stable manure, and lay it in a heap to sweat and 
sweeten by losing some of its fiery heat and gases, 
which it will if kept turned daily for a week, when it 
may be put together in a ridge if out-of-doors, or in a 
thick layer if in a shed or cellar, but in either case it 
should be well beaten down so as to make it close and 
firm, and this may be done by a rammer, soon after 
which gentle fermentation will begin, and then the 
bed will be ready for spawning. 
Before this is carried out it is best to test the heat, 
the proper temperature being about 75 degs., which 
sets the spawn running among the dung, where pieces 
the size of an egg should be dibbled or put in at about 
9 ins. apart. If the bed is then slightly covered with 
a sprinkling of hay the warmth will be uniform, and 
after the hay has been on a fortnight it should be 
taken off and the bed soiled over by putting on it 
some fine earth or loam an inch thick, patting the 
same down with the back of a spade, so as to make 
it firm and smooth on the surface. This done, all 
that remains is to cover again with the hay and wait 
the Mushrooms coming, which they should do in from 
six to eight -weeks, and the beds remain some time in 
bearing. If out-of-doors rain must be warded off by 
some thick covering, but in a shed or cellar it may 
be necessary to damp by an occasional syringing 
or sprinkling of the floors and walls, which will 
create an atmosphere like that of an autumn night, 
when Mushrooms are found springing up in most 
pastures. 
Cabbages.— Plants of early-sown beds of these 
should be pricked out at once, or they will draw each 
other and get long-legged, but if moved they will 
remain sturdy and strong, with plenty of fresh roots, 
and when ground becomes vacant be in fine condi¬ 
tion for planting. As the first batch often bolt or run, 
it is advisable to sow again, and if the early ones stand 
the second come in well for succession. 
Turnips.— It is getting full late for these, but if put 
in at once there is yet time for some of the sorts to 
bulb, the quickest to become fit for use being the Milan 
and the White Stone, both of which are of mild, sweet 
flavour and capital cookers. 
Radishes. —Summer weather is not favourable for 
good Radishes, but now it is cooler they turn in well 
and remain crisp and good, and it is therefore advis¬ 
able to sow a bed now, the best being the Red and 
White Turnip-shaped and Wood’s Frame. 
Lettuce. —To have these late in the autumn a 
planting must be made at once, the most suitable for 
standing frost and turning in at the season referred 
to being the old Bath Cos and Hicks’ Hardy Green, 
the first named being the most reliable for sowing to 
stand the winter and come in early in spring. For 
this purpose it is necessary to have the beds on a 
