A DARK HORSE?

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 2, 3 January 1931, Page 6 (Supplement)

A DARK HORSE?

Colonel F. R. Durham, secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society, took the chair at a meeting of the Booklovers' Circle, when Mrs. Marion Cran gave a talk o-n "The Garden TLat I Love." In the course of the evening Colonel Durham made an interesting reference to the scented musk. It will bo recalled that "The Nurseryman and Seedsman" reported that Mrs. C. Joy, of Bentley, claimed to have raised, from a 2d packet of seed, a plant with the real oldfashioned scent. This lady, unaccompanied by her musk, recently presented herself at the offices of the Royal Horticultural Socie'ty. There she enthused on the merit of her "find," but when asked to submit a plant for trial at Wisley, she definitely and decidedly refused, to do so 011 the grounds that "flic daren't." —"Nurseryman and Seedsman."

A.S. (Mt. Albert) sends a piece of a shrub for identillcatlon ?—Viburnum lantanoides, wayfaring tree. M.MT. (Grey Lynn) sends a flower for identification? —It i& alstromeria' aarea. Plant in autumn or early summer. Well drained soil and a sunny positkn are required. EL H. (Papakura) sends some twigs of plum for examination? —The trouble is "die bati." Spray with lime sulphur I—l2o. The trees should be sprayed once a month. All dead twigs should be cut away, collected and burned. KUST (Eemuera), sends some leaves of apple for examination? —The trouble is black spot. Spray with Bordeaux 5 — 4—50 or lime sulphur I—l2o. The trees should be sprayed once a month until fruit Is ready for picking. G.J.R. (Papatoetoe) sends some leaves of 4 karaka for examination. The tree has been sprayed with kerosene and soapsuds, and later with red oil? —The leaves have been attacked by a scale insect. I think, however, that you have rather overdone the oil, and the result is that some of the leaves have yellowed and are falling. The oil spray will control the insect, and the tree should begin to put out new, clean foliage at once. It is natuml for evergreens to shed their leaves about midsummer, especially if we have a hot. dry spell, and this Is partly the cause of the tree shedding the foliage. LINOX (Devonport) writes: Bush marrow, well grown, has three fruits on it. The plants are very prolific, but when fruit reaches about four inches long they turn yellow and rot at tip. What is the cause?— The plants can only develop or bring to maturity a certain amount of fruit, and the bush varieties of marrows produce such a number of fruits that it would be impossible for a plant to bring . them all to maturity. The result is that once one fruit starts to swell it takes all the nourishment from the , with the result that they die off, but if the fruits are cut as soon as a usable size the plant will keep on producing them. ARIHI PIKU (Parnell) asks: (1) Could a lemon tree be planted in Parnell at this time of the year? (2) How soon do tomato trees come into profit? Can I plant one now? (S) What is the quickest kind of passion fruit to fruit?—(l) It is tdo late to plant a lemon tree now. You could plant in March or April. (2) Second year after planting. You can plant one now, provided that you look after it in the matter of watering. This is not the best time for planting. (3) Practically all passion fruit plants are raised from seed, and I do not know of any particular variety that can .be said to fruit more quickly than another. There may be, and probably are plants showing the characteristics of early fruiting, but little has been done in selection, and the result is that the plants put in are just passion fruits.

RANUNCULUS (One Tree Hill) writes: I have a bed of seedling ranunculi just going out of flower. They were transplanted, and rows were well spaced. Plants have ample room and.ground is clean. Can I leave them in the ground for an early Btart? —'You can leave them, seeing that ground is clean and that they are last season's seedlings.