HINTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 54, 5 March 1898, Page 4 (Supplement)

HINTS.

Endive and lettuce seeds in small batches should again he sown on warm, sunny aspects wherever constant supplies are in demand. Avoid sowing thickly. As it is desirable they should be grown as hardy as possible to 'be able to withstand all weathers the thinner the seedlings come _up and grow the better. Both endive and - lettuce plants, where large enough in seed : beds, may now be liberally transplanted, , as there is no danger they will bolt or run i t« seed during what remains of the autumn ■ growing season. It is important, however, , to manure and dig up the ground freshly . for them, when drill rows may be drawn thereon and the tender seedling plants , dibbled out therein. Plenty of water I should be given after planting. \ Trenching, digging, and ground work '. should receive attention and be prosecuted [ until every vacant space is well turned up. If the ground be Avet it should be drained, and this is the season for the work, prior \to turning it over. If the soil be poor, uso | all means' possible to enrich it Avith fresh soil and manure, even if the ground can be j made deeper by an addition of six inches or 1 a foot. Not "only will the crops next " ensuing be better, but the improvement will have a beneficial effect lor a generation ■or two. Such work is laborious, yet affords ' healthy exercise in keeping with • the season, if not indulged too continuously— I being very suitable during dry weather, ' when it is undertaken with pleasure by all i who take interest in fchei'r gardens. In the majority of cases, however, where the space under vegetable culture is somewhat i large, owners elect to hire a man for the - work ; this, then, is the season to do so, both on the ground of turning the soil up ■ to expose it to the ameliorating influence ) of the weather, and giving employment at ■ a slack season. : Late potatoes should be dug and stored . away beyond reach of light as soon as the , haulm shows signs of ripening, Avhich , varies according to the sorts grown. Certain very strong haulmed varieties, such as Champion, benefit by being left later, but Bruce and kindred season varieties are best removed front the excessively wet ground. Fix upon a fine day for the operation, ami scatter the "tubers over the surface of the ground, so that, if possible, they dry before they are picked up and housed. Labour is lessened eventually by sorting the tubers into two or more sizes as they are taken up—-especially if' seed ' or sets-arc needed for planting next season, as they can then be stored separately, and the latter can be accommodated with a more airy, lighter site.. ' WATER HYACINTHS. Within the last few years that very pretty aipiatic plant called the water hyacinth (Eichorma erassipes syn l'ontederia azuria) has been introduced into New Zealand. Now J would like to give my fellow colonists a warning about this plant, for in the future it may become a perfect curse to the Northern portion of tlie colony. On no account should this plant be placed in any of our sluggish streams, or in lakes, as in a few years it might entirely block them for trallic. The following i.s an extract ' taken from the ' Strand Magazine,' No- \ veniher, 1897 :--' For several years past an aquatic plant known as the water hyacinth has been developing to such an enormous extent in the St. John's River in Florida as to cause serious apprehension in that region. It is a native, of tropical South America, and commonly floats on the surface of the water wi'tlioub attachment to the soil. It has a fondness for sluggish streams, and in Florida the plants are generally found lining the .shores of the lakes and rivers in immense numbers. So long as they can stay near the bank the water hyacinths cause little trouble, but when the wind springs up, and looses great masses of the plants, starting them down stream or into the middle of the channel, the danger to navigation is very great. A glance atitsdeu.se massofrootssuggests the possibility of its causing trouble when Heating in large quantities. No one knows accurately when this pest was introduced into Florida, but it .appeared in the St. John's iiiver about 1890 at Edgewater, about four miles above Palatka. At this place it had been grown for some time in a pond, and when it was desired to clear the place out the plants Avere thrown into the river. This i.s just Avhere the mistake Avas made. For, being an attractive plant, it was carried by settlers up and down the river,' and introduced at different points to beautify the river in front of the settlements, until its rapidity of propagation made it a serious nuisance. The Floridans are now doing their level best to eradicate it, and the United States Department of Agriculture has sent a special agent in the person of Mr Herbert 1. Webber to visit the region and investigate the question. The very striking photographs given in the 'Strand' fully illustrate the nuisance to traffic. Tlie'case against the water hyacinth i.s overwhelming. Small boats Avith screw propellers find it impossible to penetrate a Large mass of the plants, as they get entangled in the screw. When a large .steamer going at full speed strikes a bank of the hyacinths it comes almost to a standstill. Floating logs often lie entangled iv the mass and injure the boats'; while in largo lakes like Lake George, and in wide portions of the rivers, there-is great danger of steamers being caught by the plants, carried out of the channel, and stranded. I The City of Jacksonville, a powerful steamer I plying on the St. .John's River, had a great difficulty iv avoiding such a disaster during the autumn of 1896. Yet thin is not all. It impedes the timber industry, clogs the nets of the fishermen, resists the passage of water under bridges, and hy accumulating large masses of decaying vegetable matter near the large towns, I seriously threatens the health of the inhabitants. Pests of this nature are often combated by the introduction of their natural enemies, and it is now proposed to introduce in the Florida Rivers the destructive red spider known to horticulturists for the purpose of destroying the Avatci" hyacinth. Now, the Avater hyacinth Uoiirishes and propagates rapidly in our climate out in the open air,' and it great care is not taken; our lakes and sluggish rivers and streams Avill also get blocked. Colonists should therefore be very careful Avhat they do with this plant.