TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 40, 16 February 1929, Page 6 (Supplement)

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

UNCERTAIN (Grey Lynn) ask. when the plants of native clematis should he transplanted.—The best time is during early autumn, when the soil is moist and Warm.

R.H. (Edendale) writes : Can vou tell me the trouble with the plums (sample enclosed), also what Is the name of the P'^l - . 11 ls d,,e to r,ne rot < Kee answer to H.S.J., Dargavllle. in this issue.) The plum is one of the Japanese variety, and Is similar to Hale.

J.K. (Auckland) writes : A healthy looking lemon tree hag plenty of buds, dnlv followed by the fruit, but as soon as the fruits grow a little larger than a pea ) they turn brown and drop off.—lt iR prob ably due to rust. Spraying with lime sulphur solution is the remedy. You can purchare the solution rcndv to mix with water. Use at the strength of one part to sevenly-five parts water. H..T.S. (Dargavllle)—sends some plums for examination.—The trouble is brown rot It is one of the worst diseases of recent years. Collect alt diseased fruits, espe dally any "mummified" fruits that mar remain hanging on the tree. AH deail twigs and "cankered" branches should be cut out and burned. The ground under the tree should be dug over and all weeds and dead leaves buried \ dressing of White Island Product So. 1 applied to the soil before digging will act as a fumigant. After the fruit has been gathered spray with lime sulphur, one part to fifty parts water. The disease ts one which can be controlled bv keeniii" trees and soil clean and free 'of weed! and dead leaves and fruits.

W.M. (Dargaville) (1) sends a leaf of a sweet orange for examination, also a twig of the same tree. The tree has been sprayed with lime-sulphur, l-JiO I* this correct/ (2) A quince tree five years old" *"' kw quinces on during the past two ££££"; i U "»•* season every fruit has ton^f „ (3) A tom af« tree blooms well but fails to set fruit.— 11) The !S!? y, ?i? K wit t lime »ulphur is all right. fear Tinhu* effeC $ ,T £ on the lni * ets on ,he leaf (aphi R > an(l , he sca ,, on th will have to spray once or twice more to get all the insects. ci) it is '"Possible to say for certain. Most Vof -V Wl l' fr,,,t hmpr as «t sets older. • Tl ? e toniatf, es are almost alwavs raised from seed and it is no unusual thing to get hold of an unfertile one. I should get another, and cut out the one that does not fruit.

A.B. (Onehunga) writes: (1) Cfculd you tell me If enclosed insect is a borer? (2) If ?rL Ia K e a peaeb stone - w,n th « resulting tree be a success?—(l) Yes. (2) Only a very small percentage of seedling rn?£te* f Uc r 88 ' aml " ,8 ~>t worth jour time to plant a peach stone and wait j ears, and then find you have no success. ANXIOUS (New Lynn) writes: I have a few tomatoes; about half the fruits have a greenish yellow hard substance in them The plants look healthy and have been sprayed. Can you suggest the cause of the trouble?— The trouble, undoubtedly, lies In the fact that the feed was not saved from good fruits. You can place it to heredity and seed uot of first quality. J.C.K. (Western Springs) writes: I have a pomegranate tree, which is well sheltered and gets plenty of sun. but the fruits full as they are forming. Could you state the reason?—lt is due to improper fertilisation, and this may be in a measure due to the tree being too young. Many of these trees fail to fruit in a young state, through no reason whatever, except that until of an ag? they seem incapable of producing fertile pollen. T.H. (Avondale) writes: (1) Could you tell me where to obtain gome "Ruke Special" strawberry plants? (:»> How far apart should the rows be, also the plants l in the rows? (3) The best immure to use. and when to manure the ground? (4) The time to plant? (5) How should 1 prune my loganberry vines, what to do with the new caues, and should I leave all that grow on the plants? (1) I do not know: apparently it is some local ptrain. (ii) Rows two feet apart. plants about eight inches apart. 13) Superphosphate and sulphate of potash. When digging or ploughing the ground use half a ton of super and one cwt potash per acre. Bonedust scattered in the rows when planting at the rate of on* ton to acre. Three applications of blood and boue, at the rate of about halt a ton to the acre. The first application about a month after planting, and the others at about «x weeks* intervals. (4> Plant April to June. (5) Cut out the canes that ha\-e fruited. Tie the new canes to the trellis or whatever supports you use. Leave as many as can be properly accommodated, but so that each cane can have ample room, and cut out the rest. Botter results are produced by concentrating the plants' energies l on to sufficient canes to produce a fiir crop, with every cane doing its share, than having a number of canes that are crowded out and unable to produce any results. _ _ _ , ._.._..

> ANXIOUS (Mt. Eden) writes :—I hare a privet hedge which I have cut down to within a few inches of the ground. I wish to destroy it. Could you suggest any method other than grubbing it out?— Keep the growths cut or broken off, and the plants will soon give out..

W..\. (Morningside) writes: Will you advise the cause of (he loss of fibrous roots on dwarf white French bean, as specimen enclosed? The land has had green crops (oats) turned in, well limed, sulphate of ammonia, super, and potash. On the beans reaching maturity they lose the green appearance, leaves fall, and roots are found as in specimen.—Beans and peas do not require nitrogenous manures, such as sulphate of ammonia. Had the weather been wet a large portion of the nitrogen would have disappeared by leaching, but the dry weather has caused it to be retained in the soil, and consequently it has acted almost as a poison. Cut out the sulphate of ammonia for peas and beans.

H.W. (AvondalO asks>: (1) How much fruit cpn be got from 100 strawberry plants. and what time to plant to be ready for Christmas? (2) Are there any small grape varieties? I have a vine which has nothing else but bunches of small grapes. (3) How long before snail plants Mower? We have plants which come up and die down without flowering. The plants are about four year* old. —(1) 1 cannot tell how much fruit strawberry plants will give; so much depends upon variety, weather and cultivation, but a good plant should give about a pound of fruit, but many plants will only give a dozen berries. Plant in May. (2) Yonr vine apparently is a wild species: it may be a variety used for stocks for grafting. (3) Should flower the first year from seed. Cannot understand why yours do not flower.

XOVICB (Mokai) wrlfes : (1) Cabbages and cauliflowers have developed rust the last two years. What can I sow or plant on the ground instead? (2) Will the runners of strawberry plants do for planting up or must the old plants be divided? (3) Have sown two lots of lettuce seed within last three weeks, but there is no sign of seedlings in spite of the soil beinc warm, rich and occasionally watered. The same seed was used two mouths aco, and in two or three days was up and gave an abundance of lettuce.— (1) Use the ground for beans, potatoes, pumpkins, peas. (2) The strong runners are much better for planting than the divided plants. (3) It is due to the weather conditions; probablyq the wed germinated, but the seedlings either perished by drought or with the watering. Try the following method :—Make a shallow drill, well water in the furrow ; when the surplus water has soaied awav sow the seed lightly, cover the seed with dry soil, and then shade the row—a few branches of pines or tea-tree will do. Of course If It is insect peats, this will not stop them, but lettuce does better with a little shade during summer. LAWSOMANA (Henderson) writes: I have a hedge of Lawsoniana planted five years ago. Nine of the trees have died, apparently from a disease which appears to attack one tree, and then spread to those on each side. The disease appears in the first instance in the foliage. The trees are growing on fairly heaw soil.— Although the first signs of anything wrong appear in the foliajre the canse is at the roots, and the tree is beyona hope when the foliage begins to brown. The trouble Is a root disease, which Is all too common in macrocarpa and Lawsoniana, and seems most virulent when the trees are about six years old. There 1b no cure for It that I know of. and all you can do Is to take out the dead and dying trees and treat the soil with a fumigant. A heavy dressing of White Island Product No. 1 would be as good as anything. The disease appears to affect one tree, and when it has killed that tree, spread to the roots of those on either side. It is seldom that more than one or two trees appear to be affected at one time, but the disease continues travelling along the line. When the trees get old they either have more vigour and can throw it off, or the disease cannot gain an entrance into the firmer roots. If the soil is sterilised it should be possible to plant more trees to fill the gaps in the autumn.