May 2, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
301 
The Flower Garden. 
Hardening: Bedding: Plants, 
The time has now come when many kinds 
>f beddiilg-ouit subjects must be hardened 
ireparatory to putting them in their summer 
quarters. This hardening process must be 
gradual, hu-t -thorough. How often one sees 
beautiful plants taken direct from the shelter 
>f the frames and planted in the open bor- 
lers. Great care had been bestowed upon 
he plants up to this point, -then they were 
.00 suddenly fully exposed to the weather. 
411 this should be avoided during the pre¬ 
sent season. When a plant gets a serious 
heck through premature exposure it is often 
rippled for the irest of the summer months, 
lut when it is gradually exposed it continues 
o gain in strength after being planted in 
he bed. 
Fig. 1 shows a simple way to harden bed- 
iing plants. A wall is. here given as a back¬ 
ground, and advantage should be taken of 
my available wall or fence. But a few 
ticks driven into the ground to support some 
ross sticks on which mats may be laid at 
light, will answer the purpose, too. A, 
>lants; B. B., laths, or sticks to support the 
overing material. Zonal Geraniums, Fuch- 
ias, Ageratums, Pyrethrums, Lobelia, Helio¬ 
rope, Gazanias, Nasturtiums, Asters, Tu- 
erous Begonias, Gannas, and similar plants 
hould be finally hardened in such positions. 
■owing: Hardy Annuals. 
Where these are sown in the open border 
t will be found that clumps of distinct kinds 
nil look better than single plants mixed, 
■ne of one kind and another of some other 
find. Large masses look better on broad 
orders than small clumps. But in every >in- 
tance where the seeds germinate freely the 
eedlings must be duly thinned out. And 
fter you have sown -the seeds protect them 
rom injury by birds, cats, dogs, or fowls, 
he following kinds will be sufficient to pro¬ 
file a brilliant display in a garden of me- 
ium size, and should be sown freely; other 
dnds, perhaps, less freely :—Galliopsis, 
alendula, Clarkias, Comvoilwulus, Cyanus 
-ornflower), Eschscholitzia, Godetias, Lark- 
purs, Linaria, Linum, Love-Lies-Bleeding, 
upins, Mat thiol a bicornis (Night-scented 
tock), Mignonette, Nasturtiums, Nemophila, 
iigella, Sweet Peas, Poppies, Sweet Sultan, 
unflowers, and Virginian Stock, 
ahlias. 
Rooted cuttings should be potted singly as 
on as they possess a nice quantity of roots, 
or about ten days after the potting has been 
.ne keep the plants in a warm frame, pre- 
uably on a hotbed, then harden them in 
admess for planting in the open border. 
*feet Peas, 
, The planting of pot-raised plants should 
■ completed now as scon as possible. If put 
it in rows, plant each potful one foot apart 
zig-zag manner, not in a straight line, 
put out in clumps form a circle, two feet 
diameter, with five potfuls of plants. Do 
t put out the plants close together, nor any 
ants inside the circle of plants. 
ie Reserve Borders. 
As the spring-flowering subjects will soon 
1 ■ ed to make -room for the summer bed- 
c a j^ s ’ l ^ le in the reserve garden 
1st be dug and got ready for the plants. 
Fig-. 1. A simple way to harden tedding 
■plants A, at the foot of a wall; B B, frame¬ 
work to support mats for shelter at night. 
Fig. 2. Supports for Strawberry nets. 
Fig. 3. A, A, double rows of Runner Beans , 
14 in. apart, and 5 ft. asunder; B, line of 
Spinach or Lettuces. 
It is unwise to leave this necessary work un¬ 
til the plants are actually lifted. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Protecting; Strawberries. 
The birds are ever watchful for ripe fruit, 
especially Strawberries, so I think, and un¬ 
less some protection be afforded the owner 
will not gather the first ripe berries. Some 
growers lay the nets on the plants, but this 
is a bad way, and only partially protects 
the berries, as the birds can peck them 
through the meshes. Others erect elaborate 
framework on which to place the nets. This 
is unnecessarily expensive, and does not 
serve the purpose any better than the follow¬ 
ing plan, namely, the erection of a few 
strong posts similar to those shown in Fig. 2 
at A, and with wires, or stout cord stretched 
from post to post, the ends of the latter being 
wrapped in hay or straw to prevent the nets 
getting torn when they are taken off and re¬ 
placed. The straw caps are shown at B, and 
the wires at C. 
Disbudding; Vines, 
Where \- ines are grown on Walls the young 
shoots, which are now growing freely, should 
be thinned out. Old rods generally produce 
a cluster of -new shoots on each spur, and if 
all were left on to grow the result would be 
overcrowding. If the spurs are about one 
foot apart (taking them in order on both 
sides of the rod) rub off all young shoots ex¬ 
cept the strongest one on each spur. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Sowing; Runner Beans. 
The gardener who has only so-wn a few 
seeds of -these Beans before this date has 
acted wisely, as the plants never grow and 
crop freely after they have been checked by 
cold weather, and especially slightly frosty 
air at night time. T-he resultant plants 
from seeds sown now will grow apace and 
bear heavy cro-ps. In all cases where pos¬ 
sible one -long row is more satisfactory than 
several growing side by side, unless ample 
space be given them. 
Fig. 3 shows how to arrange the rows in 
the latter instance. The rows A, A, repre¬ 
sent -the seeds sown in double Lines at least 
14 inches apart, the rows being 5 feet asun¬ 
der, and the one nearest the end or edge of 
the -bed, 18 inches from the path, or alley. 
Between the rows of Beans at B, a crop of 
Spinach or Lettuces may be grown, but it 
is unwise to plant -Cabbages, Cauliflowers, 
or similar crops, as they would unduly rob 
the Beans. 
Beetroot. 
Sow the seeds for the main crop of Beet 
forthwith. Well tilled ground is essential 
for this crop, and it must be free from 
strawy -manure, stones, and hard, unbroken 
lumps of soil. As a rule the roots are very 
coarse when seeds are sown too early, hut 
you may reasonably expect -to have a very 
satisfactory lot of roots from seeds sown at 
the present time. Draw out drills 18 inches 
apart, and 1 inch deep. Drop the seeds about 
3 inches asunder in the rows and cover them 
with light -soil. 
Early Potatos. 
Draw up soil to early Potatos growing on 
warm borders, and continue to hoe the soil 
beltween the rows of others that are j-ust 
breaking through -the soil, as the operation 
promotes growth and destroys -tiny weeds. 
Vacant Ground. 
Quarters intended for the Winter Greens 
should be deeply dug and manured, and 
where, as is often the case, these plants must 
be grown in the same quarter year after 
year, dig in half a peck of agricultural salt 
on every rod of ground. 
Foxglove. 
