d often wet days of August and September
arrive, they start into growth with the greatest of rapidity. This state
of things is, of course, almost an infallible sign that the irksome
labour of watering can be dispensed with. At the same time, the plants
must on no account be allowed to flag from want of water, and this
matter needs very careful attention; it will be often found, even after
what seems to be a heavy shower of rain, that the earth is perfectly
dust-dry half an inch under the surface. This circumstance is a most
misleading one, and a valuable plant is quickly lost through neglecting
to take necessary precautions.

* * * * *

Whilst making the strong growth just mentioned, it will be very
necessary to properly train the young shoots in such a manner as to
ensure a neat and compact growth. All decaying vegetation, such as
leaves, stems, &c., must be promptly removed, and that before they cause
other leaves, &c., to become equally diseased. Nothing looks so
excessively deplorable as to see what was at one time a neat bed of
plants in a semi-rotten state. When a stem or leaf of a geranium becomes
wholly or partly separated, it rapidly decays; hence the great
importance of removing such before it becomes a mass of decomposition.
It is the same with the fuchsia and many others. Hoeing and otherwise
cleaning the surfaces of beds and borders must be carried out where
practicable. Weeds and objectionable vegetation of all sorts should be
removed to the rubbish-heap at the earliest possible moment, thereby
securing a general tidy appearance to the place.

* * * * *

Almost every day will occasion some new operation to be carried out, and
all plants having a naturally rambling habit, such as petunias and
verbenas, must be strictly kept within bounds by being pegged down. This
can be done by using what are known as "verbena-pins," and these can be
purchased at a cheap rate from any local seedsman, or may be easily made
by converting pieces of galvanised or any thin wire into sizes and
shapes identical with small hair-pins. Each shoot must be carefully
secured close to the earth with one of these. It must be remembered that
the young shoots are very tender, and that the least clumsy handling
will destroy them. Hollyhocks and dahlias, and, indeed, all tall-growing
herbaceous plants, will require very careful looking after, in the
matter of tying and trainin