? 4 6 THB GARDENING WORLD. November 23, 1907. 
Lawns and Paths. 
Lawns and grass paths should be con¬ 
stantly swept and rolled lif first-class turf 
is desired. A final mowing may be given if 
necessary, but I usually find the grass too 
slippery for the machine at this time of the 
year. 
Dahlias. 
Dahlia roots may be lifted ; in foot they 
are better out of the way now. One never 
knows how the weather may turn. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Planting. 
The state of the soil has to be taken into 
consideration where planting is concerned. 
Fruit trees should not be planted in frosty 
weather, nor should the ground be in a state 
of wetness. If is not exactly the wetness that 
endangers the well doing of the trees, but 
the trampling. A tree cannot thrive if the 
soil is simply thrown over the roots. It must 
be well trodden, so as to make the roots 
firm, and any pressure exerted on wet soil 
soon converts it into something approaching 
cement. I know this only too well, for re¬ 
cently I have been trenching some soil that 
was constantly run over by horses and carts, 
to say 'nothing of traction engines, all 
through last winter. The land was formerly 
meadow, but precious little grass remained 
after six months’ perpetual trampling. Dur¬ 
ing the summer this same soil was impene¬ 
trable, except by a pickaxe, and when 
digging it recently I found that despite its 
moistness it was a case of very slow work to 
break it. Many Kentish people will not 
touch itheir soil while it as wet, and they 
declare that soil trampled while wet is 
ruined for a season at least. On fairly 
light soils planting may be done for a week 
or so longer. 
Pruning. 
The pruning of fruit trees is a study in 
itself, and the work should not be hurried. 
There is a considerable difference between 
the pruning of an Apple tree and the 
clipping of a quick hedge. The fruit tree 
must not be trimmed over, just for tidiness. 
When new trees are being dealt with do no-t 
prune them at all. Apples and Pears are 
better if allowed a free season after late 
autumn or spring planting. When ordering 
trees, always state what the trees are re¬ 
quired for. For ordinary garden purposes 
the Paradise stock, is the best for Apples and 
the Quince for Pears. On such stocks the 
trees do not make such rampant growth as 
they might otherwise do. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Digging. 
Digging is an operation that calls for as 
much science as manual strength. Not in¬ 
frequently one goes without the other in this 
work. Plain, digging means that the digger 
should have a clear foot in front of him. 
That is a 12 inch trench, so that he can lift 
each spit and turn it over, right over mind. 
It has always been a puzzle to me why some 
diggers cannot keep to a straight line. They 
may start straight, but after a few trenches 
they are all askew, or the trench is filled up. 
Never turn in big weeds when plain digging. 
Ten to one they will come through. 
Clear up all rubbish that accumulates. 
Asparagus. 
The Asparagus bed has been touched upon 
before, but in case the matter has been over¬ 
looked the beds should be cleaned up 
thoroughly and heavily manured if the soil 
is light. 
Plants in Frames. 
See that Lettuce, etc., in frames have 
plenty of air whenever weather permits. 
Rhubarb for Forcing. 
Rhubarb, if wanted for forcing, should be 
lifted and allowed to stand outside until it 
gets frosted. Lift only very strong roots 
that have not been forced within the past two 
years. Of course frost does not always come 
when wanted, but the fact remains that 
Rhubarb forces (better after being frozen. 
Lifting Roots. 
Make sure of a few Parsnips by lifting a 
number and storing them, in case severe 
weather should prevail later, which may 
prevent lifting. 
Turnips, too, should be lifted and stored 
after cutting off the tops. 
Potatos and Rats. 
Keep an eye on 'the Potato store, and make 
certain that .rats are not finding the tubers. 
To me rats are a terror, for at times I have 
lost great quantities of Potatos. These ver¬ 
min always destroy or ruin a great many 
more than they really eat. 
“ Horti.” 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Leaves and Leaf mould. 
When we consider how extremely valu¬ 
able leafmould .is, the manner in which many 
garden owners neglect dead leaves is remark¬ 
able. Very few gardens furnish anything 
like sufficient dead leaves to provide the ne¬ 
cessary quantity of leafmould, .so that there 
is all the more reason why such leaves as do 
fall into a garden should be preserved. 
They should be stored in some open place 
where rain and frost can reach them, and 
should be surrounded by a bit of wire net¬ 
ting fastened to upright stokes to prevent the 
wind blowing them away while they are dry. 
As far as possible dead sticks should be 
avoided in gathering the leaves, as 'they gene¬ 
rate an injurious fungus growth. Oak 
leaves, are the 'best of all for leafmould, b-ut 
for several years I ran nine greenhouses very 
well indeed with .leafmould largely com¬ 
posed of fruit tree leaves, and others from a 
shrubbery. I mention this to show that Oak 
leaves are not absolutely essential. 
Freesias in Pots. 
A mistake is often made in subjecting these 
to too high a temperature. Under such con¬ 
ditions the foliage becomes long and untidy 
and the plants are frequently only of use for 
supplying cut flowers. A temperature of 
about 50 degs. maximum is about right at 
this season, but even with that the plants 
should be kept well up to the glass. A few 
light stakes, such as prunings from Lime or 
Pear trees, with an encircling band or two 
of raffia tape should be given early to each 
pot, as when once the foliage begins to flop 
about it never looks really well. Feeding 
may commence on the earliest pots, starting 
with quite weak liquid made from farmyard 
or stable manure, and increasing the strength 
gradually. 
Roses from the Garden. 
Nice little Rose bushes potted up now from 
the garden will give a supply of flowers 
much earlier than if they remained in the 
ground. If any compunction is felt at raid¬ 
ing the garden buy a few bushes or dwarfs 
from one of The “ G.W.” advertisers. Tell 
him what you want, and leave the choice of 
varieties to him. Probably he will tel.l you 
that you should buy established Roses in 
pots for the greenhouse. I know you should, 
but I also know they cost more and that these 
others give very nice returns. Pot the plants 
immediately on receipt, and plunge them in 
ashes outdoors or in a cold frame until the 
end of the year. Keep them as short of 
water as possible until the wood ripens and 
the leaves fall. Treat plants lifted from the 
garden in exactly the same way, shortening 
straggling roots before potting. 
Cinerarias in Frames. 
The marvellously mild Weather of early 
November has enabled Cinerarias to make 
wonderful progress in cold frames, and as 
the absence of frost enabled one to leave air 
on all night the plants are very sturdy and 
healthy. Just how much longer we shall be 
able to keep them in cold frames the clerk 
of the weather advises me not to prophecy; 
but there is no need to fear 8 deg. or 10 deg. 
of frost if a mat is laid over the frame. Be¬ 
fore toking the plants -into the greenhouse 
they should be carefully scrutinised for 
greenfly, and if any of these pests are pre¬ 
sent fumigation or vapourising should be 
resorted to; it is so much easier and less ex¬ 
pensive to fumigate a frame than it is a 
greenhouse that I wander the practice is not 
more common, 
Roman Hyacinths. 
There seem to be some really good bulbs 
about this year in spite of last summer; in 
fact, I .have rarely seen finer growth than 
many of my plants are making. Early ones 
should now be .gently hurried along in a 
temperature of 55 deg.; they will then follow 
the ’Mums in nicely. Nat that Romans are 
at all a satisfactory substitute for Chrysan¬ 
themums, but they certainly make a nice 
bright decoration with a few well berried 
Solanums and some Salvia splendens. Give 
each bulb a neat stake just before it i= 
wanted, and try and arrange that each pot¬ 
ful gets a drink of liquid manure at least 
twice a week. As soon as the flowers are two- 
thirds open, stand the plants in a nice, cool 
place, as .they will then last much longer. 
By the way, do not be in a hurry to turn out 
pots which are “ past,” as good bulbs will 
throw up three and eyen four spikes each. 
More Spiraeas. 
If the purse will stretch to a few more 
Spiraeas by all means have them, as nothing 
is more useful or longer lived in spring than 
a well grown .Spiraea. Do not give the 
plants tco much pot room, but be sure and 
allow plenty of space for giving water, or 
there will be a battle royal between the plants 
and the water when the April sunshine gets 
into its stride. The clumps are often very 
dry when received, therefore it is always 
wise to well water .them in after potting; 
when they have drained stand them in a cold 
frame for a few weeks. 
Seakale for Forcing. 
This has been somewhat loth to part with 
its leaves .this autumn, but in most districts 
the whole batch of forcing crowns may now 
be dug up. Reserve -the top 6in. of each root, 
the part bearing the crown, and cut away the 
forked and thong-like lower roots. These 
latter may be it'ied into bundles and buried 
in soil, to plant in spring for growing into 
forcing crowns next winter. This, year’s 
crowns should be potted 2in. apart, in gin. 
or ioin. pots, using any light potting com¬ 
post for filling in round the roots; the crowns 
should just protrude above the soil. After 
potting stand them in .the greenhouse, and 
keep them dark and moist at all times. 
“ SUNNVSIDE.” 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Seedling Orchids. 
Seed germinating on the compost of other 
plants at this season and until the spring 
are always more or less difficult subjects to 
deal with. The application of root moisture 
required to sustain the plant on which the 
seed has been sown, must always be at¬ 
tended with Considerable risk to seedlings in 
a s.ma.11 state, and especially is this the case 
where the surroundings or the outside condi¬ 
tions are such that humidity, is alow in 
evaporation. It is. at this period that so 
many seedlings are lost from what is com¬ 
monly known as damping. This difficulty 
