424 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 6, 1897 
Tbe month of March is one of the busiest in the 
whole of the year with regard to the vegetable 
garden, for there are so many things to be done in 
this department at this time, and the days are all 
too short for the purpose, certainly too short for the 
amateur gardener, who has to look to his garden 
after tbe regular business of the day has been 
attended to. As the month creeps on the evenings 
will get longer, certainly, but time will have been 
lest in waiting for them. Throughout the greater 
part of .February the ground was very wet from 
recent rains, and in anything but a fit state for work¬ 
ing. The drying winds which we experienced to¬ 
wards the end of that month, however, worked 
wonders, and at the time of writing it is in capital 
condition for getting about on. 
Onions are very rich feeders, and it is astonishing 
to what a depth the roots will penetrate in well-culti¬ 
vated soil. They also abhor wet stagnant soils, and 
it ,'s useless to expect good sound bulbs that will 
ripen well and keep well from such a position. 
Therefore good drainage and a thorough tillage are 
both necessary to ensure tbe best results. Land that 
it is proposed to devote to Onions this year should 
have been roughly thrown up at the commencement 
of the winter. This is generally in fit condition to be 
levelled about the third week in February. A dress¬ 
ing of soot, woodashes, or a mixture of both should 
then be given, forking it well in. The lumps will not 
require much breaking up, stress of weather will 
have saved the gardener that bother, and the largest 
lumps will crumble to pieces at the mere touch of 
the digging fork. 
Time of Sowing. — It would be impossibie to lay 
down a hard and fast rule with regard to this. 
Localities differ, soils differ, and the weather can 
never be trusted to come twice alike, more's the pity. 
Thus on a soil that is inclined to be heavy, sowing 
may be deferred for a week or two later than it 
would be on lighter soils. This is often of necessity, 
for the heavy land is longer before it is in a fit con¬ 
dition for working. March usually brings us a spell 
of winter, and this very often when February has 
been a mild and open month. Seed is far better out 
of the ground when snow and frost reign, for a pro¬ 
tracted spell of such conditions greatly endanges its 
life. Still, March is the season for sowing, and the 
sooner in the month the better, provided that the 
weather is at all promising. 
Firming the Soil.—This is a very important part 
of the programme, for good bulbs will not be formed 
unless the ground is solid. Before proceeding to 
tread or roll the ground, it must be carefully levelled. 
Then it should be gone over, carefully treading each 
square inch. Naturally in such a case the man with 
big feet has a great advantage, so such a one need 
not fear that he will be of no use in life, since he can 
at least be turned to good account for treading an 
Onion bed. The rake must next be brought into 
play to level the surface, and then the drills may be 
drawn. The latter should be shallow, otherwise 
there will be a heavy percentage of " thick necks” 
among the crop. The drills should also be uniform 
in depth, so that the seed may all come through 
about the same time. About i ft. should be allowed 
between the drills, as this will give facilities for 
weeding, thinning, etc. 
The seed should be sown rather thinly. Not a few 
cultivators adopt the plan of mixing a little Cos 
Lettuce seed with the Onions. This is not at all 
a bad idea, as the Lettuces are fit for use before the 
Onions get any great size, but we would give a caution 
to amateurs against carrying this idea to the extreme. 
A Lettuce at intervals of 3 ft. or 4 ft along the lines 
does no harm to tbe Onions, but if allowed to be 
present in greater quantities itwould make the Onions 
rather straggling, as pulling up the stumps would 
loosen the soil too much. 
After sowing, the drills must be filled up, raking 
the soil carefully over, and the treading process gone 
over once more, finally leaving the surface of the 
soil smooth and even as rake and roller can make it. 
Varieties.—The greatest difficulty to the amateur 
will be one of selection, for there are so many 
varieties from which to pick and choose. Apart 
from the question of flavour and colour which will 
influence the choice primarily, the amateur must find 
out by practical experience what varieties do well in 
his particular locality, and when he has hit upon a 
good thing, he should stick to it. Two or three sorts 
may well be grown, one at least of which should be a 
variety that will keep until the end of the season. 
Of this section there is nothing to beat James’ Keep¬ 
ing. The bulbs are of medium size, very firm, and 
of great weight. The flavour is stronger than most. 
Veitch’s Main Crop is excellent for ordinary use. 
The bulbs posseess great depth, and are very 
symmetrical in shape. They are of medium size, if 
grown in the ordinary way, although they can be 
grown very large if special attentions are given. In 
many places, especially amongst cottagers, the old 
Reading Onion is held in great esteem. The bulbs 
are large, rather flattened, and very mild in flavour. 
This variety is good for early use, but does not keep 
very well. Sutton’s Improved Reading, on the other 
hand, is an excellent keeper and a distinct advance 
on the old form. Of the newer varieties, Sutton's 
A. 1., which was sent out by the Reading firm in 
1892, and has received the high cultural qualification 
of XXX in the trials at Chiswick, as well as a First- 
class Certificate from the Royal Horticultural 
Society, is well worth growing. The bulbs are of 
semi-globular form, grow to a great size and weight, 
and keep remarkably well. 
Early Carro’s.—These are in great demand, and 
whilst even the roots are exceedingly small they are 
largely used for flavouring soups, and when they get 
a little larger as a vegetable cooked whole. A sowing 
should be made as soon as possible for providing an 
early supply. Choose a south border, sheltered at 
the back, if possible, by a wall. Such a position is 
necessary, for Carrot seed will not germinate if the 
temperature of the soil keeps low. Break the ground 
up nicely, and level it previous to sowing The 
drills should.be drawn at right angles to the edge of 
the border and about 10 in. of space may be allowed 
between them. Early Nantes is a very reliable and 
early stump rooted variety with medium-sized roots 
that are very sweet in flavour, and have but a very 
small core. It will supply all that is necessary until 
the long-rooted main crop varieties of the Inter¬ 
mediate type are ready for use ; indeed, if a good 
plot of Early Nantes is sown, there will be no need 
at all to draw upon the main crop until the winter. 
Seakale.—We^have before alluded to the propa¬ 
gation of this useful vegetable in the columns of 
“Hints," and are led to makejmention of it again, 
with a view to remind readers that the time is now 
here when it may be conducted. The roots which 
have been lifted for forcing purposes duriug the 
winter will have had all the side roots which are over 
the thickness of a slate pencil cut away. These 
thongs, as they are sometimes called, should have 
been laid in sand or soil to keep them from shrivell¬ 
ing. They may now be taken out and trimmed into 
cuttings. The cuttings should be from 4 in. to 5 io. 
in length—we do not care to have a greater length 
than this, or the cuttings are unwieldy. Make a 
straight cut across the top, and an oblique one at the 
bottom of the cutting. There will thus be no mis¬ 
take when planting as to which is the top, and which 
the bottom. The soil is the next consideration. 
This must be deep and rich. If it has-been recently 
trenched so much the better. A position under a 
north or ea?t wall will do very well, as it will be 
cooler than places more exposed to the sun. The 
sets or cuttings should be planted 1 ft. apart in the 
rows, and the rows should be from 18 in. to 2 ft. 
distant from each other, the latter distance preferably, 
since it allows room for a vigorous growth on the 
part of the plants. If all goes well, good roots will 
be forthcoming for forcing next autumn. 
Seakale Out-of-doors—The crowns in permanent 
plantations that have not yet been forced, should be 
covered over at once with a little soil or a few leaves, 
or they will be starting into growth, and the produce 
will then be bitter, as no amount of blanching will 
then entirely eliminate the bitterness.— Rex. 
-HH- 
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. 
Bouvardias. — Please tell me what I am to do with 
my Bouvardias ? They have been kept dry all 
through the winter. Will they need pruning ? and 
if so when will be the time to do it.— G. Lawes. 
Your plants will certainly require pruning. The 
growths should be spurred, i.e , cut back, nearly to 
the last year’s wood. Place the plants in a gentle 
heat and syringe them twice a day. Water may be 
given at the root in small quantities, but the plants 
must not be deluged in the way that is often done. 
As soon as they have started to break into growth 
they must be shaken out of the old soil and potted 
up afresh. 
Acalypha musaica is propagated by cuttings, 
Stove. If the plants are leggy, take the tops off and 
insert them in small pots as cuttings. Put the old 
stumps into a brisk heat with plenty of atmospheric 
moisture, and you will very soon get plenty of cut¬ 
tings. The best time of the year for the operation 
is now just coming on. 
Potatos in Frame.—You must not coddle the 
Potatos as you have been doing, Artus, or you will 
not do much with them. Pull the lights completely 
off them on fine days. Cover up at night if it 
threatens to be cold, but take the covering off the 
first thing in the morning. The practice of sprink¬ 
ling a little Radish seed broadcast over the surface 
of the be 1 is a good one, for tbe Radishes do not 
take much out of the soil, and they are fit for use 
long be'ore the Potatos want tbe room. Any 
Radishes that are not eaten, however, should be 
pulled out and not allowed to grow like weeds 
among the Potatos. 
Border Carnations.— L.L.A. complains of border 
Carnations struck from layers last year looking 
sickly and yellow, and asks for a reason. This is 
difficult to give with the information in our possession 
as to the exact condition under which the plants 
are placed. Are they pot-bound? have they had 
sufficient water ? is there any green fly amongst 
them ? Either of these conditions would be detri¬ 
mental to the health of the plants. Write again. 
Protecting Apricots.—I havejaken possession of 
a house and garden during the past year, and find 
that there is an Apricot tree on one of the walls 
facing south. The buds are very forward, and the 
tree will very soon be in full bloom. How am I to 
protect it from possible frost ?—C. Wilson. 
The best plan is to have_ a sheet of canvas or 
tiffany fixed to a rod and fastened to the top of the 
wall. Thus a blind will be obtained which may be 
let down and pulled up at pleasure. Place two 
light spars with their tops against the wall, and their 
bases about 18 in. from it. One of these spars should 
be placed at each end of the tree to keep the rod of 
the blind from injuring it as it is let down and pulled 
up. Another way of giving protection is to insert 
some branches of heather, or evergreens of any sort 
among the boughs of the Apricot. Even a slight 
covering of this kind will assist in throwing off a lot 
of frost. 
Pruning outdoor Yines.—You must prune the 
Vines at once, T., Surbiton, nor delay a day longer. 
If you do there will be danger of their bleeding. 
Spur back to within a couple of buds of the base. 
Either a knife or secateurs may be used—the latter 
are more speedy. 
Bedding Lobelias. —S.R.R. has had the misfortune 
to lose his stock of bedding Lobelias, which have 
been carried off by damp. He wishes to know if 
seed sown nowj would produce plants that would 
bloom this season. 
Certainly it would ! but we should advise that no 
time be lost in getting the seed in. Place the seed- 
pans in a temperature of not less than 60 2 by night 
with a rise during the day. Germination will then 
be pretty rapid. The joung seedlings must be 
pricked off into light sandy soil as soon as they are 
big enough to handle, and returned into the same 
place as they were taken out of to get a start. When 
they have got a good hold of the soil they may be 
removed into a cooler house. Plants raised from 
seed may not bloom quite so early as those raised 
from cuttings, but there is very little difference—so 
little, indeed, that not a few gardeners raise their 
plants for bedding from seed sown at the end of 
February in each year. 
Border Carnations —Is it any use taking cuttings 
of border Carnations now ? If so, how would you 
