June 15, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
669 
JACK FROST 
has caused many losses that can be made good in 
an easy and cheap manner by purchasing the follow¬ 
ing bulbs and plants which I can recommend as being 
first class. 
BEGONIAS, SINGLE. 
20,000 grand bulbs, mixed colours, finest ever offered 
at the price, 3s. per dozen. 
PELARGONIUMS, SHOW AND DECORATIYE. 
Fine plants in best kinds, 6s., gs., and 12s. per dozen. 
ZONAL PELARGONIUMS. 
Best kinds only, 6 for 2s. 6d., 12 for 4s. 
IYY-LEAF PELARGONIUMS. 
A very choice lot, 6 for 2s. 6d., 12 for 4s. 
DOUBLE PETUNIAS. 
Extra fine new kinds, 6 for 3s. 6d., 12 for 6s. 
Send for Catalogue, Free. 
H. J. JONES, 
Ryecroft Nursery, Hither Green, Lewisham. 
ORCHIDS. 
Clean Healthy Plants at Low Prices. 
Always worth a visit of inspection. Kindly send for Catalogue. 
JAMES CYPHER, 
Exotic Nurseries, CHELTENHA M._ 
Carnations! Carnations ! 
Carnations! 
The Choicest Varieties in Cultivation, from the 
late Mr. Dodwell's Garden, 
FROM 6s. PER DOZEN, UPWARDS. 
DESCRIPTIVE LIST ON APPLICATION TO— 
ARTHUR MEDHURST, 
THE COTTAGE, STANLEY ROAD, OXFORD. 
FLORISTS' FLOWERS 
AND 
HARDY BORDER PLANTS. 
-O- 
FORBES’ ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE 
for 1893 is now ready, and will be posted to all intending 
Purchasers. 
The new Catalogue for 1895 is enlarged to about 150 pages 
and very materially improved, embracing everything new and 
old worth cultivating in the way of Florists’ Flowers and 
Hardy Plants with accurate description and prices, copious 
notes as to their origin, how, and where best to grow, a full 
index of the common or popular name? of Hardy Border 
Plants and a vast mass of other valuable information that 
cannot be had elsewhere, which renders this the best, most 
reliable, and complete catalogue ever issued on this popular 
class of plants, 
JOHN FORBES, Nurseryman, Hawick, Scotland. 
X 
SPECIALITY. 
A MAGNIFICENT STOCK IN IMMENSE VARIETY. 
Catalogue (No. 40 ) Free on Application. 
W. & J. BIRKENHEAD, F.R.H.S., 
Fern Nurseries, Sale, near Manchester. 
THE ORCHID FLOWER HOLDER 
(PATENTED). 
A useful Invention for Orohid Growers and Floral Decorators 
Price, per dosen, 3s. v>d., post paid. 
TO BE HAD OF 
ALPRED O'UTRAM, 
7, MOORE PARK ROAD, FULHAM, LONDON, S.W 
SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS. 
Small Advertisements, solid type, 6d. per line of about nine 
words. Displayed Advertisements, per inch, 6s.; per column 
(12 ins. long), £3 5s.; per half-page, £5 ; per page, £9. Special 
quotations given for a series. Gardeners and others Wanting 
Situations thirty words for is. 6d., prepaid. 
TO BE HEALTHY PLANTS MUST BE CLEAN. 
Fumigate with 
CAMPBELL’S Fumigating Insecticide 
With the improved process of manufacture, and the tests 
it is subjected to by the makers, and ourselves in 4J acres of 
glass houses, we are able to ask all plant growers who have 
not tried it to do so with confidence, 
GROWERS of FERNS, ORCHIDS, GRAPES and other 
INDOOR FRUIT, also of PELARGONIUMS, CINER¬ 
ARIAS, CALCEOLARIAS, &c., state that their plants, 
&c., are now quite clean with timely fumigations. 
MEALY BUG on STEPHANOTIS, &c„ is kept in check 
by the use of 
CAMPBELL’S FUMIGATING INSECTICIDE 
Bear in mind we are the only wholesale dealers in Insecti¬ 
cides who are using on a large scale the preparations they 
sell in their own Nurseries, and therefore, able to speak with 
confidence as Gardeners who actually use to Gardeners who 
ought to use this article. 
pprrp I No. 3 Roll,for 1000 cubic feet of space, Is. each 1 Post 
irxviLE j No> 4 M 2000 „ „ ls.9d. „ I free. 
Wm. CLIBRAN & SON, 
OLDFIELD NURSERIES, ALTRINCHAM; 
10 & 12, Market Street, MANCHESTER; 
Also at Llandudno Junction, &c. 
THE NEW EARLY STRAWBERRY FOR 1893. 
“ Stevens’ Wonder." 
The earliest variety in cultivation and very prolific, 
solid fruit, good flavour, high perfume. 
Awarded First-class Certificates, Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society and Royal Botanic Society, 1895. 
See Gardeners' Chronicle, March 2 ; Journal of Horti¬ 
culture, March 14 ; and The Garden, March 16. 
Having purchased the whole of the stock of this 
grand new early Strawberry from the raiser, we have 
pleasure in offering it as follows :— 
Strong plants in pots, £5 per 100 ; 15/- per doz. 
,, Runners, £3 per 100 ; 9/- per doz. 
Ready for Delivery Early in July. 
Early Orders requested as stock Is limited. 
Further patticulars upon application : — 
WM. CUTBUSH &, SON", 
Highgate Nurseries, London, and Barnet, Herts. 
For Index to Contents see page 670. 
“ Gardening Is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man "— Bacon. 
1 % 
Edited by J. FRASER, F.L.S. 
SATURDAY, JUNE 15th, 1895. 
NEXT WEEK’S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Wednesday, June 19th.—YoikGrar.d Flcral Fete. 
Thursday, June 20th.—York Grand Floral Fete. 
Friday, June 21st.—York Grand Floral Fete. 
Sale of Orchids at Messrs. Protheroe & Morris’ Rooms. 
Saturday, June 22nd.—Canterbury Rose Show. 
Rattling with the drought.— In the 
~ British Isles drought is only periodical, 
and the intervals between recurring seasons 
of intensely hot and long continued dry 
weather are usually of many years’ dura¬ 
tion ; but in other countries more favoured 
with sunshine, and less so than ours with 
the necessary rain, drought may be said to 
be chronic. The people in such countries, 
however, have learned from long experience 
to supply by artificial means what Nature 
denies in the shape of moisture to sustain 
the cultivated crops. Irrigation in some 
form or other is extensively adopted, so that 
the cultivators in warm and dry countries 
are really better prepared for drought than 
we are here. Nevertheless, when severe 
drought does occur the best gardeners are 
always most prepared for it, by reason of 
the good tillage to which their ground has 
been subjected. There can be little doubt 
but that deep digging and trenching during 
autumn and winter constitute the best 
means of combatting the dry weather 
which may ensue during the succeeding 
summer. The loosening up of the soil 
allows the surface water to pass away 
freely in winter and during rainy weather. 
Paradoxical as it may seem, the same treat¬ 
ment of the soil enables the moisture to 
rise from the lower strata and to come 
within reach of the roots of plants on the 
surface. This is due to the action of 
capillary attraction, which (so to speak) 
responds more readily to the requirements 
of plants in proportion as the hard and com¬ 
pacted stratum of subsoil is broken up. In 
agriculture, the hard layer formed by the 
sole of the plough, or that beneath its 
influence and action, is termed the “ pan.” 
Gardens that seldom or never get trenched 
are often much 'in the same condition 
Independently of moisture, however, a 
deeply worked soil is always more fertile 
than one that is merely dug over annually. 
Another means of evading the effects of 
drought to some extent is to make choice 
of any light soils that may be in the kitchen 
garden for the production of early crops, 
such as Potatoes, Peas, Cauliflower, and 
Broccoli ; the latter does indeed stand the 
winter better in light and relatively dry 
soils than in those that are wet and reten¬ 
tive. The latter, if at all inclined to clay, 
suffer from drought to a considerable ex¬ 
tent, but fairly deep rooting plants make a 
better summer growth there than they 
would in thin, sandy, or gravelly soils. 
Manuring is a matter of the greatest im¬ 
portance in battling with drought. Some 
cultivators do indeed consider it the first 
half of the battle, and that cultivation or 
good tillage is the second but smaller half. 
Be that as it may, there can be no doubt 
but that plenty of well made farmyard 
manure is of the greatest Denefit to light 
soils in retaining moisture during droughty 
periods. A skilled and diligent cultivator 
bears this in mind when digging or trench¬ 
ing his ground, and planning a system of 
cropping for the succeeding season. Rank 
manure on the other hand may be advan¬ 
tageously employed on heavy land, as a 
means of aerating it. The value of mulch¬ 
ing cannot be overlooked, and though 
various materials are used for this purpose 
in different cases, farmyard manure, when 
obtainable, is the most serviceable ; for 
besides preserving the soil moisture it also 
feeds the plants when artificial watering is 
resorted to, or when rain tails. The 
quantity of farmyard manure available for 
the garden is often all too limited, so that 
the gardener’s best favourites are first 
served. These may be Roses, Violas, Peas, 
or anything else according to the circum¬ 
stances of the case. 
In the absence of this kind of mulching, 
cocoa-nut fibre may be employed. Leaf 
mould and the decayed vegetation of the 
garden rubbish heap also constitute excel¬ 
lent substitutes amongst flowers or vege¬ 
table crops, where they can be employed. 
The advantage of hoeing and loosening the 
surface soil amongst all growing crops is 
well known and should be put into opera¬ 
tion in every corner of the garden during 
the continuance of drought. A little loose 
soil on the surface checks evaporation to a 
great extent. The application of water by 
artificial means is a heavy item of garden 
expenditure, especially where much of it 
becomes absolutely necessary ; and after all 
it does anything but give the satisfaction 
that follows a good rainfall, owing to the 
constantly arid condition cf the atmosphere, 
and the consequent inability of plants to 
make good growth under those conditions. 
Every close observer is well aware that the 
atmospheric moisture during showery 
weather is of far-reaching benefit to the 
growth of plants provided all other con¬ 
ditions are equal. There can be no doubt, 
however, that the modern appliances for 
watering grass lawns and crops, by means 
of sprayers and sprinklers, constitute an 
excellent substitute for a natural rainfall 
though not equal to it for the reason above 
stated. 
The old proverb which says that “ a 
misty May and a drappy June lifts the 
farmer’s heart aboon,” applies with equal 
force to the gardener ; for a fair amount of 
rainfall during those months is of great 
advantage to crops of all kinds, including 
flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The Straw¬ 
berry crop is now sadly in want of mois¬ 
ture to ensure the proper swelling of the 
fruits, and ingenious gardeners would find 
scope for their talents in devising means 
