August 24,1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
823 
for pricking out into beds, and if time can be spared 
as many as are required should be pricked off. 
Lettuce. —For the supply of winter and spring 
salad a sowing of Lettuce should now be made and 
another ten days later. Of varieties. All the Year 
Round and Stanstead Park are very hardy and 
reliable. 
• Asparagus. —There is still time to give Asparagus 
another dressing of salt ; nothing that I am 
acquainted with can equal this. Throughout this 
last summer we have given sufficient salt to the 
Asparagus at different limes to keep down the 
weeds, and the effect on the colour and growth is 
most apparent, and gives much promise for next 
season's crop. 
Mushrooms. —If not already started, everything 
must now be got in readiness for a constant supply 
of Mushrooms. Collect manure for that purpose 
without delay, and place it in any dry position to 
dry if at all too moist. When sufficient has been 
collected for a bed throw it in a heap to ferment, 
adding a third of good loam. Place this latter over 
the top of the manure, and as fermentation goes on 
the loam will absorb the ammonia which would 
otherwise be lost in the atmosphere. Turn the heap 
over as it requires, never allowing it to become too 
hot and of a burning character. The exact state to 
know when this should be done can only be learned 
by experience, but it is always well to err on the safe 
side and not wait until the damage is done before 
turning over. See that shelves (if any) and houses 
where they are grown inside and everything is in 
good repair before a commencement is made.— 
James Gibson, Devonliuvst, Chiswick. 
* 
Late Grapes.— In order that the berries should be 
well coloured and possess a full flavour, it is im¬ 
peratively necessary that a brisk buoyant atmos¬ 
phere should be maintained. Of course through the 
day fire-heat will not be needed, but during the 
night a little heat may be suffered to circulate in 
the pipes with great advantage both to the fruit and 
to the wood of the plants. Air will be admitted 
through the night by both lop and bottom ventilators 
as advised in a previous calender. Keep a watchful 
eye on the condition of the borders, and on no 
account suffer them to get dry. A moderate exten¬ 
sion of the laterals may be allowed, but they must 
not be suffered to crowd upon each other to any 
extent. 
Ripe Grapes.— It may be necessary in order to 
preserve the bunches from the attacks of wasps, 
flies and small birds, to enclose them in bags of 
muslin, as it is distinctly provoking, and eminently 
calculated to make the gardener use language more 
expressive than polite to find his finest bunches 
mutilated by one or other of the above-mentioned 
pests. In cases where only a few bunches remain 
on the vines, it is a good plan to cut and bottle 
them, as they keep in a dry dark room quite as well 
as upon the vines, and the latter are thus relieved of 
the burden. The house, moreover, can be thrown 
open more widely, and the ripening process thus 
facilitated in a proportionate degree. 
Peaches. —As the fruits in the later houses 
commence to colour, carefully push aside the leaves 
that are shielding them from the sun. A Peach or 
a Nectarine shaded closely right up to the time of 
ripening never possesses the exquisite sweetness or 
flavour of one that has enjoyed the benefit of some 
of the sun’s rays, neither can it compare to it with 
regard to appearance. Continue to apply the 
syringe with no illiberal hand upon all the trees that 
are stripped of fruit, the houses, of course, being 
kept open day or night. A little extra trouble will 
now be needed to keep things tidy in the earliest 
house where some of the leaves are commencing to 
fall. 
Melons.— Every advantage must now be taken of 
the ensuing month to push on the later crops of 
these, for the Melon is essentially a sun-loving 
plant, and it is useless to expect even a fair measure 
of success in dealing with it unless the all-important 
sun works in conjunction with the cultivator. The 
plants should be dewed over lightly with the syringe, 
and the houses shut up shortly after two o’clock in the 
afternoon. No matter if the temperature does rise 
a little bit higher than usual, the plants, if healthy, 
will stand it. Give constant attention to the pinch¬ 
ing out of laterals so as not to allow them to go too 
far before they are operated on. It is a great 
mistake to let things take care of themselves, so to 
speak, for a week or two, and then, just as the 
growth has become thick and crowded, to cut out a 
lot at once. Plants treated in this way are really 
subjected to a series of checks that cannot fail to be 
harmful to them in the first degree. 
Woodlice.— In most Melon houses these 
increase to a tremendous extent, a fact not to be 
wondered at when we consider the amount of con¬ 
genial refuge they have behind the pipes, and in 
the crevices of the house, as well as in the ferment¬ 
ing material itself. The harm they do, moreover, is 
by no means inconsiderable, as they are extremely 
fond of biting the stems and branches of the plants, 
as well as later on having a go at the fruit, particu¬ 
larly if the latter happens to be cracked a little, a 
stroke of luck for the Woodlice. We have found 
potatos cut in halves, hollowed out slightly, and 
laid here and there over the bed to be excellent 
traps. Indeed, by persistent attention in looking 
these over twice or thrice a day, and destroying their 
contents, it is wonderful how many lice may be got 
rid of, although sooth to say there seems to be a 
well-nigh unlimited supply.- A. S.G. 
- -- 
At this season of the year the gardener is naturally 
planning how and to what extent he is to make 
preparations for a supply of spring and early summer 
flowers wherewith to enliven and beautify the out¬ 
door garden. Most experienced gardeners will have 
made out their bulb order two or three weeks 
ago and will have sent it in to their favourite 
nurseryman, but to those who have not yet done 
this it is imperatively necessary that they should do 
so without any further delay, as those who, like the 
cow’s tail, are all behind will find that they will most 
likely have to put up with inferior material, those 
earlier in the field having naturally taken the best. 
Tulips. —It is impossible to overlook these in any 
preparation, however small, that are being made for 
the procuring of spring flowers. The Tulip is as 
well known and as highly thought of in the cottager's 
garden as it is in the garden of the peer. For plant¬ 
ing in bold conspicuous masses nothing can be better, 
each bed being filled with one variety, whilst dotted 
here and there in the mixed border they help to add 
a touch of colour and a taste of beauty of the greatest 
value. A good selection should be grown so as to 
extend the flowering season over as long a period as 
possible. Commencing with the earliest kinds, such 
as T. Greigi with its flaming red flowers, we have a 
host that will keep up the succession for a consider¬ 
able length of time. A few that are well worth 
growing are the scarlet and the yellow Due 
Van Thol; Artus, bright scarlet; Bacchus, 
crimson; Joost Van Vondel, rosy-crimson; 
Comte De Mirabeau, white; Rosa Mundi, white, 
shaded with rose; Yellow Prince, rich yellow; 
Keizer Kroon, crimson-scarlet, beautifully margined 
clear yellow; Pottebakker, scarlet ; Queen of the 
Violets, light violet, very distinct; Royal Standard, 
white, feathered with rosy-crimson ; and Proserpine, 
rich dark rose. For later work the Darwin Tulips 
are very useful, comprising as they do so many and 
various shades of colour, whilst the curious and often 
grotesque shapes of the members of the Parrot 
section, which moreover exhibit some of the most 
brilliant and varied markings to be seen in the genus, 
are exceedingly showy and valuable. 
Narcissi. —Scarcely inferior to the Tulips in 
decorative value are the Narcissi. Although it is 
better to wait until the end of October or beginning 
of November before commencing to plant out the 
Tulips, the beginning of September should see some 
of the Narcissi transferred to their permanent 
quarters. If the spring proves anything like favour¬ 
able N. obvallaris and N. pallidus praecox will be in 
flower early in February, a fact which renders them 
of especial value. Among other good and reliable 
kinds the following should find a place wherever 
Daffodils are in favour, although this list may be 
greatly extended according to the circumstances in 
which the gardener is placed. 
Of the single yellow Trumpet Daffodils, Countess 
of Annesley, Madame De Graaf, Glory of Leiden, 
Emperor, Achilles, Shirley Hibberd and Shakespeare; 
whilst of the bicoloured section, Empress, Mrs. 
W. T. Ware, Dean Herbert and J. B. M. Camm 
will be found excellent. Double Trumpet Daffodils 
will be worthily represented by Pseudo-Narcissus 
Plenus.TelamoniusPlenus.Capax PlenusandCernuus 
Flore Elegantissimo Pleno. Of hybrid Narcissi the 
following should be given a trial: N. Barrii albidus, 
General Murray, N. B. conspicuous, N. incom- 
parabilis Leedsii, Sir Watkin, C. J. Backhouse and 
Magog. 
Crocuses.— Appended is a list of a few of the best 
of these lowly but none the less beautiful plants 
which appear to such great advantage when grown 
in clumps in the mixed border, utilised as edging 
material for flower beds, or naturalised in the grass 
in various parts of the flower garden or pleasure 
grounds. For the last-mentioned purpose quantities 
of corms of Large Golden Yellow, Large Blue and 
Large White may be obtained at a very small cost 
and produce as good effects as can be desired. For 
bedding purposes King of the Blues and Othello, 
both dark blue; Purpureus grandiflorus, dark purple ; 
Marie Stuart, Queen Victoria and Koningin der 
Nederlanden, whites; Alfred Tennyson, Comtesse 
de Morny, La Majesteuse and Sir Walter Scott 
among the striped varieties may well be grown.— 
A. S. G. 
- 
Wall Trees.- —The present is an exceedingly good 
time to regulate the growth of trees trained towalls from 
which the crops of fruit have been removed. It may 
be that too much wood has been laid in, a proceeding 
that is sure to be attended with evil consequences. 
It should be seen, therefore, that each branch that 
is left is allowed sufficient room to mature itself 
properly, and this necessary ripening can only be 
obtained by thorough exposure to sun and air. Pay 
attention likewise to the training of young trees that 
were planted during the late season. Keep the 
garden engine at work upon all wall trees that have 
been relieved of their burden of fruit, at least two or 
three times a week. 
Gooseberries and Currants on Walls. —The 
nets that have been placed over these for purposes 
of protection must receive careful attention. They 
should hang at a distance of at least ten inches from 
the trees and must bs kept in that position by means 
of forked sticks, for if allowed to hang too closely to 
the tempting fruit the birds will take advantage of 
the fact with all speed. We have noticed trees that, 
to all appearances, have been securely protected from 
these feathered visitors have daily showed a manifest 
diminishing of the fruit, and were puzzled to account 
for it, until we saw birds alighting on the nets and 
forcing them in by their weight until they were able 
to reap the reward of their ingenuity by reaching the 
coveted fruit. 
Early Pears.— Such varieties asJargonelle.Beurre 
Giffard and Fondante de Bihorel will now be ripe, 
and must be gathered without delay. Take care to 
avoid bruising, for although the fruit is apparently 
hard enough it will not stand rough handling. If 
suffered to lay for a few days upon a shelf in a warm 
dry room before using, the flavour will be much 
improved. 
Early Apples.—A considerable number of these 
will also be fit for gathering, and as soon as they are 
ready, steps must be taken to remove them from out 
of reach of their manifold enemies by transferring 
them to the shelter of the store-room. The shelves 
of this house will be far better loaded than they have 
been for some years past, for throughout the country 
the Apple crop is usually a pretty heavy one. 
Earwigs. —These are proving a great pest this 
season, and if good fruit would be obtained, as many 
of them as possible should be trapped. Dry Bean¬ 
stalks, inserted here and there among the branches 
are of great service, although it will be necessary to 
look these over every morning, when by blowing 
through the stem the earwigs which are found 
inside in considerable numbers may be dislodged and 
destroyed.— A. S. G. 
The National Chrysanthemum Society’s Catalogue.— 
Centenary Edition. Containing i,ooo new varieties. All the 
novelties. A history and complete bibliography of the Chrysan¬ 
themum by Mr. C. Harman Payne. Price, is.; post free, 
ts. lid. Publisher, Gardening World, i, Clement s Inn 
Strand, London, W.C. 
