Calendar of Operations, June 19.

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 142, 19 June 1886, Page 4

Calendar of Operations, June 19.

Tuberous Rooted Bkgonias.—(M. A. Newton).—Yoar begonias have simply died down. Keep the plants quito dry for the winter, and in the spring sou can take the bulbs or tubers out of the old pots and repot them in fresh Boil in the spring. You can then also propogats frrni them. When thoy start thoy will throw i : two or three shoot?. When those have _ i.mcd about two or threo inches in lenpih, out them ciF at the base of the tuber and put them iv some nice rich, sandy Boil. I perfectly agreo with you that this class of begonia should become one of the greatest favourites here, as it will grow splenJldlv out in tho open border aB well as In pot. CTCLAMKNS (4. B. C.).—(l) You can obtain afme show of bloom by keeping thorn in pnt for this season, but I would advise you to plant thorn out In the opon bortlor next season. It would not be too late to plint out now. Tho cyclamen is perfectly hardy here, and will .lower all winter and spring it planted in good, friable, rich soil They alto liko plonty of moisture. They can be propagated by dividing the root, but I woir.d not advise you to try it. as It is risky, and you might loao them. The best way to propagate is to try and get some seed from tho plants thia season, now about the New Year, keepiDg them in a moist, warm place. The young plants would take abjut 15 months to llower, although they can be brought into llower in abou; 10 months under favourable circumstances. (2) Anthirruma: Itis still time to sow seed. Sow in rich, sandy Foil, from which thoy can easily be transplanted in tho spriug. Draining Land (Amateur).—No:, it is not necessary to place the drain pipoa a slight distanca apart, so as to allow tho wator to enter. Quite tho reverse. You must roniem ber that when you drain three foot deep the pressure of water above tho pipes is considerable, and will fc cc tho water through a very small opening. The pipes may be laid as clofe as possible to each other, aud th^n thoro will be plenty of room for tho water to obtain sullicient passages into the pipes Tj leave spaces between tho p'pau would allow the soil to enter, and that would toon silt up the drafts. If yoar soil is still'and wet you Bhould placo your drains about liftceu feet apart. If moderately porous, about twi nty-nve foot will do. The coat of making tho drains will vary according to the quality of your soil. Bird Limb (Sparrows).-I quito ngrc . with you. Thoy aro a perfect nuisaaco Poisoned vcrain is beat to get rid of them. But if you want to try your h'lid at catching them with bird lime the followiui* makes a Rood mixture: TaSo a-half pint of raw Unseed oil. and boil gently in an earthenware vessel over a slow lire, frequently stirring until it attains tho required thickness, which may be known by dipping the stick in cold water and trying tho lime with tho lingers. It takes from two to throo hours coiling, and as It holds a lot of boat it Btiffons a good deal in coollnp;. If it becomes too stiff a fow drops of archangel tar will bring it round, MA.umtra Fruit Trees (Apple).—lf your trees are not growing very strong thoy will require to bo manured, and as you c:in obtain plenty of freeh sable manure I would simply mulch each tree with it at present. To dis,' it in is what I would call too rank. Put a thick layer of tho manuro round each tr.-ie. 'I he heavy winterrains will wash somo of the substance down to tho roots. W hen it has rotted you can thon fork in tho debris- If you uso hones they can bo sprinkled on tho surfaoo and forkod in, but I would prefer to usa stable manure. Tho long litter from the stablo would a'so make a splondid mulch for tho trees if put on just beforo tho hot dry summar Bots in. Your trees should not require much pruning from what you say.