June 2*7, 1903. 
the garden I no world . 
549 
Choose a bright, warm day, and spray carefully with a, fine 
sprayer or syringe. Keep the house well damped on the floors 
and stages in warm days, and resort to free ventilation 
through the lower ventilators. 
With plants that have just passed out of flower, having three 
or more bulbs, if it is desirable to increase the stock, the rhi¬ 
zome between the bulbs may be cut asunder at the present time, 
and if left in the pots will probably produce new growths, which 
will be ready for removal at the season of repotting, at the 
end of August or beginning of September. When thus cut 
asunder without disturbing the roots there is always a. better 
prospect of the bulb producing new growth. H. J. 
Hardy Fruits. 
Summer Pruning. —This is a good time to commence this 
necessary operation, taking the wall trees first, as they are 
usually much in advance of trees in the open. The upper 
part of the tree should first receive attention, allowing a few 
days to intervene before doing the lower part, so as hot to 
give the tree too great a check, reserving the requisite exten¬ 
sion shoots where space admits, and a few others to take the 
place of maybe worn-out or decayed branches, which in stone 
iruit are apt to go at short notice. Extra robust shoots may 
have their points pinched; otherwise they should be fastened 
back their entire length with raffia, or nail and shred, unless 
twigs of piivet or thin piece® of lath are made to do duty until 
the winter re-arrangement of branches. In shortening back 
the breastwood cut close to a leaf, but not within 4 in°of the 
shoot s origin, as this would tend to throw out secondary shoots 
neai the base if pinned back to a couple of inches, as is some¬ 
times seen, instead of forming fruit-buds later on. 
We tackle the Plum first and then the Pear, Currants, and 
Gooseberries', as we have the two latter against north walls to 
prolong the supply, and by the time the walls are gone over, 
trees in the open, such as the Pear, Apple and Plum, will be 
ready for the knife. Gather up all primings each day, as they 
contain aphis or the- destructive little, maggot which does so 
much mischief to fruit and young growths in early spring, if 
the trees are neglected in their early stages. It is to be feared 
thinning of the fruits this season will not take up much time 
of the gardener, but Plums are apt to set much too thickly in 
places, that, unless a percentage are removed, the individual 
fruits cannot swell up to their normal size, especially such large 
varieties as Victoria, Pond’s Seedling, Magnum Bon.um, Czar, 
Monarch, and Diamond, all kitchen varieties. Should much 
fly still abound on the trees, syringe with quassia extract or 
“ Abol ” wash, and thoroughly engine or hose the trees next 
morning. Pears and, I am much afraid. Apples will be a 
sparse crop, and very little thinning will need be done. 
Apricots.—There is a nice sprinkling of fruit on most of 
our trees, which should be finally thinned to about 6 in. apart, 
but the severe weather during April gave them somewhat of a 
check, though the fruit has held on ; but many of the leaves 
fell off, many appearing as though they had been scorched or 
struck by lightning. Train in the necessary shoots, avoiding 
anything approaching crowding, and pinch at the first leaf 
sub-laterals, examining the fruit to see that it has plenty of 
space to swell up, removing ties or nails likely to prevent this 
before it mars the fruit. Respecting young trees, which for 
a year or two are apt to grow strong in spite of transplanting, 
pinch the point of any shoot unduly taking the lead to the 
disadvantage of weaker ones. This remark: holds good for 
fruit trees of all kinds, whether on walls or in the open. The 
late rains will have lessened the use of artificial watering, and 
up to the time these lines were penned the weather has been 
too cold to think much about mulching, which should only 
be replaced when really warm, rather hot weather sets in. 
Current Work. —Examine growths and loosen the clay, see¬ 
ing that the ties are also loose and not preventing the swelling 
of the union. Support the scions: with a stick, tying it on 
the stock first, as the wind is liable to twist them out when 
a bit heavy with foliage. That horrid pest, American blight, 
should be kept under by touching the affected parts on the 
older wood with paraffin, using a small painter’s tool for the 
work. Young wood should be touched over with “Abol” or 
quassia extract., keeping it away from the foliage as much as 
possible. The showery weather experienced the past few 
weeks will have favoured the increase of weeds among fruit 
quarters, so. take the first opportunity of working the flat hoe 
between the trees or bushes. The' Strawberry crop is most 
promising, but diy, warm weather is needed now to ripen the 
crop, or much of the fruit must invariably be spoilt. Royal 
Sovereign again leads as regards weight of crop, closely fol¬ 
lowed by President, still one of the best-flavoured varieties 
crown. James Mayne, Bictcn, Devonshire. 
Hardy Trees and Shrubs. 
Gardm Roses.— Of all the forms of Roses we now have at 
our disposal there are none better suited for general culti\ at ion 
than these. It matters not how small the garden or how 
limited the space, some may be cultivated, and there are various 
methods of so doing. One may grow varieties for pegging 
down on the edge of the shrubbery so. as to form dwarf beds, 
and also have the tall-growing climbers suitable for pillars, 
arches, etc. The general opinion is that to grow climbing 
Roses one must have unlimited space; but this is not soy and 
especially in small gardens and shrubberies is the practice of 
making pillars to be recommended. For this purpose larch 
poles are very serviceable, and last for years in a good con¬ 
dition. These should be let into the ground fully 3 ft., and to 
preserve them a good coating of tar to the part which is to 
be buried will prevent the damp ground from causing them 
to rot, A height of 12 ft, or more out of ground will hot be 
too much, and as a support some good struts of wood should 
be firmly placed round the base. Some of the shoots can be 
trained over these, and the appearance will thereby be en¬ 
hanced. When planting, if the soil is of an unsuitable nature, 
a good hole should be taken out and a compost- consisting of 
loam and old farmyard manure placed in, and see that the 
ground is not water-logged, as this is often the cause of many 
failures. I strongly advise all lovers of hardy subjects to make 
an effort to plant these. 
There is now such a host of varieties suitable for this pur¬ 
pose that lovers of these can make a selection as to colour, 
etc., to suit their own taste, but as far as possible it is advis¬ 
able to plait those varieties which give a succession of bloom 
from June till late in the autumn. When the first crop of 
flowers is over, the shoots should be pruned back and the 
ground pricked up around the poles. Give a good dressing of 
decayed manure and a- thorough soaking of farmyard liquid, 
which will greatly assist in prolonging the flowering period. 
The recent heavy rains have greatly helped the plants, but 
should a hot dry spell follow the necessary precaution must 
be taken to see that- insect, pests do- not make their appearance, 
and frequent waterings will also be necessary. 
The hybrid Sweet Briers raised by the late Lord Penzance 
are very suitable for treating in this way, but among them 
there is a great similarity, and the most distinct will be found 
among the following : —Meg Merrilies, very deep rose ; Brenda, 
clear pink ; Anne of Giersfein, rich crimson ; Rose Bradwar- 
dine, clear rose; Lady Penzance, pale copper; and Amy 
Robsart, reddish crimson. 
Dwarf beds growing on. the fronts or points of shrubberies 
will now need pegging down, and this should not be done so 
as to give the bed a perfectly flat appearance, but leave some 
of the shorter shoots for pegging down at a future date. 
Bed of Azaleas and Rhododendrons. —The flowers of these 
have been quite spoilt by the heavy rains, and the blooms 
should now be picked off. If the beds are raked over they will 
present a very neat appearance. General work in the shrub¬ 
bery will consist of giving an occasional hoeing to keep down 
