July 4, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
447 
:ees. The snails cling to the wall, out of 
ight during the day time, but travel over 
luch space during the night, eating a por- 
on of many fruits. They rarely finish a 
hole fruit. Turn aside the leaves and look 
nder the wall coping, where you find your 
ruits eaten, and you will either find snails 
r shells, or caterpillars at work at night, 
feeds Under Bush Fruits. 
Examine the ground beneath the bushes 
f Currants and Gooseberries, and if weeds 
5 found pull them up and take them away. 
few weeds left to mature their seeds while 
ie fruit is ripening would cause much 
•ouble later on owing to the numerous seed- 
ngs that would spring up in the autumn. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
arthing up Celery. 
The first earthing of early Celery should 
ow be done. The soil placed to the plants 
ruses blanching of the stalks of the latter 
nd not growth. Indeed the added soil pre- 
snts moisture reaching the -roots, and so 
inders growth. Therefore, you should be 
are to apply water to the plants as re- 
uired. The first earthing up soil keeps 
ie stalks of the plants together and corn- 
act. . The soil should be taken from the 
idges A A, and placed at B B, being 
ghtly pressed against the Celery C. 
Water the plants thoroughly first, and also 
fter the earthing through holes made in 
ie soil B B. 
warf Beans. 
Apply a rich mulch to the plants and 
sep them growing freely. The pods on 
lants grown in a rich soil at this season 
re always very straight and tender. I am 
jferring to young plants raised from seeds 
jcently sown, 
xhausted Crops. 
Peas, Dwarf and Broad Beans, Spinach, 
nd similar crops, which are now exhausted, 
tiould be cleared off the ground without 
elay, so that other kinds of vegetables may 
e grown there. Vacant ground should not 
e ^derated now; make all the use possibl'e 
f every plot. Burn all Pea and Bean 
aulm and all other rubbish possible, and 
;turn the ashes to the soil. 
Then prepare the ground for late Turnips, 
auliflowers, Savoys, and similar crops. 
Foxglove. 
he Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
reenhouse Work. 
The enthusiast who has the welfare of his 
lants at heart should use the'syringe twice 
day if possible, that is, morning and even- 
ig, and all plants not in bloom will wel- 
rme the refreshing spray. “ Damping 
own ” the borders and stages will also tend 
I) keep the atmosphere moist and cool, 
voiding that dry, scorching heat which is 
etrimental to the welfare of the majority 
f subjects. 
Woodlice, beetles and other insect pests 
re very much in evidence just now, and 
iould be diligently hunted for, and if pos- 
ble exterminated. A toad is a very useful 
reature to keep their numbers down, but 
nfortunately he will at times ‘insist on 
raking himself a snuggery ’midst a box of 
■nder seedlings. Many of the annuals will 
ow be making a brave show, and the bene- 
ts of “pinching back” if consistently 
irried out will be apparent in the stocky 
ower-laden specimens, in contrast to the 
inky “one truss” plants that have been 
llowed to run up at will. Remove all 
owers when they commence to fade, for if 
llowed to run to seed the blossoming period 
’ill be considerably shortened, 
olanums. 
The berry-bearin? S. Capsicastrum (whose 
range-scarlet berries form such a feature 
in the winter decoration of the amateur’s 
greenhouse) should now be making strong 
growth if planted out in the open border 
during May, and will require judiciously 
pinching back to encourage the formation of 
new shoots. The beautiful climbing S. jas- 
miniflorum, and S. Wendlandi, whose pen¬ 
dulous mauve flowers are so pleasing, must, 
Fig. 2.—Thin out surplus berries in bunches 
of Grapes. 
however, have a permanent position in the 
greenhouse, and may yet be increased by 
cuttings (although this were better done 
earlier). As soon as the slips have rooted 
they should be transferred singly into three- 
inch pots, and when these are filled with 
roots shift again into five or six-inch pots, 
in which the plants may be flowered the 
first season. 
Fig. 3.—Commence to earth up Celery now. 
Lilium lancifolium or speciosum. 
Few bulbous plants give more satisfaction 
to the amateur than these beautiful Liliums, 
of which there are several varieties, and a 
few pots of each should certainly be grown 
as they take up but little space, and so soon 
as the flowers are off they may be placed out¬ 
side to ripen, after which they should be 
plunged in a bed of ashes till required. 
The delicately-spotted L. roseum and L. ru- 
brum, with their chaste pure white relative 
L. alba, are now making a magnificent 
show, not to mention the more deeply- 
coloured. L. Melpomene, and I know of no 
situation in which they may be seen to more 
advantage than when tastefully arranged 
amidst the foliage plants in the conserva¬ 
tory, with their long and somewhat bare 
stalks hidden from view. Do not over-feed 
the bulbs with liquid manure if they are 
required for another year, but mulchings 
with rich soil should be given as soon as 
the surface roots become visible. 
Fertilising- Melons. 
These luscious fruits when grown in the 
house require far more water than when in 
frames, as in the latter case the roots pene¬ 
trate into the damp manure beneath, and are 
not confined to a comparatively small mound 
of earth. Those bearing flowers should be 
carefully examined, and when the pollen is 
fit, the process of “ setting ” or artificial 
fertilisation should take place, a fine, dry 
day being chosen for the operation. Some 
gardeners remove the corolla from the male 
flower and apply the pollen direct, others 
prefer to use the medium of a small camel- 
hair brush. 
Cucumbers. 
Glance periodically over the mounds of 
soil in which the Cucumbers are planted, 
and should the roots be visible, mulch them 
with rich soil and manure. As more fruits 
appear on the vines so must the applications 
of liquid manure increase in strength and 
frequency. Shade is essential, or the 
foliage will suffer, especially if water 
should remain upon the leaves when the sun 
rises. Those in frames will require a piece 
of glass or slate placed under each fruit, 
otherwise they will be sadly disfigured by 
their contact with the soil. 
A Useful Annual Browallia!. 
A sowing of seeds of these fine greenhouse 
annuals should now be made to provide 
plants which will prove well-nigh invalu¬ 
able for cut flowers during the months of 
scarcity. Sow the seed very thinly in pans 
or boxes of sandy soil, and shade carefully 
till germination has taken place. When the 
resultant seedlings are large enough they 
may be pricked out singly, or two or three 
plants in a pot as' desired, and should be 
syringed frequently to free them from all 
insect pests. Pinch them back occasionally 
to ensure a sturdy and bushy habit of 
growth, and keep them near the glass to 
guard against “ legginess.” When in bud 
give frequent applications of some reliable 
liquid fertiliser. 
Propagating Cotyledons. 
That fine greenhouse plant Cotyledon ful- 
gens, whose wax-like red blossoms prove so 
lasting in the winter, may be readily in¬ 
creased now by means of the well-matured 
leaves, which should be pulled, net cut off, 
and inserted, or rather pressed, into pots or 
boxes of silver sand, which should be kept 
dry and warm. Small plantlets will soon 
result, when - water will be necessary, and 
each one should be potted separately into 
small pots of sandy soil. That valuable 
summer edging plant, C. secunda glauca, or, 
as it is more commonly called, Echeveria, 
and Pachvphvtum, which is so often used 
as a centre piece in carpet bedding, may 
also be successfully treated in the same 
manner. 
G. A. F. 
