The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-07-17 00:00:00

HORTICULTURE.

FLOWER GARDEN—Go over the beds frequently, keeping
the young shoots of verbenas, &c., nicely regulated and peg-
ged down until the beds are fairly covered, after which, unless
where the soil is very strong, or where it may be desirable to
keep the masses as low as possible, the shoots of most varieties
may be allowed to grow at liberty. Where the soil is of rather
poor nature, and the progress of the plants not satisfactory, a
few waterings with manure water would be useful in the way
of inducing more rapid growth ; but this should not be given
too strong nor too freely, otherwise it may do more harm than
good, and in most cases such things make more wood than is
desirable, nevertheless we have found manure water judiciously
applied useful in giving backward plants a start. Keep the
surface soil free, open, and clear of weeds by occasional stir-
rings, and should the weather be such as to render watering
necessary, do not let the plants feel the want of moisture at
the root. See that dahlias and hollyhocks are tied as they ad-
vance in growth, and keep these thoroughly supplied with
water at the root, giving manure water where the ground was
not well prepared. Look over roses and dip any shoots found
to be infested with green-fly in tobacco-water. Also keep these
well supplied with water at the root, which will greatly im-
prove the flowers, as well as prolong the beauty of the plants,
for.the flowers ,soon fade in bright hot weather when. the,.
plants are allowed to get dry..‘at tbeliot. r Too much Manure.'
water,can,hairdly.be, given'lliese,lespeciall4theitittpililblolim!
ind milts, and nothing Better repays any':attentichiwhitlith-e-i
may'require, for if kept • in -vigoroui- healtli,many;of.th'esoitsl
will bloom almost continually until stopped by frost, but if al-
lowed to suffer through dryness at the root they will bloom
but sparingly in autumn. Watch varieties subject to mildew,
and apply sulphur immediately the enemy is perceived, but if
the plants are kept in' vigour by a liberal allowance of manure
water there is little danger of mildew being troublesome.
KITCHEN GARDEN.—Get Brussells sprouts, savoys, broccoli,
and all kinds of winter greens planted out as speedily as
ground can be obtained ; and where this cannot be done at
present to the usual extent (owing to the backwardness of the
season, and early crops not being ready for clearing off), see
that the plants are either pricked out, or sufficiently thinned
to allow of their growing dwarf and strong ; and if a goodly
portion of old mushroom bed dung were mixed with the soil
before pricking out, the roots would run into this, so that the
plants might be removed with balls, and would hardly feel the
shift. Also get leeks planted on strong, deep, heavily manured
land, and attend to these, and all other newly planted things
with water until they get fairly established. Give the aspara-
gus plenty of manure water from the stable or farm-yard tank,
in order to strengthen the roots after cutting and induce
strong growth. On dry, friable soils a good dressing of salt
may be applied with advantage : but this should not be given
on strong tenacious soils, as it keeps the ground wet and heavy
in winter, and decays the roots. Proceed with the planting
out of celery as fast as ground can be spared, and see that the
whole is liberally supplied with water. Some persons defer the
soiling up of celery as long as it can be done, considering that
there is less danger of its being eaten by slugs ; but if these
pests are at all troublesome, they should be treated to a dose
of quick lime every morning for a week or so, strewing it
thickly along the trenches and about the plants, which will
clear the ground of them, and then there will be no danger in
adding a little soil occasionally to assist in retaining the
moisture, and afford more space for the roots. Attend to the
staking of late peas, and keep the ground thoroughly moist
about advancing crops, and if the weather continues hot and
dry, it will be advisable to mulch the ground along the sides
of the line, first giving the soil a thorough soaking of water.
See to keeping up a succession of French beans, also salad of
all kinds, making a sowing of parsley for winter use.—
Gardeners' Chronicle.
CAUSE OF COLOURING IN PLANTS.—There is, perhaps, no
subject of more interest than the cause of colouring in plants,
it is one upon which till lately no very definite notions were
possessed ; but it has at length attracted the attention of the
skilful vegetable chemists of Geneva, and the phenomena relat-
ing,to it are daily becoming more and more intelligible. It
appears that the opinion long since expressed by Lamarck, that
when leaves and fruit acquire their autumnal colouring they
are in a morbid condition, and that flowers are, from their
birth, in a state analogous to that of leaves in decay, is very
near the truth. Taking the green colour so prevalent, and so
frequently exclusive in vegetation, as the fundamental colour
of plants, it appears that deviations from it are chiefly caused