December 28, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
813 
The Flower Garden. 
There is still some cleaning up to be done 
in many places. Old leaves continue to make 
their appearance, and they should not be al¬ 
lowed to lie about on paths and drives until 
they become rotten and black. 
Manuring Lawns. 
The lawns, too, still call for the broom 
and the roller, if they have not been dressed 
with manure. It is a pity that owners of 
lawns do not adopt this latter practice more. 
Many people have a notion that grass needs 
no attention in the way of feeding. They 
cut and cut, and take away all the clippings, 
yet never think of assisting the roots. Grass 
is not exactly a ravenous subject, but it 
nevertheless greatly appreciates a light 
dressing of rotten stable manure, which 
should be raked and stirred about at inter¬ 
vals. Failing stable manure, a dressing of 
basic slag will work wonders on an im¬ 
poverished lawn. Several pounds to the 
square rod may be given, and it should be 
applied early. 
Shrubberies. 
Shrubberies, if not already cleaned up, 
should be forked over, after giving a decent 
coat of manure. Do not neglect to give the 
tender shrubs some little protection, or there 
may be some weeping and wailing by the 
time spring comes round again. 
Pits and Frames. 
Pits and frames should not be forgotten, 
and all the occupants, be they Violets, Car¬ 
nations or anything else, must be kept free 
from decaying foliage. Give plenty of air, 
but keep everything as dry as possible. 
Climbing Roses. 
Many people are apt to forget that climb¬ 
ing Roses require winter attention. They 
see gorgeous plants in other gardens, and 
complain that their own never do so well nor 
look so neat. Now is the time to handle 
them. All old wood that interferes with 
even training should be cut away, together 
with weak, unripened growths. The long 
leaders made last season should be carefully 
fastened up, for if allowed to hang loose 
they get badly torn through being lashed 
against each other by the wind. Roses on 
walls always start into growth earlier than 
the ordinary trees', as they lie or stand 
warmer. Therefore early pruning is quite 
in order, and early bloom may be expected, 
especially from trees, growing on south walls. 
Other climbers should receive similar atten¬ 
tion, but it is desirable that the tidying up 
man should know what he is handling. 
Some plants flower on the old wood, and to 
cut this away would mean a great loss of 
bloom. 
Planting. 
Deciduous trees of all kinds may still be 
planted if open weather and fairly dry soil 
permits, Elders, Ribes, Weigelas, Prunus, 
Thorns, Lilacs, etc., all come under this 
category. 
Digging. 
Continue to dig over vacant ground, and 
always make a practice of destroying ever}' 
suspicious insect turned up. Leather jackets, 
cockchafer grubs, wire worm,, etc., are 
usually plentiful. If very numerous it if 
better to clear them all out by using 
Vaporite. 
Dahlias. 
Make sure that no tender plants remain 
unprotected. Dahlias and other tender 
roots are, I take it, all up. - Store them in a 
cool place as soon as well dried. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Planting Raspberries. 
Lovers of Raspberries who have not yet 
planted a stock may do so still. Make sure 
the ground is in good condition. Young 
canes with plenty of roots should be selected, 
and after planting cut them down to about a 
foot. It is no use thinking of making jam 
next summer of Raspberries planted now. 
Raspberries, if not cut back well, never make 
really good growth afterwards. 
Re-grafting. 
Those who have a fancy for re-grafting 
old, worthless, yet vigorous fruit trees, 
should make sure of getting some good 
scions, while pruning is the order of the 
day. These should be half buried in 
the coolest place possible; close by a north 
wall will do. Do not, however, think of 
re-grafting old worn out trees. Rather grub 
them up and plant a few young ones. 
Bush Fruit Cuttings. 
Bush fruit cuttings may be inserted if nice 
young trees are wanted in two or three years 5 
time. Select only well ripened growths, and 
let them be about 10 inches in length. Make 
sure that the lower eyes of Gooseberries and 
white and red Currants are removed before 
planting. Black Currants should not be so 
treated. 
Strawberries. 
See that recently planted Strawberries are 
kept free from weeds. Use the hoe in dry 
weather. 
Push ahead with the preparing of ground 
for planting. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Forcing Seakale. 
If early Seakale is wanted the roots must 
be potted or boxed and placed in a fairly 
'warm dark place, and kept thoroughly moist. 
At this period of the year the roots are not 
very quick at starting. If not wanted early 
keep the rhots stored under the soil out of 
doors. . 
Forcing Rhubarb. 
Rhubarb for forcing should be lifted and 
allowed to remain out of doors, so that it 
gets well frosted. The roots will not re¬ 
spond very quickly to heat if not frozen be¬ 
forehand. 
Lettuce in Frames. 
Lettuce in frames should be frequently at¬ 
tended to. All decaying foliage must be 
removed. 
The Hotbed. 
Hotbed making should be started upon 
early, if early seed raising is to be at¬ 
tempted. Collect only sound unfermented 
manure, and keep it frequently turned. It 
is advisable to keep the manure covered, or 
it may become saturated bv heavy rains. A 
certain amount of moisture is necessary, but 
it is possible to have too much. Where there 
is plenty of frame space, one may raist 
many early crops such as Carrots, Lettuce, 
Radish, etc., by the aid of hotbeds. 
Manuring. 
Manure that has been stacked for garden 
use should be turned over and carted where 
wanted whenever the ground is frozen. One 
may run a barrow over frozen ground with 
impunity, but get stuck up if it is not. 
Digging. 
Vacant ground should be broken up as 
soon as possible. There is no necessity to 
break the lumps, the frost will have more 
effect on roughly dug ground. Trench 
wherever possible, but let it be done 
thoroughly. 
“ Horti.” 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
Early Hydrangeas. 
Whenever undue earliness is obtained it is 
generally at the expense of something, and 
so it is with early Hydrangeas. By bring¬ 
ing in a few spring-struck plants now from 
cold frames some very early heads of bloom 
will be obtained, but the heads will be 
smaller in size than those on plants intro¬ 
duced later and brought along gradually. 
Still, early Hydrangeas are so very valuable 
in view of their long lasting properties that 
I do not hesitate to recommend anyone to 
bring in a few who has a good batch. They 
should have a temperature of quite 50 deg. 
to start with, and this should rise to 60 deg. 
within a month. The plants must have 
plenty of water after they commence to 
grow, and should be fed liberally with 
liquid manure as soon as the “flowers’ 5 show 
colour. Plants in cold frames should have 
a few dead leaves packed round their pots 
in the event of severe frost. 
Malmaison Carnations. 
It is useless giving these much heat and 
water unless flower buds are showing; the 
plants are quite hardy, but this is seldom 
realized or acted upon. If flower buds are 
prominent stand the plants in a light and 
airy place, where the day temperature ranges 
about 50 deg., and water them very care¬ 
fully, keeping the foliage dry. A little 
Clay’s Fertiliser will help them considerably 
in developing their buds. Later plants 
should be kept as cool as possible and quite 
dry in the foliage; the soil, too, is best kept 
on the dry side, as anything like saturation 
is fatal. 
Home-grown Lily of the Valley. 
Those who do not mind robbing the flower 
garden should make a raid on the Lily of 
the Valley bed, and secure some roots for 
pots. Dig up the roots with a garden fork 
and pull them into pieces with the hands. 
What is wanted for pots are the fattest of 
the buds or crowns; those that are plump and 
round at the top, not the thin and poiptgd 
ones. These should be secured as separate 
crowns, and planted about i^in. in boxes of 
light soil for giving early cut flowers, or 
in 5in. pots for house decoration. The ends 
of the old roots should be trimmed off, and 
the crowns inserted so that their tips pro¬ 
trude about ^in. above the surface of the 
soil. They should go straight into a moist, 
warm corner of the greenhouse, and will 
come along the more quickly if kept dark. 
This is easily accomplished by inverting an 
empty flower pot over the pots or a box over 
the boxes. They take plenty of water, but it 
should always be chilled when given to 
plants in growth. 
Verbena Miss Willmott. 
This beautiful Verbena and others of a 
similar type have made great strides in the 
affection of the professional gardener, and I 
hope that many amateurs are trying their 
hands with the plants, for they are splendid 
greenhouse subjects. At this season they are 
rather inclined to suffer from mildew at¬ 
tacks, and if not attended to quickly 
sicken and die. Dry flowers of sulphur 
