The Practice and Science of Gardening-6
'The world the plant lives :n'
B. A. KEEN , F.R.S., D.Sc.
If you walk round your garden, you will notice that some plants have grown better than others, and if you look well, you may find the reason. It may be that stronger plants are getting all the nourishment or that larger plants are keeping out the light-a very common cause just now when everything is growing so rapidly; and you must cut back constantly the spreading leaves of the giant perennials if the little, annuals at their feet arc to be allowed to live.
Again, insects or fungi may be the enemies of the weakly plant, or your seedlings may be overcrowded, or between the dwarf snapdragons you have so carefully planted uninvited seedlings from the marigolds you grew there last summer may be forcing their way and, growing twice as fast, may smother your antirrhinums. This afternoon Dr. Keen is to discuss the various conditions that affect the growth of plants and the ways in which a plant adapts itself to its surroundings.