November 9, 1907. 
721 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
easily obtained as standards, as the latter 
may be found in hedges, but small seedling 
briers are much more rare, save in nurseries 
yihere they are raised. I myself prefer die 
rutting brier—that is briers raised from cu- 
tings, as they are less liable to send up 
suckers than are seedlings. 
Brier Cuttings. 
Brier cuttings inserted now will be fit for 
budding in 1909. Those who want to in¬ 
crease stock without any great trouble 
should insert cuttings of all the stronger 
growing Roses. Well ripened wood can be 
relied upon to strike freely, and many of 
the cuttings willlt flower next season, al¬ 
though 1 much prefer to remove such flowers 
as they tend to weaken the young plants. 
Ivy Planting. 
The present is a good time for planting 
Ivy, and for quick growth there are few 
climbers that can surpass the common Irish 
Ivy. However, there are so many other 
beautiful varieties that I would not use the 
common green more than was really neces¬ 
sary. Plant firmly and in good, rich soil. 
Ivy cuttings root readily if inserted now 
in sandy soil. 
Carnations. 
Carnations in frames should be frequently 
looked over. All decaying foliage must be 
removed. Keep the lights always open, 
save in wet or frosty weather. Closed 
lights bring disease wholesale. If spot is 
noticeable a light sprayinsr with Bordeaux 
mixture will check it, but plenty of air is 
the best preventative. 
Sweet Peas. 
The sooner the Sweet Pea ground is 
trenched the better, as it will have ample 
opportunity for settling. Loose soil will 
not do Sweet Peas well. If the plants are 
grown in row's, the trenches should be at 
least a yard wide, and the deeper the better. 
A note from Weybridge way three weeks ago 
informed me that one Sweet Pea plot was 
completed. Incidently I might mention that 
next year promises to be very strenuous. 
Many new men will enter the arena, and 
one has been seeking my advice as to the 
varieties he should grow to enable him 
to win the Eckford Memorial Cup. The 
Horace Wright Bowl, too, is booked by its 
present holder. Old time champions will 
need to buckle on their armour in order to 
meet these new' gladiators. 
Laying Turf. 
The laying of turf may be continued 
j while frost holds off. Beat it well. 
Lawns. 
Lawns, if not kept swept and rolled, will 
soon become a mass of worm casts. It is 
amazing to notice how worms become active 
after the October rains start. Where they 
get to during the dry weather is a mystery, 
unless they all migrate to the borders. 
Badly infested lawns should be treated with 
some preparation, such as Carter’s worm 
killer. Of course no permanent clearance 
can be effected. 
i ^ The Fruit Garden. 
Planting Fruit Trees. 
The planting of fruit trees will soon have 
to stop, but if the weather remain mild the 
work may be continued for a week or tw r o. 
According to w T eather prophets, we sheaVI 
he fighting a temperature somewhere near 
zero just now, but at the time of writing 
zero is off by a long sight. 
Pruning Bush Fruits. 
Finish the pruning of bush fruits and 
Raspberries if not done. We shall soon 
have quite a small army of berry fruits. 
The Laxtonberry. 
The new' Laxtonberry is claimed to be a 
fine improvement on the Loganberry. 
Laxtons are busying themselves with this 
type of fruit, and we may expect to see some 
great things later on. 
Burbank’s Raspberry. 
I also note that Burbank’s Phenomenal 
Red Raspberry is being taken up largely by 
the trade. A great deal is claimed for this 
Californian Raspberry. 
Examine Stored Fruits. 
Look over stored fruit frequently, as a 
slight speck one day becomes a big patch a 
day or so later. Pears very rapidly go 
off if damaged in any way. They also 
ripen very fast when once they start. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
A Remedy for Slugs, Etc. 
Slugs are lively just now, and I am 
prompted to quote a recipe for destroying 
these leather jackets, grubs, etc., given by a 
big nurseryman in America. One peck of 
bran mixed with one quart of black treacle 
with which has been incorporated one table¬ 
spoonful of Paris green. Rub well together 
until the whole crumbles easily. Scalier 
lightly among the plants where the pests are 
troublesome. This is claimed to be never 
failing. Woodlice also fall victims to it. 
If it will clear our Lettuce plots of slugs 
and our Cabbage plots of leather jackets, we 
shall all be thankful. 
Trenching. 
. All vacant ground may be dug or 
trenched, unless it is to be used for Potatos. 
I am strongly against digging heavy soil 
before February if Potatos are to be planted 
thereon. When advising trenching most 
writers say leave the soil as rough as pos¬ 
sible. Now, if the ground is thoroughly 
trenched or even bastard trenched, it is im¬ 
possible to leave a rough surface. Before 
the lower spits can be dug, all crumbs must 
be cleaned out, and these same crumbs are 
generally pretty numerous. 
Seakale. 
All Seakale that is to be forced indoors 
should be lifted as soon as the foliage falls. 
If new crowns are wanted for next year 
prepare the young thongs right away, and 
bury them. Make sure of keeping them all 
one way, and lay in bundles to prevent their 
being mixed. It is awkward if one plants 
the thongs upside down and it is impossible 
to tell which is the right end unless the 
thongs are tapering at one end. 
Make Celery ridges firm so as to throw off 
all water. 
Plant Horseradish now, selecting good, 
straight thongs. 
Horti. 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Propagating- Budded Epiphyllums. 
Of all the operations connected with green¬ 
house work I know of few so fascinating as 
propagating well-budded “shoots” of Epi¬ 
phyllums. You wait until the pink or red 
buds show like heads at the ends of the leaves 
(or phyllodes), then you cut off nice little 
branchy bits well furnished with buds, and 
insert them singly in very small pots. Now 
is an excellent time to do this in order to 
have pretty little flowering plants for the 
decoration of the Christmas dinner table. 
Of course, the severance of the branches will 
deform the parent plant if not carefullj' 
done, so only those portions which can he 
well Spared should be selected. Crock 2 in. 
pots, fill them with sandy soil, make a hole 
in the soil with the finger, fill it with sand, 
and insert the “ cutting,” making _ it very 
firm. Water in and stand the pots in a box 
of oocoanut fibre, standing this in turn on 
the hot-water pipes, or jtr some- light and 
warm corner of the house. Very little water 
will be needed, and it will be found that the 
plants are nicely rooted by the time the 
flowers expand. 
Pruning Climbing Plants. 
These now begin to look very shabby and 
should therefore be taken in hand. Such 
plants as are best pruned in spring should 
have the weakest and crossing growths cut 
away, together with others which are ob¬ 
viously superfluous. This will let in light 
and air to the other growths and to plants 
beneath. Other plants, such as Allamandas, 
Plumbagos, and Bougainvilleas, may be cut 
back now, pruning the shoots to within a 
few buds of the old wood. This will prob¬ 
ably clear out a lot of insect pests, and if 
the old wood is at the same time cleaned 
with a painter’s half-worn brush and a little 
soft soap and warm water, much future 
trouble will be avoided. 
Vine Borders. 
Now is the time to make new or renovate 
old Vine borders. When Vines are un¬ 
healthy and the berries shank, the cause may 
generally be found in a defective border. 
In such cases all the old soil possible should 
be dug out and wheeled to the vegetable gar¬ 
den, carefully preserving the roots en¬ 
countered in digging. It is a good plan 
when -the job is a big one to tie the roots 
in a loose bundle and a wisp of wet straw 
round them. In re-making the borders, place 
a laver of broken bricks right at the bottom, 
on this ia layer of turves, grass side down¬ 
wards, filling up with turfy loam chopped 
into lumps as big as the fist. With this 
latter a good sprinkling of i-in. bones and a 
little of Thomson’s Vine manure should be 
mixed, but no animal manure. Keep the 
roots well up and arrange them, as far as 
possible, in natural layers. A light treading 
should be given before placing on the final 
layer of chopped turf, but this should be 
left as loose as possible. 
Strawberries in Pots. 
If not already done, place these in a cold 
frame, but do not close the light except in 
severe- weather. Look over the plants occa¬ 
sionally to nip off any runners which show 
signs of forming, and also to kill slugs, 
which have a nasty habit of hiding in the 
crowns of the plants. Little water will be 
needed, but on no account must the soil ever 
become really dry. Some growers place a 
few plants in the greenhouse at this season, 
but the amateur may well wait another few 
months before doing so. 
Bulbs in Frames and Under Ashes. 
-Constantly examine the bulbs under ashes, 
as growth is. or should be, well under way 
with all of them now, and a few days’ con¬ 
tact of the young shoots with the wet ashes 
may do much harm. If any have made top 
growth but few roots, cover them with an 
inverted flower-pot and plunge again under 
the ashes. Bulbs in frames should have an 
abundance of ait at all times. As wanted 
for the greenhouse, they should be freely 
drawn upon, but there need be no hurry to 
take them from the frames unless they are 
wanted in the house. Those already in the 
greenhouse must have plenty of water and 
be kept well up to the light, or spindly 
g-rowth and weak flower spikes will result. 
Winter Tomatos. 
These are quite a mistake as far as the gene¬ 
ral amateur gardener is concerned. His 
house is rarely sufficiently heated, and the 
numbers and varieties of other plants grown 
make it impossible that he can give the To¬ 
matos the treatment they require. ^ Perhaps 
it may be unnecessary to warn “ G. W.” 
readers of this, but I have recently heard of 
an amateur who struck a fine lot of cuttings 
at the end of August to give winter fruits, 
and is now sorry for what he has done. My 
advice is : Clear awav all Tomato plants, 
