206 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 7, 1899. 
INTS FOR JflVIATEURS. 
Border Carnations.—The custom of planting out 
border Carnations in the autumn in the ground 
wherson they are to flower is a favourite one in 
some parts of the country, and is followed in prefer¬ 
ence to potting up the layers, wintering them under 
glass, and planting them out in their flowering 
quarters in March. The present time is rather a 
trying one for the plants that are out of doors, for 
sparrows and chaffinches are a great nuisance. 
These feathered pests are very fond of nipping off 
the leaves for no other apparent reason than that of 
mere mischief. The London sparrow is especially 
mischievous, as dwellers in London and its suburbs 
know. A few threads of black cotton stretched to 
pegs and passed round and over the plants is about 
the best thing to do next to netting the plants com¬ 
pletely over. In the case of valuable varieties the 
latter alternative is to be recommended. 
Dwellers in the country have additional Carnation 
plagues in the shape of hares and rabbits, the latter 
especially being exceedingly troublesome by reason 
of their numbers and ubiquity. The only way to 
keep the rabbits at bay is to enclose the beds with 
inch wire netting. A few uprights may be driven 
into the ground and the wire fastened to these by 
means of small galvanised wire staples, which are 
both cheap and handy. 
Gravel Paths. —After the few nights of frost that 
we had just before Christmas, the following thaw, 
and the deluges of rain, the gravel paths are in a sad 
mess. Of course, a well-made path will recover 
from such a trying experience sooner than an ill- 
made one, but still attention is needed. A good 
heavy roller should be passed over several times,and 
if the gravel “ picks up ” after the rolling the dose 
must be repeated. 
Forcing Seakale in Pots —For the amateur culti¬ 
vator the method of Seakale forcing that is the most 
expeditious and least expensive is to lift, pot up the 
roots, and force under shelter. Such shelter is 
usually to be had, for a cellar, or even a cupboard 
may be turned to account, although the best place of 
all is the mushroom house, but then there are only 
comparatively few amateurs who possess this con¬ 
venience. Perhaps the most common place in which 
we see Seakale being forced is underneath the green¬ 
house stage, close to the hot water pipes. In such a 
position the produce is apt to be a bit tougher, and 
rather stronger in flavour than that grown by the 
heat from fermenting matter, but still it is of fairly 
good quality and likely to satisfy the majority of 
people. 
Those amateurs who have not the room in the 
out-of-door garden to grow annually a stock of Sea¬ 
kale roots for forcing cannot do better than buy in 
two or three hundred from a respectable nursery¬ 
man. These roots can be obtained cheaply enough, 
and it will be found a much more economical pro¬ 
ceeding to buy them and force them at home than it 
is to buy the produce from the greengrocer ; more¬ 
over, there is a flavour about home-grown Seakale 
that cannot be found in that bought from a shop or 
a barrow. 
The bought-in roots generally come to hand with 
all the side roots taken off and the stout central root 
alone remaining. In lifting the roots from the 
ground a number of side roots or •* thongs,” as they 
are commonly called by gardeners, will be found 
attached to the central axis. These should be cut 
clean away and preserved, for when cut up into 
lengths of 4 in. or 5 in. they will make cuttings, that 
if planted and looked after, will develop into forcing 
roots for next year. They should meanwhile be 
stored in sand or soil. 
The potting of the roots that are to be forced is an 
exceedingly simple matter, for any soil will do, and 
cocoa-nut fibre refuse may also be turned to good 
account. The pots used may have two or three 
crocks placed in the bottom, and just covered with a 
little of the soil. The roots may then be placed in, 
pretty close together, and the soil shaken down 
amongst them. When the potting is completed the 
crowns or apical buds of the roots should be just 
peeping above the soil. Seakale that is being forced 
must be kept in complete darkness, in order that it 
may be well blanched. Sprinkle it occasionally with 
tepid water, otherwise the Kale will be tough and 
stringy. 
Euphorbia jacquiniaeflora.—Amongst winter¬ 
flowering plants this handsome Euphorbia is worthy 
of the highest praise. It is easy to grow, and in¬ 
variably flowers well, the long sprays of orange- 
scarlet flowers being particularly grateful at this 
season of the year. Although it likes heat to grow 
in for the greater part of the year, when in flower it 
will do very well in the conservatory. The peculiar 
habit of the plant will give to those who take a pride 
in arranging their plants to the best advantage some 
little exercise, for it is not an easy plant to set up, 
unless associated with dwarfer and bushier subjects. 
A batch of Polyanthus Narcissi, for instance, affords 
it a good opportunity for showing itself off, and. with 
Ferns it also looks well, although the effect is more 
sombre than in the first instance. In one case, at 
least, it does not look well, and that is when a 
batch of the plants has nothing placed with it to hide 
or relieve the bare stems. 
Passifloras.—Such Passifloras as P. caerulea, and 
P. Constance Elliott make a great deal of growth 
during the season and it is necessary to give them a 
vigorous pruning each year in order to restrict their 
growth within reasonable limits, and also to provide 
plenty of young, flowering wood. This pruning 
should be given now if it has not hitherto been 
attended to. Only the main branches need be left, 
the small, whip-like shoots being spurred back to 
about a couple of eyes. These spurs will send out 
quite as many shoots next spring as will be wanted, 
and the amateur need be under no apprehension 
about cutting out too much. After the pruning is 
over distribute the branches left over the area that is 
to be covered, keeping each in place by a few neat 
shreds of cloth firmly nailed to the wall. Allow a 
little play in these shreds for the branches, but they 
do not swell very much during the year, so the sup¬ 
ports need not be very loose. 
Camellias.—In order that the flowers may be seen 
at their best the foliage must be clean, bright, and 
glossy, but in order that this state of things may 
exist the plants will require a thorough cleansing. 
Camellia leaves, no matter whether the plants be 
growing in town or country, are generally covered 
with a thick, black, glutinous deposit, the result of 
the excretions of insects and smoke combined, lhat, 
if not removed before the flower buds expand, com¬ 
pletely ruins the beauty of the plants. A piece of 
soft soap about the size of a large walnut dissolved in 
a couple of gallons of tepid soft water makes a 
capital wash. A piece of sponge is a very handy 
thing to apply the wash with, but failing this a piece 
of cotton wool may be made to do duty. After a 
liberal rubbing the leaves show up so fresh and 
green that no one could doubt for a moment that the 
time spent in cleaning them had been well spent. 
Some amount of care is necessary in the cleaning 
process, however, for the buds which are now 
swollen to a good size are very easily knocked off, 
and a careless or clumsy person will do a lot of 
damage in a few moments. 
Disbudding Camellias is not a paying operation. 
It is true that vigorous plants produce clusters of 
buds, but little is gained by removing the smallest in 
the same fashion as we treat Chrysanthemums, Car¬ 
nations,and other things. The size of the flower may 
be increased a little certainly, but the Camellia is, at 
best, only a short-lived bloom, and the lateral buds 
are wanted to keep up the succession of flower. For 
buttonholes, too, the small blooms are always 
acceptable, and, generally speaking, they are far 
more serviceable than the large ones. 
Poinsettia pulcherrima.—Although the Poinset- 
tias maintain the brilliancy of their bracts for a long 
time when the flower heads are allowed to remain on 
the plants, the rush for Christmas decorations 
usually causes a number of them to be beheaded. 
These plants may be cut back still further—within 
three or four eyes of the old wood, and gradually 
allowed to dry off. They will rest for awhile, and 
when they commence to break into growth the 
young shoots may be put in as cuttings. Poinsettias 
do best when they are grown on from cuttings each 
year, for although the old plants flower well enough, 
the bracts are rarely so large or so vigorous as those 
to be seen on the young ones.— Rex. 
Eighty-six lbs. of Sugar represents the average 
annual consumption of the ordinary Britisher. 
Against this the Russian, who is a great Tea-drinker, 
consumes only 8^ lbs. 
Correspondence. 
Questions ashed 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. 
Aucuba japonica variety. — K. : There are numbers 
of varieties of the pretty Aucuba in existence, for 
seedlings show a good deal of variation, but up to 
the present there seems to have been little or no 
attempt to work up these varieties systematically. 
If the leaves of your plant are all of them as heavily 
spotted as the sample sent, and if the form is con¬ 
stant you have a variety of some value, and one that 
is well worthy a distinctive name. Another year or 
two’s cultivation will decide the constancy or other¬ 
wise of the variation. You should take a few cut¬ 
tings and see if the young plants still keep true. 
Laurel Hedge.— Menzies : If you procure good 
bushy plants about 4 ft. in height, and well furnished 
with fibrous roots, you should have quite a present¬ 
able hedge in one year from the date of planting. It 
would require three or four years for smaller plants 
to get to any size. 
Ligustrum ovalifolium aureum .—Art: This is 
the best of the golden Privets for planting either in 
town or country. At this time of the year the 
plants are exceedingly bright and cheerful. A bed 
filled entirely with small specimens would be very 
ornamental indeed, and would suit your garden 
well. 
Pruning late-planted Roses. — M .: We should 
not advise you to prune the Rose bushes you 
planted lately. Let them stay as they are, and see 
what the months of January and February are going 
to do first. 
Fowl Manure. — I keep fowls and should like to 
turn their manure to some account in the garden, if 
it is of any value. Would it suit Tomatos and 
Cucumbers ?— A. C. 
Fowl manure is a very potent fertiliser, and may 
be turned to capital account for both Tomatos and 
Cucumbers. We should not advise you to apply it 
raw, on account of its strength, but it may be mixed 
with old potting soil at the rate of two-thirds of the 
soil to one of the manure. In this condition it will 
keep for almost any length of time, does not smell so 
unpleasantly, and makes a first-rate dressing. In 
any case, it should be placed under cover, as fre¬ 
quent drenchiugs of rain wash a lot of the goodness 
out of it. 
Pruning Lime Trees. —Menzies : The Lime may 
easily be made to assume a symmetrical head of 
growth, by means of a little judicious pruning. This 
will consist of thinning out branches where they 
appear to be too thick, of cutting out those that 
cross, and of stopping or taking the tops out of 
others so as to impart a well-shaped head. The 
best time to do this is just when the trees are break¬ 
ing into growth. You will then see at a glance the 
branches that are sound and healthy, as well as those 
that are dead or weakly. 
Thinning Strawberries. — F. P. : Eight or nine 
fruits to a plant is a good crop for an ordinary pot 
Strawberry. You may therefore cut all the rest of 
the fruits and flowers off after this number has been 
obtained. If you leave more fruits they will be 
smaller, and the weight of the crop will not be in¬ 
creased. 
Plunging Strawberries. — C. P.: By all means 
plunge the Strawberries in the leaves. They will 
come along much quicker than they would if simply 
stood on an ordinary shelf. It is not at all likely 
that the leaves will be too hot. 
Begonia Gloire de Lorraine dying. — L. M .: 
Your greenhouse is not warm enough for this hand¬ 
some winter-flowering Begonia. Added to this you 
have apparently over-watered the plant. The low 
temperature and the deluge of water have together 
combined to cause the falling of the leaves and 
flowers. If jou want to save the plant you must re¬ 
move it to a warm house, and give it less water until 
it pulls round and makes fresh leaves. 
