Amateur Gardener

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 32, 14 March 1914, Page 4

Amateur Gardener

(By AOTEA,)

SELECTING SEED POTATOES. A common practice, when saving potato tubers for seed is to select from the crop, after digging, tubers of the size required. . A far better plan is to select the seed tubers when digging, and to save only from those plants that give .a good, yield !: oif-useful-sized table potatoes. It will , fee noticed when digging the crop that • at some roots all the tubers will be small; in some cases the quantity will ~be small too. If these are saved for planting, as they probably would be in the ordinary course, it would soon have a marked tendency to lower the quality and quantity of the crop. Se-. leet the seed.tubers wheu digging, choos-' ing those of good shape and medium eize from tne roots which give the largest percentage of potatoes suitable for the table 1 . They should be left on the ground to harden the skins and: greeta. a little, and then stored in shal.low boxes that have had a■• piece of '"WOO/d nailed in each corner,.,,,which' ahould rise 1J inches higher than the sides. After the tubers have been placed jm end, eye upwards,.they;can be stored one above the other, in a cool airy place/' . •» -I hear that in places the potato-moth is, again trpub,lespme. .; Where .it is in Evidence, care should be taken to .leave no small or other tubers laying abptft, as they act as breeding places. It is a good practice to dust some air-slaked . lime in with the potatoes when bagging - or pitting. I have found it quite specific in checking the depredations of the moth. It is also useful where any rot disease is present, and harmless to the quality of the potatoes in" any case. FLOWEB SHOW NOTES. The Timaru flower show, which opened fen Thursday, March 5, was heralded by a perfect morning, bright, calm, and fresh. The exhibits showed that favr .«urable conditions must have prevailed "ipi some time previously, for the produeijfcm ;pf fruit, flowers, ,and vegetables, •wHeti were shown in profusion, were of tW highest qualityl

] The show was held in the fine' Olympia Hall, which is exceedingly well suited to the requirements of a horticultural exhibition, being spacious, lofty, weir ventilated and lighted, the walls' being coloured a nice neutral shade of :! g*e'en. The staging was excellent, and nefiected great credit on the work of the, committee. It was of ample width, arranged in tiers and neatly covered. The space taken by the staging and decorated tables would quite cover two-thirds of the floor space, and though filled with exhibits to its utmost capacity, required, imthe case of the vegetable classes, extra overflow staging. Throughout the exhibits were of a high order, no "tail" being discoverable. Timaru has always been noted for its fine display of cut flowers and pot plants. In the former it still leads the Dominion, and' this year quite excelled all former displays, the hall presenting a scene of floral beauty that would tax the imagination to conceive. Pot plants that generally held the place of honour a few years -ago are now rather lacking, due largely to the demise of old and prominent exhibitors, but still more largely, I think, to the more rational open-air life and love for open-air hardy plants which now obtains everywhere. The Timaru Horticultural Society is now in its forty-third year of active work without a break, and there is yet one member who has been on the «xecu-. tive since its formation. This constitutes a record, I. believe, for the.Dominion. The society is to be congra-, tulated on the success which has attended' I its efforts to#gain the. sympathy and asLsistance of- the school-teachers and the, children. The exhibits staged undej this head would have formed a very.jkresit,-' able exhibition alone, and would have been even more extensive if the committee had not found it necessary to restrict the classes somewhat to meet the exigencies of space. In class 203, "Best exhibit of cut flowers and vegetables (grown in school gardens), exhibit hot to occupy more than 30 sq. feet,'' the society gives three prizes of £2 15/-, £1 10/- and £l. Mr John E. Hurdley presenting a handsome silver shield, valued at £25, to the winning school. The first prize and shield was awarded to the Hilton School. There are four silver cups and a silver rose bowl, valued at from 10 to 15 guineas, each offered for competition. They were, with the exception of the cup, offered for sweet peas, for which the season is rather late, well contendor.. In the classes for hardy perennials, Lobelia i fulgens, " Queen Victoria '' was very conspicuous, Francoas, Doronicuins, Delphiniums, Gladioli, and Lilies.being very fine. Eoses "were

largely" shown, and in many cases quite up to exhibition form, notwithstanding the lateness of the season. Throughout the fruit classes were well filled, and of fine quality. Vegetables are usually plenteous and good, the exception this year being that they were even more plentiful and; if possible, of finer quality. ~■■-,-■.*;* ./• ■

| , .A-(fine 1 and .comprehensive, exhibit of cut flowers was staged by Mr Harper, ►curator of the public gardens, which, though rather crowded, was admirable in the blending of the colours. Mrs W. B. Howell showed the new red or gaillardia-flowered sun-flower. Noncompetitive trade exhibits were shown by Mr Pollard, carnations j Mr Edgington, principally of roses and floral designs; and Howden and Montcreiff, gladioli, which deserve more, than a passing remark. The spikes were large and well flowered. Several varieties were worthy of note for the new shades and blen<Jing of colours displayed, as "Francisca," bufi-yellow tinged lake, orange-crimson centre; "'' quite a moonlight sonata can be described in musical terms; "Leo XIII.," rich crimson, white centre; "Jason," crim-son-purple, large white blotch on lower getal; "Madeline," salmon feathered pink, crimson blotch; "Archimedes," a very large flower, pink shaded mauve, feathered crimson; "General Kouropat-. kin,'{dark crimson self; "La Candeur,'' lemon^white;. • - " Armagnac,'' rich bright crimson, white blotch; " Gbmtesse : D'Erceville," soft shellpifik,-•!• splashed' rose, cream blotch; .."Undine,! white feather-edged pink. The. weather on which so much of the success .<>f ,these .functions depends did not carry out the promise of ,tH e morning, as steady rain set in about 1 o'clock and continued during the afternoon and evening. In spite of these unfavourable conditions, the attendance was very good. A musical. pr,pgjcamme was arranged for the evening. :to which the Band of the 2nd Canterbury Regiment turned* out in strong force. Several items were given ,by groups of school children dressed for their parts, which were in each case loudly "applauded. The. scene from the gallery, was very bright and animated, the painted scene of an open* square and far-reaching streets of an old-world town giving an appearance of space and reality to the scene that was very pleasing. The domestic classes for home cooking, to the layman, seemed to be the highest phase of the art, and no doubt was so, .though the opportunity for testing it was lacking. The committee and secretary took hard work cheerfully, while the chairman

(Mr Ritchings Grant) was übiquitou's and had all the details at his finger ends. In the Tima*u Public Gardens. Great alterations have been made during the last few years,; the Borough Council financing it now with ■ no niggardly hand. The moist growing, season experienced has clothed it in its best raiment, emerald-green grass and bright flowers. The negleeted appearance it carried for so many years is no longer visible, though the work of regeneration is vary apparent, with good promise for the future.' One blot strikes the eye rather palpably —what should be a sheet of ornamental water is badly discoloured with clay. It lies in the natural course of the storm water, which is collected over a fairly large watershed,' and every time there is a smart rain the amount of clayey silt carried in is large. I understand that it would cost close, on £IOOO to carry a main through large enough to take.all the storm water, but it is evident it will have to be undertaken shortly. Caroline Bay. The Mecca of sea-bathers has been metamorphosed out of kn6wledge to those who have been absent only a few short years. A social hall, tea rooms, bathing sheds, .tennis courts, and a massive loggia are only some of the various improvements. Flower beds,- trees, and shrubs now grow luxuriantly where a short time ago the sea washed up, banks of shingle, while the barren, ugly clay cliffs have been transformed into banks of verdure by the use of mesembryantheniums. : The arrangements for bathing are of the best ans in the hands of the Borough Council, who, as they reap a considerable revenue from the bathers, can afford to n<ake them eomfortatfce. No safer beach can be found in the Dominion. Even the smallest child can find a placef. where depth and calmness i$ all that: can be desired, while".the more hazardous can go out a long way with perfect safety* Bonders and tieds are gay' With flowers, while" in>the;_ sheltered and equable climate in they have their ,being they last over >; very long - season. That Timaru ah<t Caroline Bay are sure to grow in popularity is undoubted. The extension; of the beach and the .unclosing of a- larger area of sheltered water is pnly a matter of time, as the possibilities:- are so obvious, and it is to be that the horticultural part wUlJex|e.ttd mth equal "pace. It is destitfepT'as9a ( placs of resort, principally, to be comparaM&.lj&.&rjghr ton oh the south-coast of and to be called Canterbury-sujpeY-Mare.';