760 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 31, 1897. 
STINTS FOR MMATEURS. 
Tomatos.— Plants that have been put out in a 
sunny part of the garden, but have not been given 
the shelter and assistance of a wall or row of pales, 
will require attention for staking. If stakes were to 
hand at the moment when the plants first needed 
support there is little to do but add ties as growth 
proceeds. Often enough, however, sufficiently stout 
stakes are not obtainable. Such stakes should be 
about 5 ft. in length, and of sufficient strength to 
carry a heavy prospective crop of fruit. In cases 
where the plants were not supplied with these stout 
supports, in the first place, they have been allowed 
to lie upon the ground. As loDg as they have been 
kept from becoming mixed up with each other there 
is nothing to be said against this practice, as the 
fruit sets fairly well when the plants are in the pro¬ 
cumbent position. In order to ripen the fruits well, 
however, the plants must be lifted up so that the 
dun, light, and air can play about among them. 
Staking, therefore, should be seen to a.* once. Do 
not make the ties too tight, as-the stems of Tomatos 
swell considerably in the neighbourhood of any liga¬ 
tures. About 4 ft. is a good height for such plants, 
and so when they attain that height, and if they are 
Carrying a fair quantity of fruit, the top should be 
cut out. All literal growths meanwhile must be 
duly cut back, but do not attempt to interfere with 
the leaves. It is not at all enlightened practice to 
trim the poor plants until only the vestiges of leaves 
are left, and yet it is often done. 
Dahlias are now making free growth, together 
with a lot of side shoots. If plenty of flower is 
wanted this is all very well, and the shoots may be 
allowed to grow away as they list. If large flowers, 
up to show standard are what are wanted, thinning 
of these shoots must be practised First of all cut 
out the weaker ones, leaving the stronger and well 
placed growths. If there are still too many, a fur¬ 
ther thinning may be given. S aking must next be 
proceeded with. Each shoot should be carefully 
tied out to a stake, in such a way that the air can 
play freely all through the plant. The birchbroom 
system of tying-up must not be tolerated for a 
moment. Good flowers cannot be obtained in such 
a way, and the plants thus treated look sorry-looking 
objects, indeed. 
With the present drought and heat Dahlias 
will require a lot of water, and liquid manure may be 
freely given with advantage. A mulching of short 
manure will also be of great value. Artificial water¬ 
ings are of special importance to plants that are 
growing on the borders of shrubberies, for here the 
shrubs naturally soon exhaust the water supply, and 
the soil in the neighbourhood of shrubberies that have 
been standing for long is generally of a poor and 
hungry nature. Large old plants that have not been 
divided at all, but have simply been started in the 
same condition as they left off last year are usually 
relegated to the shrubbery borders, where by dint of 
a very little atten ion they usually render a pretty 
good account of themselves, and produce plenty of 
flower. Beyond staking and watering they will not 
require anything, but may be allowed to produce as 
many shoots and flower buds as they like — the more 
the better. 
Alstroemeria aurantiaca— During July and 
August there is no more showy occupant of the 
of the herbaceous border than this Alstroemeria. It 
is a native of Chili, and was introduced from thence 
in 1831. It is perfectly hardy, and very few subjects 
indeed require less attention. A sheltered, well 
drained border with rather light soil suits them 
admirably. The plants run to 3 ft. or 4 ft. in height, 
and the flowers are borne in umbels of five or six 
flowers each. The flowers themselves vary to some 
extent in colour, but are of some shade of orange 
streaked with red. They last well in water, and thus 
for cutting purposes are of great value. 
Dwarf Chrysanthemums— Small plants of ’Mums 
in pots of a size that admits of their being placed 
inside ornamental pots and vases and used for the 
decoration of dwelling rooms, are always in request 
during the months of November and December. In 
order to obtain these, cuttings should now be taken. 
They should consist of the points of the shoots of 
growing plants. These may be inserted in large 
6o-pots, four cuttings being placed round the inside 
edge of each pot. Use light sandy soil, and when 
making up the pots in readiness for the cuttings, 
make it fairly firm. A place in a frame facing to the 
north will do capitally. If there is a bottom of 
ashes in the frame so much the better, as this is 
clean, cool, and holds the moisture well. The 
cuttings may or may not be plunged—very little 
difference in results will be observed in either case, 
and these differences are not always constant. Thus 
in one' year the plunged cuttings will do a little better 
than those that were not plunged, while next season, 
as likely as not, the positions will be reversed. 
What is more important is to cover the cuttiDgswith a 
small handlight, like those used for protecting Cauli¬ 
flowers. This enables the cuttings to be kept as 
close as desired, and thus the larger frame can be 
used for other plants that do not need to be kept so 
close. In such a position shade will ODly be re¬ 
quired up till about 11 a m. The cuttings may be 
gently sprayed with the syringe twice a day 
during fine weather, as there is no fear of the 
cuttings damping at this time of the year. At the 
end of about a week the cuttings will have stiffened 
up sufficiently to admit of a chink of air being 
given, but put the light on at once if they are 
observed to flag much. After roots have been freely 
made the plants may be grown on in a frame, or out¬ 
doors for the matter of that, but do not coddle them 
in any case. They will not need potting, but may 
be grown on and flowered in the same pots. 
Peaches on Outside Walls — Trees of such varie¬ 
ties such as Amsden, Waterloo, and Hale’s Early 
must be netted over as soon as the fruit commences 
to ripen off. Forked sticks about a foot in leDgth 
must be used to keep the nets far enough away from 
the tree. A good way of fastening the nets at the 
bottom is to twine in a few supple twigs with the 
wires.— Rex. 
-, 1 —- 
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. 
Asparagus Beds — I want to know what is the best 
plan to follow with Asparagus beds after they have 
done yielding ; whether to spuddle them over lightly 
or to take a spit of earth from all over the top and 
dress as I was advised to. An answer in the 
“ Amateurs’ Page.” would oblige.— H. B. 
The advice you have received seems to be of a 
very curious kind. To fork over the beds or attempt 
to remove any of the soil from the beds now would 
be attended with fatal consequences. All you can do 
is to let the plants finish their growth for the season, 
seeing meanwhile that the beds are kept free from 
weeds. If your beds are 3 ft. or 3 ft. 6 in in width 
with alleys between the weeding can be easily con¬ 
ducted Any very heavy growths that appear to be 
in danger from the wind may bs supported to prevent 
them from being snipped off. In the autumn when 
growth has finished, go over the beds and cut down 
the old stems close to the ground, remove all the 
weeds that have escaped notice prior to that time 
and tidy up generally by giving the bedv a rake over. 
Early in the year, say sometime in January, give a 
good dressing of well-rotted stable or farmyard 
manure to the depth of at least a couple of inches. 
The soil may be pricked up slightly, not sufficiently 
deep to injure the crowns before the manure is 
applied, and one or two light forkings over may be 
given between January and March, but no such 
practice as deep digging or forking must be tolerated. 
Ardisia crenulata — Alice F., will be greatly 
obliged by information as to the treatment and pro¬ 
pagation of Ardisia crenulata. A plant bought about 
nine months ago with berries still retains them, and 
has been most useful in a staircase window, and 
lately in a greenhouse. The leaves begin to look 
shabby. 
This plant will do well in either a stove or green¬ 
house, although in the cooler house the berries are 
retained longer, as in this case. The best method of 
propagation is by seed. The seed should be selected 
from the largest and finest berries, and sown in light 
sandy soil in shallow pans in spring. A nice bottom 
heat and stove temperature overhead will be 
necessary to insure rapid germination. From the 
seedling stage the plants may be potted on as desired, 
using a compost of equal parts of peat and loam with 
silver sand. All through the summer the plants 
must be kept well syringed as they are very dirty 
subjects, and the leaves soon get filthy. Cuttings 
formed of the half-ripened side-shoots taken any time 
from March to September will strike root, but they 
do not make such good plants as the seedlings. 
After a while—say after the first two years of growth 
—the plants become leggy, and lose their bottom 
leaves. Cutting back is then necessary. This is 
best done in early spring, and the plants should be 
allowed to get rather dry beforehand. After the cut 
has dried water may be given, and the syringe regu¬ 
larly applied. When the young shoots make their 
appearance they should be thinned a little, leaving 
only sufficient to form a well-balanced head. Potting 
may be subsequently seen to as required. usiDg a 
similar compost to that recommended above. 
Lilium auratum — Chas. Nash : This Lilium was 
first introduced into Europe by the Messrs. Veitch 
in 1862. " Yama Uri,” is the native name of the 
plant in Japan. "Yama” signifies "hill," and 
" Uri " means a " Lily," so " Yama Uri "is literally 
" hill Lily." 
White Carnations.—Will you give me the names 
of two of the best white border Carnations, one of 
them suitable for exhibiting, and the other should be 
a free flowering variety that will do well as a 
bedder ? — Walter Soper. 
You will find Mrs. Eric Hambro a grand white 
exhibition sort, although it is still rather expensive. 
For bedding purposes you cannot do better than try 
Mrs F. Watts. It is about fifteen inches in height 
and a very free bloomer. 
Malmaison Carnations. — Buxton : You may layer 
the shoots round the edge of the pot if there is room 
to do so comfortably. 
Iyy Leaves Dropping.—I have several Ivies in a 
sitting-room. They get plenty of water, but the 
greater part of the leaves has dropped. What is 
the cause, and the remedy ? 
Want of light is probably the reason for the 
dropping of the leaves complained about. Turn the 
plants out of doors and give them a place on the 
window sill. They will soon make fresh leaves, and 
will be ready for another spell indoors. 
Yiolas. —Please say what is the matter with the 
Violas of which I enclose samples. As you see the 
leaves have all turned brown.— Castor. 
Your Violas are infested with red spider. Keep 
them frequently spripkled or syringed. That is all 
that you can do. The spider is almost sure to put in 
an appearance during dry periods. 
Tomatos not Setting.- At the beginning of June 
I planted out a quantity of Tomato plants against a 
wall facing south-west. The plants have grown 
fairly well and have borne several trusses of flowers, 
but the fruits never get any larger than a pin's head. 
They stay in that stage for some time, then turn 
yellow and drop off. Please advise me what to do.— 
Reader. 
The weather is the cause of the failure to set on 
the part of your Tomato flowers. The little fruits 
are not properly fertilised, or they would swell up 
and not drop off. The last week or two the air has 
been wonderfully dry and not favourable to setting, 
any more than damp sunless weather would be. Go 
over the plants daily and touch each of the ex¬ 
panded flowers lightly with a camel’s hair brush. 
You may then see better results. 
Hollyhocks. — Enquirer: Hollyhocks may be 
propagated by inserting eyes taken from the side 
shoots in a frame in sandy soil. A little piece of the 
stem, and a single leaf are left to each eye. In dib¬ 
bling the latter in, the top of the eye or bud should 
be just peeping out of the soil. We prefer the sys¬ 
tem of grafting young shoots on pieces of the fleshy 
roots in spring, for the plants will be really as for¬ 
ward as those originating from eyes put in now, 
and besides you escape having to pay all the winter 
attentions. 
Pruning Deutzias. — 5 . Carlton : It is much too 
late now to think of pruning Deutzias. It should 
have been done, if necessary, after the plants had 
done blooming in the spring. As a rule, the pruning 
needed is very little. Some of the old wood may be 
