IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16987, 9 November 1920, Page 8

IN THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. j i (specially written for "the fbkss.") (By J. T. Sinclair.) j — i ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. T.J.—The little cup-shaped plant growing v>n tho surface of the soil around plant* is a liver wort. It is always bed fo- plarita to havo the surface oi tho soil covoTed I with tho growihs oi th^st. , , and of moss, j and you ehould take st;p3 to reinovoit at j once. Tho best way is to scratch it oi? I v:ith an old kiiifo or u- pointed stick, [ dropping- it and tho nio?s into a box, and ! I romovinj: it to thc> rubbish heap. In ' doinij this you will havo to remove- somo of tho top soil oa well, and this should bo replaced with somo fiosh potting _6o;l, and made firai with tho thumbs. Water with lime-water euco a, ji-.onth to koep the soil sweet. Quassia.—The b?st way to jnjko this icerctioide is to bo:! ono pound of qun.'-saa chips in water for a couple of hours. Dissolve half a pound of soft soap_ in warm wa-ter, nnd "stir in tho t,trained-off quassia, extract, adcUnt; eufilciont water to make ten pallors. Another method, of | i preparation "consists, of boilin? thoquassia j I with half tho soap ana half tho water: I strain cfi the liquid and fcoii rosiduo i for on hour with tho rest of the soap } and water. Xext. nrx the two decoctions ! and make up to ten gallons with water. Cauipsie,—Cut the dead -wood out of your j peach tree?. If the curl ia causing the I leaves to thicke-n and liocomo a gTayish pink colour, pick off all nffocted leaves and epray with lime-sulphur solution at the Tate "of 1 of lime sulphur to 120 of •wator. If the curl is camod by greeufly spray with "Black Leaf 40." St. Albans.—lt seems to me a3 if your tomatoes havo heen attacked by a wry mirute fungus, which often creeps nlonsr the ei'rface of soil and attacks tender stems while tho skin ia tender. It oftcne occurs in eoils which hßvp had a good <| ca l of sreen material—such us grass—iu thorn ■when staclted. Well watering _ tho soil with parmnnq-anato of potash, juat m""" ins; tho water pink, ie "a gtiod plan, but the use of good fresh loam is eafer. VEGETABUBS. Salsafy.—Snlsafy is sometimes called "Tho Vegetable Oyster/' and is a good root vegetable, making a very welcome change to dishee of parsnips, carrots, swedes, and other winter vegetables. It ia hardy and easy to grow, and well worth tho amateur's while. Tho iirst fortnight in is a good time to eovr it, and this should be done in drills a foot apart. Tho drills are best an inch deop, and as it does not always gerniuifrto vety regulariy, the seed should only be sown fairly thinly and. the plants thined later. This can be| done as tho grow until the plants aro left standing nine inches apart from one another. In sandy soils manuro may be dug into tho ground before, if buried deeply, but there should he j none in the top spit, and if the ground i has been recently well enriched, digging alone will bo sufficient for a good crop. But, as with other tap-rooted vegetables, it is best to hare a deeply worked soil with the nourishment at the bottom, only to avoid forked and urgle roots being formed. Salsafy is not nearly so popular as it deserves to be, and for those who have not grown it before, we will quote the following directions for a its treatment in the kitchen: Salsafy colours on exposure to the air, and should bo kept under water while peeling, when washed and plunged into a bowl with sufficient water to cover it, to which vinegar has been added in the proportion of one tablespoonful to each quart of wal .-. Let it blanch in this mix* turo for twenty minutes, then put it iDto a saucepan of boiling salted water, and boil for throe-quarters of an hour, drain, dieh on and immediately pour over thick white sauce. Oabbages.—Some timo ago experts carried out a number of tests to decide what are the most suitable forms of artificial manures to apply to ground intended for growing cabbages on, so that the heaviest crops can be taken off it. After many experiments it was found that the following is tho most economical method of treating land for the rearing, of cabbages: Where the ground has received the ordinary dressing of farmyard manure kainit, applied at the rate of 1J ounces to the square yard just before the plants are set out (or immediately preceding the operation of ridging them up), will provide the roots with a powerful stimulant. In tho caso of light soils, threequarters of an ounce of sjilt should be added to the kainit, as this will help the soil to retain a fairly large amount of moisture. Then, again, superphosphates, at the rate of ono ounce to the square yard, should be lightly forked into tho soil just at the time planting takes place. Where it has not been possible to give a good dressing of dung, this deficiency can be made up | to a considerable extent by mixing in half on ounce of sulphate of ammonia with the superphosphates. After the young cabbage plants commence to grow fho ground between the , rows should have a top-dressing of salt and nitrate of soda in equal quantities. This dressing should be given twice in the season—the first at toe time growth first starts, and again eix weeks later. On. both occasions about three-quarters of an ounce must be spread over every . square yard of ground occupied by tho '. cabbage plants. Kainit comes from Germany, and as ; the source of supply is cut off for some time, we can use wood-ashes as a sub- •. stitutek 1 FBX7IT. ] dajre are always of ■ great assistance to vines in flower, and j little damping and no syringing should ■ be done. About midday give the rods a sharp shake, and this will dispose j of pollen in all directions. Shy-set- . ting varieties, Buch as Lady Downes ', and Muscat of Alexandria, can be assisted to set by passing a camel-hair brush over them, •especially bo if the brush has first been passed over a free Betting variety, such as Black Hamburgh. Leave a chink of air on tha top ventilators all night, and keep the doors-open for a few hours during the hottest part of the day, when th.o days axe hot and calm. I TLOWEBS. i Pruning Flowering Shrubs. — Aβ a ' general rule, the best time to prune ' lowering shrubs'is after they have fin- ' ished flowering. This practice enables ' tho shrubs to form new wood in good time for it to ripen well and produce 1 an abundance of flowers the following season. This is particularly impor- '

(taut in the case of spring-flowering j shrubs, as winter pruning would result ' in destroying much of tho wood that j otherwise* would have flowered next spring, and no fresh growth would bo made to take its place. Flowering I currants, forsythias. tho rod leaved i plum, double poaches, berbeis, early J flowering Dutch, hon-eyiuiddo, doublo ■. May, laburnums, lilac, cyclonia, jnponie;i, and mock orange "should be attended to as they pass out of bloom. In mauy cases aU tho cutting that is_ necessary is such as will keep them within bounds, but the dt>sired shnpo of tho busli should also bo borno m mind. Brooms, for instance, soon got bare at tho bottom, and ungainly in appearance, if they aro cot pruned. Cutting out one or two shoots, and I shortening tho other growths after i flowering will havo tho desired result. Dahlias.—Plants raised from cuttings can now be put out, and if planted sido by sido should r.ot bo put closer than four Jc&b apart. During cold ovenings it is a good plan to invert a flower pot or bos of any kind over them until they becomo a little hardior. As is wellknown, £oor ground must bo well enriched with manure before tho plants are set out. '. Poppies.—These vary ?o imich'in their j form and colour, from dainty Jittlo IcoI land poppies so useful in vases, to tho immense flowering orange and crimson poppies of the East, which aro among the first of tho herbaceous border plants to welcome in the summer. Among these Oriental poppies thero aro besides orange and crimson, somo beautiful pink varieties, which are mot quite so large, and in tho case of somo varieties will bo found useful as cut flowers if cut when tho buds aro opening. If a fow plants, after they havo finished floworing, aro trimmed over— both loaves and stems—to witlyn four inches of tho ground they wi]J produce another crop of bloom at a timo when these colours are not too plontiful. A pinch of Shirbey poppy seed bowh now makes any odd corner gay for the summer and autumn, and aro of uso in now gardens, whoro thoro is not time to finish all tho planting that was intended. Iceland poppies sown some timo ago should bo thinned at once, whilo some more seed sown now will ■ produce plants which will flower at the end of summer. Pinches of Beod of tho dainty little Alpine poppies can bo scattered on the rockery, and evon on the back yard and on gravel paths, or closo against brickwork and path edgings. This is ono of the daintiest poppies in cultivation, and very easy , to grow. $ A correspondent has kindly sent the ifollowing:— "At ono time or another I j have tried most of the devices for koepI ing birds off seeds —cotton, feathers, bits of tin, and glass, stuffed and tethered hawks and cats, and none proved very satisfactory, i Finally, 1 (solved the problem. A couple of 12 ! foot 4xl matai battens are placed on I edgo, and joined at each end and the j middle by pieces 4 x 2 x 10J inches. The I middle 4x2 may be 4. x 1, or ptaood flat. This frame ie covered with 12 x i inch netting, and yon can sow two rows of peas, spinach, 7 inches apart, and every seed will count. A smear of kerosene repels slugs, a strip of scrim keeps out brown beetles, when, the growth reaches the netting I know it is time to mako another sowing or peas, always sowing the same variety. In the hottest weather two rows of spinach are mulched with an inch, or two of lawn clippings, and on the netting rushes or rough grass exclude the sun". Young cabbages may bo similarly shaded Cabbage and cauliflower each, sown in rows and thinned over aro protected by a 3 x 3 frame six inches high. Divided by the number; of years each frame will last, especially if stored ra winter, their initial cost is immaterial, and abundantly repaid by results in the way of beating tho birds."