IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17064, 8 February 1921, Page 5

IN THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. (specially written TOR "THX PRJSSS.") (Bt J. T. Sinclair.) answers to correspondents. H.S W.—Where rain or ooft water cannot be obtained for watering plants, limo wiH reduce its thardness. The simplest way is to expose hand water to the influence oi the aitmosphere, and another very good: plan to adopt is to put about on« pound of washing soda In & gallon of water, and then stir this solution in twenty giallona of water. . _ Greytown.—Tie two principal reasons why maxrowa do not set their flowera -are excessive moisture in the atmosphere and overcrowded growth $ probaibly the Jattor is Tpour trouble. If eo, remove the weaker growths, admitting more sunlight and- air to the plants. If this fails, try artificial eatting of the flowera by means of a ftTna.ll oamel-hair brush. Nectarine. —Spiay your trees at once for the grub with arsenate of-lead, ucmg it at the strength stated on the package. For greenfly spray with "Black leaf «.t tne rate of one teaspoonful to a gallon of water. If you eo desire, you can use both solutions in combination!, thus destroying grub® audi .greenfly in One opera*. • tion. VEGETABLES. Spinach. —A good sowing of winter spinach should be made now, and another in a month's time. Ground from which peas have been cleared should 1 be selected for these sowings. Fork the Boil lightly, and make it as fine as possible before .th© drills * ars drawn eighteen' inches apart. If the ground is dry, water should be poured into the drills the night previous to sowing the seed. When the young plants ta'e large enough, they should -be t/hinned to three inches apart. Later, stir the surface soil frequently with the Dutch hoe, t-o promote a loose layer of' dry earth on the top, which is the next besi; thifig to mulchings for retaining the moisture in the soil during dry weather. Mushrooms. —"When no covered structures are available, outdoor beds may be made in January and February, which will give a continual supply until spaing, as they last longer m outdoor beds, though they do not bear so freely during: severe winter weather. Fresh stable manure with plenty of short straw-litter in jt is the chief ingredient for the bed, a cartload of manure being sufficient for a bed five to six feet long, but it must be remembered that a small quantity does not heat well, and is soon cold. .So the load should be thrown into one big ! heap as soon as it is obtained. When the steam shows it is a sign that it has begun to heat, and the heap should be turned over every other day, putting the outside into the middle. It generally h&s to be turned about three times, after which, it can be made up into a bed, about four feet wide at the bottom, and three feet high at the point. It should be trodden anfl beaten firm, and a thermometer put in the middle. The temperature will rise for the firs't few days, but in from six to nine days it will tia-vei fallen again to eighty-two degrees, when it will be ready for spawning. A "brick"'of spawn may be txroKen Into nine pieces, which should be put in the bed nine inches apart, -w® the holes large enough to allow" each piece of spawn to lie flat without an hollow under it, as tfhe collection of steam in sjich & hollow will sometime* kill the spawn. Press each piece in firmly so as to be buried about hn inctt and a half under the surface of the manure, when pressed over it. the bed with mats or straw to keep. tie -temperature from falling too rapidly. In about a iveek the bed should be csserea £&&& Sftg jackea &»E

moist garden soil, and firmly beaten down with a spade. This should again be covered with long straw-litter to the depth of a foot. It will be six weeks before the mushrooms .begin to appear.. Then the straw must be removed very carefully, or tne mushrooms will be taken off with it. Pull them right up when gathering, as cut sialics are apt to decay and injure the other mushrooms. Sprinkle the soil with tepid water when it begins to dry, and ste that the manure never gets white from overheating, especially when first turning the heap to sweeten it.- The position of outdoor beds should not be exposed to cold winds, and be away from the dripi of trees. Woodlic© are very fond of mushrooms, and something must be done to keep them away. FRUIT. Raspberries. —rAs soon as all the fruit is-gathered, all the "old fruiting canes and any surplus ones should be cut out. This allows plenty of light and air to reach the ones that are left. The shoots left should be carefully preserved, and secured to any supports that may be used. Firm, well-matured canes can bo secured only by such means. The old canes should be burnt as soon as they arc cut, so that any disease or grubs that may be on them, will be destroyed. FLOWERS. Dahlias.—Although ihe dahlia has nq doubt increased enormously in public favour of late years, it seems still to lack something of that universal popularity which is accorded to many other florist's flowers of considerably less merit than itself. This is the more remarkable because the dahlia possesses particular points of advantage as a decorative subject, notably its suitability for cutting and the length of season which flowers can be had. Moreover, the recent development? seen in the cactus, psaony, and fancy dahlias no longer make possible any reproach on the score of over-for-mality or stiffness in the blooms. Cactus dahlias in particular have about them the singular grace which does not 4ver meet its rival in a Japanese 'chrysanthemum of the most graceful type. | There can hardly be two as to which insect constitutes the dahlia's most determined foe. It is undoubtedly the earwig, which revels in accomplishing destruction of the finest blooms. The persevering gardener will learn more and more to rely upon hand-pick-ing; he will go ovef each plant daily and nightly, and after leaving no earwig alive which can be found at the time of examination, he will leave suitable traps refilled to assist the work during his absence. The earwig appreciates before all things a snug and sheltered hiding-place, for which reason the warm darkness engendered by lining a small, clean flower-pot with moss or hay (placing it on the top of the dahlia, stake), is the best condition to be aimed at for success. These simple traps should be examined each morning, and their contents emptied into a pail of boiling water, or otherwise destroyed. For growers the matter of staking and tying out of side growths is at the present time one of the most important elements in routine work. Apart from the rapidity which characterises dahlia growth at all stages, the weight of stems, shoots unci flowers makes careful tying essential. The main stake or stakes may be supplemented in some case 3, and the growths securely looped up with string or raffia, so as especially to avoid damage through gales and heavy rams of autumn. . , Side by side with tying will come the thinning of shoots, and here, too, tne plants will need careful attention, since it is needful to remove-small foliage shoots, which will otherwise divert tne plant's cnei£v from flower-growth. Reducing the number of growths will depend on the purpose for which the * flowers are required, and will m the main.decided4ft®

season. After secondary breaks have been secured, all growths springing from them should have been suppressed. That dahlias appreciate rich feeding —indeed; that they require it to come to their lest—is only reasonable, seeing, ,thß immense amount of tissue which they are called upon to support. The food .given them must contain plenty of nitrogen and other ordinary tissuebuilding substances, but it must on no account he deficient in those ingredients which encourage' a strong flowering growth.