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Auckland Star, Volume 304, Issue 304, 23 December 1926, Page 10 (Supplement)

I OTA tOtabuhu) sends a leaf of a Caullflower, and asks what is the matter with ' it?— The trouble is mildew, and there is no cure. It is largely due to the wet cold weather. The best thing is to collect all bad foliage and burn it. MR. (Ngaruawahia) writes: I have a Lilium Auratuni which had twenty blooms uu it last year. This season two stems have come "up, and the stem of one is quite flat. I have been told that after flowering it will die out. Is that so, and can anything be done to prevent it ': — The reason of the malformed stem Is unknown, but it often occurs with the Lilium Auratum. The usual result is that the bulb breaks up into a number of small ones, which do not throw very many blooms for a year or" so, but eventually they form good bulbs. "You can do nothing except to grow on the small bulbs until of a flowering size. NOVICE (King Country) asks re Gladioli: i I til The correct time for planting bulbs, both early and late': l 2) Their cultivation and seasons of flowering:—( l) About Auckland the Gladiolius cau be planted at almost any time, and if the bulbs are left in the ground they continue to grow and j send up new growths. The results are j not always satisfactory under such conditions. The best results are obtained i by planting from July to September, j These bulbs will llovvc-r from October to December. Planting can be done also | from January to March. These will \ flower during" autumn and early winter. I and it will be obvious that the weather i conditions will have a large influence • upon the quality of the flowers. The , worst time in the year for Gladiolius to | flower Is during January and February ■ when the extreme hot weather is here, at j such times the flowers open too quickly and the colours fade. It is easily seen I ihat there is a long period during which | pluming can lie done, hut the best results j ::re obtained from August and September, j and January plantings, which means blooms in " October, November and December, and March and April. (g) Gladioli need a good fat. deep, moist soil. During the growing season abundance of water"should be given, and this Is one reason, eepeeially where there is any shortage of water, why early spring plantings give the best results. Once I planted the cultivation consists in keeping the soil well cultivated, and the ! plants staked, etc. After flowering, the j cultivation must continue until the foliage ■ begins to turn yellow. This latter treatment is essential to produce a good flowering bulb, without which a success- 1 ful result ihe following season is I impossible 1 VIOLETS. | These, now they are out of flower, : i are apt to bt overlooked. Yet, it is a | • time when care and attention are of | : . utmost importance if the plants are to j ; : be kept healthy. During dry weather I ! ! Violet plants are very subject to red I ; . spider and it is only by keeping the ; 1 j leaves thoroughly clean that we can \ : I ward off an attack. Unfortunately, it i j! is not until red spider has a good hold [! of the plants that its effects become j I noticeable. All plants should be tho- ! i roughly sprayed with clear water regu- :; larly, special attention being paid to the ; | under sides of the leaves. The soil I ! about the plants should be kept well = stirred and free from weeds. All sur- ! plus runners should be removed. If any : I new plants are wanted for autumn, leave II sufficient runners. A watering with a ; I solution of one ounce nitrate of soda in s j two gallons of water benefits the plants. I\ A mulching with well-rotted manure I I will assist the plants through the hot * ! weather. i j jj CARNATIONS. Is Even if blooms of Carnations are not s required for any other purpose than £ house or garden decoration, it is advisj: able now to carry out a little disbudding, j* so that the buds left may develop into js fair-sized flowers. Staking and tying 5= should also be attended to in good time. '" Be careful not to make the ties too tight, j or.the stems will get snapped.

TILLAGE. It has been proved that all plants which minister to the needs of man are improved by tillage. Fruit trees respond to good treatment, grass-covered orchards being of a much lower value than when the surface is tilled or worked. This is attributed to malignant effect on the trees by a poison secreted by the grass. Working the soil two or three inches deep into a loose dust is the best mulch that can be applied for conserving moisture. In fact, there is no more important operation applicable to every cultivated crop than hoeing. The gardens where tlie hoe is used regularly produce better results than any other. It is more important than manure or an unlimited supply of water. PROPAGATING CHOICE SW EEI WILLIAMS. It often happens lhat there will be a choice variety of Sweet William growing in the garden which it is desirous U propagate. To save seeds is tiresomt and not a reliable means of reproduction, but the method of propagating by cuttings is quite easy, and one is sure oi i the plant. Take off the non-floweriiii; strips of growth, whicll are thrown uj from the plants, by means of a sharj knife: cut them clean off below a joint and remove several of the leaves. Dibble the cuttings firmly into sandy soil am; keep watered and shaded till they root Cuttings put in now will make nici j plants lor planting in autumn.

THE MULCH AND MULCHING. Mulching is practiced with a view t< checking evaporation ii moisture froll the soil, by preventing the full rays o the _un reaching it. therefore eneour aging the growth of the crop by protect ing the plants from the effects o drought. The most important part, am perhaps least understood, is when ti apply the mulch. Tv get the full benefi the weather conditions !!iiist be a guide It is mi use applying v. hen the groum is too dry and is already cracking, no is it any use to apply 1: during a thn of excessive wet. It acts as a blanke to prevent moisture being evaporated b; the sun's rays, and therefore it shouli !be applied after rain and before mmevajioration has taken place. The l.es material to use for mulching is straw. horse manure, but few obtain sufficien to supply even a portion of their require ments. Cow or pig manure mixed wit leaves or _Tass cuttings are also of value There is. however, another and mure im portant mulch, ami that is "dust mulch. 1 This consists of three or four inches o I dust-like soil, tlie liner the better, air I produced by continual hoeing. Thre j inches of loose dust-like soil has prove. to act through severe droughts as a efficient mulch. It is within everybody' I reach, and can lie applied to every cro] and can be renewed alter every rai i without much trouble. Weeds are ills unknown with a dust mulch, and it i : always dean and neat.

SWEET P____3. | Sweet Peas need daily attention. | Flowers must be picked regularly an.l seed pods removed, laterals pinched out ! and the soil hoed. Tliey pay for gener- . ous treatment and one has only to compare the large blooms and long stems j produced by well-grown plants with j those from plants that have had to take ; care of themselves. Liquid manure should not be given till the buds are i well formed, and then it should be given | very weak. But if the ground was well j prepared with a view to providing food ! and moisture for the roots, only a very j occasional stimulant should be necessary at this stage. Constant stirring of the soil and frequent syrinsing of ■ the leaves and stems in dry. hot weather ] are necessary. Soot-water is one of the j finest stimulants for Sweet Peas. I DAHLIAS. I After planting time, there is usually , a spell of a few weeks when very little j attention is needed by Dahlias, beyond j a dusting of quicklime if slugs prove j troublesome, and an occasional syring- j ing. With the Xew Year, however, the ; plants commence top growth in earnest. A very considerable difference will be noticed in the manner in which the varieties break, that is. produce side shoots. Some sorts will hurst out into a multitude of slioot«. whilst others will run up quite three feet and produce a flower l.ud without putting forth any semblance of a lateral. In the case of the bushy varieties, select from five to seven of the best laterals, secure them against damage by wind, and remove the remainder. ! The non-breaker. are more difficult to manage, and curly and drastic stopping is necessary. Even then they will pro- ; bably refuse to break nt any but the top I joints, so that they may have to be : shortened still further. This makes the variety late, but as a partial recompense the flowers from these stubborn sorts j are as a rule very fine. During hot wea- ! ther an overhead watering of an evening j acts almost like a tonic. Staking should Ibo well done, the stakes strong and I driven into the ground so as to stand , firm. Several stakes will be needed to I each plant, and should be placed so that the shoots can be pulled outwards to the stakes. A mulching of good well-rotted manure is beneficial. CITRUS TREES. It is of great importance thnt trees of the Citrus family should not be allowed to suffer from want of moisture. I A deciduous tree will endure a long drought without very material injury, but if an orange or a lemon tree be '■ allowed to have its foliage drooping and withered, the iniurr done is great and the result may be its death. An economical way of applying water to nny large tree, whether evergreen or deciduous, is to bore holes with a strong stake and mallet, say 1 Sins, to _fiins. deep, nnd half-a dozen or so in number. according to the size of the tree, then pour in the water and let it well soak in: refill the hole several times, and when assured that the ground is well saturated, fill in the holes again with soil. By this process no piss of water takes place by evaporation. There is a drawback to this method, for a few roots must necessarily be injured by the hole making. Still, in the case of a large tree, this would not matter very much. The system is an excellent one for applying liquid manure or stops of any kind to the roots of the tree. Two or three such applications should he sufficient to maintain trees in health during the dryest of summers. At the sumo time, mulching the surface should not be dispensed with.

EFFECTIVE SPARROW TRAP. The details of construction are:—Cut a 12ft piece of 3in x 2in into 3ft lengths, and check them out on two sides at both ends to take top and bottom rails, so as to make all the outside faces flush. Lay two lengths of 3in x 2in on edge on a level piece of ground, and nail the 3in x lin pieces temporarily in the cheeks. Square the side, and spike together firmly. Then deal with the other side in the same manner. Next cut six 3ft lengths of 3in x lin and nail them in the other checks at the ends. Fix the other two lengths 12in from each end at the top of the trap to carry j the wire-netting. Keep the netting Gin j from the ground in the centre of the I

trap. Cut out five holes of liin diameter in the centre of the netting at the lowest point of the curve. Insert points of snips, and give a turn to form round holes.? Cover the side with netting and lace top and sides together with wire. Then cut out sides to the sweep of the top wire. Make and lix two ledge doors at each end of the trap. The following material will be required: —Timber: One 12ft 3in x 2in; four Oft; one 18ft, 3in x lin: 3oft. Gin x 2in tongue and grave; galvanised wire-netting. 3ft wide, iin mesh 11yds; T. hinges and screws (12in), two pairs; clout tacks, iin. lib; wire nails, 3in, lib. As sparrows often congregate near poultry runs, it is sugegsted that one of two fowls bs placed in the trap for the first day to attract the sparrows. It is also advisable, when emptying the trap, to leave on or two birds to act as decoys. Bait the trap with a handful of grain. PREVENTING DAMAGE TO PEACHES.

PERENNIAL PHLOX. Perennial Phlox is one uf tbe most useful border plants, but it requires attention. The shoots should be confined to one or two of the strongest only, the weaker ones being cut away. They are thirsty plants, requiring a moist, rich soil, and the plants should be mulched with well-rotted manure or similar material. If the decaying flowers are removed and the plants kept growing there will be a continuance of bloom for a long time, but moisture is essential.