Your Problem?

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 70, 23 March 1940, Page 7 (Supplement)

Your Problem?

J.D. (Netoton) icrltCß\ A little icoolti/ fit/ lelileh apparently changes into a brown /til is n gnat iicnt oil my passion vine. Then killed a large vine, last near, and arc here again. C'aultl you tell me how to control themt They are two dinVreiit flics and do ant change Into one or the otlicr. Spray with I.ime Sulphur, uslnc a tablcspoonful ot the concentrated solution to a gallon o£ water, or you could use nicotine, usi..;: a teaspoon to the gallon ol water. It may lie necessary to give two sprayings at intervals of about ten days.

B.n. (Birkenhead) writes: I bare read your column with great intercut, and hare derived great benefit from it. One part of my garden is close lo a hedge and is full of wood lice: do then cat the flower roots and, if so, how can I dispose of them? Wood lice will cat almost any kind of vegetation. They prefer n dry pkicc for nests. Get some soot or llnio and well dust about under the hedge. If ynu could keep the ground damp you would soon drive away the pest. They can be killed by means of phosphorus paste rat poison, thinly spread on pieces of bread and placed about their haunts. They can also bo trapped by putting a handful of dry hav in a Ilower pot or tin and placing it 'upside down on the ground close to their habitat. Put a chip of wood under the edge of the tin cr pot so as to nllow Hie wooil lice to enter. TJiey like a dry place to hide in during tlie day and if von examine these trays every day and shako them out of the hay over a bucket of water you will be surprised how quickly you will reduce their numbers.

•J.A.L. (Stanley Bay) asks: I intend planting a shelter hedge along the lack boundary of my property which overlooks the water and is exposed to the southerly and westerly winds. Would you give tnc some advice as- to the variety to plant and the best method of giving tho hedge a good start? Use Pittospormn crassifolluni or Copros«na Baucrll. Itoth are good and will stand la the position mentioned. Prepare the ground, by digging deeply and breaking up the sol!.. The addition of a little bone dust or blood and bono will be one advantage. Very little preparation except cultivation Is needed.

11.r.1t. (Frankton) sails: Could ynu please inform me ichat is wrong icith apple tree leaves cncloscilf The leaves sent have a silvery sheen, then turn brown or ycllolo in places before becoming all broion and dropping off. The leave's show slpns of silver blicht. There is no cure for this and as a rule it eventually kills the tree.

A.J. (Avondalc) nays: I am growing douhlc ' cornflower plants. Then v:crc all right In the small stage. J soaked them in Candy's crystals at planting lime and aftencards applied super and potash. They became affected during flowering. Bordeaux spray had no effect xehatever. They seem to droop, but I hare saved several 'by cutting right back immediately, but it does not always act. I do not think it is root trouble. The land is well drained. They do not get affected in patches, just one here and there. Due to a bacterial disease. There Is no cure, as far as I know, the disease being contracted when the plants are first planted. Tho eorntlower Is a native o£ firm, dry ground, and it has got sott under cultivation.

"Scarlet Runner" (Rotarua) writes: Enclosed find a variegated leaf of a scarlet runner bean. Is this a rnrilyt It is the first I have noticed and there were only two of the same kind on the vines. It is certainly rare on the runner bean, although variegated folfngc will occur on almost all kinds of plants. It Is due to a breaking down ot the chlorophyll, or in other words, it is a sort ot vegetable anaemia. Vigorous growing plants such as the runner bean seldom show signs «'• variegation. II.J. (Epsom) says: I bare, some trellis work on which I wish to plant some climbing roses. Could you tell me which arc the best to purchase, how to prepare the ground and when to plant? There is approximately soft, ot trellis in. all. Cly Mad. E. Heriot, coral red; Cly Ophelia, flesh pink ; Cly Shot Slid, salmon pink: Lemon Pillnr. lemon; Miss Marion Manifold, scarlet; Paul's Scarlet Climber, scarlet. Prepare the ground by deep digging. There is no need to add manure unless it is a little boncdust or basic slag. Any manure required can be added as a top'dressing after the roses are planted. Drainage must bo good, but in your district this is usually quite all right. Although deep cultivation is advised, the roses should be planted firmly. If you can get any turf, that is, the top four inches of a grass paddock, add this to the soil.

ir..4..t. (Kabukohu): (11 The small plum Is "late Burtiank." the large one is one of the Japanese hybrids or seedlings. It is probably Kelsey or Ngata. I do not know the "Mexican Devil" weed under that name.