1054 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 26, 1903. 
WORK OF THE WEEK. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
The year 1903, which is now fast drawing to a close, can 
safely be described as one of the wettest on record. At the 
time of writing, December 16th, we have registered here 
exactly 37-| in.., and in many parts: of the country the fall has 
been, much greater in, proportion, to the acreage, and during 
my experience 1 have never encountered so much difficulty in 1 
preparing the soil and bringing forward the various crops in, 
connection with the kitchen garden,. Having to deal with soil 
which is of a veiy stiff, retentive nature has: made the work 
much more arduous, and some kinds of vegetables have abso¬ 
lutely refused to make any headway. However, it is no use 
complaining, and we must look forward for better time® during 
the coming year. 
Clearing up. —It has always been, my ambition since I have: 
been in the position of head gardener to endeavour as far as 
possible to clear the ground of leaves: and rubbish and to make 
everything look smart, and tidy by the end of the dying year, 
so that a, fair start can be made in, the new one 1 , and I would 
strongly advise' all young men, to follow this practice, feeling 
sure that by so doing they will never regret it,. In every walk 
of life, but especially in that in relation to gardening, a, proper 
method must be insisted on, without which the highest success 
cannot be achieved. 
Forcing by means of artificial heat in some form or another 
will now demand much attention, and to those who are for¬ 
tunate enough to have every modern convenience: at, hand this 
is very much simplified, but there are very many who are not 
so favoured, and at the same time are often expected to pro¬ 
duce large quantities of early vegetables under great difficul¬ 
ties. 
Much may be done in this respect on, ordinary hotbeds, and 
when these are properly prepared very excellent results will 
follow. The position, for the frame-yard should be an, open: 
sunny one, but- sheltered as much as possible from the north 
and east winds. The beds should be built up in a workmanlike 
manner, and the frames arranged to, face south. The material 
used should consist of three parts good leaves and one part 
long stable litter, thoroughly mixed and trodden well down. 
Sufficient should be placed together to create a, nice gentle 
heat; there is always far greater danger of too much rather 
than too, little warmth, and the warmth should always be on, 
the decline before placing the soil thereon. Potato®, Carrots, 
Radishes, and Asparagus are each easily brought to, perfection 
in this way. The compost suited for the various, subjects 
should be prepared, thoroughly mixed and placed under cover, 
which can easily be done when the weather is unfavourable, for 
outside work. Young Carrots are always: much appreciated, 
and no, pains should be spared to produce these at their best, 
and when sufficient frame® are available these may be success¬ 
fully produced in this way all through the year. A good depth 
of finely-sifted compost ought always to be arranged for, and 
this should consist of well-decayed leaf-soil, light- loam free 
from wireworm, and road grit in. equal proportions, and to- 
every four barrow-loads add 1 peck each of soot, and wood- 
ashes. A splendid early variety for sowing now is Carters’ 
Long Forcing, which matures quic.kly, and makes- very little 
top. 
Asparagus. —Almost any kind of soil of a medium texture 
will suffice for bringing this forward, but to, be successful in, 
Asparagus culture always keep in mind that the roots 
should not be exposed to the air longer than is- absolutely 
necessary, and to follow this crop the same beds will answer 
well for successional Potato® and Turnips. 
Peas. — Make another go-od sowing of suitable sorts in, pots 
or thinly in drills in deep, pits. Very early sowings:, which 
are now pushing through the soil, should be placed in, a light 
cool position, and aired freely during mild weather, and the 
same applies to Broad Bean®. 
Leeks. —Make a small sowing of seed either in boxes or 
small pots about the first week in the New Year. If large 
specimens are required for exhibition purposes, raise in a, 
gentle heat. International and a good strain of the Lyon 'are 
both good for early work. Onions should also be sown at in¬ 
tervals of about ten days during January. Home-sown seed 
will, I fear, germinate badly next year, consequently rather 
more seed should be sown. 
Cauliflowers. —For producing heads early in spring, those 
which were sown during last month should now be ready for 
potting on singly in 60 pots, and when ready transferred into 
7 in. and 8 in. sizes. Such varieties as early forcing Snowball 
and Magnu-m Bonus -answer well to this treatment. Others to 
follow should be planted in cold frames on old disused hotbeds. 
Make another small sowing of Autumn Giant, Early London, 
Walcheren, and Magnum Bonum in. a. gentle heat. 
E. Beckett. 
Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree, Herts. 
Hardy Trees and Shrubs. 
Now that all the leaves have fallen, it will be advisable to 
collect them a,s soon as possible, as there are few things more 
valuable in a garden than a goo-d supply of leaf mould, and 
these can be thickly stored in pens or whatever place is used 
for the purpose,, and by raking them off the shrubberies and 
borders these will present, .a nea-t and tidy appearance by the 
end of the present year, which is an .excellent practice if it can 
possibly be done. When raking out the leaves from under¬ 
neath evergreen and large trees the branches should be held 
up carefully, so that they are not damaged, and any other 
rubbish can also 1 be removed ia,t the same time. 
Top-dressing Shrubberies.— It is a very good practice with 
shrubberies that have become somewhat, worn out to give them 
a good top-dressing .any time now. A good loam will answer 
admirably for this purpose, hut if it can be spared some de¬ 
cayed leaf soil should be freely mixed, and take advantage of 
frosty weather for wheeling it on to the border. The older 
occupants will be greatly stimulated by so doing, and newly- 
planted one® will also be considerably benefited. This opera¬ 
tion does not entail much time or labour, and one will be 
amply repaid for carrying it out. 
Some Useful Barberries —There are several varieties of 
Berberis which are of great value to English planters, and many 
of the evergreen kinds, in addition to the various ways in 
which they may be used, are almost indispensable as flowering 
shrubs. Succeeding, as: they all do, in almost any soil, no special 
preparations: are necessary when planting, except that the soil 
should be well dug or trenched, and those varieties which are 
planted singly to form specimens: should, if possible, be left 
undisturbed. B. Aquifolium, the Holly-leaved Barberry, is 
perhaps the ( best variety for massing in quantity to form 
covert®, etc., as it, forms a dense ma,ss of foliage, and will grow 
well .anywhere. As a flowering shrub it is very handsome, 
being -covered in spring with great numbers of sweetly-scented 
yellow flowers, which are succeeded by quantities of plum- 
coloured fruits. At this season, too, the foliage becomes almost 
scarlet in colour, which is useful for cutting purposes, and 
lasts a long time. 
B. wallichiana or Hookerii is another dense-growing species, 
and can be used in a: similar way to the preceding. The 
foliage is large, very spiny, and an intense green in colour, and 
the flowers, which are produced in abundance, are clear yellow 
and very showy. The long purple fruits are also ornamental. 
B. Darwinii is one of the most ornamental, and better known 
than many, and is most suitable for forming specimens in the 
shrubbery, where it grows from 8 ft. to 10 ft. in height. During 
spring the orange-coloured flower® arei produced in'suoh quan¬ 
tities as to make this one of the most valuable flowering 
shrubs. B. stenophylla, is worthy of a place in a,ny collection 5 , 
whether for planting in the border or a® a specimen on the 
gra-s®, where the long, pendulous branches 1 can be seen to the 
