May 4, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
305 
Wall Trees. 
Wall trees should be finally overhauled so 
that superfluous shoots may be pinched back. 
Keep only those required to make well 
balanced trees. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Beans. 
If Runner Beans have not been sown, do 
not hesitate to get in a row or two. Do 
not sow deeper than three inches. 
Cauliflowers. 
Cauliflowers raised in boxes will be want¬ 
ing more room and should now be set out, 
about 2ft. apart on rich soil. Do not plant 
weak stuff, as they generally button. I saw 
a man setting out Cauliflowers in mid-April, 
the plants being only just in the rough leaf 
stage. Tiny stuff of that kind would not be 
enough for a slug’s supper. 
Potatos. 
Do not forget the pushing shoots of 
Potatos. A bit of frost and down they will 
go. I remember an old song, which suggested 
keep on doing i.t. It is certainly a safe rule 
when dealing with Potatos. Keep on draw¬ 
ing the earth round the stems, for a singed 
leaf or two is not serious, but a frozen stem 
spells ruin to the crop. 
Lettuce and Radish. 
Keep on sowing Lettuce and Radish seed, 
just enough to keep wants supplied. 
Spinach, too, wants to go in frequently. 
Peas. 
More Peas may be sown, if the supply is 
not exhausted. Dp not, however, sow by 
the side of the earliest sown batch. The 
plan will not answer at all, for the late 
lot will be towering over the others before 
they have a chance to pod. 
Long Carrots and Beet should go in any 
time now. 
Asparagus. 
The last chance for an Asparagus bed is 
passing. The plants are on the move now, 
and that is the time to catch them. One or 
two years old plants 'give the best results, 
but three-year-old plants begin to bear 
earlier. No cutting this year, though. 
Leeks. 
Leeks, if strong and hardy, should be set 
in shallow, well manured trenches. 
Seakale. 
Pile on more earth above Seakale crowns 
that are being, blanched without manure. 
To my mind, earthed Seakale is better than 
forced stuff. 
The hoe should be scuffling round things 
now, so that caked ground is given small 
chances. Horti 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Sowing Primula obconica. 
Unfortunately, through alarmist reports 
as to the poisonous properties of its leaves, 
this pretty Primula has come to have a bad 
name, and many who would otherwise grow 
it now exclude it from their houses. In 
spite of this prejudice, I question if a better 
and prettier amateur’s plant exists, and I 
strongly advise everybody to give it a trial, 
i ne 01 u pale lilac form, with its multitudes 
ot small and long-lived flowers, is now left 
tar behind by the new and improved strain 
which many seedsmen offer, and I would 
advocate the claims of the latter when sow¬ 
ing seed. Now is a splendid time to sow, 
as earlier sowings frequently fail badly, 
bow thinly, in a well-drained seed pan, 
Keep m the greenhouse, and prick off and 
pot on the seedlings a s with the ordinary 
Chinese Primula. As cut flowers Primula 
obconica lasts longer than almost any green¬ 
house flower grown, and a few old plants 
put out in a bed will supply dozens of 
Gloxinias. 
As the flowers of the early plants open 
they must be shaded, as strong sun quickly 
ruins them. If a creeper, or a grape vine, 
covers the roof of the house, stand the 
Gloxinias under this. As syringing would 
spoil the flowers, and is not appreciated by 
the plants at any time, means must be de¬ 
vised of keeping their surroundings moist, 
otherwise disfiguring brown patches will ap¬ 
pear on the leaves, due to attack by a small, 
spider-like mite. All plants showing buds 
and opening' flowers should receive ma- 
nurial assistance, liquid cow manure being 
excellent. Whatever is used should not be 
poured among the leaves and flower stems, 
or trouble will ensue. 
Grape Vines. 
In warm greenhouses the grower should 
now be able to tell which of his embryo 
bunches of Grapes are likely to be best. As 
a rule, one bunch to each lateral, or side 
shoot, is sufficient to retain; but two bunches 
may be left on a strong lateral when a shoot 
on either side of it misses producing a 
bunch. All things being equal, of two 
bunches on a lateral, retain the one nearest 
the main stem of the vine, and when the 
choice of the bunch is made, the shoot bear¬ 
ing^ it should have its point pinched out. 
This pinching is preferably done at about 
two good leaves beyond the bunch, but no 
hard and fast rule^should here be followed. 
If there is plenty of room for four good 
leaves, retain four, and so on. The point 
to remember is that each leaf will send out 
a shoot from its axil, and this shoot when 
pinched, as it must be, to one leaf, will also 
emit a shoot, and so on, until the end of 
the growing season. Thus, there is some¬ 
thing more to provide room for than the 
actual leaves now retained. 
Summer-Flowering: Geraniums. 
Plants to bloom about July and onwards 
should be now placed in their flowering 
pots. On no account overpot; a pot two 
sizes larger than the one the plants are now 
in should be ample. Use good loam, rather 
sandy in character, and mix with it a little 
lime or old pounded mortar. Above all 
things, pot firmly and stand in the full 
sun ; loose potting and a shady position will 
mean leaves of tremendous size and few 
flowers. Do not be afraid to pinch the 
points out of any shoots whose length spoils 
the symmetry of the plants. 
Roses in Pots and Borders. 
Greenfly is now becoming a nuisance on 
these, and should be killed by vaporising on 
a calm evening. The young foliage of 
Roses is very tender, and tobacco paper 
often injures them, therefore rely upon one 
of the nicotine preparations advertised, and 
carefully keep to the prescribed strength. 
Feed and water well, or mildew will prob¬ 
ably appear. Climbing Roses, whether in 
pots or planted out, should be top-dressed 
with some rich old manure; or some good 
loam which has had a handful of bone flour 
mixed with it. 
Genistas or Cytisuses. 
These delightful plants are among the 
sweetest occupants of the spring greenhouse, 
and should be largely grown by all who 
love a perfume which is sweet and refresh¬ 
ing without cloying. As the plants go out 
of flower, they should be cut well back. 
There is no particular way of doing this. 
I have pruned hundreds by drawing the left 
hand up the plant to gather it into a bunch, 
and then cutting the tops off with knife or 
scissors—much as a country barber cuts hair. 
(My apologies to any rural tonsorial artist 
who reads these lines.) After cutting back, 
keep the plants warm and well syringed to 
induce new growth. 
Tomatos for Autumn Shows. 
I‘know that many readers make a point 
of pot hunting at autumn shows, and To¬ 
matos are one of their favourites. Let me 
advise those who have to encounter strong 
opposition, to sow a few seeds now. If 
properly tended, the plants will give of 
their very best in August, and produce far 
finer fruits than those which have become 
somewhat exhausted through bearing the 
brunt of the summer’s supply. 
SlINNYSIDE. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Seed Sowing-. 
Where facilities for the more rapid germi¬ 
nation of seed are at command, the period 
between the sowing and germination is very 
considerably diminished. In fact, a few 
days will often suffice to indicate that the 
seeds are swelling, and a matter of three or 
four weeks produces seedlings in leaf. With 
the more rapid germination, will accompany 
facilities for quicker development of growth 
and by keeping the young plants, constantly 
in a growing state, until the flowering stage 
is reached, the period between sowing and 
flowering, compared with the the older 
methods, is very considerably diminished, 
from three to five years being ample time 
in which to procure flowering plants. 
The usual propagating case, that is pro¬ 
vided in most gardens of the present day, 
will answer the requirements for the suc¬ 
cessful raising of the Epiphytal kinds, such 
as Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, Epidendrums, 
etc. Where this is at command there are 
several ways of sowing the seed. One of 
the most simple is to get a piece of new 
linen, or canvas, such as we have in common 
use for our roof blinds. This should be 
first placed in a saucepan and boiled. Select 
some 4-inch pots and stretch the canvas over 
the top of them, and cut it off about half- 
an-inch larger than the outer rim of the pot. 
The pot should then be filled with drainage 
to about half its depth and covered with a 
little clean sphagnum moss. Take the piece 
of canvas that has been cut to shape, hold- 
ing it in the hollow of the hand, sufficient 
chopped moss being at hand, which, when 
placed in the centre of the canvas, may be 
rolled into a ball by folding the canvas 
around it. Drop the ball thus made into 
the prepared pot with the joined edges at 
the bottom, and then prick a little more 
moss about the outer edges, between the ball 
and the po-t, to prevent it from springing 
out of position. This should be watered 
with rain water and placed in the propa¬ 
gating case a day or two before the seed 
is sown, which wild prevent ■ chill to some 
extent. 
The bed being thus prepared, the seed 
may be sown thinly over the whole surface, 
and all that will be required is an even t< m- 
perature of about 80 to 85 degrees and care- 
ful^ watering when there is a po>ssibil'ty of 
their becoming dry. Orchid seed being so 
minute, it is impossible for them to with¬ 
stand drought, but at the same time stag¬ 
nation must be avoided. Where there is 
ample moisture retained in the case, and it 
is protected from direct sunshine, the seed 
does not require a great deal of water. Dip¬ 
ping is a good method of supplving the 
moisture, as it prevents the tiny seeds from 
being worked over the surface’unless it is 
carelessly floated over the rim of the pots. 
Another Method. 
Another method of sowing seed is to secure 
some rough sawn round deals, which, when 
fitted inside suitable sized pots on a bed of 
chopped sphagnum, form good seed beds. 
The deals should be thoroughly soaked in 
rain water before being used for seed sow¬ 
ing. _ Pitchpine soaked and placed in pots 
is suitable, or pieces of cork are also good 
substitutes for seed beds, but every care is 
then necessary when applying the 'required 
moisture. 
■Where a propagating case is not at com¬ 
mand, a warm moist corner of an ordinary 
stovehouse can be used with every success 
