GARDEN NOTES

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8963, 29 November 1894, Page 3

GARDEN NOTES

««Weekly Press."

If youug plantations of Asparapu* are to give the best results in future years, great care should now be bestowed upon tliem; and having cleared off all weeds by hoeiug, i£ they are small, or hand-weeding if large, proceed to topdress and mulch with shore strawy litter. Aβ it ia very aeairable to prevent the young shoots from being broken off by the wind, bushy sticks should be thrust ioto the ground at some little distance from the plants, bo as not to injure the crowns, to afford them support; but the better und neater way ia to stretch along the rows of plants lengths cf twine fixed to stakes, driven firmly into the soil, fastening the stems to the twine with soft bast, summer pruning will now call for attention. Tuis chiefly consists in pinching back side shoots to induce them to form fruit spurs aud prevent overcrowding. It is very important to keep the head of the tree open to admit suu for ripening and colouring the fruit and maturing the wood. A young bush tree may have half a dozen branches, and if frule spurs are orraed on these there will be very little j to cut away ; but the natural inclination of young trees is to make wood. * The pruner must exercise judgment in deterralung the shoots to keepaway and those he must leave. He muse cut well in his mind's eye the future formation of his tree, and not stop the growth of the leading shoots required for extension. Peach trees call for more than ordinary attention. All useless wood must be cut away, and the shoots for the next year s crop ueatly laid in, as the Peach bears its fruit on the young wood. Shoots that etart from the old wood should be encouraged to keep the tree well clothed with foliage; there are no bare branches on a Peach tree that has been well looked after. The shoots for bearing next season must be selected as near the base of the fruiting branch as possible. Do not bruise or in any way damage the tree, for gumming would certainly occur in the praised part, and eventually the branch would die, spoiling the shape of the tree. The summer pruning of the Fig consists in thinning out the young shoots in a elta%ar «4ne«r for the Peach. In the Fig tree the embryo frultia formed near the apex of the shoot late In the summer, therefore U must not be shortened in winter. The beet plan to adopt is to lay in two shoots, one for bear ing and the other to be cut back in the winter pruning. Old trees do not make much wood, and in favourable situations produce good crop?. The young side growths of eweefc cherry trees may be pinched to form good leaves, thus inducing the formation of fruit buds. Prune the upper part of the tree first, thus strengthening the lower branches and checking the upper ones. Morellos require different treatment. They make more slender growths, and generally form fruit buds the whole length of the shoots, oftentimes with only a terminal wood bud. The treatment should be similar- to that given to the Peach—namely, young growths laid In to take the place of the fruiting shoots, which are to be cut out in the winter. Standard trees do not require much summer pruning after the tree is formed. Plum trees should be treated similarly to early or dessert Cherries. The treatment of Apples and Pears consists in pinching the side shoots to four or five good leaves and subsequent growths to one leaf. Thit leads to the formation of fruit buds, but care must , be taken to leave the leading shoots unplnched, also the; formation of the young trees; must :coneideredr|,lf (he tree was started with lour branches, and these shortened In' winter, the next year it should have eight, in the summer following care must be taken not to cut away any shoots that will be wanted for the formation of the tree. Among the smaller fruits, Raspberries will require the suckers removed with the exception of three to five; which will produce the next year's crop; these may be tied to a stake. Gooseberries and Currants may have enough growth removed to enable the- sun to shine freely into the bush. , ' Fruit generally follows the sun, barrenness the shade caused by crowding."