THE GARDEN.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 166, 15 July 1910, Page 9

THE GARDEN.

(By HORTUS.) » is willing to answer any queries, v '- Correspondents must give their real names \ -"sad addresses, though not for publication.) j. Bulbs from Holland (E.G.). — It would be better to plant your bulbs at once, than i '■■--■to keep them till next season; they will c produce offsets that j"ou can plant next j ;-=:year. • -j T "Iviite Thorne and Apple Trees (A.L.0.). — . It is difficult to grow white thorne by A cuttings from the branches. Tbey are c •"-' easily grown by cartings from the roots, i The root cuttings should be cut Into six-inch lengths, and placed in nursery rows, fifteen inches apart, and three < Inches apart in the rows. The usual pra.-- 1 ■-' tice is to grow white thorne from seed. , From the description yon have given of the state of your apple Trees. I won Id recommend yon to cut the central branches cut, also to prune some of tlii other branches to encourage new growth. ■ Sen-ping the Bark of Grape Vines (E.G.).— Yon need only to take the rough broken bark off the vines. I am not aware that it has ever been claimed that scraping was any assistance in obtaining better crops of fruit- The rousik bark Is taken off with the object of leaving fewer fa's , cilities to insects for depositing their eggs, and. also to ensure the destruction of any already deposited in the - bark. The painting of the vines after the operation fills up any crevices in which insects might harbour. HINTS. '■ grounds, upon which crops of carbbages and other winter crops have become exhausted, should be manured and ■worked up deeply, in preparation for cropping, which must soon be done in real earnest by all would-be successful | growers. B Annuals germinated and growing in' \' <s^_borders .commence to thin out early, in all instances where they are too thick. I: is best to thin each batch slightly on] ■ tii or more occasions, than to do so eraely once for aIL I v ..-.'Bamboos of sundry hardy species are-' 'permanent ornamental foiiaged plants % iigUy suitable for gardens. "VVhere ..grown they should now be attended to, decaying parts, discoloured leaves, etc, rumored, then receive a mulching with ■ . v.old manure, neatly pointed into the ground over their roots without injury to the latter. Outdoor grape vines are best definitely pruned and nailed during open weather ? at this season; if left until the spring i&sre is danger the wounds will bleed. ' Avoid overcrowding; they should be kept sufficiently thin to ensure that each leaf has ample light and sunshine. This afe the only condition under which strong ' itffSPg ■ laterals, or snoots capable of ; ;yidd_g good crops of fcnrit, can form. Cat out some of the weakly canes bodily. .'&' laterals or younger shoots existing! itpoii those retained should he cut back - jfco one. eye. \Phere clusters of nearly dead" spurs or snags exist severely thin ,; them,jetaining one or two of the best. Town lawns seem to have suffered ex- ; teptkmally from the recent bad weather. ,-Eiose who used the roller occasionally . • fliro'ug'hout the winter now find their | grass healthiest and greenest; such aid should not he neglected in future, as it ~ .; makes firm the surface and dissipates | that escass of moisture svhich is so inimii cal to grass, Meantime lawns will be ---' greatly improved in +he future if now .mulched with finely-sifted manure, or . even-fresh sofl. Slight sprinklings of the same are beneficial. Even slight dressings of the shortest sweepings direct from statues may be applied, though more than the above, and subject to in the after removal of the straw "'litter;- It cajinot be too well known that j -'seedrddden lawns aTe improved by such .'dressings. Support the grass so that it _. becomes vigorous, and it will be capable Sfßl strangling or outgrowing and destroying alien weeds. '-To lessen and prevent attack of slugs and snails, avoid using long manure, or, la fact, any organic manure, where slugs . are abundant in the soil, employing arti- : '--arisls for a time. Dry dressings of soot ana lime, salt and lime, lime and caustic i J°dai and powdered coke are some of the .remedies recommended. Lime and causae soda is found to act best—four parts wcaustic soda to 96 of lime, well mixed, fhy dressings, except powdered coke, .should be applied very early in the morn-.

ing. ""Rings" of slaked lime may he put round choice plants. Bran mash or moist oatmeal attracts slugs, which may then be easily collected. Heavy applications of soot are best to keep off snails, which should be dealt with mainly by hand-picking and by trapping with cabbage leaves. Bows of peas are hest protected either iby spreading barley sweepings or cinders and lime along the rows, or by heavy dressings of slacked lime. Rockeries, ferneries, hedge bottoms, and rough herbage at the base of walls should be cleaned out in winter, and the masses of hibernating snails crushed. Land that is thoroughly fouled with slugs should be treated with gas-lime, and in the winter deeply trenched. Lastly, thrushes should be. encouraged; it is easier to keep them off fruit trees than to suppress the snails and slugs, which they largely devour. After the pruning is completed, if you have a stock of seedlings or other plants which you have established for grafting, co as to extend the orchard, when the weather is fine and the soil is in pood working condition, lift all the young stock, and again plant out iv nursery rows, so as to have them ready for grafting. Never, if possible, graft the young " stock while they are growing under the same conditions as they grew last season, or rather without lifting and transplanting them; and, when lifted, greatly reduce their roots. If this is not properly done, the graft after it is taken in the spring, will rush away with a rank, strong-growing shoot, which makes the uninitiated think they have a splendid lot of young trees. The cause of this is too much root action for the scion. Tho roots collect and ! send up too much sap, which the young atree has to generate and manufacture into tvood and leaves, niaking-thcra rank and strong. These are not the kind of trees I would plant out an orchard with. They would do if the object was to grow timber, but not for fruit. The young seedlings should be lifted and transplanted. Lifting and cutting the roots back gives the stock a thorough check. Then, when the graft is applied and the spring starts them into growth, there is not so much root aclion, and the graft does not rush away with that rapid, rank growth, but with a slower, firmer, and closer-grained growth, and at tho end of the season these trees will succeed better when planted out in their permanent situations, will come in for bearing fruit quicker, also making sounder and healthier trees. The same remark will apply to young stock which was budded last autumn. A budded tree the -winter after the bud has taken is headed down to immediately above the bud, thus cutting away all the wood which would have generated the sap into more wood and leaves (of course it requires to go), leaving only the bud. The result, if the young tree is not 'checked (as already explained), is that the rush of sap will be great, the bud .will start to make wood rapidly —in fact, will assume the appearance of a forest of fishing rods, instead of nice, small, hardy fruit trees. Now the young stock should be lifted, tho roots shortened tack, aud the tree headed back, and transplanted in nursery rows again. This will give root and bud more equal chances, producing a more hardy tree. Certainly, even after lifting a. number of dormant buds will break out into shoots from the base of the stock below the buds. These ought to be picked off as they appear, which is called disbudding. These shoots will not be so strong as the ones growing on the trees that have not been lifted. Scions for grafting should now be obtained, and these taken only from trees that have already borne fruit. Tio the scions in small bundles and heel in until needed for grafting.