568 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 7,1898. 
i nts for Amateurs. 
MAY. 
“Hail, all hail, the merry month of May." 
Thus far go the words of the old ballad in which we 
are invited to hail with joy the appearance of the May 
month, when Nature awakes from her sleep in right 
good earnest, and clothes wood and glade and 
hedgerow with her myriad-hued mantle. The May 
month has from time almost immemorial held a 
peculiarly distinguished position amongst the months 
of the year, and the junketings and merry-makings 
with which its first day was wont to be ushered in 
in the good old times are matters of common know¬ 
ledge. With the staid wisdom of the nineteenth 
century these practices have lapsed, and it is only 
in country places very remote from the busy 
swirl of latter day civilisation that the spectacle 
of Jack-in-the-Green and his attendant satellites can 
be observed, whilst the once ubiquitous May-pole 
has vanished from our village greens. 
The name-mother of the month was Maia, 
daughter of that much-occupied individual Atlas, 
the mother of the nimble Mercury, by Jupiter. Her 
goddess-ship could not have chosen or have been 
given a better month to perpetuate her memory 
amongst mortals for standing as it does upon the 
threshold of summer it possesses a peculiar charm 
which none of the other months of the year can 
boast of; indeed, it is par excellence the month of 
spring, with all her subtle influences, for it is in 
spring, according to the pcet Tennyson, that—“ A 
brighter plumage glows upon the burnished dove, 
and in spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to 
thoughts of love.” Surely what is true of the “ young 
man ” is true of the 11 young maiden ” also, and if we 
assume this we have committed ourselves to a very 
close association of the seasons with the banes and 
blessings, pains and pleasures of the human race. 
The month of May, seems to have taken to itself 
as its special characteristic the youth and vigour 
which mark the season of spring, and this idea has 
been immortalised by Shakespeare in the phrase 
“ his may of youth and bloom of lustibood,” whilst 
in Spenser’s quaint phraseology we find the term 
" may ” applied to a young woman in the words 11 the 
fairest may was she that ever went.” 
It is not at all surprising when we consider the 
facts of the case that a deal of superstition should 
have been interwoven with the legends concerning 
the qualities of the month, and ore of the most 
amusing, perhaps, is that of the May dew. The dew 
falling in May was supposed to possess peculiar vir¬ 
tues. Careful housewives were of opinion that the 
dew of May was especially efficacious in the bleach¬ 
ing or whitening of linen, and they accordingly took 
every opportunity of exposing their stores of linen to 
its beneficent influences. This belief was harmless 
enough, and contained the elements of truth, inas¬ 
much as exposure to the air, when it is the pure air 
of mountain or moorland, has certainly bleaching 
properties, but she would be either a bold or an 
ignorant housewife who attempted to carry out the 
idea within reach of our towns and cities, for 
efficacious as the May dew may be, its virtue would 
scarcely be potent enough to counteract the malevo¬ 
lent action of the blacks and smuts with which the 
townsmen and townswomen are painfully familiar. 
The May dew, moreover, was believed by some of 
the ancient philosophers to contain a universal 
solvent in the form of a red and odoriferous spirit 
which could be obtained by careful and repeated 
distillations. It has been stated that the sect of the 
Rosicrucians took their name from the fact that 
they prepared this spirit. Certainly the name may 
have been derived from the Latin ros signifying dew, 
and crux, cross. The members of the order were 
often known as the “ Brothers of the Rosy Cross,” 
by reason of the fact that the first syllable of the 
word Rosicrucian was supposed to come from the 
word rosa a rose, instead of ros, dew. 
Even in our own day there is a good deal of super¬ 
stition connected with the influence of the May 
month upon various maladies. Thus there are 
thousands of mothers who implicitly believe that 
children will never get rid of whooping cough until 
May, no matter at what time of the year they catch 
it. This belief has probably risen from the fact that 
the nasty ccugh which invariably remains with 
children after the regular "whoop ” has disappeared 
except during exceptionally severe paroxysms, only 
disappears after the advent of genial spring weather. 
As we often enough do not have really genial weather 
until May it is easy to see how the superstition has 
been evolved. 
We have been speaking, hitherto, of the kindly and 
beneficent side of the nature of May, but fickle as 
she is she has yet another side, and one that is not 
so commendable, just as the honoured “ May Queen” 
is balanced by the May-game, who was the sport 
and derision of his comrades and acquaintances, as 
illustrated in Ford's well-known lines — "Why should 
not I, a May-game, scorn the weight of my sunk 
fortunes.” Sometimes the month briDgs with it 
warm and favourable weather, and occasionally 
extreme heat is reached, which as we are not yet 
used to hot weather thus early in the year often 
proves more trying than the sultry sun of July and 
August, when we have become shaken down to the 
regularly higher temperature. Occasionally the other 
extreme of cold, biting winds is reached that makes 
us shrink within ourselves, so to speak, and don 
hastily the garments which previous warm weather 
may have induced us to doff. Between these 
extremes we are called upon to enjoy (?) all manner 
of fluctuations, and thus the month has come to be 
regarded as a highly treacherous one as far as the 
weather is concerned. There is thus a world of 
truth in the old advice—" Till May be out ne’er 
cast a clout.” 
Lovers of plants know full well that treacherous, 
changeable weather is quite as distasteful and 
injurious to plant life as it is to animal life, and they 
will be likely to repeat the words of “hail” in a 
slightly sarcastic frame of mind, and far more likely 
to speed the parting than to welcome the coming 
guest. 
To speak the whole truth the May month is one of 
the most trying that the gardener has to contend 
with, the more so that it is a critical season with 
many crops both indoors and out. Outdoor crops, 
however, are in a better condition to take care of 
themselves, and it is only when actual frost threatens 
that the gardener is worried to any great extent on 
their behalf. In cases of frost, of course, protection 
has to be given to many things, and it will be well to 
have protective materials of all kinds ready to hand 
for immediate use when it is required, more parti¬ 
cularly during the first half of the month. The 
difficulties of the outdoor gardener who has to bestir 
himself to prevent his young Potatos from getting 
nipped are slight as compared with the man who has 
to see after a varied collection of fruits and flowers 
growing under glass. The question of ventilation during 
catchy weather, for instance, is a perfect bugbear, 
for it should be the aim to prevent frequent fluctua¬ 
tions of temperature as far as possible, since plants 
under glass are far more likely to take harm in this 
way than the hardier subjects which are outside. 
During the prevalence of cold cutting winds in 
conjunction with hot sun the greatest care must be 
exercised, for the heat of the sun sends up the tem¬ 
perature of the house to a considerable height, and 
if much air is given a cold draught is generated. 
This is especially harmful to Vines which are in 
various stages of growth, from the first rough leaves 
and onwards. Draughts check the growth and dis¬ 
figure the foliage, and yet some air is necessary, other¬ 
wise burning would be likely to result. In airing all 
warm houses the lights should be opened on one side 
of the house only, ana that side should be the one 
facing to the south. 
Shading is now a matter of considerable importance 
to most things, for the young and tender growth is 
easily burnt. Such things as tuberous Begonias, 
Gloxinias, and Achimenes, scorch very readily, and 
as the month wears on and the heat of the sun 
becomes fiercer, scorching may be looked for upon 
Palms, Dracaenas, and foliage plants generally, 
unless means are taken to prevent it. 
Watering must receive the closest attention. The 
best time to give the heavy watering is the afternoon 
— say from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. A good watering then 
will carry all but the thirstiest subjects over until 
the same time next day, although such things as 
Spiraeas, which have very little soil indeed in the 
pots, may require it twice or thrice a day in dry 
weather if they are to be kept from flagging.— Rex. 
Roses at Marriage Ceremonies.—America is credited 
with originating the plan of throwing the petals of 
Roses at bridal ceremonies instead of rice. 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
" Amateurs' Page " on the top of their letters. 
Stag’s Horn Fern Attacked -with Fungus.— 
T. T. : If you have any suspicion that a fungus is 
the cause of the mischief to your pot plant, you 
might water it with a weak solution of Condy’s 
Fluid. The plants growing on the tree stump may 
be served in the same way. Enough of the fluid to 
make the water a light pink, and no more, should be 
put into the water. You will do well to follow this 
up by giving the plants some fresh sweet compost to 
grow in, and should advise you not to use so much 
sphagnum moss, and more fibrous peat. A few 
pieces of charcoal are quite a necessity. 
Chrysanthemum Sunstone .—'Mum : You will find 
Sunstone just the variety you need. It is a free 
grower, a good doer, and the flowers besides being of 
noble proportions exhibit that rich shade of bronze- 
yellow that is so attractive and effective in all floral 
decorations, especially those that have to stand the 
test of artificial lights. 
Propagating Perennial Asters .—Saynor : You 
are rather late in thinking about doing this for the 
plants out of doors are pretty forward. The system 
generally adopted is division of the roots. Lift the 
old stools and divide them up carefully ; a single 
strong shoot with a few roots attached will grow into 
a good plant if potted up and looked after. After 
potting consign the young plants to a pit or frame 
where they may be kept close, and carefully watch 
them for shading and watering, and airing presently 
when you see they are making a start. If you like 
to wait a little longer cuttings may be taken from 
the tops of the shoots of the old plants. These will 
form bushy little specimens that will flower as freely 
as the old plants, but which will be much dwarfer. 
Winter Tomatos.—I have half a dozen Tomato 
plants that I grew on through the winter for fruitiDg. 
They have only borne a very slight crop, however, 
although they appear to be in vigorous health. Is it 
worth while attempting to do any more with them, 
or would you advise me to have young plants in 
their stead.— T. T. L. 
The latter alternative would certainly be the 
better plan, inasmuch as it would be the surest. 
Occasionally, however, old plants of this kind may 
be made to start afresh and bear good fruit. If 
you wish to try this, cut out any growths that have 
fruited and are not needed for carrying other 
growths, also the tops. Then train up young shoots 
from as near the bottom as possible. You ought 
then to get some fruit. 
Hyacinth of two colours. — In a bed of 
Hyacinths which I have of the blue variety Charles 
Dickens I notice some of the spikes have rose 
coloured flowers mixed with the blue ones, and in 
two instances half the spike is blue and the other 
half is rose. Is this uncommon ? I thought it might 
interest some of your amateur readers.— T. Ewart. 
There are two varieties of the Hyacinth Chas. 
Dickens, the one with blue flowers and the other 
with rose. It is not an uncommon occurrence to see 
the two colours on the same spike, as yours are, and, 
indeed, we only noticed last week that some plants 
of this variety growing in Hyde Park were exhibiting 
this peculiarity. The effect is certainly rather 
strange. These bulbs with the flowers of 
two colours may not come the same next jear, for 
the flowers would probably be all blue or all rose. 
It might be interesting to make the expeiiment. The 
flowers would of course be much smaller than those 
thrown this year. 
Deutzia gracilis. — Carl : It would be little short 
of barbarous to turn your Deutzias out of doors now 
that the flowers have fallen off them. It is true that 
the Deutzia is a hardy subject, but then you must re¬ 
member that plants in the open have not yet com¬ 
menced to flower, and should frost supervene would 
not be in a condition to withstand harm. Your plants, 
however, are just making their growth for the season, 
and upon this depends next year’s crop of flowers. 
