462 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  8,  1899. 
easy  to  accomplish.  A  thorough  watering  as  soon  as  the  planting  of 
each  bed  is  accomplished  will  put  matters  right  for  a  day  or  two,  with 
the  exception  of  a  sprinkling  to  freshen  the  foliage,  given  each  after¬ 
noon  or  evening;  hut  this  niu-it  not  be  confounded  with  the  real 
operation  of  watering.  I  always  find  it  better  to  water  thoroughly 
twice  or  thrice  a  week,  than  to  give  only  a  moderate  watering  each 
afternoon,  for  powerful  sunshine  .acting  on  soil  damp  on  the  surface 
onlv  quickly  draws  out  the  reserved  moisture  beneath. 
S'irring  the  surface  of  the  soil  avith  a  hoe  the  day  after  watering 
has  been  performed  is  the  best  plan  to  adopt  to  prevent  undue 
evaporation,  as  a  loose  surface  cannot  crack  and  form  .so  many 
channels  through  which  moisture  escapes,  and  warmtli  too.  The  use 
<rf  the  hoe  provides  an  inexpensive  and  natural  “  mulch,”- which  can 
be  practised  on  a  large  scale  when  mulching  with  other  materials 
would  be  out  of  the  question.  To  those  who  have  extensive  flower 
gardens  to  manage  without  the  conveniences  of  an  adequate  water 
supjdy,  the  present  is  a  trying  time,  for  watering  on  a  large  scale 
'avith  the  barrel  and  water-pot  is  both  a  slow  and  laborious  business; 
■yet,  perforce,  it  must  be  done  if  .satisfactory  results  are  to  be  obtained. 
Leaf  soil  .and  short  gr.ass  are,  however,  usually  plentiful  enough  in 
private  gardens,  and  they  can  at  this  season  be  put  to  good  use  by 
placing  a  layer  2  or  3  inches  in  thickness  over  all  flower  beds  as  soon 
as  they  have  been  watered.  The  time  spent  in  doing  this  will  be 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  labour  saved  in  watering.  In  light 
soils  such  plants  as  Calceolarias  and  tuberous  Begonias  can  seldom  be 
■  kept  in  good  condition  during  hot  weather  unless  a  mulch  of  some 
•kind  is  given. 
Abundance  of  sunshine,  and  water  intelligently  applied,  are  the 
m.ain  factors  in  producing  a  brilliant  display  in  the  flower  garden, 
especially  when  Zonal  Pelargoniums  are  largely  employed,  and  I 
suspect  they  always  will  be,  though  I  hope  never  again  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  crowd  out  the  many  beautiful  plants  now  so  freely  used. 
After  a  cold  wet  summer  Pelargoniums  as  bedders  generally  come  in 
for  a  fair  share  of  coudemnation,  but  they  invariably  assert  their 
usefulness  again  during  a  hot  season. 
In  the  kitchen  g.arden  every  moment  that  can  be  spared  is  well 
employed  in  keeping  the  hoe  going  between  growing  crops  ;  ■weeds  are 
thus  checked  in  their  early  stages  and  the  foundation  laid  for  keeping 
free  from  them  throughout  the  summer.  The  man  who  does  this,  and 
has  also  dug  deeply  and  manured  liberally  during  the  winter  months, 
feels  secure  from  ordinary  drought,  for  he  knows  his  crops  have  a 
.reserve  store  of  food,  and  .ample  moisture  deep  down  in  the  soil;  the 
loose  surface  may  be  dust  dry,  but  it  performs  its  great  work  of 
conserving  moisture  for  the  benefit  of  vegetation. 
For  ordinary  vegetable  crops  the  attention  above  indicated  is  all 
that  can  usually  be  given,  but  for  those  grown  for  exhibition  purposes 
a  liberal  use  of  water  must  be  made  as  well,  for  no  matter  how  wet 
the  spring  may  have  been,  abundance  of  water  given  in  hot  weather 
shows  its  result  in  the  form  of  far  greater  weight  of  crop  per  yard.  It 
is  easy  to  understand  the  importance  of  a  thorough  system  of  irrigation 
in  tropical  countries,  for  with  long  hot  summers  there  seems  to  be 
practically  no  limit  to  the  weight  of  crop  an  acre  of  land  will  produce 
■when  we  find  sunshine  and  water  ad  Uh.  at  the  command  of  vegetation. 
There  is,  however,  one  other  point  which  must  not  be  over¬ 
looked — viz.,  the  importance  of  giving  additional  fertilisers  when 
water  is  freely  used,  because  the  operation  results  in  much  plant  food 
Being  washed  into  the  subsoil.  In  garden  pract'ce  this  is  counteracted 
By  Avatering  with  liquid  manure,  or  by  applying  a  coating  of  natural 
manure  and  watering  through  it.  Chemical  mrinures  used  in  con- 
-i  unction  with  water  are,  during  hot  weather,  very  rapid  in  their  effect. 
A  sprinkling  of  giTauo  between  the  rows  of  .an  Onion  bed,  around 
Teas  or  Beans,  given  just  before  watering,  soon  shows  that  the  crops 
Hike  the  treatment,  but  to  apply  such  fertilisers  in  hot  weather  and 
•omit  to  water  immediately  after,  causes  great  injury,  as  many  roots 
are  burnt,  and  top  growth  quickly  shows  signs  of  distress. 
A  vital  ])oint  for  all  to  remember  in  hot  weather  is.  Use  water  as 
jfroely  as  you  like  on  young  crops,  but  do  not  forget  that  as  the  sun¬ 
shine  and  Avater  help  to  give  you  a  heavy  crop,  additional  fertilisers 
-ought  to  be  used  to  make  up  for  the  large  amount  the  extra  produce 
takes  from  the  soil. — II.  Dunkin. 
IN  THE  TIME  OF  FLOWERS. 
Noav  is  the  time  Avhen  our  thoughts  find  it  difficult  to  choose  from 
among  our  treasures  the  one  flower  Avhich  can  be  c.alled  the  most 
beauti  111.  The  Poet’.s  Narcissus  is  yet  with  us;  the  tall  and  stately 
Tulips — a  noble  regiment,  fit  gu.ardsmen  for  Flora’s  throne — are 
lovely.  Ch.aste  or  bright  WindfioAvers ;  blood-red  Wallflowers  Aviih 
sweet-scented  breath;  snowy  Candytufts  ;  delicate  Kockfoils,  Avith  the 
hundred  and  one  flowers  of  the  late  May  time  greet  us  brightly  .as 
Ave  look  out  upon  them  now.  Well  is  it  that  their  beauties  are  grea*', 
for  they  have  to  hold  thoT  OAvn  in  cur  eyes  Avith  the  blossom  of  the 
Apple  trees,  .so  delightful  in  their  betiuty  .as  these  Avords  are  jrenned. 
It  IS,  as  the  American  poet  says,  a  time  of  “Hourly  burst  ol  jiretty 
buds  and  floAvers,”  in  Avhose  presence  we  Avould  fain  remain  for  long 
even  thouoh  the  Avoods  and  fields  would  entice  us  with  their  many- 
voice  l  charms.  The  lover  of  Nature  h.as  so  full  a  banquet  of  be.au' y 
before  him  that  he  cannot  partake  of  all,  and  must,  perforce,  only 
enjoy  a  tew  of  the  many  delicacies  spread  for  his  acceptance. 
If  we  wander  a  little  A\’ay  we  come  on  a  place  wheie  “  the  wild 
M.arsh  Marigold  shines  like  fire  in  SAA^amps  and  hollows  gray,”  as 
Tennyson  says  ;  but  we  need  not  go  so  far  to  see  a  more  gloAA'ing 
picture  given  by  i's  double  sister-form  by  the  Water  Lily  pool.  As 
one  looks  upon  the  blaze  of  velloAV  these  flowers  of  the  double  Caltha 
palustris  give,  aa’o  think  of  Jean  Ingelow’s  words: — 
O,  brave  Marsh  Marybuds,  rich  and  yellow, 
G-ive  me  your  money  to  hold  ! 
By  the  margin  of  the  pool,  in  the  marshy  soil,  a  big  plant  grows 
with  its  fresh  luscious-looking  green  leax^es  th'c'rly  studded  by  the 
golden  buttons  which  shine  so  brightly,  and  look  so  Avell  when  seen 
mirrored  in  the  placid  pool. 
If  the  Aubrietia,  with  its  broad  spreading  sheets  of  floAvers,  is 
beautiful,  equally  so  are  the  spring  Phloxes  who'e  blos.soms  cover  the 
stones  over  which  they  spread  so  freely.  Not  all  of  these  haA'e  opened 
as  the.se  words  are  ivritten,  but  enough  have  come  to  show  us  that  our 
recollections  of  their  beauties  in  former  years  b.ave  not  been  loo 
highly  coloured,  and  that  those  sheets  of  Avhite,  lilac,  ro.sy  purple,  or 
centred  flowers  are  as  lovely  as  the  pictures  which  swiftly  come  at 
our  call  fn  m  the  cells  of  memory.  One  would  fain  bring  more  often 
before  those  who  love  their  gardens  the  claims  of  these  varieties  of 
Phlox  setacea,  or,  more  correctly,  P.  subulata,  Avhich,  on  the  rocky 
edgings  of  the  borders  or  the  rock  garden  slopes  look  so  full  of  bright 
beauty. 
As  ore  views  the  Spanish  and  spreading  Squills  one’s  thoughts 
fly  (juickly  to  the  azure  sheen  of  the  wild  Bluebell  of  England,  the 
Scottish  “Craw  tae,”  which,  in  many  acred  sheets,  is  not  far  away. 
Bolder  and  Avith  larger  flowers  Scilla  campanulata,  the  Spanish  Squill, 
is  not  so  graceful,  perh.aps,  in  its  habit  as  our  oAvn  Scilla  nutans,  yet 
as  a  garden  planter  for  wild  gardening  it  mav  Avell  be  prized.  Even 
prettier,  I  think,  is  S.  pAatula  in  forms  Avith  white,  blue,  or  pale  flesh- 
pink  flowers,  Avhich  look  so  prettv  in  low  spots  in  the  alpine  garden 
or  by  the  Avooded  path.  The  first  plants  of  S.  patula  in  my  garden 
were  flesh-coloured,  but  their  descendants  have  sported  into  white  and 
blue,  even  prettier  than  the  parent  from  AA'hich  they  came. 
Some  of  the  early  Tulips  are  over,  and  noAV  their  brothers  of  later 
habit  are  in  bloom  or  coming  on.  Very  beautiful  as  are  the  English 
florist!?’  Tulips  for  ordinary  decorative  garden  effect,  seen  a  little  aAvay 
they  are  not  so  valufible  as  the  self-c 'loured  forms.  Some  of  the  old 
Tulips,  such  as  Golden  CroAvn  or  Golden  Eagle,  are  very  beautiful,  and 
superior  in  brightness  to  several  AAdiich  h.ave  been  sold  .as  “  DarAA'in  ” 
Tulips.  The  latter  haAm  disappointed  numerous  grower.s,  and  the 
writer  among  the  number.  Many  are  dull  and  ineffective,  and  shoAv 
no  improvement  upon  the  or.linary  breeder  Tulip.  It  may  be  that  our 
British  season  is  less  bright  than  that  of  the  Continent,  and  less  able 
to  bring  out  the  colour  ot  the  floAvers.  HnAA^ever,  the  Avriter  this  season 
has  the  opportunity  of  testing  a  few  varieties  of  “  DarAvin  ”  Tulips 
direct  from  Messrs.  Krelage  &  Son,  of  Ila.arlem.  It  is  AA'ell  to  be  fr.rr  k, 
and  to  s.ay  that  these  Avere  sent  because  of  some  unfavourable  remarks 
made  upon  Tulips  received,  and  seen  groAvn  elscAvhere  as  “DarAvins.” 
Of  the  collection  one  cannot  yet  speak  as  a  Avhole,  became  all  are 
not  jmt  in  flower.  Of  a  fcAV  I  fear  I  shall  have  to  say  that  I  do  not 
care  for  them ;  but  there  are  some  of  great  beautv  which  Avell  deserve 
to  be  groAvn  in  our  gardens  of  border  flovA'ers.  Very  fine  is  Pride  of 
Haarlem,  with  its  deep,  but  biight  red  flowers.  La  Candeur  is  a  loA'ely' . 
light  Amrii tv.  Exceedingly  pretty  is  Ed.  Andre,  with  its  fine  bright 
pink  flowers.  This  Tulip  has  been  much  taken  notice  of  by  tho.se 
Avho  have  seen  it.  Another  beauty  is  Reine  Wilhelmina,  the 
colouring  of  Avhich  is  difficult  to  describe ;  it  may  be  called  terra¬ 
cotta.  The  Shah  is  too  dark  for  my  taste;  but  Kate  Greenaw'ay  is, 
though  dwarf,  very  pleasing,  and  will  be  better  still  in  a  few  days. 
One  may  say  of  such  as  have  opened  that  they  are  vastly  superior 
to  the  old  breeder  Tulips,  which  appear  to  be  often  substituted  for 
the  true  stock,  of  which  the  floAvers  I  have  now  .are  a  specimen. 
The  colours  are  brighter,  and  the  floAvers  larger  and  better.  One 
