536 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 22, 1899. 
JOINTS FOR IgMATEURS. 
FRUIT TREES AND STRAWBERRIES. 
This is now a time in the year when all classes of 
gardeners must stir themselves briskly. At all 
favourable times active operations for seed sowing 
and planting will engage the kitchen gardeners. 
And those with Peaches, Apricots, and other fruit 
trees on walls must see to the fertilising of the 
blooms, which at this time are at their best for this 
work. Give the trees a smart tap or two, or in 
the cases where Noblesse and other shy setters are 
grown outdoors, brush the blooms lightly with a 
soft-haired brush or a rabbit's tail wired to a stake. 
We find it a successful practice to spray the trees 
briskly with soft, chilled water. This operation acts 
doubly by aiding fertilisation and in cleaning both 
young and old shoots. 
Fruit trees with a superabundance of blossom 
should have this thinned. By giving each flower 
perfect freedom its chances of doing well are 
furthered. Trees that have set fruits, which are 
now swelling should have liquid nourishment. 
It is also of great gain to water the Strawberry 
beds, especially on light soils, with weak liquid 
manures from the stable and farmyard. Another 
hint which we always like to drop is for cultivators 
to use their hoes often between the crops which may 
be growing fast. Its advantages are many, and are 
often enunciated. 
Roses should now be pruned. Where climbing 
Roses have covered the trellises, arches, or walls on 
which they grow, thinning out of inferior shoots 
only is all that need be done. Nowadays many 
rosarians say the less pruning the better if good 
blooms and plenty of them are wanted, and they 
prune according to their opinions. On the other 
hand a vast number of equally good cultivators 
prune bard, and also attain what they strive 
for. Still, from our own experience and practice 
we think it foolish to cut a strong shoot 
very hard back, seeing we had to provide nourish¬ 
ment to build up that same shoot with its buds, &c., 
the year before. Prune back then, we say, to the 
first sturdy bud in a ripened shoot, and by feeding 
and attention through the summer an abundance of 
the best Roses will be your reward. 
Where Spruce branches have been used for pro¬ 
tecting wall and trellis Roses during winter they 
should now, if not before, be removed. The rough¬ 
est of the mulching on beds should be taken off, 
and the rest left to be forked in when pointing the 
beds over. 
Beds of Lily of the Yalley can have liberal 
supplies of diluted liquid nourishment. By such 
timely sustenance the quality, if not the quantity, of 
the blooms will be much increased. This remark 
can very well apply to any beds of plants which 
at this season are growing up to flower in a short 
while. 
Hedges.—Nothing helps a hedge to increase its 
vigour more than liberal topdressings of road- 
scrapings, old soil or turf, and such like material. 
Hedges are very often placed in exposed parts for 
shelter and are thus liable to much strain from winds. 
The topdressings of soil then, act not so much for a 
larder to the roots as to steady them by its weight. 
Moisture is also conserved for even the driest times. 
Where hedges are striving to grow under or close by 
trees, which being stronger appropriate most food 
and rob the hedge, a heavy dressing as a food-yielding 
medium in this case is invaluable. Loosen the sur¬ 
face soil at the base of the hedge and water it well 
if it be dry, then topdress and make thoroughly firm. 
Privet and Beech hedges may yet be planted. 
Rockeries. —For screening unsightly places or for 
forming an interesting portion in a garden no one 
can recommend a better object than a rockery. It 
is now, too, that we must repair or alter existing 
rock gardens. Make the pockets as natural-like as 
you can, but first secure them fit for plant growth. 
They should have free outlet for water, and, accord¬ 
ing to the plants, they must be deep or shallow. In 
making rock gardens the first thing to fix upon is the 
site. Choose, if at all possible, a raised position, 
that is, if a general collection of alpine plants are to 
be grown. If only Ferns and shade-loving plants be 
desired then, of course, hollowed spaces answer the 
purpose. In any case, to make the rockery, have a 
good banking on which to build the stones or 
boulders. Start at the bottom and proceed towards 
the top. The stones, to save space should be flat or 
somewhat of that shape, and must be inserted 
deeply. Place them to form triangles or squares, 
some straight, others oblique or tipping, but all in 
such position as to form a rooting receptacle by their 
conjoined entirety. 
Drainage having been inserted, fill the pockets or 
root spaces with good soil, which must be composed 
in different proportions, and of various materials, for 
the divers variety of stock. 
We enjo> those rockeries (such as the one figured 
on p. 505 of this paper—Abbotsbury, Newton 
Abbott)—where the general arrangement is loose and 
the plants large. But we know well very few can 
afford rockeries of this sort. A great deal of fine 
effect is obtainable by the use of Yuccas, &c., on 
raised prominences for small rockeries. And we 
need not withhold from the use of smaller trees 
and shrubs for the sake of varied scene. Retinos- 
poras, Cupressus, Rhododendrons, &c., of the 
smaller types answer first rate. Then for plants we 
have thousands in bulbs, and Primulas, and Cam¬ 
panulas, Globe Flowers, and dozens more of the 
Ranunculaceae, while Erigerons, Dianthuses, Betuni- 
cas, Gnaphalium margaritaceum, Pratia littoralis, a 
dense creeper with starry white flowers; Nepetas, 
Scutellarias, Ajugas, and other Labiatae; Geums, 
Potentillas, Veronicas, and indeed a selection need 
cause no trouble and very little money. Hardy 
Ferns, shrubby Veronicas, and ornamental grasses 
should be dotted here and there. Ferneries at this 
season should be cleaned. 
Plants in Dwelling Houses.— Many amateur 
gardeners have a large nnmber of plants in their 
dwelling houses and in window boxes. We are glad 
to know this and a few hints in relation to the subject 
it is our pleasure to give. There is the hanging 
receptacles and their charges. Now both in 
window box, and pots or baskets, we most 
enjoy simplicity of design. When elaborate 
receptacles are used, the attention is often 
arrested by them instead of by what they contain. 
Round or wire baskets, square china, or earthware 
bowls in all sizes might well be used. Campanula, 
Fuchsia Cloth of Gold, hanging Ivy-leaved Pelar¬ 
goniums, Saxifraga sarmentosa, Lysimachia nummu- 
laria, with Tradescantia tricolor, Ficus repens, 
Panicum variegatum, Nephrolepis davallioides com- 
pacta and other Ferns are all useful for baskets. 
Then of pot plants there is no end. When plants 
are in saucers be sure to have the pots raised on 
small blocks of wood, else stagnation in the drain¬ 
age is almost a certainty. 
Ornamental receptacles with flat backs for fitting 
against shutters are not often used, but we note on 
them and leave the reader to his own thoughts. 
Again, for lobbies and bow windows, trays, or rather 
stands having trays for the plants, and a zinc-box 
below to catch the water in, are very serviceable. By 
these stands we can arrange a host of plants into 
small space and in places where the light is brightest. 
Plants in dwelling houses are often exposed to 
influences creating drought. By placing one pot 
within another, and if it be a size or two larger, pack 
between them damp moss; or by draping the pot 
with some drought-resisting material the health of 
one’s plants is the better secured. At this time 
too, when cold winds and blinks of sun come to¬ 
gether, be careful in the airing of your houses. If 
aired they must be while cold winds blow, then take 
the precaution to remove the plants to shelter or 
place them below the level of the sill, and the draught 
will pass over them. Shade plants in full bloom and 
those also which are exposed to scorching sun. 
Where plants are in flower and infested with insects, 
dustings of sulphur, or tobacco-powder will rid 
them of their torments, and if dipping or washing 
can be done, then use solutions of quassia and water, 
or paraffin, soft soap and water. Much care is 
needed when using paraffin. Keep it well stirred and 
do not use it strongly. Plants with soft broad foliage 
and stems, generally need more water than harder 
wooded or tougher foliaged plants.— Beacon. 
-- 
Birds and Petroleum.—Half a pint of petroleum in 
four gallons of water, kept well stirred while being 
spread over the ground with a watering pot, is said 
to keep birds away from Peas, Beans, and other 
plants for which they evince a liking. 
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 ot their letters. 
Aristolochia pelicana. — Subscriber : You will 
notice that we spell the name differently from that 
you sent us. At the same time we consider the 
proper name to be Aristolochia gigas, which some 
one in America called the Pelican Plant, by way of 
an English name. The plant in question is a woody 
climber from the tropical parts of America, and 
therefore requires a stove in which to grow it here. 
It may, no doubt, be raised from seed, but we are 
afraid this would not be obtainable in the usual way 
at the seed shops. Seeds would have to be imported 
from its native habitats. The usual way of getting 
it is in the form of young plants raised from cuttings 
in good nursery establishments where collections of 
stove plants are kept. It may be grown in a compost 
of good fibrous loam with plenty of sand and 
a fourth part of peat, or peat and leaf mould. 
Suckers on Roses. — Bath : Sometimes you will 
be able to pull these clean out, leaving no eyes or 
buds from which it can send up fresh suckers. Should 
the shoots break, leaving a portion in the ground, it 
would be necessary to remove some of the soil so 
that the sucker will be bared almost to its union 
with the root from which it springs. You can then 
pull it off, or first carefully remove the soil covering 
its base and then cut it clean away with a sharp 
knife. In any case avoid injury to the roots of the 
Roses. 
Cuttings of Michaelmas Daisies. — J. J .: You 
may now or a little later take tops of the shoots 
about 3 in. long when getting fairly firm. Cut them 
straight across below but close to a joint, using a 
sharp knife. These cuttings may be dibbled into 
sandy soil in pots and stood in a warm greenhouse, 
or better still plunge the pots in a mild hot bed 
consisting of fermenting dung or leaves and dung 
mixed. As soon as the cuttings are rooted they 
should be potted off singly in 60-size pots, shifting 
them into 48-size pots when the former are filled 
with roots. You can flower the plants in this size 
of pot provided you look closely after the watering. 
Pruning Tea Roses. —Try Again : You would be 
safe enough now to prune your Tea Roses, as we 
cannot reasonably expect the cold weather to last 
much longer ; besides, by the time the young shoots 
from the eyes left have expanded the first of their 
leaves the season will be far advanced. Weak shoots 
may be cut back to one eye; but the strong ones 
should be laid in full length, with exception of the 
dead or badly ripened tips. The topping of the long 
shoots and the thinning of the weak shoots constitute 
most of the pruning required. 
Would Ophipogon Jaburan variegatus live in 
a Frame?— R. S.: It may be grown in a frame with 
great success; for it is hardy in the openair in some of 
the southern countiesof England at least. The foliage 
would be finer, however, if grown in a frame; and 
more vigorous growth results from planting out the 
tufts in a bed of loam and leaf soil. For this pur¬ 
pose break up the plant into small pieces with roots 
to each, and plant them in lines about 6 in. or 9 in. 
apart each way. Keep the frame close for about a 
week or so unless the sun is very hot, after which 
air may be admitted more freely, unless you wish to 
hurry growth. If grown hard, that is, with plenty 
of air, the foliage will be more durable. 
Sweet Peas in Baskets.— T. B.: There is no 
difficulty in growing Sweet Peas in baskets for the 
decoration of the conservatory. Sow some in 60- 
size pots at once and grow them on till you are about 
to make up the baskets. Do not allow the plants 
too long in the pots, as the latter in time get crowded 
with roots, and growth is thereby stunted. When 
making up the baskets use light, rich soil. Place a 
covering of green moss all round the baskets to keep 
in the soil. Some of the Peas may be pushed 
through the wires all round the baskets and allowed 
to grow in that fashion, while the rest are planted 
on the top to fall over the side. Give plenty of 
