648 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 8, 1895. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Mignonette. 
It would indeed be a difficult task to enumerate any 
common plants that are greater favourites with the 
plant-loving public than this old-time favourite. It 
has endeared itself to all, and rarely do we see a 
cottage garden where a little patch of it is not in 
evidence. In how many cottage and villa windows 
do we not duriDg the season espy pots of Mignonette 
loading the air with the delicious perfume of their 
flowers. There can be no doubt that it is to its 
fragrant qualities that the Mignonette owes its 
enviable position, for its flowers are comparatively 
inconspicuous, although certainly not devoid of 
attraction. 
Outdoor Culture. 
This is of the simplest kind, no great amount of 
trouble being entailed, and but little experience 
necessary. A shallow drill should be drawn, the 
seed thinly sprinkled in it and lightly covered over 
with soil. A little care however must be exercised 
in choosing the situation on which to sow the seed, 
a cool, shady position with rich soil being the best, 
for if sown in a dry, hot place where the soil is light 
and shallow, the results will scarcely be satisfactory. 
Even if the seed germinates, which it will often fail 
to do in such situations, the plants resulting are 
usually miserable stunted specimens that invariably 
run to seed at a very early date. Seed that was 
sown in May will now have produced an abundance 
of seedlings. If these are crowded too thickly 
together the smaller and weaker growing plants may 
be thinned out to give the stronger ones more room. 
Should there be places in the row where the seed 
from some cause or other has failed to germinate, 
these gaps may be made good by carefully trans¬ 
planting other seedlings from places where they are 
not required. Choose a dull day for the operation, 
and water them carefully in to their new quarters. 
These plants will come into bloom during July and 
August. Another sowing of seed may be made now 
to furnish plants which will commence to bloom 
about the beginning of September, from whence they 
will flower away right on until frost steps in and 
mars their beauty. In the dewy autumn mornings 
the perfume exhaled by these later plants seems to 
be far more powerful than that emanating from 
the summer blooming ones. For sowing outside 
Garaway’s White is a most useful sort, Sutton’s 
Giant is a tall growing variety producing immense 
racemes of bloom, whilst the Giant Crimson or 
Pyramidal is one of the finest red varieties. 
Pot Culture. 
Pots of Mignonette are always at a premium, 
whether intended for standing in the greenhouse, in 
the window, or in vases or flower stands in rooms 
and corridors. It is often urged against plants 
possessing a strong perfume that in rooms their 
fragrance becomes too overpowering, and hence 
strongly scented flowers do not, as a rule, find much 
favour for inside decoration. With regard to 
Mignonette, however, this disadvantage does not 
obtain, to judge from the quantities of it that are met 
with, not only of plants, but likewise of cut flowers. 
As it is very seldom that the amateur attemp's to 
grow specimen bushes in g or io-in. pots we shall 
confine these remarks to its culture in 48’s or 
32-sized pots, for these are the handiest sizes for the 
purpose. Seed that was sown in well-drained pots 
filled about three parts full of good rich soil, the 
seedlings having been subsequently thinned out to 
two or three to a pot will now have made nice sturdy 
stuff if they have been kept close to the glass and 
well watered. Give a good top dressing of rich soil, 
stake the plants out as required, and as the flower 
spikes begin to appear feed liberally with manure 
water. If the plants are kept in a frame take care 
to keep them as cool as possible, for this materially 
assists in the procuring of dwarf and stock material, 
and also in prolonging the flowering season to a con¬ 
siderable extent. For winter and spring blooming it 
will be necessary to make another sowing in pots in 
August. This, however, by the way, as there is 
plenty of time to think about it yet. 
The following varieties will be found very suitable 
for cultivation in pots. Machet, a very dwarf 
variety of vigorous habit, producing extra large, 
broad racemes of very sweet scented flowers bright 
red in colour ; Miles’ Hybrid Spiral, an exceedingly 
fine sort, carrying very long racemes of white 
fragrant flowers ; and Crimson King, the flowers of 
which are very sweet scented and of bright red hue, 
whilst the plants are of dwarf and vigorous habit, a 
quality that is of the greatest importance for 
varieties to possess if they are to form handsome 
and shapely pots full of flower. Anybody can grow 
Mignonette, but it is not everyone who has learnt 
the secret, which can only be obtained by practice, 
of keeping the plants dwarf and shapely.— Rex. 
Cabbage Seed-beds in Small Gardens. 
Where the garden is relatively small to the require¬ 
ments of a family it frequently happens that a certain 
border or piece of ground is set apart for the rearing 
of young Cabbages, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, 
and all others of the Cabbage tribe generally. This 
practice is not always confined to small gardens 
unfortunately; and the ground when made to rear 
this kind of crop year after year becomes 
impoverished or exhausted of the particular 
elements of plant food sought after by the Cabbage 
tribe. Nor is this the worst result of the practice, 
because the soil can be readily renewed by the use of 
manure to enable the young plants to make a 
vigorous growth till fit for planting out. A greater 
evil is the accumulation in the soil of the spores of 
the fungus that produces clubbing so destructive to 
the members of this family, including Turnips. The 
disease in the latter case is spoken of as Ambury or 
Fingers-and-toes, but it is the effect of one and the 
same fungus. Another kind of clubbing, though less 
conspicuous and less destructive, is that produced by 
the grubs of a small Weevil termed the Cabbage 
Gall Weevil. During autumn, winter, and spring, 
these nodules may be found upon the roots separately, 
or in conjunction with the more destructive kind of 
clubbing, which, by the way, is most injurious during 
the summer months when the plants are in full 
growth or should be. 
The presence of clubbing may readily be detected 
on bright days, especially after a period of cloudy 
weather. The clubbing so takes possession of the 
roots as to prevent them from performing their 
proper functions ; on the contrary, they decay after 
a time, and that, together with the swellings which 
are always on the main roots, causes a stoppage of 
the sap which conveys the nutritive material from 
the small fibrous roots up to the leaves. Then when 
the sun comes out strong the leaves flag suddenly 
because the roots are unable to supply the necessary 
moisture to make good what is lost by evaporation. 
The evil is complete, however, before this happens, 
and the flagging of the leaves merely indicates that it 
has taken place. The galls of the Weevil can readily 
be detected when the seedlings are being trans¬ 
planted, and should be cut off with a sharp knife and 
destroyed, or all the affected plants may be burned if 
numerous. Both ailments have much the same 
appearance in the early stages. 
Prevention is better than cure, and should always 
be the aim of the cultivator where it is possible to 
adopt such measures. One of the first to bear in 
mind with various garden crops other than the 
Cabbage tribe is to make choice of a fresh piece of 
ground every year for the separate kinds. Then the 
ground should be trenched every second year at least 
so as to bring the spores already in the ground so 
that all will decay before they are again brought to 
the surface. Trenching also.buries slugs and their eggs 
as well as the grubs and pupae of insects and other 
vermin of that kind. The ground is much restored 
by this process and is annually sweetened and 
pulverised by being turned up and exposed to frost. 
Old garden ground gets wonderfully renovated by 
this process, so that those who have not yet tried it 
will be surprised at the improved condition of the 
crops generally. Those who adopt the practice 
would do well to rear their own Cabbage, Cauli¬ 
flower, &c., instead of accepting, it may be, a hand¬ 
ful of plants reared and presented by some kindly 
neighbour whose garden may be swarming with 
fungi and insect pests of various kinds through many 
years of neglect. 
I do not advise anyone to decline the well meant 
offers of a friendly neighbour, but I speak from ex¬ 
perience when I say that clean garden ground may 
be rendered filthy by the mere acceptance and 
planting of some Cabbages from such a source. The 
garden I speak of had lain waste for a number of 
years, and was practically a playground for the 
younger members of the family. Then it was dug 
up and the soil broken down as well as could be 
accomplished at the first working, and after being 
sown and planted with different kinds of vegetables 
a fairly satisfactory crop was taken from it the first 
year. Next year a part of the ground was trenched, 
and proved even more satisfactory in the resulting crop 
than the first year. The untrenched ground gave a 
fairly good crop, except in the case of the Brussels 
Sprouts, which were practically a failure, on account 
of the excessive clubbing and the more or less com¬ 
plete destruction of the roots. I was suspicious of 
the plants at the time, as the main root of many of 
the young seedlings were swollen in an unnatural 
way, yet did not contain any grubs, at least in most 
cases. Now these gouty swellings were nothing 
more or less than the early stages of the dreaded 
clubbing. The crop never had the slightest chance of 
success from the first, as the plants brought the germs 
of disease with them from the seed bed. Next 
winter the ground was trenched, and the Brussels 
Sprouts were sown in a box, placed in a cold frame, 
and then transplanted into the open ground before 
they got crowded. After attaining sufficient size 
they were transferred to their permanent position, 
made a vigorous growth, and gave a good supply of 
firm and useful Sprouts. This transplanting pro¬ 
cess is not, however, absolutely necessary, for the 
seeds may be sown in clean ground in the open air 
with every prospect of success.— P. E. 
ZONAL PELARGONIUMS FOR WINTER 
FLOWERING. 
Every gardener who knows how hard it is to pre¬ 
serve the bright appearance of the plant houses, 
more especially the conservatory, during the dull, 
damp months of autumn and early winter, is well 
aware of the value which attaches to a large batch of 
good plants of Zonal Pelargoniums grown on specially 
for winter flowering. Taking all things into considera¬ 
tion, we question very much if there is anything that 
is at once so easy to grow and gives such good 
return for labour expended as this valuable class of 
plants. As the present time is most favourable for 
making preparations for procuring these, a few 
remarks on the subject may be opportune. 
The cuttings will, of course, have been taken 
during spring from old plants which have done good 
service during the past autumn and winter. As a 
little heat is necessary to strike them successfully 
and well when the year is so young this will have 
been accorded them, potting them off singly into 60- 
sized pots as soon as rooted. At this stage a cold 
frame is the most suitable accommodation for them, 
for in it they can be kept near to the glass ; plenty of 
air may be given them when needed, and watering 
can be easily and expeditiously conducted as occa¬ 
sion requires. The stopping of the plants must 
likewise be attended to before they have become too 
tall. As this will have been looked to some weeks 
ago the plants should by this time have broken 
nicely, and it is when in this condition, providing, of 
course, that root action is healthy and vigorous, 
that the best time offers itself in which to make the 
final shift into the flowering pots. Six-inch pots will 
be quite large enough for all ordinary purposes. The 
soil should be as good as it is possible to make it, for 
it must be remembered that the plants will have to 
remain in it for a considerable time. If good fibrous 
loam can be obtained this should be chopped up with 
the spade,afterwards picking it over by hand and shak¬ 
ing out a good deal of the fine soil, meanwhile keeping 
a bright look-out for any vermin which maybe present. 
To two parts of this fibrous loam should be added 
one part of cow manure. This must be freshly 
gathered and dried, subsequently rubbing it through 
a sieve so that shall be thoroughly incorporated with 
the rest of the compost. Sharp river sand in suffi¬ 
cient quantity to keep the soil open will likewise be 
a necessity, the whole being turned several times 
before using. 
The pots must be well drained, having regard to 
the large quantities of water that will have to pass 
through the soil. From the same cause they must 
not be filled too full—the surface of the compost 
coming about level with the lower edge of the rim. 
Pot firmly so as to induce a short jointed growth, 
but do not use the rammer too freely, for even if firm 
potting is a good thing in matters like this it is very 
easy indeed to get too much of it. After potting the 
plants may be stood out of doors, where during the 
summer months they are far better off than they are 
under glass. The pots must in all cases be stood 
level, otherwise one side of the ball will get all the 
