IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16150, 2 March 1918, Page 6

IN THE GARDEN.

+ (SFF.CIALr.T WRITTEN VOR "THE TRUSS. ) (Bt J. T. Sinclair ) WORK FOR THE WEEK. Sou-.— C'.-ibbngo and cauliflower, lettuce. 11! in ins. carrots, and onions; also, annuals in the flower borders.

vegetables. Onion*.-- AY lion I hose ;iro sown too early in ;;uiuum I hoy arc prone to run to soe<J when warm weatlK r comes in spring: 011 ill' 1 other hand, when sown too late, the young plants arc liable to bo lif tod out of t.lie ground _by trost. Tho lirst week in March is about the hest time for towing. lo got the results tiie boil mu.it be well mantirod and deeply worked, and the surface brought tu ;i film tih'A." -Make the drills an inch ueep and a foot asunder. Giant Kocca is a good sort iol" present .sowing. Cabbage and Cauliflower. —A sucecsatonai sow nig of tnesu sliould now bo put in. 11 a »uuiowhat sheltered position can bo given tue cauliflower so much ttic better. V> lien drawing tho plants ior planting lrom tins bowing se»i?tl tne targest, ■ and allow the smallest to rutiiuiu in tlic scccl-bed all cut; winter, and tiiev will be in good condition lor spring planting. Carrots. —If it is desired to have young carrots lit to draw in spring, a sowing ol an intermediate variety shoi-t? he put in some time during tho first fortnight of this month. Only a small bed should be made, as the plants run quickly to seed. Lettuce. —It. is not an easy matter to know just when to make the last sowing of lettuce, as so much depends upon the state of the weather after the seedlings are up. lint if 11 sowing is made now, and another just- after the middle of the month, the. plants of one of them are sure to stand all winter. Tho bed should be in a wolldrained position, so that the hoe can be frequently, employed during the winter months. Only, hardy varieties, such as All the Year Hound, Brown Cos (black-seeded), and Brown Bath should be sown. FLOWERS, Aunuals.—ln the ordinary course of natural annuals beloro iiiuy itie sow uieu- own suotls in the autumn 011 tne surface 01 the ground. 'fheso seeds are ligntiy coveted over by .Nature witii iaiien loaves or drifts of dry earth. Iney germinate during winter, and in spring they show' an early growth of sturdy vigour, wlxich is not always attained by our methods of seed sowing in and October. AN e cannot, ol course, adopt the mothods of Mature in any scction of the pleasauncc but the wild garden. But it is worth considering how far we can prolit by Nature's lesson without relinquishing our control of our garden beds and borders as regards the arrangemont of flowers iu lorni and colour. Consideration of the kind leads to the practice of autumn seed sowing where early blooms and strong growth in annuals is desired. AVhen autumn sowing is adopted in part, as- ono of the customs of culture,' the seed should be sown very thinly in drills on a suitable seed-bed. The drills should be a little Jess than half-an-ineh in depth. Thinning of tho seedlings should be attended to as soon as the youngsters can be handled. J'hey should never l>e allowed to grow so closely that they touch each other. Light and air all round induces sturdy growth. The following are a few useiul kinds to sow now:—Godctias iu variety, Virginia stock, sweet nlyssum for edging and rockeries, candytuft for sunny borders, dwarf rocket larkspur, nemophila insignis, linaria, saponaria caibrica, limnanthes Douglassi, viscaria cardinalis, erysimum peroffskianum, and whitlavia alba. Bulb Planting.—The following are sorno spring Howering bulbs and tubers which should be planted as soon as possible. On very light soils thov can bo planted a little doeper than on heavy ones, but. on no account should manure come in contact with tho bulbs. Among all spring flowering bulbs, the daffodil is the greatest favourite. The distance apart should vary according to size from about three to six inches, and the depth also varies according to size, so that the tops of the bulbs are from 3 to 4 inches below the surface. Snowdrops are best planted under deciduous trees in hot climates. Plant *2 inches deep and 1 inch apart. Crocuses arc. usually planted too shallow : when planted 4 inchtjs deep a fine effect is obtained over a number 01' seasons. Dog's-tooth violets plant 3 inches deep and 2 inches apart. Scillas do well in deep, sandy loam; plant 4 inches deep and 3 or 4 inches apart. C'hionodoxas are good for rockery or border: set the bulbs 1 inch apart and 3 inches deep. The ixia and sparaxis are closely related, and can bo set 3 inchcs deep and 3 inches apart. Ornithogalum can be set about 6 inches deep m light soil and 4 inches deep in heavy soil. 3 inches should be allowed between the bulbs. Eranthis (winter aconite) has a yellow head surrounded by a green ruffle. It belongs to the buttercup family and flowers during winter; set the tubers 2 inches deep. Leucojum (snowflake) grows well in a sunny border or on the rockery; plant 3 or 4 inches deep and the same'distance apart. Any good garden soil, -well dug and broken and drained will grow most bulbs well. Soil that is not in the best condition would be improved if given a light dressing of bone-meal before digging it, preparatory to planting the bulbs. If the soil is comparativelv poor, it can be given a more liberal dressing.

Winter-flowering B«gonias.—Now that the plants are established in thei* flowering pots, they can be given .weak' soot water regularly. Shade them lightly during the hot part of the day Miehaelmas, Dairies.—We notice that in most flower borders the Michaelmas daisies have made remarkablv fine crowth this season, and should tho wea-

ther prove bright during the next week ,r t« .. there Ls .ill™*; fortain to be a splendid display of t!" s ''.enu'-ul n.'tnnm fliwering plant. It -s necessary to make the shoot> thoroughly .-cure at this time, as, when not supported, ihe> are apt to get hlown about, when ot course, their beauty is entirely polled l'nininc Rambler Roses.—Ro«es o the Doroihy Perkin> typo are l>v Heinii pruned whon the flowering period is over. When the plants are in good condition they make growths ol any length from • f°°r t.o Li (eel long in the one season. These are the shouts that giro the best clusters of flower> (he following season. All the old. exhausted wood should be cut out. and the cutront year's wood laid in its place % Should, however, 1 here not be enough of ihe long base growths to coj er th° desired space. strong sucker-like growths (in the old shoots can be utilised.