December 5, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
749 
The Flower Garden. 
Edding-Out Plants. 
'hese have passed through a very trying 
t e lately owing to the many changes in 
t; weather. It has been mild one week, 
fsty another, and then dull and very wet. 
>,ch skill is needed on the part of the 
g dener if he is to keep his plants in a 
h.lthy condition in such circumstances, 
eecially where heating appliances are not 
c lplete. 
onal Pelargoniums are the greatest suf¬ 
fers from stagnant moisture, and very 
g at care, in the matter of watering, must 
taken. It is much better to allow the soil 
n ;ecome very dry than to keep it too moist. 
hen Calceolarias do not succeed well if 
ti leaves are constantly moist. During the 
psent-week it would be a good plan to ar- 
r. ge to thoroughly examine all the rooted 
c tings and potted specimens of bedding- 
0 plants. On the first fine morning, especi¬ 
al if it be warm and sunny, remove all 
tl glass lights from frames, and also open 
\de the ventilators of houses wherein plants 
al rooted cuttings are growing. 
’ick off every faded leaf vcu can find, 
al, if possible, spread out the plants more 
s as to allow plenty of air to circulate 
aongst them. 
’he more tender kinds of bedding-out 
pnts, such as Heliotxopes, Coleuses, Ire- 
sss and Mesembryanthemums, should be 
k t a few degrees warmer from this date so 
a to preserve the leaves. Any necessary 
xvering should be done during the morn- 
ir. During foggy weather the lights on 
f mes and ventilators in houses should be 
kt closed. And at other times it is ad- 
vible to close the structures early in the 
asrnoon as the interiors soon become damp, 
i'y neglect of these plants at the present 
t e may result in serious loss, which will 
b inconvenient next spring. 
C'istmas Roses. 
’he plants should now be covered with 
cl frames or handlights, where it is not 
tended to lift and force the roots. After 
pting on the frame, as shown in Fig. 1, 
sitter some dust-dry lime on the soil inside 
nr the edge of the frame to prevent slugs 
gning access from the outside border. 
- J jo carefully examine the interior of the 
f me afterwards in the evenings and de- 
svy any slugs found there. Nothing fur- 
t'r need be done except to remove all faded 
bves from the plants. 
L? of the Valley. 
ill the leaves that are ripe enough to 
r dily come away from the crowns should 
b removed forthwith. And if the crowns 
a well exposed, showing even some of the 
s face roots, put on a top dressing of loam 
0 -third, sifted leaf soil one-third, and 
s d one-third. This mulch must not be a 
bi.vy one as the crowns should be left just 
v ible. 
P eonies. 
arge clumps of these plants may now 
b lifted, divided, and replanted. The roots 
a, very brittle and so great care should be 
fisn not to damage them unnecessarily. 
I in some good, fresh loam in which the 
g ss is quite dead, and also a small quan- 
t ' of well-rotted manure, but the latter 
s uld not be brought into direct contact 
v h the roots. 
Fig. /. Place frames or handlights over 
Christmas Roses now. 
The Leaf Heap. 
This should be turned over now for the 
first time and all pieces of sticks found in 
it removed. For converting into leaf soil 
retain a flat-topped bed. For use in hotbeds 
form conical-shaped beds. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Black Currant Bushes. 
Now that all the leaves have fallen frcm 
the bushes the latter should be thoroughly 
examined, not omitting a close scrutiny of 
ever}- branch, to ascertain whether or not 
Fig. 2. Examine Black Currant bushes 
for the “ bud mite." Large buds at A con¬ 
tain the “ mite." Buds similar to those on 
branch B are free from the “ mite." 
the bud mite is present. Those buds which 
are very large — more than twice the normal 
size and quite rounded in shape—are the 
ones that contain the mite. Badly-affected 
blanches should be cut off altogether, and 
where the bushes are generally affected, it 
is the best policy to uproot them and burn 
them, roots as well; afterwards make a new 
plantation in another part of the garden. 
Fig. 3. Throw uf> clayey soils into tough 
ridges now, and leave them for the winter. 
But before taking the extreme course of 
destroying the bushes be quite sure that they 
are very seriously affected by the bud mite. 
In Fig. 2 A shows a branch bearing very 
large buds attacked by the mite. The other 
branch B has buds of normal size. The 
mite (as its name implies) is very small and 
is found right in the centre of the bud. 
The latter should be cut through and ex¬ 
amined under a magnifying glass. 
Peach and Nectarine Trees. 
If there are any leaves still clinging to 
the branches brush them off forthwith, and 
then unfasten the branches fiom the walls 
or wires as the case may be. But you must 
not leave the branches to be blown to and 
fro, else they will get damaged ; make them 
secure to stakes, passing the twine around 
several branches at once. 
There are several reasons for the unfasten¬ 
ing of the branches as here advised, namely, 
in order to be able to thoroughly cleanse the 
wall and the wires, to clean the branches and 
remove all old ligatures, and also to keep 
back the bursting of the flower buds as much 
as possible in spring. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Ridging- Soil. 
No trenching, digging or ridging of soil 
should be done during frosty weather, that 
is, while the ground is frozen. But take ad¬ 
vantage of dry weather to get all vacant 
ground, which is of a clayey nature, thrown 
up into ridges, as shown in Fig. 3. Of 
couise the soil must be trenched deeply; it 
would not do simply to rely upon the ridging 
of the surface for any lasting benefit to the 
stiff loam Leave the top portion very 
lumpy; do not break up a single spadeful. 
If left, as shown in Fig. 1, throughout the 
winter, a grand seed or plant bed will be 
available next spring. 
The Asparagus Bed. 
While the soil is in a dry condition wheel 
some littery manure to the Asparagus beds 
and cover the latter with the manure to a 
depth of 3 inches. More may be put on later 
if very severe frosts come. 
Stored Roots and Bulbs. 
Any decayed specimens found amongst 
these should be removed forthwith. 
Hotbeds. 
In preparation for the building of hotbeds 
later on, secure all the littery manure and 
good leaves you can. Foxglove. 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Greenhouse and Conservatory Notes. 
Real flower-lovers will need no inducement 
to make both greenhouse and conservatory as 
gay as possible at the present dull season of 
the year, and realty,-with the autumn flower¬ 
ing subjects, and the many handsome foliage 
plants now available, not to mention the 
beautiful berry-bearing Solanums, this is not 
a very difficult, and always an interesting, 
task. The Chrysanthemums when removed 
are badly missed, but the lordly Camellias 
will soon be coming on, and though not per¬ 
haps so showy, are really grand shrubs when 
well grown, for a cool house, whilst the 
Genistas and Acacias, with .their bright yel¬ 
low flowers, all tend to make a welcome 
variety. 
Firing will now require attention, and 
stoking is, of course, never an enviable occu¬ 
pation. Do not let the temperature run up 
too high through neglect, about 55 degs. to 
60 degs. by day, allowing a slight drop dur¬ 
ing the chilly nights, will prove sufficient 
where only ordinary greenhouse plants are 
grown. 
Forcing Hellebores. 
The Christmas Roses, as they are more 
