672 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 15 - ? 1901. 
Watering.—Although the spring was not an early 
one, the recent spell of bright weather has made up 
for lost time, and things seem in a very satisfactory 
condition at present. In all the parks, &c., where 
extensive bedding is practised, there is now a busy 
scene hurrying the plants into their summer 
quarters and keeping them watered. This is an 
item that must on no account be overlooked with 
such weather as we are experiencing at present. 
Several times I have spoken about watering, and I 
feel I must do so again, for proper watering is one of 
the chief roads to successful cultivation, whether the 
plants be in pots or have free root room in the open 
ground. Wherever you go in *' Suburbia ” during 
the summer, you may see the regrettable mistake of 
sprinkling , not watering the flower garden with a 
fine sprayed hose-pipe or a toy watering can. The 
surface is just moistened and made to look wet, and 
the hot soil and drying winds quickly carry the fruit 
of so much labour up into the atmosphere, when its 
uses to that particular garden to which it was applied 
is lost. It would not take nearly so much water if 
it was done properly, for when applied in sufficient 
quantities it soaks down deeper into the soil and 
benefits the parching roots, and is not then so easily 
affected by external influences. Rose trees, &c., 
planted in narrow borders close to a wall require 
careful watering. If the trees are in a weak condi¬ 
tion, a little stimulant may be used in the water, 
such as cow or sheep dung, but if there is the least 
signs of a rampant sappy growth, do not on any 
account stimulate, or you will have your trees run 
to useless, thick, soft growth, which dors not ripen 
properly, and scarcely ever produces blocm. Where 
manure has been used too frequently and the soil is 
known as muck sick, a tnorough watering with lime- 
water occasionally will greatly improve the condi¬ 
tion of the soil and be of great benefit to the trees. 
Lime Water.—There seems much misconception 
amongst amateurs as to what constitutes this oft 
recommended liquid. I think the idea that is pretty 
prevalent is that it is something of the consistency 
of lime wash. Good lime water should be perfectly 
clear and transparent. It is made by mixing a 
handful of lime in a pail of water, and then allowing 
it to stand until it becomes clear. Water can only 
hold a certain amount of lime in solution. When it 
is in excess of this amount,- it deposits it on the 
bottom of the vessel, so there is no fear of getting 
the mixture too strong. When it is quite clear.it 
should be removed carefully without disturbing the 
sediment at the bottom. One of the best uses lime 
water is put to, is that of destroying worms in pots, 
&c. To do this properly, the soil should be allowed 
to get moderately dry, but not so dry that the plant 
will suffer; it should then be given a thorough 
watering with the lime solution. If the worms are 
not too exhausted, they will quickly come to the top, 
but more usually they die in the effort. Worms 
should always be eradicated from flower pots, &c., 
or they will soon do much damage to the roots by 
blocking the drainage. They are invaluable to soil 
in the garden, and Darwin found enough matter 
connected with their work to fill a large and interest¬ 
ing volume. They are very well so long as they 
keep in their proper places, but no one considers it 
desirable for the welfare of his lawn that it should 
be turned into a heap of mould by these untiring 
workers. Such a state of matters would indicate 
that the soil is too rich in humus, that is, decaying 
vegetable matter. 
SZindow Boxes.^-A word or two again about these 
may not be out of place. When preparing the soil for a 
window box, it must be borne in mind that you are 
going to put many more plants in that small quantity 
of soil than you would put in the same quantity of 
soil in a bed, therefore the window box soil must be 
made richer in accordance with the demands made 
on it, or it will soon become exhausted, and the 
plants will lose their vigour in consequence. Be 
sure they are well drained, for if once they become 
water logged it means disaster to the plant, for tbe 
drainage cannot be regulated so easily in boxes as 
when in pots. I will not give a list of plants for the 
boxes, for most amateurs go into the markets and 
buy just what suits their fancy, and the collection 
always proves a very varied one. For Geraniums, 
Souvenir de Charles Turner cannot be beaten, as it 
is a free grower, very floriferous, and has blooms of 
a beautiful shape and colour. Always bear this in 
mind when arranging the plants in the boxes, that 
they must all be of equal vigour or nearly so, or the 
result will be that the strong growers will crowd out 
their weaker sisters, not only above the soil where 
they can be regulated with the knife, but at the roots 
where it is impossible to apply any remedy. Some 
people have a fancy for Ferns ; certainly it is a very 
good choice, providing that the position is a suitable 
one. Most Ferns like shade, therefore they cannot 
be expected to thrive in bright hot sunshine; but 
where they are shaded during the greater part of the 
day they are easily managed, and nothing gives a 
more cooling and refreshing aspect to a room than a 
good window-sill full of healthy Ferns. If the pots 
are full of roots, an occasional watering with water 
into which a little soot has been stirred will be a 
great help to the plants in maintaining a deep colour. 
For stimulating them into growth, sheep dung and 
water make a valuable manure. It should be well 
strained before it is applied, or it will clog the soil. 
Many of the greenhouse Ferns may be cultivated 
with success on the window-sill, especially the 
Pteris family. Wljen Ferns are used they should 
not be removed from the pots, but be plunged in 
boxes filled with cocoa-nut fibre. To keep up the 
succession of flowers in the other boxes, great atten¬ 
tion must be given to the removal of old flowers 
immediately they fade, for if allowed to seed, the 
plant will throw all its energy into seed production, 
that being the special aim of the plant, and not to 
make a show of flowers to be looked at; it seeds as 
strongly as it can for the reproduction and continu¬ 
ance of its kind. 
Lilies.—These fragrant and graceful flowers are 
often omitted from the amateur’s garden because 
they are considered difficult to manage. This 
difficulty is all a pure fallacy, for if provided with a 
few simple conditions there are no plants more easily 
managed, and none more suitable for town gardens, 
as they are down in the winter when many other 
plants are above ground and suffer from the frequent 
smoke laden fogs. Lilies do not like too much 
shade, but one condition must be supplied if success 
is to be gained, and that is shade for their roots, 
for unless these are kept moist and cool, the plant 
soon assumes a sickly condition and refuses to 
grow. Lilies too, are very impatient of manure at 
the base of the bulb. If manure is given it should 
be lightly pricked in at the surface, for there are 
two classes of roots emitted by Lily bulbs, those 
from the base which are more or less fleshy and 
permanent, and those from the base of the stem 
which are annual and die with the stem in the 
autumn. These surface roots are gross feeders and 
must not be robbed by being planted among other 
plants with surface roots. An ideal position for 
them is in a Rhododendron bed, where, if the soil is 
good, they can remain for years and produce an 
abundance of flowers with no more attention than 
that required in staking and tying them and an 
occasional supply of water and a mulching of old 
stable dung during the winter. Lilium auratum 
and L. tigrinum do splendidly in such positions 
and are not injured by the severest winters. 
Roses.—June is known as the month of Roses and 
is well named too, for there is not a more popular 
flower in the whole garden than this national 
emblem. The season so far has been an ideal one; 
late spring frosts kept off and allowed the young 
shoots free development from the start, although 
the start was a little late in the season. Rain has 
also been in moderation, and if in some places it 
has caused trouble by keeping off, it is a trouble 
that is more easily circumvented than when there is 
an excess. The trees will be greatly benefited by 
syringing them occasionally, especially if a little 
quassia extract is used in the water, as its bitter 
taste keeps off the attacks of insects. Wherever 
the growth is crowded, if it cannot be equalised by 
training out, it should be cut back with the knife, 
or the dreaded mildew will get such a hold that it 
will be difficult to eradicate it. Prevention is 
always better than cure, and if the growth is so 
distributed that the air can pass amongst the foliage 
freely there is not much fear of it making its appear¬ 
ance in sufficient quantities to cause alarm. If it is 
noticed immediately, mix a handful of flowers of 
sulphur in a pail of soapy water and apply to the 
affected parts, as nothing proves to be a better anti¬ 
dote for all diseases of a fungoid nature than 
sulphur. While spraying the Rose trees it would be 
advisable to give the Tomatos an application, also 
the Grape Vine if on a wall, as both prove a desir¬ 
able matrix for fungus spores. Many Roses become 
browned by the sun, which should be prevented if 
possible by shading them during the hottest part of 
the day by ^some means. I have often seen old 
umbrellas, etc., utilised for this purpose.— Hortus. 
Correspondence. 
Questions ashed 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. 
Clematis Dying.— Rink: What the absolute cause 
of this peculiarity, which Clematis has of suddenly 
dying off, we cannot say, but in many cases it is 
caused by the action of the sun on the roots, which 
cannot stand heat. Try how your plants succeed 
when their roots are shaded. Do not shade the 
plant. 
Cucumbers not Swelling.— Frame : Many things 
may cause this, but the two most frequently met 
with are crowding and overcropping. If the foliage 
is too crowded, it must be thinned out. If this does 
not produce the desired effect, try thinning the fruit. 
Always keep an even temperature, avoiding sudden 
changes, as that will also cause trouble. The marks 
on the leaves are evidently caused by colonies of red 
spider, a very minute insect which is scarcely visible 
to the naked sye. It is caused by having a too dry 
atmosphere. If the plants are well syringed with 
clean water it will destroy them. See that the 
water is not lower in temperature than the atmo- 1 
sphere of the frame. 
Insects on Azaleas .—Greenhouse : The insect you 
describe is undoubtedly the troublesome little black 
Thrips. Take immediate steps to clear them off, or 
they will do a large amount of damage in an in¬ 
credibly short time. If fumigating will not destroy 
them, they must be syringed off with some insecti¬ 
cide used several times in succession. They gener¬ 
ally put in an appearance when the atmosphere is 
too dry. Moisture is as distasteful to them as it is 
to red spider. 
Rockery.—P. R.: The name of the plant which you 
send is Sedum stoloniferum, a pretty, but common 
plant on poor soils. It is a native of British 
Columbia. It may be used for rockery work, but 
when once established it requires careful watching 
or it becomes an encroaching weed. It holds on to 
life with a wonderful tenacity, and will exist and 
flourish on ground on which other plants would 
starve. 
Saxifragas.—P- R ■: The culture of most of the 
species of these typical rockwork plants is very easy. 
They all require about the same treatment as other 
rockwork plants, only they prefer a soil that has- 
been pressed firm, but still has good drainage. A 
look through a hardy plant nursery or into a good 
catalogue will satisfy you better than any list we 
can give you. 
Ramondia pyrenaica.— Stebbins: It is useless for 
you to try and grow this pretty little plant unless 
you can grow it on the north side of a shady rockery. 
It does best when planted in a vertical position in a 
peaty soil between the rocks. 
Monk’s Hood.T-P- T -: They may be propagated 
by division of the root ?rd by seeds. If the root is 
cut up, the pieces not again planted should all be 
carefully gathered and destroyed, as they are 
extremely poisonous. They should never be grown 
close to the kitchen garden, as the roots have been 
mistaken for those of Horse Radish, and many cases 
are on record of fatal results from the roots being 
mistaken. They thrive well in any good garden soil, 
and are invaluable for growing beneath the shade of 
trees. They should be left undisturbed for several 
years, when they produce fine clumps. 
Greenfly.— Puzzled : The question you ask is one 
very often heard. The reason they appear spon¬ 
taneously on a plant that has hitherto been free from 
