September 12, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
587 
The Flower Garden. 
How very welcome the showers of rain 
have been; the parched lawns and dust-dry 
beds have benefited a great deal, and the 
labour of watering—a serious matter in 
many districts—has been lessened. One can 
now attend more fully to other matters. 
A gardener recently complained to me 
that it was “ water, water; all day long, 
there is no time to do any other work.” He 
was then busy with the hose-pipe trying to 
revive the drooping leaves of various shrubs 
glowing underneath the large trees in the 
extensive borders.- 
Violets in Frames. 
Strong plants should be put into the 
frames without delay. If they have been 
well' grown in open borders the clumps will 
be sturdy. Of course new litter may be used 
for the construction of the hotbed, but it is 
not absolutely necessary to have such; old 
hotbed material may be utilised. Many per¬ 
sons are not able to obtain hotbed manure 
of any kind, and they need not despair as 
Violets may be grown in frames without the 
aid of a warm bed. Fig. 1 shows the hot¬ 
bed A with the frame and soil B placed 
in position. The compost, which should be 
geed, mellow loam, leaf-soil, and a well- 
rotted manure, must be placed in the frame 
so that the plants €, C, at both the front 
and the back, are about the same distance 
fic-m the glass D, namely, i foot. 
planted in frames; A, hotbed; B, com- 
1 fast; C, C young -plants; D, surface of 
bed i ft. from the glass. 
Make the soil moderately firm around the 
roots of the plants with the hands, but do 
not tread upon the soil. Lift the clumps 
without disturbing the roots any more than 
you can possibly help. Clear away any 
faded leaves and then plant the clumps one 
foot apart in the case of the small-leaved 
varieties, such as Marie Louise, and 15 iris, 
for larger-leaved sorts, such as Princess of 
Wales. Although the clumps are planted in 
frames the glass lights should not be put on 
except during bad weather when frosts and 
fogs prevail. 
Decaying Leaves. 
During the dry weather many leaves on 
bedding plants faded, but they remained in 
a dry, shrivelled condition where they were 
not picked off. Now rain has come, these 
leaves will harbour moisture which will not 
be good for the growths of such plants as 
Zcnal Geraniums, so that all such leaves 
should be forthwith picked off. 
Vases and Tubs. 
These require constant attention to keep 
the contents in a fresh, neat condition. 
Faded leaves on the plants are more ex¬ 
posed to the eye than in the case of plants 
growing in beds. In addition to the re¬ 
moval of the leaves, all’ fading flowers and 
their stems should also be taken away. 
Feeding Plants in Vases. 
Weak doses of manure water should now 
be given to the plants in order to stimulate 
the growth a little, then more blooms will 
appear throughout the autumn, as it should 
be remembered that there is not a great 
bulk of soil in vases and the nourishing 
foods contained therein are soon exhausted. 
Border Chrysanthemums. 
Varieties which- flower during the latter 
part of September and in October will now 
be showing their buds prominently. If large 
bleoms are required disbud at once, leaving 
Fig. 2. Prune the Japanese Wineberry 
now; A, old frui '.-bearing shoots to be cut 
away at C, C; B, young shoots to be tied 
to the stake. 
the central bud and removing those around 
it; or in the case of first or second crowns, 
the surrounding growth shoots. 
The Fruit Garden. 
The rains have done much good in the 
fruit garden. They have washed off the 
dust and many seared leaves. With the 
latter insect pests have fallen, also, so that 
all should be carefully gathered up and 
taken to the garden fire. If the fruit trees 
and their surroundings be kept scrupulously 
clean a great diminution in the number of 
insect pests will soon be apparent. 
The Japanese Wineberry. 
These plants should now be pruned. Their 
habit of growth is very similar to that of 
the Raspberry, and so the pruning must be 
done in the same way. 
Fig. 2 shows how the pruning is to be 
done. The old branches A must be cut out 
and the vigorous young canes must be re¬ 
tained. B shows the young canes, and C, C, 
the old ones which must be cut off at the 
dark lines. 
Ripening Fruit. 
Apples and Pears which have fallen off 
the trees should be placed separately from 
the sound fruits which are gathered by 
hand. Windfalls should be used first and 
belore the bruised portion spreads. If 
placed with sound fruits the latter would 
be affected, too. It is not good policy to 
even put windfalls in the same room as the 
sound specimens. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Trenching Ground. 
It is now possible to do some trenching as 
the soil is more moist and easier to work. 
All vacant ground, that will not be occupied 
during the winter months, should be deeply- 
trenched. Soil so dealt with always holds 
out longer in summer time when we have 
long spells of dry weather. Although 
loosened by trenching it remains in a moister 
condition than untrenched land, and the 
roots of plants penetrate deeper, too. This, 
of course, makes a great difference to the 
bulk of the various crops and also to the 
needful labour in attending to the crops. 
Tomatos. 
The lower leaves of plants growing in the 
epen borders have now practically done 
their duty and they should be cut off in 
every instance where they obstruct the air, 
light, and sun’s rays from the fruit. 
In Fig. 3, A shows the leaves to be cut 
off, and B the ripening trusses of fruit. 
Fig. 3 ■ Thinning leaves on outdoor 
Tomato plants; A, shows leaf to be cut 
off at the dark line to admit more light 
and air to the fruit trusses at B. 
The main stem of the plant should have 
been cut off earlv in August; if this has 
been done, the trusses near the top cf the 
plant will soon commence to ripen and then 
the leaves near them must also be thinned 
out. 
Herbs. 
Herbs which have been gathered and 
spread out thinly on paper or mats in a 
shed to dry should now be made into small 
bunches and be stored in a dry, cool room, 
suspending them from the roof or from cross 
pcles fixed temporarily for the purpose. 
Thin Out Turnips. 
Late sown Turnips will now grow rapidly, 
and advantage should be taken of the state 
of the soil to get the surplus plants pulled 
out As the roots will not grow to a very 
large size the thinning should not be too 
severe. 
