68 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 30, 1909. 
ing in order to keep the foliage clean and 
prevent red spider from getting a footing 
during the warmer and drier part of sum¬ 
mer. We have selected evergreen plants for 
the back wall as they would succeed better 
than some of the deciduous ones. There are 
several variegated Ivies that would look 
well on the wall and we should name 
Hedera Helix variegata elegantissima and 
H. H. digitata aurea. Cotoneaster micro- 
phylla has small evergreen leaves and ripens 
red berries in September. Another hand¬ 
some berried plant which we think would 
succeed under the verandah is Crataegus 
Pyracantha Lelandii. All the four are 
hardy. For the pillars of that same veran¬ 
dah you might use Clematis Jackmannii and 
a variety of the common Honeysuckle (Loni- 
cera Periclymenum Early Dutch). The 
third plant might consist of the common 
white Jasmine (Jasminum officinale) or the 
winter-flowering Jasmine (Jasminum nudi- 
florum). The latter should flower fairly 
well with you during the milder parts of 
winter between November and March. The 
white one flowers in summer. 
VEGETABLES. 
3585. Potatos for Forcing. 
Would you be good enough to name two 
or three varieties of. Potatos suitable for 
forcing on a hotbed with frames. Do they 
require any particular temperature to cause 
them to produce tubers ? I can get plenty 
of horse manure if that would do as well 
as any other. A few hints about the treat¬ 
ment of the frames would also be appreci¬ 
ated. (J. Hunter, Cheshire.) 
Early Potatos of dwarf habit would be 
most suitable for frames and the conditions 
would be fulfilled by Sharpe’s Victor, Ring¬ 
leader, Old Ashleaf or Early Ashleaf. 
Horse manure will answer well enough, but 
if you could mix it with leaves or cow 
manure it would be more durable. Failing 
this you might be able to get a fair quantity 
of rank litter with the horse manure. When 
making up the hotbed, tread it down quite 
firmly. The frames should be put on im¬ 
mediately and about 6 in. of soil. The 
manure will be inclined to heat considerably 
during the first few days, but you should 
leave a chink for air at the top to let the 
rank steam escape. In the meantime the soil 
will be in good condition for planting which 
should be done in the course of a week. 
The frames should be matted up at night 
to maintain the temperature, but they should 
be taken off during the day after the Potatos 
appear above the soil. As the weather gets 
warmer so you will have to give an increas¬ 
ing amount of* air to prevent the stems of 
the Potatos from getting too much drawn. 
No particular temperature is necessary, but 
if the bed gets too cool while the weather 
is cold, you could surround the frames with 
a lining of fresh manure to keep up the 
heat. 
3586. Raising Early Peas. 
Could I use the hotbed for raising early 
Peas to plant out when the weather becomes 
fine. My soil is rather heavy and slugs are 
a great torment in March. If so, what plan 
of treating them would you recommend. (J. 
Hunter, Ches'hire.) 
The hotbed should answer admirably for 
bringing on garden Peas in their early 
stages. You can sow them in small pots, 
on small square pieces of turf, or in narrow 
boxes made for the purpose. The first two 
would, perhaps, be most convenient in 
frames, as you will have to stand them be¬ 
tween the lines of Potatos. When the latter 
appear above ground, the Peas must be 
I ioyqd elsewhere, otherwise they will get 
shaded by the presence of pots or turves. 
II would be convenient to have cold frames 
into which you could place the Peas after 
they have germinated, matting up the frames 
at night to keep them snug, especially after 
removing them from the hotbed. 
3587. Herbs for Exhibition. 
I want to grow some herbs for our flower 
show in August. Please name half-a-dozen 
of the best sorts and tell me in your next 
issue the method of raising them. I know 
some of them, but not the botanical names. 
(F. A., Somerset.) 
In the meantime you can dig and prepare 
the ground for the herbs. Most of them can 
be raised from seed. For instance, you can 
sow Fennel in March or April, also common 
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), summer Savory 
(Satureja hortensis) and Sage (Salvia offici¬ 
nalis). If you desire them early you can 
sow in boxes in March, but if you have not 
the convenience of glass you can sow them 
in the open in April. Plants will have to 
be obtained of the common Marjoram (Ori¬ 
ganum vulgare) and Spearmint (Mentha 
viridis), both of which should be planted 
in March. After you get a stock of these 
two latter plants you can make fresh plan¬ 
tations by dividing your own plants. The 
same would, of course, apply to the com¬ 
mon Thyme, but raising from seed is the 
easiest of all. When they are 1 in. high, cr 
even less, you should thin them out, leaving 
about 9 in. to 12 in. between the plants of 
Sage and Fennel. The others may be closer. 
3588. Large Onions for Spring 1 Sowing. 
Last autumn I sowed Giant Rocca and 
White Lisbon Onions. What varieties would 
you recommend for spring sowing? They 
must be large, and when should they be 
sown? (F. A., Somerset.) 
Three excellent Onions of large size for 
spring sowing are Ailsa Craig, Rousham 
Park Hero and Cranston’s Excelsior. They 
may be sown as early in March as possible 
when you get the soil in good condition. 
You would get larger Onions, however, by 
any given time if you were to sow them in 
boxes and place them in a warm- house or 
make up a hotbed for them. The seedlings 
should be transplanted into other boxes when 
3 in. high and transferred to the open 
ground in April or early in May when the 
weather is suitable. 
FRUIT. 
3 5 89. Cutting Down Fruit Trees for 
Grafting. 
I have read, somewhere, about cutting 
down fruit trees for grafting. Would you 
explain what this means and how I should 
set about it. I have a Pear tree and some 
Apple trees that are bad varieties and I 
want to graft them with better sorts. What 
is the best time to do these operations? (H. 
Richardson, Yorks.) 
Trees are cut down in a variety of ways. 
Sometimes the trunk is cut down within 2 ft. 
or 3 ft. of the ground and several grafts 
put on, but it is not necessary to be so 
drastic. A considerable length of stem may 
be left to advantage so that you can have 
the trees in their present form minus the 
branches. The latter may be cut back with¬ 
in 2 in. or 3 in. of the base. just leaving 
sufficient room to graft on the new varieties. 
Quite a number of grafts could, therefore, 
be put on, all of one variety or of several 
varieties, according to fancy. The plan is 
to put on a graft to each leading branch 
upon the tree and if you succeed in getting 
ail of them to take, the trees so operated 
upon will .come into bearing at an earlier 
period than if the tree was cut down so as 
to require fresh training. The cutting down 
should be done at once, before the trees 
commence growing, otherwise part of their 
resources will be wasted. You shoud also 
see about getting grafts to put on them. 
Tie them in small bundles, have them pro¬ 
perly labelled and insert them in soil behi 
a north wall, so as to retard them until t 
time of grafting. If the trees being graft 
have started a little in advance of the graf 
so much the better. The actual grafti 
should be done about the end of March 
the beginning of April. 
SOILS AMD MANURES. 
3590. Treatment of Soil. 
How should I treat the soil of my gard 
which is like the enclosed. The top soil 
very black and the subsoil (No. 2) is yell, 
clay, very hard and stiff to work. It t 
never been trenched so far as I know. W 1 
is the best manure for this soil and wl 
should it be applied ? (W. M. G., Kent 
-•The top soil has evidently been cultivat 
and manured for a long series of yea 
The whole ground would be better 1 
trenching, but the clay material bene; 
should not be brought to the top, althou 
it may be slightly mixed with the black s 
just where they come in contact. Keep 1 
yellow material mostly in the bottom, but 
after years it may be gradually incorporai 
with the black material, and the top soil a 
subsoil will benefit greatly by the mixtu 
giving the plants a much greater root rv 
The best manure would be something cc 
taining plenty of litter, like straw or mi 
fibre, that would have the effect of maki 
the subsoil more porous. It should be p 
in layers between the layers of soil at t 
time of trenching, and it would be advisai 
to use the larger proportion of it in the cl. 
soil below, but particularly the ranker p< 
tions. Leave the soil quite rough, or ev 
in ridges, on the top until you are about 
prepare it for planting, when you can 1 
a fork in levelling down, so as to break 
the soil as finely as possible. If you foil 
out the above plan most of the black s. 
will still be on the top so that a dressi 
of lime would be of considerable advanfa) 
It should only be forked in about 2 in. 
3 in. as it has a tendency to get downwan 
3 5 91. Soil not Cultivated for Ten Yea 
Will you please answer if ground whi 
has not been cultivated for ten ye; 
needs manure. If so, what quantity shoe. 
I require for ordinary garden purpos 
(Novice, Essex.) 
Soil that has been uncultivated for ' 
many years would derive advantage 
having a considerable quantity of suital 
manure mixed with it, as we presume yc 
soil will be heavy if the natural material y 
your district. You do not tell us whetl: 
the ground has been in pasture ; if . 
there would be a considerable amount : 
grass fibre in it which would prove adv;- 
tageous when rotted. All the same, yi 
cannot make any mistake in adding stab 
manure for heavy soils and cow manure :f 
light soils. Just how much you may app - 
depends upon the expense to which you c;? 
to go. From 20 tons to 25 tons of farmyd 
manure per acre would be a fairly gd 
manuring, but market gardeners, who f- 
quently trench their land and take off hea' 
crops, may give it a hundred tons of mam’ 
per acre. At the former rate you would ■ 
quire to use two or three hundredweight 
rod, and that is by no means a heavy man - 
ing for garden soil. If you do not objt 
to the expense you can use manure free,, 
during the first year or two at least. • 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
3592. Washing: Glass and Wood f 
Greenhouse. 
The foggy weather lately has made .? 
glass of my greenhouse very dirty and. 
think it injurious to the plants. It ajo 
makes the white paint very unsight; 
Would soapy watemhave any effect upon e 
