120 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 24, 1896. 
Jfnts for ||mateurs. 
Although up to the time of writing we have been 
spared the blighting influences of frost, the long 
period of dull weather, and the all too frequent gales 
have between them worked out the story of havoc 
and desolation in their own way, and the flower 
garden looks exceedingly forlorn as the result. If 
the amateur gardener is a philosopher too, which is 
a not unlikely combination, he may find a modicum 
of comfort in the thought that he would not be able 
to appreciate the glow of spring and summer if it 
were not for the gloom of the latter part of October 
and November. Naturally it goes against the grain 
of the lover of flowers to disturb the beds in the 
flower garden until absolutely obliged, but it is now 
high time that the summer bedding plants were 
pulled out of it, and either thrown away, or if they 
are worth saving, lifted, potted up and taken care of. 
If left, and nature allowed them to drag out their 
weary existence for a week or two longer, they would 
only succeed in looking supremely miserable, when 
the garden really looks quite as well without them. 
The grass still keeps growing away briskly, and it 
will be necessary to go over it pretty frequently with 
the mowing machine until sharp frost sets in and 
puts a stop to its growth for the season. The leaves, 
too, are causing a deal of trouble, and although they 
will not hurt much if allowed to lie upon the grass 
for a few days the broom must be plied pretty 
vigorously upon the gravel paths. Wet and heavy 
leaves soon tread into a path in such weather as we 
have been enjoying (?) of late, when it becomes a 
matter ot some difficulty to sweep them up properly. 
Tricolor and variegated Pelargoniums are 
usually rather tender subjects and not a few of them 
die off during the winter. Consequently a good 
margin over and above the necessary stock must be 
allowed in view of the expected deaths. All old 
plants may therefore be saved, or at least such of 
them as are worth anything. Such pretty varieties 
as Creeds Seedling, Robert Fish, Mrs. Henry Cox, 
Mrs. Pollock, and Happy Thought are especially 
tender. Golden Harry Hiover, a great favourite for 
edging purposes, on account of its dwarf and com¬ 
pact habit boasts of a rather stronger constitution. 
This is foreshadowed to some extent by the evident 
firmness of its wood as compared with that of other 
varieties. The Flower of Spring type not only 
strikes very freely, but usually passes through the 
winter fairly well. 
Gladioli —These have died down very rapidly of 
late ; indeed, the flowers themselves seemed 
unusually short lived this season. As the plants 
will not do any further good out of doors they may 
be lifted as soon as the foliage has all turned brown. 
Grasping the stems in one hand, the soil should be 
gently eased up with a light digging fork held in the 
other hand. The plants may thus be easily and 
quickly lifted. They may subsequently be laid in a 
dry shed to finish ripening off. If the foliage is still 
a little green at the time of lifting, it will be wise to 
lay the plants close together in a box, planting 
them as it were in moist sand. The corms will then 
dry off gradually. The stems and leaves may be 
allowed to remain attached to the corms until they 
are quite dead, after which they should be cut off 
with a pair of sharp shears. 
Lifting Chrysanthemums.— Any bush plants that 
are growing in the open ground, and are just open¬ 
ing their buds may be lifted up if it is thought that 
they will not stand a fair chance of expanding their 
blcoms properly if left outside. Some gardeners are 
very fond of the practice of planting a lot of bush 
Chrysanthemums out in the open ground, and 
allowing them to pass the whole of the summer 
there, simply lifting them in the autumn when they 
have developed their buds, or when frost threatens 
to supervene. By adopting this system the heavy 
task, and it is a heavy one during such summers as 
that of 1896, of keeping pot plants supplied with 
water is avoided. One or two waterings only are 
given the plants, which apart from this call for but 
little other attention. 
In lifting, some little care is necessary. The soil 
should be loosened all round each plant by means of 
a digging fork before lilting the plants out is 
attempted. The loose soil may be rubbed off by the 
fingers, so as to reduce the balls to a medium size, 
i.e., small enough to be accomodated in an 8 inch 
pot. It will not be possible to get much drainage in 
the bottom of the pots ; neither, indeed, would it be 
required. Almost any soil may be employed, and 
we have seen very good results when only common 
garden soil was used, because none other was avail¬ 
able. The great point is to see that, whatever the 
soil, it is worked well round about the roots by 
means of a thin lath. 
It is not necessary to water the plants 
immediately after potting; but should they show 
signs of flagging, water should be given instantly. 
Proper shading is the chief consideration, and if the 
plants are shaded carefully they will not take much 
hurt. A few of the lower leaves may drop, but this 
will do no vital injury. If the plants can be placed 
in a house or pit in which they can be kept a little 
close for a day or two so much the better. Of course 
this system of cultivation would not do where very 
large blooms are in request, and it would not be 
possible to obtain them by this means, but as a 
method of supplying cut flower or decorative plants 
for the conservatory it is well worth a trial. We 
have adopted it on many occasions, and always with 
success. 
Early Roman Hyacinths. —If a few of these can 
be got into bloom by the beginning of December 
they will be sure of a welcome, for white flowers are 
just then beginning to get scarce. A small batch 
may well be placed in a gentle heat now. Take care 
not to overwater the plants at the start. This pre¬ 
caution, combined with that of not forcing them too 
hard at first, will prevent disappointments in the 
flowering of the bulbs—always supposing the latter 
of fair quality. A temperature of about 50 9 Fahr. 
will be enough for a start. This may be gradually 
increased as time goes on. 
Hyacinths in Glasses. —For those who have not the 
conveniences for growing Hyacinths in pots in the 
ordinary way water culture in properly constructed 
glasses offers a good deal of inducement. It may be 
asked why is it necessary to have a specially made 
glass ; will not any pattern do ? Although the glass 
used should be full of water the bulb should be 
placed in such a position that while its base comes 
very close to the fluid it does not actually touch it, 
otherwise decay will soon set in. It will thus be 
seen that a special kind of glass is necessary to 
allow of such a position being given the bulb. Soft 
rain water should be used. The glasses, if they have 
been lying by since last season, should be washed well 
out, and previous to being filled a small piece of 
charcoal placed in each. Lay the bulbs in the 
niche at the top of the glass, and then stand the 
glasses away for a few weeks in a cool dark cup¬ 
board. This favours the formation of roots just as 
it does in the case of those bulbs which are potted 
up and buried under ashes in the usual way. 
--*■- - 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
A nyone 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. 
Old Yines.—When vines get so worn out as to be 
past bearing, or the bunches are only small, and of 
poor quality, decidedly the best thing to do is to pull 
them out root and branch, remake the border, and 
replant with young stuff. We think you would find 
this the cheapest plan in the long run, Sidney R., 
and we are positive that it would be the most satis¬ 
factory. The practice of cutting the long spurs 
back, with a view to inducing them to make young 
and strong breaks would scarcely answer; even if 
the shoots made their appearance the improvement 
would be temporary. If you do not want to pull the 
old plants out, you might try heading the old stumps 
back to within 3 ft. or 4 ft. of the ground next spring. 
They will be more likely to make a strong break or 
two then than if the spur pruning system were 
adopted. The strongest should be selected and 
taken up to form a young cane. The renovation of 
the border may be carried out subsequently, say 
during the following autumn. We have known this 
plan to have been adopted with success. 
Box Edging.—You may set about planting your 
Box edging as soon as you like, Rob. Tread the 
ground firmly, and lay the line down carefully, pulling 
it perfectly taut. Then cut the trench, which may 
be from 6 in to 8 in. deep, according to the size of 
the Box, with a sharp spade. The roots of the 
plants should be turned inwards to the border or 
bed, for that will give the plants a better chance of 
growing. This will necessitate careful subsequent 
digging of the beds or borders. The spade must not 
be brought up close to the edging or the roots will 
be cut off, but from 4 in. to 6 in. should be allowed. 
The fact of having to make this space allowance 
causes some operators to lay the roots of the Box 
outwards towards the gravel, but we prefer the former 
method. 
Adiantums Drying Off. —You need be in no great 
fear about your Maidenhair Ferns drying down now, 
Sue. Grown in a window, as yours are, or in a cool 
house, the plants always need a period of rest, which 
naturally comes when our outside plants are pre¬ 
paring for their winter sleep. The Ferns will start • 
away all the better for the rest in the spring. Mean¬ 
while diminish the water supply. 
Pruning Pot Roses. —S. T. T. wishes to know 
when to prune his pot Roses. 
Any time about the end of November or the 
beginning of December will do—just before they are 
placed into heat to start them. Hybrid perpetuals 
will do if left out of doors until then, as far as cold 
goes, but we should advise you to put them under 
shelter of some scrt, or you will find that so much 
wet will not be producive of good, but will tend to 
make the soil sour and sodden. 
Pruning Bougainvillea glabra —B. G. has an old 
plant of this fine climber which was growing in a 
house of which he took possession during last 
summer. It has flowered a little, and has made a 
lot of growth. He wants to know if it needs pruning, 
and if so, when and how ? 
In order to get Bougainvillea glabra to do really 
well it needs to be closely pruned each year after 
growth is completed. The exact time will depend 
upon the condition of the wood, whether mature or 
not. As soon as it is hard and brown the knife may 
be set to work, and this will be some time during 
November or December. The younger growths 
should be spurred back to within an eye or two, 
just like Vines, leaving the thick main branches 
untouched. Young growths will break away freely 
from the spurs next spring, and will commence to 
flower about July and from that time onwards. 
A Plague of Rabbits —To prevent rabbits gnawing 
the bark of Hollies, Laburnums, or Apple trees, you 
will find that the following preparation will be most 
efficacious, Ami, if the main stems and the lower 
branches are annointed with it. A teaspoonful of 
assafoetida should be added to a gallon of liquid 
clay, i.e., clay dried, crumbled up and mixed into a 
paste with water. Two or three applications may 
be required during the winter. 
Rusted Wall Nails —If the nails have not got too 
bad they may be turned to account and rendered fit 
for use by heating them red hot and then steeping 
them in a mixture of linseed oil and black lead. One 
pint of the oil should have added to it two ounces of 
crushed black lead. 
Manure for Potting.—We do not wonder that you 
found it a difficult matter to mix raw wet manure 
with potting soil, Louis. You must dry it first, and 
afterwards chop it up finely or rub it through a 
sieve. Cow manure may then be easily mixed with 
the soil, whereas it would be almost impossible to 
mix it properly if it were used raw. Horse droppings 
may be treated in a similar way. 
Cleaning Pelargonium Cuttings. —Where pots or 
boxes have been used to insert the cuttings in, a 
great many dead leaves, and, perhaps, not a few 
yellow ones will be observed. Naturally the amateur 
who possesses tidy ideas will feel constrained to pick 
these leaves off. Now this is all very well in its 
way, but such tidmess is often the means of en¬ 
dangering the lives of the young cuttings before they 
have actually commenced to set up a separate 
existence. Unless the cuttings are well rooted they 
are very apt to become loosened whilst the refrac¬ 
tory dead leaves are being removed, so it is well to be 
cautious in this respect. 
Lobelia pumila—Cuttings that were inserted in 
sandy soil, and the pots plunged in a hotbed at the 
beginning of last month, as advised in a previous 
column of “ Hints,” will have rooted well by this 
time. A shelf on a warm greenhouse is a capital 
place for them to pass the winter in. The watering 
can is the greatest enemy that Lobelias have during 
the winter, as if they are allowed to get wet, unless 
the temperature is higher than the one we are refer¬ 
ring to, they will damp off almost wholesale. 
