418 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 21. 1904. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
The weather during the past few weeks has been, all one 
could desire for kitchen-garden operations, and seldom, if ever, 
have the crops looked more promising generally than they do 
at the moment of writing, and we may now reasonably hope, 
though we are by no means certain, to escape any severe late 
frosts. The puzzle in connection with kitchen-garden work at 
this time of the year is: to: know which job to doi first, and it 
taxes the skill even of the most practical to do' everything in 
order and at the right moment. There is scarcely a crop under 
way. but needs almost daily attention, and it is only by 
dogged determination that the work can be accomplished 
satisfactorily. 
Potatos.—Early varieties on south borders arei now well 
above the ground. These should be well moulded up and 
protection, afforded them during the evening whenever frost is 
likely to occur. Immediately the young growths, of the main, 
plantations are sufficiently high to he seen a, careful and 
thorough flat-hoeing should he given, at the same time break¬ 
ing up' any clods of earth as finely as possible. When extra fine 
specimens for exhibition are required the weaker growths 
should he removed, which can easily be done by drawing them 
out with the hand. These' will break away at the old tuber 
and enable the remaining growths to grow away much more 
freely. 
Peas. — The earlier batches of these are looking particu¬ 
larly well, and, contrary to the last few seasons, these should 
be ready for picking at the normal time. To assist the early 
varieties, to mature more quickly, the points of the growths 
should be pinched out after a reasonable amount of bloom has 
shown. Give a slight application of some reliable patent 
vegetable' manure, and thoroughly water in should the weather 
be dry. Attend to the sticking and training of successiona! 
stronger-growing varieties, such as: Duke of Albany, Telephone, 
Edwin Beckett and Alderman ; the Pea-sticks are not always 
sufficient, to keep these' within, bounds. The strongest should 
either he tied with broad pieces of bast to the stakes, or when 
time cannot bei found for this, two or three lengths of stout 
tarred cord should he stretched along the rows, and to procure 
extra fine pods for the show table of these stopping must also 
be resorted to. All further sowings, which should be done at 
intervals of every few days, should be sown thinly in well-pre¬ 
pared trenches, and on very poor and unsuitable land it will 
well repay if the trenches can be partly filled with a fresh 
compost of loam, leaf-soil, and manure in about equal propor¬ 
tions!. One off the chief items of success in late Pea, culture is 
to allow plenty of room not only from plant to plant, but 
between the rows also. It is a safe plan to make sure of the 
crop, to sow the seed just as thick again as it is intended for 
them to remain,, thinning them out, after. Webbs’ Masterpiece, 
a grand late Pea, Autocrat, and Gladstone are among the best 
and most reliable late varieties. 
Leeks.—The main plantation, should be made either in 
trenches or dibbled in in deep holes as soon as the plants are 
large enough. Very late sowings which arei intended for next 
spring’s supply should be pricked off in the open on, a finely 
prepared piece of ground. 
Vegetable Marrows.—The early plantings of these on hot¬ 
beds will now be giving plenty of fruit. Care should be taken 
not to allow the growths to become' too thick. Stop and thin, 
out much in the same way as Cucumbers. Air freely, and on, 
mild, balmy days remove the lights entirely, give good 
drenchings of farmyard liquid manure when the plants are in 
full bearing, and give a surface dressing of loam, rotten manure 
and leaf-soil. Later plants may now safely be put out, into 
their permanent positions, providing they have been tho¬ 
roughly hardened and care is exercised to protect the n in ca s- 
of frosts. 
Tomatos.—Strong plants of these which have been specially 
grown for the purpose and have been well hardened should lie 
planted on walls or fences in an, open, sunny position as soon 
as possible. But these will need covering at night for at least 
a fortnight, and on cold, stormy days also. It is well to bear 
in mind that it is practically worthless to attempt outdoor 
culture of the Tomato from small late-sown plants. 
E. Beckett. 
Aldenham House Gardens,, Elstree. 
Hardy Trees and Shrubs. 
Shrubs with Ornamental Foliage in Spring.—In a repre¬ 
sentative collection of trees and shrubs there are a large 
number with highly ornamental leafage during the earlier 
months of the year, many of which retain their colouring till 
the fall of the leaf, and it, is surprising that these are not more 
largely grown; in place of the commoner kinds, such as Laurels, 
Privets, Box, etc., which, unfortunately, one sees far too often. 
But with the increasing interest in, this particular phase cl 
horticulture, and I venture to say there is no branch which 
affords more pleasure, one may expect to find these beautiful 
shrubs more generally cultivated and shown a higher appre¬ 
ciation. When planting a shrubbery, whether it be of large 
or small dimensions 1 , it is necessary to have some variety 
with brightly-coloured foliage to render it as pleasing as pos¬ 
sible-and to break up the monotony of green-leaved kinds, anc 
a,s all those, mentioned below are excellent for the purpose and 
also inexpensive, they can be recommended to all who are de¬ 
sirous of producing the best effects with tree and shrub plant¬ 
ing. The Japanese Maples must be given a, foremost place 
among this class, and there arei no other foliaged shrubs which 
surpass their exquisite beauty. They are quite hardy and grow 
freely when established, the only precaution being to give 
them a slight protection when, late spring frosts are likely tc 
occur. They are generally regarded as only being suitable foi 
pot culture, but this is an erroneous idea, and though they are 
excellent, for growing under glass, there is no- reason why some 
should not be included in any shrubbery. The most show} 
would be found among the following: A. palmatum atropur 
pureum, A. p. dissectum rubram, with very finely-divided 
leaves, A. p. linearilohum afropurpureum, and A. p. septemlo 
bum elegans purpureum, all of which have deep purple foliage 
A. p. sanguineum is very- bright red'; A. p. roseo-inarginatun 
is beautifully marked with pink ; A. japonicum aureum, 
bright golden, and A. j. filicifolium, which is rendered con¬ 
spicuous 1 by the manner in, which the leaves are divided. 
The most beautiful Maple that I ant acquainted with among 
the other sections is A. Pseudo-plat,anus Prince Handjerv. 
which has .foliage of a reddish-pink colour. Grown, as a 
standard, it is particularly showy, and the leaves assume a 
paler colour a,s nqw growth is made. A. Pseudo-platanus 
Simon, Louis Frere is also a splendid variety, irregularly 
variegated with pink, white and green. 
There are several other shrubs with purple foliage, the 
best of which, Primus c eras if era atropurpurea, mentioned 
before; -Ik Berberis vulgaris foliis purpureis, which succeeds 
well in any position, and colours very highly when, planted on 
chalk. The purple Nut, Gorylus maxima atropurpurea,, is a 
very intense' colour and fine for massing. If pruned hard 
every year it sends up a quantity of suckers, which is the best 
way of obtaining large foliage. 
Silvery-leaved shrubs are not numerous, hut they are con 
spicuous, especially when a fair-sized specimen has been made 
Pyrus, Aria or the White Bean is, perhaps, the best known, 
and in addition to its foliage the flowers are also showy, anc- 
these are succeeded by bright red fruits. This has a gooc. 
variety-—namely, P. Aria chrysophylla,, which, if pruned care 
fully when young, will make a well-shaped specimen. Pyrin 
pinnatifida is a, very pleasing shrub, also with silvery leaves. 
