IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16442, 8 February 1919, Page 4

IN THE GARDEN.

♦ <SPECIALLT WBITTBN FOB "TH* rjt*SS.") (Br J. T. Sinclair.) WORK FOR THE WEEK Sow—Radish, lettuce, carrots, enaive, > spinacli, and turnips. Plant—Savoys and kale, also celery for flavouring. The spell of rain for which we have long waited has its drawbacks as wen as its advantages, although the latter far outweigh the former. It has, it is true, caused some of the stone fruit to crack, and in places where the soil is wot and heavy spraying for Irush. blight will probably have to be done. Celery, savoys, leeks, kale, and other winter vegetables which were planted beiore the middle of last month, are looking much better since the rain, both as regards growth and cleanliness. . . . .. To preserve the moisture in the soil great efforts must be made to keep the surface soil in a sufficiently broken state to be really porous, tor it caiinot be too often repeated without air tlie most conscientious watering is of comparatively little avail. "Wherever tho ground shows a tendency to become caked it should be at once loosened with the hoe, thrusting the tool in as far as seems desirable with the forward stroke, and finally smoothing the surface as the operator draws the hoe towards him.

It will be found in practice that the moisture present iu the upper reaches of the soil is by this means both distributed and retained, since, contrary in its action to that of the rake, tlio. hoe collects the soil particles into relatively large portions' having " correspondingly large airspaces between them. Now it is the object of the cultivator to preserve and increase such .air-spaces, since by so doing evaporation of water is cut off and a condition of moisture induced around the plants. The finer the soil the closer the capillary tubes, or hairlike passages, which convey moisture from the lower reaches of soil to the

soil-surface and so into the air. The coarser the lumps of soil the less frequent are the capillary tubes and the more are they disconnected (before gaining the surface) by the large airspaces which occur. It is obvious, therefore, that, except iti the case of a fine tilth being required in order to bring moisture to the very surface (as in the case of seedlings or of small seeds), every

effort should be made to keep the soil in relatively large pieces by the use of the hoe." But—and this is important —at the same time these lumps must be moderately well broken, otherwise each lump is in danger of itself remaining in a condition of too small particles, and so defeating the purpose just allnded to. Everyone knows that the hoe does not make such a rough .tilth as when a fork is used, or ns tine a tilth as when the rake is used; it is the one made by the noe that is the best to prevent evaporation from the soil." VEGETABLES. Leeks. —These are gross l'eixlcrs, and the drills containing tiiem should get a good =oaking ul liquid nianure made from animal manure; this will be of great assistance. A day or so afterwards the drills can he hoed in level. Endive. —A further sowing of this can be made on warm border. If the soil is naturally damp the hod should be made on a raised border or the centres of the plants will rot when they are being blanched. Shallots.—When these and. garlic become ripe thev should be lifted and laid out thinly to dry. Care, however, must be taken not to pull them up before the foliage has turned yellow. The clusters should not be divided until quite dry, but be loft as they have grown. A cool, airy shed is* the best place to store them. Onions.—ln 6ome gardens the onipns sown in autumn will now be nearing maturity. It is a mistakp to allow those to remain too long in the ground, though tho recenL rain may cauße them to continue green and in a growing state. The tops can be bent over so as to expose the bulbs as much as possible to the sun. FRUIT. ltaspberries.—As most of these have now ripened off tliuir crop, tho time ims arrived when the pruning should be put in hand. In tho coao of raspberries pruning largely consists in removing tho past season's fruiting canes. Ail the old wood, therefore, "iimild be cut clear out to the level of Uio ground, and its place taken by the best of the present beason'B suckers. It is, of course, not advisable to rbtaiii too many young shoots, as sufficient light and air mußt be admitted to tlio canes that are left so that the wood can ripen thoroughly, otherwise the crop will not bo satisfactory. Whore tho present season's shoots are too numerous tho weakest oneß should ho cut out, and only the strong, healthy . growths retained. These should be carefully tied into the trellis work, or other suitable support provided for them. The bed, once the pruning has been completed, should becleared of all rubbish and made thoroughly clean, and the place put quite tidy, "so that with the exception of hoeing no further attention will be needed for some time.

FLOWERS,

The Greenhouse. —During the month uiuplu vualilaiiun night and day, plentiful supplies of Water to all established plants, and keeping them free from insects and other pests, are the proper conditions to be maintained in tho greenhouse. Violent storms of wind and rain must bo excluded if they occur. Plants that are potbound may require "water twice a day._ If at any time they get overlooked immerse the pota in water till air bubbles cease to rise from them, which will show that the water has taken the place of air, the presence of which in quantity is hurtful to the roots. Frequent light fumigations with any nicotine preparation will keep green fly and thrip in subjection. All plants being brought on for winter flowering must be carefully attended to in the matter of potting till thev are in their flowering pots; never allow them to become potbound till then. Violas.—The season has now arrived when it is possible to propagate a fresh stock of plants. If some of the old Btocks are lifted, the old growths cut away, and the young central growths broken off with roots attached and boxed off they will make flno plants to rub out into their flowering quarters before hard weather sets in. If it is not possible to got small pieces with roots attached cuttings can be inserted in boxes in the usual way. Needless to say, the cuttings must be kept in a fairly close frame until roots form. To prevent mildew dust them over with flowers of sulphur. If not already done the seedlings raised from the December sowing should be pricked off before they become drawn. I'Veesias.—Most people admire these fragrant spring flowers, and to get the flowers under cool treatment the bulbs can be potted or boxed up now.' The cultivation of the freesia is not a difficult matter; it can easily be grown and flowered in a room window which gets most of the sunshine during winter. The compost should - consist of good loam with some leafsoil and sand; a little dried cowdung rubbed through a sieve will do good, but if too much is used the foliage will grow rank at the expense of the Iflowers. At the present stage artificial manures should not be used. These can be given with advantage after the flower spikes show. Some well-rotted manure should be placed at tho bottom of the pots or boxes to do tlie twofold purpose of providing drainage and plant food. . Place the compost in the boxeSj •'and set the bulbs in rows two inches apart, allowing the same distance from bulb to bulb, and one inch deep. Plunge the pots to the rims in sifted ashes, and stand the boxes closely together. Careful watering is one of the secrets of freesia cultivation, until growths appear keep the soil moderatelv moist. If kept too dry the bulbs won't move; if too wet the soil becomes sour and the plants won't thrive.