142 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 2, 1907. 
Gottage - - 
Gardening. 
Seasonable 
Notes. 
+++ 
To be successful in cottage or allotment 
gardening there are many little items that 
require some thought. 
The most important part in the success¬ 
ful cultivation of any crop is to have the 
soil in a proper state of fertility, and this 
can only be obtained by deep cultivation, 
manuring with judgment, and following a 
judicious rotation of cropping. For in¬ 
stance, tap-rooted crops, such as Carrots, 
Beet, and Parsnips, for which it is not ad¬ 
visable to manure, when the ground is 
dug, should be sown upon ground that has 
been heavily manured for a previous crop, 
such as the ground that has grown Celery. 
The winter Greens can be grown upon the 
ground that has produced the early crop 
of Potatos, and after Peas the Cabbage 
crop nor the following spring can be 
planted, and so on, always contriving to 
grow some crop of an entirely different 
kind to the one that has previously occu¬ 
pied the ground. 
Preparing the ground is a most im¬ 
portant operation, and to produce success¬ 
ful results it must be thoroughly done. 
The ordinary plan of digging one spit 
deep year after year is a poor practice, 
and will eventually exhaust the soil and 
only the poorest crops will be produced. 
The soils in gardens as a rule are kept at 
high pressure. A rotation of crops 
similar to that applied by farmers is not 
practicable with gardeners, so to “rest” 
the ground it must be trenched. Trench¬ 
ing, which is practically deep digging, is a 
big operation for cottagers, who, as a rule, 
have only their evenings to devote to their 
gardens, but they should always endea¬ 
vour to trench at least one fourth of 
their ground each year, and by doing so 
the whole will be practically trenched 
every four years. 
In commencing to trench take out the 
soil to a depth of two feet by two feet, 
and wheel it to where it is desirous to 
finish. In turning the ground over the 
cottager will have to use some judgment 
as to the depth the fertile soil runs; in 
loamy soils a good guide is the colour, 
and when that portion is reached, which 
is of a clayey colour, no more should be 
brought to the surface. It should be 
thoroughly broken up and left in the 
bottom of the trench; a layer of coarse 
manure can be applied above this soil. 
After this, commence turning over the 
soil, and when the trench is filled to with¬ 
in aibout nine inches of the level of the 
ground, a layer of good rotten manure 
should be applied, and the lower portion 
of the trench placed thereon. Leave the 
upper layer of soil as rough as possible, 
to give the weathering agencies free access 
which will mellow the soil, and when it 
comes to be worked in spring it will be 
found in fine tilth. 
Manuring is generally a matter of im¬ 
portance with cottagers. The chief point 
to know is the value of fertilising material 
contained in the manure applied. Farm¬ 
yard manure is undoubtedly the best, as 
it contains all the necessary constituents 
the land requires in order to produce 
crops. Another excellent manure, and one 
that can generally be obtained by cot¬ 
tagers, is road scrapings; and when ob¬ 
tained from roads upon which there is 
plenty of traffic, they contain a good per¬ 
centage of horse manure, and with the 
grit, the parings from the road sides, and 
in the autumn leaves, the whole combined 
forms a useful compost. 
Other manures such as night soil, fowl, 
sheep, or pigeon dung, should not be used 
in a crude state, but should be mixed with 
sand or fine soil before being applied. 
Soot is also useful as a manure, but this 
is best applied as a top dressing, and 
should be used in damp weather. Care 
must be taken when applying soot, as only 
a slight sprinkling is necessary, for if 
applied too thickly to a young and tender 
crop, its effects will be disastrous. An 
occasional dressing of quick or gas lime is 
beneficial to most gardens, and especially 
so to those that have been heavily manured 
for a number of years; and if applied in 
lieu of manure it will give excellent re¬ 
sults. 
Spadesman. 
- G. W. - 
Prize Competitions. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS— Competitors must 
■write on one side of the paper only. Regular 
paid contributors to THE GARDENING- 
WORLD or other gardening journals are de¬ 
barred from entering, but occasional con¬ 
tributors may compete. The name and ad¬ 
dress of the competitor must appear on each 
article sent for competition. The Editor’s 
decision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any way A any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be care¬ 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short article on any 
gardening subject, such as hints of practical 
interest to gardeners, notes on the propaga¬ 
tion or cultivation of flowers, fruits or vege¬ 
tables, eradication of pests, etc. The para¬ 
graph or article must not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making Kie award. Mark envelopes “ Com¬ 
petition,” and post not later than the Monday 
folk wing date of issue. Entries received later 
than Tuesday (first post) will be left over until 
t’ ie following week. 
Two prizes of 2s. 6d. will be awarded each 
week for the two best letters, not exceeding 
150 words, on any interesting gardening sub¬ 
ject. 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best papers in this competition 
are too long, an 1 we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
The prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to J. W. Forsyth for his article on 
“ J dgings,” page 126. 
In the Prize Letter Competit’on. a prize was 
awarded to “Albert A. Kerridge” for his 
article on “The Value of a Diary”; and 
another to “Abol.” for his article on “The 
Culture of Mistelto,” page 128. Most of these 
letters are too long to be eligible for a prize.! 
Sweet - - J 
- - Peas 
For 
Exhibition. 
To produce flowers that will win highest 
honours will entail an amount of labour 
and patience; no haphazard way of grow¬ 
ing will do. From the time you have 
made up your mind to start and win fame 
as an exhibitor you must put your whole 
heart and soul into the work, and when the 
final day comes you will have your re¬ 
ward in winning prizes which will give 
all the more satisfaction through being 
worked for. Some growers favour growing 
in clumps or rings, but I always adopt the 
trench system. Early in December 
make a start by taking out a trench; take 
out the top soil and place it carefully on 
one side, then continue until you have a 
trench 30 inches deep and 24 inches wide. 
Thoroughly break up the subsoil, and 
while doing so incorporate a good dressing 
of superphosphate of lime. Then place 
some good stable manure in the bottom, 
gradually working back the soil and 
thoroughly mixing with it some well-rotted 
manure—old Cucumber bed manure will 
do very well. When finished and the soil 
has been made quite firm, which is. very 
important, as Peas delight in a firm root 
run, the surface of the trench should be 
about 3 inches below the surrounding soil 
for retaining moisture about the roots. 
Peas delight in plenty of moisture. 
Sow the seeds early in March 2 inches 
deep and 3 or 4 inches apart; if required 
early, sow 5 or 6 Peas in a 5-inch pot 
about the middle of February, growing 
on in a cool house, and placing the pots 
near the glass to keep the plants dwarf 
and sturdy. Never allow them to get 
drawn up weakly. Gradually harden off 
in ci fid frames. If the weather is favour¬ 
able, plant out about the third week in 
April 4 inches apart. Stake at once, and 
tie the plants to the stakes to keep the 
wind from breaking them. Pay particu¬ 
lar attention during dry 1 weather that 
water be given freely. Syringing over¬ 
head in the evening in hot weather is very 
beneficial, and when the plants are about 
30 inches high feeding with liquid manure 
should commence. Horse or cow manure, 
soot water, or some good fertiliser are all 
good if used alternately. Keep all flowers 
picked off until about fourteen days before 
the show, then let them grow, and feed 
with sulphate of ammonia or sulphate of 
iron, using about half an ounce to a gallon 
of water. This will give colour to the 
blooms. 
Use white glasses for exhibition pur¬ 
poses, about 12 inches high, place a little 
moss in the bottom of the glasses to keep 
the flowers in their places, and begin by 
placing in the foliage, which is best, care¬ 
fully arranging the flowers and selecting 
those with three or four flowers to a spray. 
* Arrange them so that each individual 
flower can be seen without being too thin, 
and do not be afraid to use plenty oi 
foliage. Blend the colours so as to give 
the best effect to the exhibit, and keep the 
back row of glasses raised above the 
front. Be at the show tent early so that 
