CORRESPONDENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 134, 8 June 1929, Page 6 (Supplement)

CORRESPONDENTS.

J.P.A. (Dcvonport) sends some specimens for identification. (2) What is the name of the Australian nut grass? I notice a lot about .Devonport. Is Is cyperus?— (1) Boussiuguultia casselloldes, a very rampant climber, almost a weed. (2) probably Carpodetus serratus. (3) Sollya heterophylla. The nut grass Is Cyperus rotuadus. It is a very bad weed, and is now distributed over most tropical and temperate regions.

D.G. (Newmarket) -writes.—Having sum- , mer pruned some peach and nectarine ' trees, some of the laterals that were left liave grown abnormally long. I have been told that the fruit is borne j on the tips of the branches; If bo, it appears to me that these slender laterals would not bear tho weight of the fruit. Can they be pruned or tipped, and, if so, how much should be cut off? —The fruit is usually borne the full length of the laterals, provided the wood has been well ripened during the previous summer. The laterals can be cut back half their length, and this should leave plenty of fruiting wood. The idea of "tipping" or cutting away the tips of the laterals Is to cause the fruit to be carried close to the ma}n branches. If left full length the top flowers, having a great advantage over the others, invariably form fruit, hence the idea that the trees bear at the tips. By judicious thinning of the fruit, disbudding, and summer pruning, the fruit can be evenly distributed all over the tree and the usual habit of all the fruit being at the tips eliminated. GREEN BOX (Otahuhu) writes.—l am making nine boxes two feet long by nine inches wide, and about ten inches deep, to be placed on the path from front gate to back door. In them I wish to plant alow-growing evergreen trees or shrubs. The trees would get the sun all day and the position is often very hot. Could you name nine varieties to get? I was thinking of native trees such as rimu.—l do not think that there are many native trees that would do much good under the circumstances. The best trees for your purposes would bp . dwarf varieties of conifers. There are several varieties of C. lawsoniana with variegated foliage that would look well, are slow growers, and by means of clipping can be kept at a small stature for years. All that would be necessary would be to give the plants an application of sheep manure about twice a year. The following varieties of C. lawsoniana are useful for the purpose: Argentea compacta, Compacta coerulea, luten, Nana compacta. The following varieties of retinosporas are also useful for the purpose: Eetlnospora obtusa crippsii aurea, Obtusa nana picta, Obtusa nana aur'ea. I think if you were to arrange so as to have a green and a variegated alternately you would find it have a good appearance. You would also find that the best results would be obtained not by having nine different varieties, but by having only two varieties, the plants of which would be alternate.

THE LAWN AND WALKS. Repairs to the lawn can be undertaken in mild weather, provided it is not too wet to work on. Rolling will be beneficial after a spell of frost. Gravel or scoria and sand paths are much improved by frequent rolling, and any repairs or alterations to these can be carried out. THE PERSHOBE EGG PLUM. The death of Mr. Samuel Crooke, a well-known and popular resident of Pershore, in his fifty-ninth year, recalls the fact that liis great-grandfather, Mr. George Coolcc, an innkeeper'and market gardener, was the originator of the famous Pershore Egg Plum, which came from a Bullace plucked from Tiddesley Wood, which he grew in his gardens at Gig Bridge. In the first instance the plum was marketed at. Worcester and Broomsgrove, whither Crooke used to go with his produce once a week. Some of the earliest stock was planted in the garden of a near relative at Worcester. A SEED-SOWING TIP.

4. correspondent "Tip" writes: It is with interest I read your garden notes in the Supplement. I glean much useful information from them. I have a tip for sowing seeds which I pass on for what it is worth. I use small bottles, such as are used by chemists for "tablets," etc. They have a small metal cap which screws on the neck, I make a small hole in the top of the cap, put my seeds inside the container and use. in the same way as a salt shaker. In this way the seed can be sown thinly and there is no .waste: It is also a convenient way to keep the seeds as I paste the- front of the -packet 05 the bottle, 1