210 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 23, 1907. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Make sure that the dear birds are not 
feasting upon fruit tree buds. These pests 
are not at all particular whether the buds 
are merely leaves in embryo, or fruit buds. 
They treat them all alike. 
Strawberries. 
If Strawberry beds have not yet been 
mulched, give them a good coating of long, 
littery 7 stable manure. 1 his serves as a 
stimulant, and being fresh, the straw goes 
a long way towards keeping the future fruit 
clean. 
Labels. 
This is a very good time to overhaul 
labels. Where metal ones are used there is 
little fear of their being injured. See that 
the wires used to hold them are not injur¬ 
ing the bark. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
The Birds. 
Do not ■ overlook the fact that birds are 
fond of newly-appearing Teas. Often when 
not exactly observable to the eye, birds find 
the young sprouts and play havoc with 
them. The same applies to all kinds of 
Cabbage seed. It must be thoroughly netted 
or one may wake up one day 7 to find the 
whole lot ruined. 
The Soil. 
Ground that was not dug in time to be 
pulverised by 7 frost, should be stirred about 
with the hoe or rake. This of course refers 
only to spots where seed such as Carrots, 
etc., is to be sown. 
Asparagus. 
Asparagus seed may now be sown on a 
good bed. If well looked after and not 
crowded, the seedlings, will make fine little 
plants for setting out next year. 
Artichokes. 
Suckers of Globe Artichokes, or small 
portions of same, should now be planted in 
rich soil. They require a good square yard 
of space, as they grow amazingly.. In the 
early stages of their growth, the spaces may 
be utilised for raising Radishes, Lettuce, 
gtc. 
Clear off old Sprouts and Broccoli stumps 
and break up the ground, which may be 
utilised for Potatos or Celery. Manure, of 
course, must be used when digging, as greens 
draw heavily upon the land. 
Tuniips. 
On light, warm land, Early Milan or 
Snowball Turnips may be sown, but beware 
of birds, which are keen on such items at 
this period of the year. 
Celerv. 
If Celery in the frames can be handled, 
prick out into boxes filled with rich soil. 
Keep free from frost" and cold draughts, as 
a check now will spoil it. 
Onions. 
The big Onion plot should be frequently 
stirred over to work in the dressings applied 
recentlv. A little rotten manure may be 
worked in at the same time. It will soon 
be time to plant out box raised Onions:. 
IIorti. 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Lobelias. 
If further increase is desired, the tops of 
cuttings struck a month or so ago may be 
taken off and rooted; the merest tip will 
grow into a nice little plant by bedding 
time, still two months ahead of us. Seed¬ 
lings raised in early February will also give 
plenty of cuttings'if snipped over with a 
pair of scissors. Deep pans should be well 
crocked and filled with a light, sandy com¬ 
post with a layer of sand on the surface. 
Into this sand the cuttings should be dib¬ 
bled some 15 in. or 2 in. apart, made firm, 
and watered in. If carefully 7 shaded, and 
very gently syringed twice or thrice daily, 
the cuttings will very quickly root, and may 
then receive ordinary greenhouse treatment. 
Geraniums ior Pots. 
The time for propagating the stock of 
winter flowering Geraniums is now upon us, 
but before putting in * a single cutting I 
would advise readers to go through their 
stock and put aside the most shapely plants 
for growing into specimens' in pots'. The 
more ungainly plants will give quite enough 
cuttings for winter, and the nice shaped, 
stocky plants will grow into beautiful flower¬ 
ing specimens in 7 in. or 8 in. pots during 
the early 7 summer. The selected plants 
should not be cut back, but simply have the 
crocks and a little of the old top soil re¬ 
moved and placed into large pots. Seven- 
inch pots will do for plants now in 5 in. 
pots, and 8 in. pots for those now in 6 in. 
ones. Use good, fibrous loam 3 parts, leaf- 
mould 1 part, and r-6th part of old mortar 
rubble instead of sand. Pot firmly, and 
keep in the sunniest part of the greenhouse. 
Geraniums for Winter. 
Remove the tips of shoots of plants not 
required for growing as above, and insert 
each singly in- a 25 in. or 3 in. pot. Good 
sized cuttings should be chosen. Cut below 
a leaf joint'tif possible, and insert firmly in 
a hole at the base of which a little sand 
has been first placed. The cuttings root 
best in the full sun, shade not being at all 
necessary if the syringe plays over them 
twice daily. Give air in abundance when 
roots are formed, and pinch out the tops to 
get back breaks. 
Tuberous Begonias. 
These should all come out of their winter 
quarters now, and be prepared for the sum¬ 
mer campaign. The specimens for pots 
should be kept by themselves, and given 
rather warmer quarters than those intended 
for bedding out. The latter can scarcely 
be grown too cool provided they are not 
also kept so moist .as to induce danger of 
rotting. A layer of ooooanut fibre refuse 
and sand, mixed, should be placed under 
and round the tubers in a fairly deep box, 
but there is no need to cover them. If the 
syringe is in constant use in the house 
enough moisture will probably reach the 
tubers to enable them to start strongly. 
Pelargoniums. 
These glorious plants must now be kept 
well supplied with water and receive plenty 
of air. If stood on a base of moist ashes 
growth will be very free ; and, moreover, 
keep clean. Greenfly must be keenly 
watched for and destroyed on sight, as once 
the pest gets established it is exterminated 
with great difficulty. A well grown and 
clean Pelargonium is one of the most showy 
and decorative plants the greenhouse can 
possess. A Starved and greenfly infested 
specimen is a disgrace to a noble class of 
plants. 
Potting and Dividing Ferns. 
Just when the new fronds commence 
putting in an appearance is the best time to 
deal with Ferns, as practically anything 
one likes may be done with them at that 
period. I do not care for Ferns in general 
in pots larger than the 6 in. size, so I al¬ 
ways split u;p specimens Ihe year after they 
have reached that size. A portion of the 
bottom i> cu.t eff with a pruning knife or 
sharp axe, and the remaining ball of soil 
and roots is split vertically down the 
middle. A few bangs on the potting bench 
soon makes the severed halves take oh a 
roughly circular shape, when each is -potted 
in a 5 in. pot. Firm potting should be 
the rule, getting the potting stick to work 
round the sides of the pot. Shading and 
syringing must follow this splitting up. 
Peaches. 
The new shoots will now be pushing 
apace, and as only one-fourth or less will 
be needed, an early start should be made in 
reducing their "numbers. Take one old shoot 
at a time, leave ithe lowest young shoot at 
its base, and flick off alternate ones all along 
the branch with the finger; treat all old 
shoots or branches similarly. A few days 
after this first thinning is finished, rub 
off another batch of shoots, and so on until 
each fruit-bearing branch has only two 
sheets left, one at its base and another at 
its apex - . The lower of these will be' the 
fruit-bearing shoot next year; the upper one 
is left to “ draw the sap” and feed the 
fruit now on the tree. 
Potatos in Frames. 
I do not suppose that many of my readers 
indulge in these luxuries, but lot me warn 
any who do so indulge not to give the plants 
any -water; a soft, soapy eating Potato will 
undoubtedly follow the application of 
water. The tops may be laid down where 
they touch the glass by placing a little seal 
from the potting shed on the stems. Air 
should now be freely given, excepting on 
cold, frosty nights. 
SUNNYSIDE. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Thunias. 
There'are few Orchids more easy of-cul¬ 
tivation than the species an-d hybrid 
Thunias. In a wild state the plants are 
said to be epiphytal, but under artificial 
cultivation they are treated as terrestrial 
plants and are induced to grow very satis¬ 
factorily. They are a deciduous class of 
plants, and commence making their growth 
in the early spring. The young shoots are 
produced from near the base of the last 
season’s growth, and as soon as they have 
attained a length of about 2 inches they emit 
young roots. This is the best stage at which 
to attend to the annual re-potting. 
The plants should be turned out of the 
pots an-d all -the old potting compost shaken 
off, and only sufficient roots to fix the plant 
'firmly allowed to remain. A stick suffi¬ 
ciently strong to secure the plant in posi¬ 
tion should now he affixed to the old growth. 
To make good specimens it is well to fix 
several of these in the :same pot. Seleot 
a suitable sized clean pot and fill it to about 
one-third its depth with clean broken 
crocks, the potting compost to consist of 
a-bout equal portions of fibrous loam, peat 
and cho-pped sphagnum moss with sufficient 
rough sand or finely broken crocks added 
to render the whole porous. This should 
be made moderately, firm, and when potting 
is completed the compost should be about 
an inch below the rim c-f the pot. As soon 
as potting is completed, give a thorough 
watering with rain waiter, through a moder¬ 
ately coarse rose. Careful watering will be 
necessary afterwards until the pc-ts become 
filled with roots and growth is robust, at 
which period an abundance of root mois¬ 
ture, and a saturated atmosphere will suit 
them well. In bright weather during the 
active season syringing overhead will be 
found advantageous; in fact, if they are 
treated as ordinary stove plants during the 
growing season, they will thrive well. 
The plants flower immediately the growth 
is completed, the flowers being pro-duced in 
drooping clusters at the apex of the growth. 
After flowering the plants quickly mature 
their growth: they should then be placed 
in a dry, light position, and as the leaves 
fall from the stems water should be gradu- 
allv withheld, and the plants may be placed 
in a vinery or greenhouse during the pro¬ 
longed resting season, and as long as they 
are secure from the reach of frost and in 
a dry state they will remain in good con¬ 
dition until growth commences, when with 
