644 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 13, 1904. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Much, care and attention will now have to be bestowed on 
many of the crops cultivated in the kitchen garden to ensure 
a continuous supply of the best vegetables during winter' and 
spring. Very many things will have to bei sown at frequent 
intervals!, timely thinned, and in many cases the surplus plants 
should be replanted in the warmest and most sheltered parts 
of the garden. It is simply impossible to lay down anything 
like a hard and fast rule as to the date of sowing, even, in any 
■one given district, so very much depends on the soil one 
has to deal with and the climatic conditions, and this also* 
applies to the particular locality in which one resides 1 . To 
ensure success the safest plan is to make several small sowings 
at intervals of .about a week or ten days, according to the 
demands likely to be made on one’s resources. Another very 
important item in relation to high class kitchen garden pro¬ 
ductions is the selection of varieties, and in all cases money is 
well spent in procuring the very best and most reliable. 
Tidiness. —Unfortunately it is not always possible from lack 
of labour to keep this branch of gardening in such a pleasing 
condition aisi it deserves, and unquestionably it is principally 
owing to this that the kitchen garden is looked upon merely 
as a necessity instead of being as interesting as other parts. 
All crops as soon as they have done their duty should be 
cleared from the ground as soon as possible, and taken away 
to the yard set apart for all kinds of rubbish. No weeds 
should be allowed to seed, and when from any cause they are 
anything like approaching this stage they should be cleared 
off and burned, and every piece of ground made tidy. 
Celery.-— Continue to earth up and blanch the earlier plant¬ 
ings of these, but before doing so be absolutely certain, that 
the roots are made thoroughly moist. Remove all suckers 
and split leaves, and place a good dressing of soot round the 
base of the plant. The earthing up is best performed during 
the middle of the day when the plants are quite diy, and, if 
possible, three pairs of hands should be employed, two for 
breaking up finely and adding the soil, and the other for 
pressing it firmly about the plants. Never add too much soil 
at one time, especially so on stiff heavy land, or the yo-ung 
leaves are likely to become crippled and spoiled. The later 
batches are now growing away freely; these will require 
abundance of moisture, both clear and liquid manure water, 
at the root* and in dry weather good drenchings overhead 
will benefit them much. Frequent dustings of soot over .the 
foliage should be given in early morning, which does much to 
prevent tire Celery fly laying its eggs', but is of little use after 
this has once been done, and it frequently does much damage 
twice during the year, when the plants are quite young, and 
again in the autumn; as most people will remember, last year 
it was exceptionally bad. 
Leeks. —These should also be earthed up at frequent inter¬ 
vals before the plants become too large, otherwise it is im¬ 
possible to get any length of blanch. 
Cardoons.— These will require liberal feeding and abund¬ 
ance of moisture at the root. They take a considerable time 
to become perfectly blanched, without which they are of little 
use. I know of no better plan than first binding brown paper 
round them, then hay bands, and finally add plenty of soil. 
Seakale.—Ply the hoe frequently through the rows, and in 
showery weather apply a, dressing of patient vegetable manure, 
doing everything to encourage good strong crowns. Gene¬ 
rally this crop promises well for next year’s supply. 
Cucumbers.— Sow «oed of a good free bearing winter variety, 
singly, in small 60 pots, and raise in a gentle heat. These 
should be grown along as sturdily as possible, near the glas>, 
and planted out in the Cucumber house when ready. Plants 
raised and properly treated at this season should continue to 
give good returns till mid-winter. 
Tomatos should alsoi be sown for winter use’. I know of 
no better variety than Sutton’s Winter Beauty. 
E. -Beckett. 
Aldenbam House Gardens', Elstree. 
The Stove and Greenhouse. 
Pelargoniums. — As 1 these go out of flower the amount of 
water should be lessened, and they should be placed in a sunny 
position in the open to ripen the young wood. When this has 
■become of a nut-brown hue, cut the plants down to within an 
inch of the point at which the shoot started from the old 
wood, or if the plants are only one year old, then cut each 
growth nearly to the maim stem. Cuttings' of the half-ripened 
shoots; root readily if inserted round the sides of 3|-in. pots 
filled with a sweet, sandy compost of loam and leaf-soil. Place 
in a frame that is aired daily to exclude damp 1 , and when, well 
rooted pot off singly. ’Where it is intended to again grow on 
the old plants 1 , they should be laid on their sides in a partially- 
shaded spot in the open" for -two or three weeds’ rest. Shake 
out most of the old soil from among the roots, and after 
pruning back the stoutest of the roots, repot into as small pots 
as they can conveniently be got into. The plants should then 
be placed in, a, cold frame and encouraged to grow by syringing 
twice or thrice daily, and by closing the lights early in the 
afternoon. A suitable compost for this type of Pelargonium 
consists of two parts good loam, one of leaf-soil, and one of 
decayed manure, with plenty of road or river sand added. 
Lachenalias. —This South African bulbous plant ranks high 
among greenhouse subjects, and is one of the easiest to cul¬ 
tivate. As; regards't he time for potting up the bulbs, much 
depends upon when they arei wanted to' flower. In gardens 
where large numbers are grown:, it is well to prolong the season 
of flowering by potting up’ a dozen, or two of pots at intervals 
of ten days; the first batch may be potted at once, and the 
remaining bulbs should be kept dry and cool, in order to 
retard them until potted. Select only the largest and best- 
matured bulbs, and place eight in a 6-in. pot. The compost 
we use consists:' of equal parts loam, leaf-soil and decayed 
manure, with sharp sand added. The Lachenalia requires 
abundance of water at, the root when in active growth, but 
until this takesi place keep on 1 the dry side 1 . A frame is a 
suitable structure in which to start them, and here they may 
remain until the approach of frosty nights', when they must be 
removed to a shelf near the roof-glass in an airy greenhouse 
for tire winter. The apex of the bulb should remain visible 
when, potted ; they should not he entirely buried. 
Freesias. — Precisely the same remarks as the preceding 
apply to Freesias, and noi time should be lost, in potting them 
up if early flowers are wanted, for, like the Lachenalias, these 
bulbs resent hard forcing, therefore it will be obvious; that early 
potting is necessary if good results are to be achieved. 
Hydrangeas. —The present is a good time to insert cuttings 
of the half-ripened shoots of the current season’s growth for 
producing strong young plants for flowering in the greenhouse 
next spring and summer. These plants carry but one large 
head of blossom the first year, and, generally speaking, such 
plant's are more useful for general purposes than the older ones 
that carry, perhaps, half a dozen heads. Insert the cuttings 
in any light, sandy soil, and place them in a, close and shaded 
frame until rooted, when they may be potted up singly, and 
after re-establishing them in these potsi, remove them to a 
light shelf in. the greenhouse, where water should gradually, 
be withheld for the winter months. The species' H. bortensis 
contains many beautiful varieties, and all are worthy of this 
mode of culture. II. paniculata gTandiflora also lends itself 
