THE GARDENING WORLD. 
702 
EARTHING AND TOP-DRESSING 
GROWING CROPS. 
It has often occurred to me that gardeners, in many 
instances, do not place sufficient value on these 
important operations, and a few remarks on the 
subject may not be out of place, and at present quite 
seasonable. "Earthing up ” and top-dressing are not 
quite synonjmous terms, and either may be adopted 
to soit the requirements of the subjects under culti¬ 
vation, and the purposes for which they are required. 
It is amazing how readily youDg seedling plants, 
especially in a stiff soil, respond to a top-dressing of 
nice free soil with a dash of guano mixed in it. 
Young rootlets are emitted rapidly and a stout 
sturdy growth encouraged. To enumerate plants 
that derive benefit from this operation would be 
superfluous, but Pansies, Violas, Asters, and all 
border annuals respond with a luxuriant growth that 
is a pleasure to behold. Vegetable Marrows pegged 
down at joints 3 ft. from the stem and a basketful of 
rich earth placed ovei, will well repay the trouble, as 
they delight in fresh soil; so also do Cucumbers, 
Tomatos, and Melons. Earthing up is more suit¬ 
able when Caul flowers, Cabbages, and all members 
of the Brassica family have to be dealt with, also 
Peas, Beans, &c. After forking thoroughly, a few- 
inches of soil drawn up stimulates the plants, and 
also helps to steady them against wind, and prevents 
rocking, which such plants are liable to when there is 
insufficient weight of soil against the stem to keep 
them steady.—" Bi ightspade." 
CAMPANULA PYRAMIDALIS FROM 
SEED. 
This noble Campanula grows between four and six 
feet high. It is grown chiefly in pots. From the 
bottom to the top of the stem numerous flower stalks 
bearing bell-shaped blooms are formed into the 
shape of a pyramid. Propagation is effected by 
seed. If the plants ate expected to flower the 
following year, the seeds must be sown during May. 
Procure an ordinary sized seed box and place a few 
crocks over the drainage cracks, then cover these 
with a little rough manure. A suitable compost 
will be, one part good loam to half a part of leaf 
mould with a proportionate amount of sand. After 
having run your soil through a quarter of an inch 
sieve, fill the seed box to within half an inch of the 
top and press slightly. Thoroughly level the sur¬ 
face and sprinkle your seed on evenly, taking great 
care not to have it too thick. Shake the soil 
through an eighth of an inch sieve over the seeds, 
covering them very slightly; water with a fine 
rose can and place them in a temperature of 65° 
until the seedlings have got a nice start, then 
harden them off gradually into a cool frame and 
keep moist. When the seedlings are an inch high 
prick them off into another seed box and use the 
same soil as before, only not quite so fine. Water 
and place back into the cool frame .—G XV. Dickson, 
XV. Hampstead, N. XV. 
FLOWER GARDEN NOTES. 
Now that the bedding out is done it behoves one to 
see that the beds are kept neat and clean. Dead 
flowers and decayed leaves must bekept picked off,and 
pegs inserted here and there to fill up gaps. The 
grass edges must be regularly trimmed. Nothing 
looks worse than ragged edges. If these little jobs 
be attended to the beds may always be viewed with 
satisfaction. It is the thorough performance of the 
work alone that ensures that high degree of perfec¬ 
tion that makes the garden “a thing of beauty and 
a joy for ever.” Plants in the flower garden will 
also require pegging, pinching or tying, as the case 
may be. Especially in carpet beds do plants require . 
pinching, as it is only by such that the design of the 
bed is kept true. Plants in the herbaceous border 
will also require tying and staking properly. The 
stakes in all cases, where possible, should be hidden 
from view. As a rule, one stake is ample it placed 
in the centre of the plant, the string secured to the 
stake, and the tying divided in two or three equal 
parts of the plant. All stiffness is avoided by this 
method, and the plants have a natural appearance. 
The frequent removal of dead leaves and trimming 
of edgings complete the operations which are 
demanded of those whc wish to have their flower 
garden "par excellence." — T. W. Dollery, The Gardens, 
Whitburn, Sunderland. 
June 29 , 1901 . 
MAINCROP CELERY. 
Celery, as we all know, is one, if not the best, of 
all salads that are grown in our walled enclosures. 
How often do we see Celery decaying long before 
the winter is finished. Perhaps it might be some¬ 
thing out of the common when I say that our last 
dozen heads of Celery were sent in for use only a very 
few weeks ago, in perfect condition, and had we 
had a bigger lot grown we could have had Celery 
good enough up till the end of May anyway, at least 
for flavouring purposes. My experience is that we 
are often too good and spend too much time on our 
Celery. We can overfeed even gross-feeding plants 
like Celery. Latt year our maincrop was planted in 
the second week of July and only earthed up once. 
A great many believe in earthing up Celery every 
three or four weeks. Now, I think if we were leav¬ 
ing the earthing up until well on in the season, that 
would allow tbe^talks to be a bit tougher and firmer ; 
therefore they can stand the wet and all kinds of 
weather better, the quality of the Ctlery not being in 
the least hurt. The varieties we had were Dobbie's 
and Major Clark's. Perhaps some of our senior 
writers to this valuable paper will give their opinions 
on “ Celery growing for maincrop only.”— T.S. Dick, 
Castlemilk Gardens, Lockerbie. 
--j*- 
HARDY CYPRIPEDIUMS. 
Some of these are so handsome, and the shape of 
the flowers, as well as colour, so remarkable, as to 
place them with the finest subjects we have for the 
border or rockery. Many cf them are more effec¬ 
tive, and the colouring brighter than in the tropical 
kinds, and being of easy culture, should be grown 
by everyone. To ensure good results, plant early in 
a half shady position, and if treated as follows they 
are sure to succeed —C. Calceolus (English Lady's 
Slipper) aDd C. montanum (Eastern Lady’s Slipper) 
do best where planted in heavy loam or clay. C. 
arie inum (Ram’s Head Lady's Slipper), C. specta- 
bile (Showy Lady’s Slipper), and C. pubescens (Downy 
Lady's Slipper), require peat and moss, and treated 
as bog plants. C. californicum, C. parviflorum, and 
C. fasciculatum thrive best in peat and leaf mould 
in a moist, shady position. Protect them from late 
frost, and keep suffioiemly moist when growing. 
They will thrive better than many other herbaceous 
p’ants.— Walter Hopkins, Leighton Gardens, Westbury, 
Wilts. 
A BOON TO CHRYSANTHEMUM 
GROWERS. 
Most growers of the Chrysanthemum know what a 
pest the Black Fly becomes if allowed to settle on 
the >oung growths of the plants. But, perhaps, few 
are aware of a natural remedy often clos,e at hand. 
Here is my own experience. F’ive years ago I 
planted a border of Lavender, and during May and 
June following I observed a quantity of the Cuckoo- 
spit (Aphrophora Spumaria) on the Lavender, and in 
due time the little frog hoppers were seen on every¬ 
thing around. I had about 600 Chrysanthemums 
more or less infested with the Black Fly, which 
gives me much trouble. At the final potting the 
plants were stood out near to the Lavender for con¬ 
venience. As time after time I examined the plants 
I saw plenty of frog hoppers but very little fly. The 
reason of the disappearance of the fly was considered, 
and I discovered to my delight that the frog hoppers 
were rendering me a real iriendly service. Each 
year since 1897 I have bad no trouble with the Black 
Fly after June, though before that month the fly has 
been a trouble. I have called in people to show 
the friendly insects at their work.— N.B., B., S. 
BEGONIA GLOIRE DE LORRAINE. 
To grow and bloom Begonia Gloire de Lorraine in 
winter and spring good strong rooted cuttings ought 
to be now in 60-sized pots for first flowering, but 
for later work, along in spring, good cuttings inserted 
now in a gentle bottom heat in equal parts loam, 
leaf mould and sand well settled in with a fine rose, 
shaded from sun will very soon root. When rooted 
expose gradually to the temperature of the house or 
frame; pot off singly as before stated and grow on 
in a temperature of about 6o° of a night, with a good 
rise with sun heat, of course looking well after the 
shading as this Begonia likes a fair amount of shade. 
A Fern house is a good place for the plants, to be 
on a shelf close to the glass, shutting up and treating 
the same as you would Maidenhair Ferns. Pot on 
into flowering pots when ready, 48's being a good 
handy size, using equal parts loam, leaf mould, road 
grit, and potting fairly firm, stopping about three 
times during growth. Feed slightly with liquid 
manure, when the pots are full of roots and keep 
growing as before recommended up till they com¬ 
mence to bloom and then a much drier atmosphere 
must be maintained and a little lower temperature or 
near about 55 0 of a night and 6o° by day, or as 
nearly as possible, never exceeding it ,—J. Harwood. ■ 
INARCHING VINES. 
The present is a good time to inarch Vines, 
(unless where the vinery has been early started). It 
is an operation that may appear difficult to those 
that have never seen it done but which in reality is 
simple. Inarching is better than budding, and is 
really the best way to unite two varieties. Anyone 
with ordinary intelligence may accomplish it. The 
main object is to substitute good varieties for bad 
ones. A fairly strong young Vine in a pet,inarched now, 
would form a s‘em strong enough before winter to 
bear several bunches next season. The green wood 
unites best. Take a shoot that has started near the 
bottom of the old Vine to be worked on, then bring 
the t wo into close contact, so close that they can be 
tied without running the risk of breaking them ; a 
small slice should then be taken off the 
side of each ; make this cut between the 
buds from 3 in. to 4 in. long and between 
an eighth and a quarter of an inch deep, according 
to the thickness of the shoots. Make them to fit 
neatly, edge to edge, and then bind round with a 
broad piece of raffia firmly as to be immovable. 
In a few weeks they must be unbound and retied, 
but not so firmly as at first, as they will be partially 
united and beginning to grow and swell. Keep 
the pot Vine moving freely with liquid manure 
until the season's growth is completed.— J. C. Dick, 
The Gardens, Champfleurie, Linlithgow. 
FRUIT PROSPECTS. 
It is not an easy matter to be a prophet, especially 
when the weather of the British Isles can affect 
your calculations, so readers must not count this 
as a prophecy but merely a few facts about the 
condition of the fruit crop in various parts of the 
country as it now stands. The season started 
grandly, but now the outlook is rather doleful, as 
north and south the crops are suffering from want 
of water, especially the Strawberries, and unless 
there is a heavy fail of rain soon the outlook for the. 
fruit grower will be very bad indeed. The rail¬ 
way companies swallow up a large margin of the 
profit, and when their extortionate carriage rates 
have been deducted from the profits, and the 
working expenses paid off, we are afraid that many 
will find that instead of profit to put away they 
will have to draw on the reserve of previous- 
year's successes to make up a deficiency. 
Kent seems to suffer terribly from drought, and 
is crippled to such an extent by the railway facili¬ 
ties offered that the industry is not slowly dying 
but rapidly being killed. 
The great fruit centre of the future is undoubtedly 
in the Wisbech district. It is pleasing to note 
how that during the last few years the flat 
uninteresting country has been transformed into a 
thriving fruit farming district. The old question 
of " What shall the farmer occupy his land with 
to make it pay ? ” has been answered here. The 
soil around Wisbech seems better suited to the 
growing of many fruit crops than it is in Kent, 
and this together with the cheap railway rates 
offered by three competing companies is mainly 
answerable for the present rush of fruit planting. 
It is not only fruit that the Wisbech farmer is 
growing on his lands, but acres may be seen devoted 
to flower culture, and make a blaze of colour, 
especially where the fen soil offers suitable con¬ 
ditions to the cultivation of bulbs. The average 
price of land per acre is from 30/- to £3. 
Even standing in the fen district the trees are 
feeling the effects of the drought and many crops 
are already, if not wholly a failure, very light. Red 
Currants are an exception for the bushes are loaded, 
but this excess is more than balanced by the failure of 
the Black Currants. Gooseberries are very poor but 
look better here than they do in most parts of the 
country. Last year's Plums were so plentiful thaL 
