8 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 1, 1900. 
INTS FOR 
'MATEURS. 
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. 
Yiolets for Frames.— H. Wilson : September is the 
month when most frame Violets are planted. You 
may prepare now by getting together a quantity of 
fermenting material—leaves and stable manure. 
Turn the mixture frequently when you have col¬ 
lected it. There should be a good quantity of 
leaves—more than half, indeed—amongst the 
manure, because they economise the heat and 
make it extend over a longer period. About the 
ioth of September, fill in the fermented stuff to the 
frames and make it very firm by treading. Leave 
this for a day or two till it has somewhat settled, then 
place about a foot of good turfy loam compost over 
large places, the saving of seeds is not worth the 
trouble. We should certainly not advise you to try 
to save your own vegetable seeds—they rarely give 
satisfaction. The commoner flower seeds, such as 
Mignonette, Salpiglossis, Linarias, and the like, 
which you mention, should be cut almost imme¬ 
diately after the flowers wither or between that time 
and their period of ripening. Lay the cut inflores¬ 
cences on blotting-paper or ordinary newspaper 
exposed to the light. Shade them a little on very 
bright days, and when they begin to ripen and open, 
shake them out and bag the clean seeds, stowing 
them in dry, cool drawers. 
Treatment of Carnation layers.— D. S.: When 
rooted, sever the connection with the parent plant 
and lift the young offset as carefully as you can. 
Yellow loam is generally preferred by Carnations, 
though any friable compost consisting of two parts 
loam to one of good leaf mould and some silver sand 
will do. Three or four-inch pots are large enough 
to start with, and these must be well crocked. After 
potting moderately firm, place the border and tree 
villa gardens, is a barbarous practice. Ivy forming 
an edging may be thinned-out with a knife and not 
cut bare with shears. 
Mealy Bug-Infested Vinery. -J. T. : If the 
vinery is much infested you will scarcely ever get 
iid of this pest. We have found me^ly bug in the 
centre of coiled trellis wire, such as is used in 
Cucumber houses, and the house had been scrubbed, 
syringed, fumigated and all else. You may do what 
you can by fumigating when the crop is cut, and 
when the leaves have fallen, scrape the rods clean, 
going over every inch of them carefully. When 
scraped, wash them with Gishurst Compound. 
Every nook of the house should be scrubbed with hot 
water and carbolic soap, then syringed. The surface 
of the border should also be scraped, and the soil 
cleared away. 
Taking Cuttings.— Beginner-. Cuttings of Calceo¬ 
larias, Pansies, Iresines, bedding Pelargoniums, 
Ageratum and plants of this sort may be taken next 
month. Prepare] frames for Calceolarias, Pansies, 
Copyright 
it. Old Chrysanthemum balls broken up and mixed 
with a liberal quantity of spent Mushroom bed 
dung, some new loam, sand and lime rubble will be 
found to suit them. Make this also firm, the surface 
being about 6 ins. or 8 ins. from the glass. Plant as 
soon after as you care to, allowing a foot or i5"ins. 
between the plants. Leave the sashes off until 
sharp frosty nights are evidenced. 
Yiolets in Pots.—H. Wilson: Violets from run¬ 
ners which were taken last April or May, and have 
been growing during the summer in open borders or 
prepared enclosures, may be potted up in a nice 
fairly rich compost. Crock the pots well, and keep 
the neck of the plant well up. Place the pots in 
some shady corner, either by the side of a north 
wall or by a sheltering hedge. By the end of 
September or early in October take them into the 
greenhouse and place them on a shelf near to the 
glass. Do not feed nor even water too much. 
Remove any bad leaves. 
Saving Seeds.— K. F. : As a rule, unless in very 
Erythronium revoluium Pink Beauty (See p. 9). 
Carnations for the present in frames. Malmaisons 
may be placed on the ash-bottom stages of a cool 
house. They should be watered soon after, and 
slightly dewed over each day afterwards till growth 
commences. Some of the hardiest of the border 
Carnations may be planted out in opea-air beds 
in sheltered places. 
Planting Trees and Shrubs.— J. M.\ We con¬ 
sider October the best month in which to plant all 
sorts of trees and shrubs, though planting is carried 
on all winter and part of spring. You should prepare 
the gfo'und in good time. 
Pruning Trees. —J. M. : Many who have a large 
amount of pruning to do, and who wish their places 
to look tidy, are busy pruning trees and shrubs at 
this time. Keep a clean stem to your trees and open 
up the head and centre. Each of the main branches 
should also be kept clean by the close pruning of all 
small growth. Shorten any branches that may be 
taking too much lead. Hard spurring in, such as 
jobbing gardeners sometimes attempt with trees in 
Barr & Sons 
&c. The bedding Pelargoniums, Ageratum, Iresines, 
Heliotrope, &c., may be potted or boxed and placed 
in a cool house. The cuttings from the Pelar¬ 
goniums, of course, should be placed in shallow 
boxes filled with sandy soil, and the cuttings may 
be allowed to strike in the open air. Very little 
heat is needed to keep all these safely through the 
winter, and they Should be kept on the dry side. 
Plum Crop Infested.— A. E. Hole: We have 
examined many of the fruits you sent to us, but 
failed to find any grub or worm. We suspect the 
cause of the attack is the Red-grub of the Plum 
(Carpocapsa funebrana), but your samples are not 
badly harmed. Gather all infested fruits and burn 
them at once. Give the trees a slight shake and 
also burn the fruits that fall to kill the " worm " and 
prevent attack next season. Let plenty of light and 
air in amongst your trees by thinning the branches. 
Lily of the Valley is very successfully grown in 
coke bresze and sphagnum by Mr. Wm. Turner, 
foreman to Mr. J. A. Paterson, of Cincinnati. 
