122 
JJOURKAL  OP  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
Ad&tist  iSflg, 
Listhenia  californioa  is  another  excellent  plant  to  sow  at  the 
present  time  in  order  to  secure  good  plants  for  spring  bedding 
It  seems  to  be  but  little  grown,  and  I  strongly  recommend  it  to  all 
who  require  a  moat  attractive  yellow-flowering  plant,  growing  from 
9  inches  to  a  foot  in  height.  Our  own  atock  of  Silene  pendula 
compacta  and  alba  has  been  sown  a  couple  of  weeks,  with  a  view 
to  get  it  to  flower  as  early  as  possible,  but  it  is  not  yet  too  late  to 
sow  it.  Aubrietias,  Iberis  sempervirens  and  Polyanthuses  were 
sown  at  the  end  of  J une,  and  are  now  ready  for  pricking  out ; 
they  will  then  only  require  to  be  kept  watered  till  established, 
and  free  from  weeds  till  planting  out  time. 
Wallflowers  that  were  pricked  out  some  time  ago  should  be  looked 
over,  and  if  they  show  signs  of  becoming  crowded  the  alternate 
plants  ought  to  be  lifted  with  balls  of  earth  attached  and  trans¬ 
ferred  to  other  quarters.  It  is  only  by  giving  plenty  of  room 
that  dwarf  sturdy  plants  can  be  obtained,  and  leggy  Wallflowers 
are  an  abhorrence  to  all  good  gardeners. 
Violas  must  now  be  taken  in  hand  in  earnest  and  propagated  as 
fast  as  good  cuttings  can  be  obtained  ;  but  it  is  better  to  wait  a 
week  or  two  longer  and  secure  short-jointed  young  shoots  which 
spring  from  the  base  of  the  plant  than  to  insert  the  long-jointed 
ones  that  have  been  flowering  throughout  the  spring  and  summer. 
I  have  met  with  many  gardeners  who  seem  to  take  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  with  Viola  cuttings  and  then  meet  with  only  moderate 
success.  The  simple  plan  I  follow  gives  but  little  trouble,  and 
answers  perfectly.  My  cuttings  are  always  inserted  in  the  same 
position — viz.,  on  a  border  in  front  of  a  south  wall.  The  ground 
first  receives  a  coating  of  good  leaf  soil ;  this  is  dug  in  and  the 
surface  is  trodden  firmly,  raked  level,  and  given  a  thin  coating  of 
road  sand.  The  cuttings  put  in  vary  in  length  from  an  inch  to  an 
inch  and  a  half  ;  these  are  inserted  2  inches  apart,  so  that  those  left 
till  spring  do  not  become  crowded.  I  do  not  shade  in  any  way,  but 
keep  the  soil  constantly  moist,  and  nearly  every  cutting  roots.  I 
am  convinced  that  one  of  the  principal  reasons  why  many  fail  to 
root  their  cuttings  is  that  they  allow  the  surface  soil  to  become  too 
dry  before  water  is  given.  The  strongest  of  our  plants  I  place  in 
the  flower  beds  in  November,  bnt  the  weaker  ones  remain 
undisturbed  till  February  or  March. 
This  year  when  doing  the  summer  bedding  we  lifted  any  Violas 
that  showed  signs  of  exhaustion.  What  good  cuttings  were  thus 
obtained  were  inserted  in  boxes  ;  these  have  rooted,  and  are  now 
growing  freely,  and  in  a  few  days  I  hope  to  have  them  planted  in 
an  open  piece  of  ground  about  G  inches  apart.  By  keeping  the 
flowers  picked  off  we  shall  obtain  plants  that  will  flower  very 
early  in  the  spring. — H.  D. 
CLEANING  UP. 
That  it  is  easier  to  keep  clean  than  to  make  clean  is  a  proverb 
as  applicable  to  gardening  as  to  other  phases  of  a  world  of  work 
may  be  generally  admitted,  and,  doubtless,  there  are  many  who 
more  keenly  feel  the  force  of  it  by  reason  of  antagonistic  circnm- 
stances  preventing,  to  more  or  less  extent,  its  practical  observance. 
I  do  not  know  that  any  lengthy  dissertation  is  necessary  to  convey 
a  clear  meaning  beyond  saying  that  in  many  gardens  it  is  not  until 
the  approaching  season  of  autumn  comes  round  that  perfect  neat¬ 
ness  and  order,  so  dear  to  all,  can  be  obtained,  and  that  may  in 
some  instancea  be  deferred  until  even  that  late  season  is  far  spent. 
Even  the  best  cultural  results,  if  the  best  can  be  attained  under 
these  conditions,  are  seriously  discounted  is  plain,  and  that  no  one 
feels  this  more  than  the  chief  in  charge  is  often  evidenced  by  an 
apologetic  introduction  to  his  friends  of  his  handiwork.  Brother 
gardeners,  as  critics,  whilst  being  the  most  critically  disposed,  fortu¬ 
nately  (or  unfortunately)  know,  as  a  rule,  where  the  shoe  pinches, 
and  probably  make  due  allowance  for  visible  shortcomings.  This 
is  consolation  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  it  doe#  not  go  far,  not  far 
enough  to  lessen  the  anxiety  one  has,  or  should  have,  to  afford  to 
those  to  whqm  it  is  joitly  dne  the  highest  possible  pleasure  and 
satisfaction  their  gardens  can  yield. 
Apart  from  appearances,  there  are,  unfortunately,  certain  arrears 
of  work  which  seriously  handicap  efforts  for  a  long  period;  so  long, 
indeed,  that  for  season  after  season  a  heavy  mortgage  is  held  over 
the  worker’s  head.  This  worst  aspect  of  the  case  is  obviously  that 
in  which  weeds  are  not  cleared  off  until  they  have  performed  their 
functions  of  seed  production  and  distribution;  and,  bad  a#  this  is,  it 
is  further  augmented  by  the  extra  labour  involved  in  the  removal 
of  increased  bulk.  Sa  it  is  with  summer  pruning  when  deferred, 
amounting  to  an  expense  of  force  on  the  part  of  our  fruit  bearers; 
and,  certainly,  a  heavy  crop  of  breastwood  hanging  from  the  best 
of  trained  trees  is  sufficient  of  itself  to  neutralise  Heaven’s  first 
law,  which  is  nowhere  more  conspicuous  by  its  presence,  or  its 
absence,  than  in  the  garden.  Returning  to  the  weed  part  of  the 
question,  one  cannot  but  note  the  vast  difference  in  their  destruc¬ 
tion  by  hoeing  in  the  earlier  stages  as  against  the  labour  of  hand¬ 
pulling  when  the  former  is  no  longer  possible  amongst  advancing 
crop#. 
'  All  this  is,  of  course,  rather  a  matter  'of  the  immediate  past 
than  of  the  present.  Even  the  roughest  of  gardens  will  soon  take 
on  a  fairer  surface  under  their  autumnal  cleaning  up  ;  but  it  is, 
alas  !  on  the  surface  only.  The  seeds  are  sown  ;  history  repeats 
itself,  and  the  evil  is  chronic.  Surface  cleanline##,  superficial 
trimne#s  reigns  through  the  short-lived  autumn.  An  inspection  of 
the  garden  at  this  season  gives  unqualified  pleasure  to  the  visitor#  ; 
and,  to  the  viiited,  sufficient  for  the  day  would  be  the  evil  thereof 
if  present  ease  were  not  discounted  by  prospective  discomfort  with 
a  sure  and  certain  recurrence  of  it. 
There  would,  indeed,  be  but  of  little  use  in  pointing  an  evil 
unless  some  remedy,  direct  or  indirect,  was  prescribed  as  an 
antidote.  Assuming  that  direct  remedial  measures  are  unattainable, 
that  the  balance  of  power  to  cope  with  pressure  of  work  when  at 
its  highest  tension  must  always  be  a  little  on  the  wrong  side,  there 
i#  no  choice  but  to  employ  such  methods  as  present  themselves, 
indirect  though  they  be,  to  the  end  in  view.  It  is  not  difficult 
amongst  the  many  gardens  under  personal  notice  to  find  one  capable 
of  illustrating  the  text ;  one  in  which  by  an  economic  use  of  the 
limited  labour  force  with  *uch  small  inventions  as  are  bred  of 
necessity  almost  aurprising  results  are  attained  and  maintained. 
But  that  it  is  not  easy  to  see  the  means  employed  is  frequently 
found  in  exclamations  of  surprise  from  thoie  who  witness  the 
app%rent  disparity  between  ciuse  and  effect. 
One  of  these  gardens  may  be  taken,  in  order  to  point  a  moral. 
It  is  an  old  garden  and  an  extensive  one  too,  for  although  the 
labourers  are  few  there  has  been  no  curtailment  of  its  ample 
proportions.  Occasional  visits  have  been  paid  to  it  at  all  seasons, 
and  it  has  been  seen  under  all  conditions,  from  that  which  may  be 
designated  as  a  state  of  deshabille  to  one  of  full  dress  after  the 
autumn  cleaning  up  ;  and  it  is  pleasant  to  note  how  the  chief  in 
charge  ha#  so  far  triumphed  over  these  trials  of  a  gardener's  life 
that  now,  visit  him  when  you  will,  even  at  the  busiest  time  of  a 
busy  s  Jason,  there  appears  to  be  no  arrears  accumulating  for  the 
grand  finale  of  cleaning  up  late  in  the  season. 
As  previously  stated,  it  is  easier  to  see  the  result  than  to  see 
how  it  has  been  accomplished,  and  this  in  spite  of  a  more  diminished 
rather  than  an  increased  staff  ;  but  such  things  as  I  have  noted 
shali  be  detailed  here.  That  the  force  of  nntoward  circumstances 
have  been  met  and  conquered  by  energy  goes  without  saying,  but 
it  appears  to  be  rather  the  triumph  of  mind  over  matter  than  of 
brute  force  matched  against  itself  ;  indeed,  bad  the  latter  only 
been  brought  'nto  play,  my  friend,  I  fear,  would  have  been  played 
out  long  since — worsted  in  the  warfare. 
In  the  first  place  I  notice  how  eager  he  is  to  seize  upon  each 
labour-saving  invention  as  soon  as  its  merits  have  been  published 
on  reliable  authority.  Economy  is,  needless  to  say,  a  sme  qua  non 
with  him,  hence  experimenting  is  practically  out  of  the  question. 
There  is  nothing  more  conducive  to  keeping  up  appearances  than 
clean  walks,  and  our  friend  is  a  great  believer  in  weed-killer, 
which  he  buys  in  quantity  at  the  cheapest  rate,  and  an  annual 
dressing  in  propitious  weather  saves  him  further  anxiety  on  that 
score.  Among  the  crops  chemical  manures  have  largely  taken  the 
place  of  the  bulky  farmyard  fertiliser#  hitherto  solely  employed, 
and  'oeside  the  direct  saving  of  labour  in  application  this  concen¬ 
trated  nutriment  is,  he  tells  me,  less  favourable  to  the  growth  of 
weeds. 
With  the  various  crops  under  kitchen  garden  culture,  I  notice  that 
more  space  is  left  between  the  drills  than  of  yore,  thus  allowing 
freedom  for  the  hoe  to  work,  and  reducing  hand-weeding  through 
the  entire  growing  season  to  a  minimum  ;  but  what  is  regarded  as  a 
distinct  saving  of  labour  is  the  establishment  of  small  depo  ;8  at 
convenient  places  for  all  waste,  whether  in  the  form  of  weeds  or 
vegetable  refuse.  In  one  quarter  the  foundation  is  being  laid  for  a 
future  Asparagus  bdd  by  this  means.  In  another  it  forms  the  core 
for  next  year’s  Marrow  bed  ;  whilst  in  another  a  piece  of  vacant 
ground  is  being  trenched  by  degrees,  each  trench  being  the  receptacle 
for  all  refuse  in  the  vicinity.  Yet  all  these  helps  are  carried  on  as 
unobtrusively  as  they  are  systematically,  so  all  is  done  “  decently 
and  in  order.”  With  this  phase  of  the  subject  our  friend  has,  I 
think,  scored  to  distinct  advantage ;  long  distance  wheeling  from 
