736 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 13, 1901. 
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Jjjinte for JigniateUrs. 
Care of Plants During Holidays.— This is often a 
bad month for the flower garden, not through the 
weather but through the negligence of the owner. 
July and August are essentially holiday months and 
some grim contrasts may be seen every day, especi¬ 
ally at the London termini, of beaming faces, happy 
at the thought of leaving the scorching city for the 
cool and refreshing seashore, and the hurrying 
throng hustling and perspiring and not daring to 
give their mind to such a luxury. When these 
people go away they find time in the general hurry 
to pack off all the family pets into neighbours' hands, 
but somehow, the poor flowers which have as much 
life and are as easily injured by neglect as the pet 
"pug,” are forgotten in the scramble. It may seem 
strange but there are few exceptions to this rule. A 
thoughtful housewife will sometimes give a thought 
to her favourite house plants, and try to mitigate the 
evil results of long absence by standing their pots in 
several inches of water. This practice cannot be 
too strongly condemned, for if the roots are left for 
a time submerged in water they are bound to rot. 
Another plan is to draw down all the blinds and 
leave the plants in semi-darkness; those who have 
done this know the result too well to do it again, for 
those plants with small leaves generally show their 
resentment of such vegetable barbarity by dropping 
the whole of their leaves, and those with larger ones, 
such as Palms, Aspidistras, &c., manifest their 
dislike for such treatment by assuming the most 
sickly colour possible, and often succumbing to the 
effects when winter comes on. The question natur¬ 
ally arising " How shall we treat our plants?” I 
will deal with the principle of watering first. If 
you do not care to trust them to the tender mercies 
of a neighbour, or a plant nursery is not within easy 
distance where you can have your plants looked after 
by skilled hands for a very small charge, you should 
give them a thoroughly good soaking with water by 
allowing them to stand in a pail for several minutes. 
After they have been allowed to drain for a few 
minutes they should have their pots buried to about 
i in. above the surface of the soil in moist sand, but 
not so moist that the water will run from it and 
become stagnant in the bottom of the box. Treated 
thus they will remain for several weeks without re¬ 
quiring attention, that is, if they are not in a hot or 
draughty place. Of course it is a recognised rule to 
draw down the blinds when the house is shut up, 
but the difficulty may be surmounted by putting all 
the plants in a light upper room Then there are 
the outdoor plants, which generally have but one 
chance, and that is that rain comes to their assist¬ 
ance; and it is almost certain that they would be 
denied this chance if their owners were consulted 
about the disposal of the rains during the weeks 
they are holiday making. Give the beds a thorough 
soaking again and again as late as possible before 
leaving home, and then when the water is settled 
down sufficiently to leave the soil workable stir the 
surface with the hoe. This will be a great aid to 
check excessive evaporation. 
Mulching.—All choice plants should be mulched, 
that Is, their roots covered by an inch or two of 
decayed leaves or manure if they are liable to suffer 
from drought. 
Lilies, especially Lilium auratum and such species 
as L. longifolium, which not only easily suffer from 
drought but are very liable to suffer from heat at the 
roots, should be mulched. If success is to be 
obtained in outdoor Lily culture, they must be kept 
cool at the root and also moist, but not too much so 
or they will rot. As mentioned before, they are 
best planted in a rich, light soil amongst low, open 
bushes, but where suitable bushes are not available, 
they can be grown to perfection, with a little 
additional trouble in open beds. I must again point 
out the mistake which is too often made by profes¬ 
sional gardeners, and that is having too much fresh 
manure in the soil. The roots emitted from the 
base of the bulbs should never come in contact with 
fresh manure, but should have a light, sandy soil to 
ramify in. The roots which require the manure are 
produced from the base of the stem, and are only 
just below the surface of the soil; these are the 
main feeders of the plant and must be well catered 
for, as not only have they the duty of supplying 
matter to the growing stem, but they have also to 
supply matter to be elaborated by the leaves and 
stored away in the bulb for use during the next 
season 
It is these surface roots which are liable to suffer 
from drought more than those at the base, whose 
chief function is to assist the bulb as a storehouse 
for food. I recently saw some plants of Lilium 
auratum growing in a novel and picturesque position ; 
the bulbs had been planted in tall drain pipes, 
which were stood on either side of the back door of 
a suburban villa. The pipes were hidden and pro¬ 
tected from the sun by having some of the luxuriant 
growths of a creeper trained over them. The plants 
were in a flourishing condition, and an inquiry 
elicited the information that they were from bulbs of 
the owner’s raising. It was five years since he first 
bought his stock of three bulbs, and from these he 
now has not an extensive collection, but certainly a 
good many, and it was with no small amount of 
pride that he remarked, " If these two youngsters 
produce as many blooms as their sister bulbs did 
last year, it will mean a round dozen blooms on 
each plant,” and certainly there was every appear¬ 
ance of his expectations being realised. He in¬ 
formed me that it was always good soil which he 
used, a bushel of which he purchased for his 
numerous pipes every year from a neighbouring 
nurseryman. The pipes were three parts filled with 
stones and crocks, and the remaining portion was 
filled with light soil. The bulbs when put in were 
placed on a layer of silver sand, i in. thick, and 
then covered with soil to the depth of 2 in above 
the crown of the bulb. The result has so far been 
so gratifying that I urge all readers of these columns 
to try the plan. One thing must always be borne 
in mind, and that is, keep the pipe shaded so that 
the roots can remain cool, and also see that the 
drainage does not get stopped up. If you select 
your own soil, be careful what loam you choose, for 
new loam is often infested with wireworm, and as 
they evince a special liking for Lilies one or two in 
the soil will soon make their presence felt, but not 
until it is too late to save the growth. Whether it 
is new or old loam, it will always pay to examine it 
carefully to see if there are any of these pests in it. 
Another thing that must be guarded against, 
especially when the pipe is trailed by creepers, is 
the depredations of creeping marauders, such as 
snails and slugs. A good plan to keep them off is to 
syringe the foliage with some quassia compound or 
keep the surface of the soil and the bottom few 
inches of the plants sprinlked with soot cr soot and 
lime mixed in equal proportions. 
Roses After Flowering.—When the Roses go out 
of flower, no further attention is given them, as they 
are generally considered finished for the season, and 
call for no further attention. This depends upon 
the kinds. The old fashioned garden Roses, such 
as the Damask, Provence, Cabbage, and similar 
sorts with their varieties bloom only once a season. 
The hybrid perpetuals or many of them bloom a 
second time in September or even later. The Tea 
and hybrid Tea Roses are most persistent bloomers, 
keeping on till frost cuts them down There can be 
no object in keeping faded Roses, and less necessity 
tor retaining the fruits, so that whenever they go out 
of bloom the stalks with the faded Roses should be 
cut down to a good side bud but no further. 
Loosen up the soil and cover it, if not already done, 
with stable manure of any kind or in any state com¬ 
patible with tidiness. Grass mowings will answer in 
the absence of manure. This done, give the Roses 
a good watering, and they will start into growth 
again and flower more or less abundantly according 
to their kind irom September onwards. Those who 
have a difficulty in flowering their Roses a second 
time should plant some of the hybrid Teas. 
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. 
Passion Flower with Edible Fruits. — Upton : 
Passiflora edulis is the name of the Passion Flower 
which bears the edible fruits. The flowers are blue 
and white and the fruits a dull purple colour. It 
grows best in a light greenhouse, and delights in a 
rich soil with plenty of manure water while growing. 
It is a very vigorous doer and will quickly cover a 
large space on a greenhouse roof,and not only cover 
it, but make a pretty picture in doing so. A good 
companion for it is P. sanguinea, which has a crim¬ 
son, violet and white flower. 
Climbing Fern.— Fernery : For an intermediate 
fernery we should recommend you to get either 
Lygodium japonicum or L. scandens. Both are 
easy to grow and may be obtained very cheaply in 
the markets. They require about the same treat¬ 
ment as ordinary Ferns, but must be kept syringed 
or they will become eaten up with red spider. They 
are invaluable for training up unsightly pillars in 
the fernery or warm greenhouse. A rich light soil 
suits them best. 
Isolepis gracilis. — Rex : You will find this a 
very easy subject to propagate, and if you have a 
few large pots you will have no difficulty in raising 
sufficient to make a big batch for next summer. The 
best time to set to work is in the spring.just before it 
starts into new growth. But you can pull it to 
pieces now if you are careful about the after treat¬ 
ment and do not allow it to suffer from drought. All 
it requires is turning out of the pot,pulling to pieces 
and potting up the divisions in small pots of light 
soil. If a little higher temperature than that of the 
greenhouse can be afforded when they have been 
divided, they will start away much quicker. They 
are very susceptible to drought and will not thrive 
unless plenty of moisture is given to them when the 
pots are full of roots. 
Hydrangeas.— Butler: From now until the end of 
August is the best time to take the cuttings. They 
should be of half ripened wood and about 3 in. 
long, with all but the top leaves removed. 
They strike best in a little bottom heat and must 
be shaded from the sun until they have rooted. 
Care must be taken not to excite them into growth 
too soon or they will soon become leggy. When 
the small pots are filled with roots they should be 
potted on into 48's or 6-in. pots, and then 
induced to flower, which they will generally do 
freely in the spring and early summer. They must 
be kept as cool as possible without actual frost 
during the winter, but not, as is often done, also 
kept dry at the root. 
Hibiscus.—F.: ff you take off some of the half- 
ripened shoots and insert them in pots of sandy soil 
under a bell glass they will strike easily now. 
Tomatos not Setting.— G. D.: By what we 
can gather from your account of the plants, we 
should ascribe the reason to too generous treatment 
in the way of manures. They have started into 
growth with such vigour that it will be difficult to 
check them. Thin out all the growth that is not 
required, and encourage the bloom trusses as much 
as possible. On bright days they should be gone 
over carefully with a camelhair brush, gently touch¬ 
ing the centres of all the flowers. This will be of 
great assistance to them in setting. 
Fly on Roses.— A. G.: A good wash to cure this 
is made by mixing a tablespoonful of common 
petroleum with a handful of soft soap. When the 
oil has been thoroughly kneaded into the soap dis¬ 
solve the mass in two gallons of cold soft water. 
This will be found very effective for all kinds of 
blight, and unless the growth is very tender it will 
not hurt any trees or shrubs. If a handful of 
sulphur is mixed in the soap with the oil it will also 
answer as a check and preventative to fungoid 
diseases. 
Dictamnus Fraxinella.—S. S.: This old garden 
favourite is best propagated by pieces of the fleshy 
root in the spring or by seeds. When seeds are 
resorted to they should be sown as soon as:they are 
ripe Propagation by the root is by far the best 
means, as they produce better plants in a shorter 
time. 
Maidenhair Fern in Baskets.—S. P .: It is not 
a very satisfactory basket plant unless the proper 
conditions are available; these are a warm and 
moist, shady bouse. The plant never does well when 
grown in baskets in the dwelling house, and will not 
usually live under those conditions many weeks. 
