IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18902, 18 January 1927, Page 5

IN THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

(specially wbkttek TOB THE TSESS.) (By J. T. Sinclair.)

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. W.J.—lf your gooseberry bushes have dcnso growth in the centres thin them well out now, bo that plenty.of light and air can get to the growths which will bo leftalso cut off any that are touching or are near the ground. Pruno in winter when the foliage is off. LK.—To kill the blight on your beans and marrow plants spray them with "Black Leaf 40." A fungus at the collar of your aster plants will probably be the cause of their dying off; try watering them with a very weak solution of londy's fluid. Lawn sand is the only thing that will kill trefoil on your lawns without injuring tho grass. Put in viola cuttings during the next few weeks; make the cuttings from the young growths. Sec this column next week.

VEGETABLES. Endivo.—This is not often used when lettuce can bo obtained, but it is nevertheless a splendid winter salad, and can be blanched in small or large' quantities at one time as desired. A sowiiig can bo made now and another in a month's time, and, as the plants do not transplant well in hot, dry'weather, the bed should bo made where the plants are to grow. The seed can bo sown and the seedlings thinned out as is usually done with lettuce. Endive must bo kept well watered while it is growing, as it is prone to run to seed if it gets a severe check. Blanching; is easily accomplished by tying the plants up with string or raffia, or by inverting a fair-sized flower pot over the plants. The foliage must be •perfectly dry when preparing the plants for blanching, otherwise the centre will rot. The Curled and Botavian kinds are the best.

Celery.—By this time plants of early varieties such as Henderson's White Plume will have attained a fair size, and if the heads are wanted early paper collars can be put round them towards the end of the month. It must be remembered that even the so-called self-blanched sorts take six weeks to blanch, that. is, if the sticks nre going to be used as salad. Before putting on the collars pull away any side leaves that show signs of decay, and sprinkle some old soot over the ground. If the trench is at all dry, a good soaking should be given it a day or two before putting on the papers. Ordinary brown paper can bo [ employed, and when wrapped round I the plants can be secured with raffia. The ties should not be put on too tight, room should be left for expansion. One thing to keep in mind is that the growing point is lower down in the plant than the outside leaves, and the collars must nob bo higher than tho top of the growing point, or there is a chance of the centre being smothered and growth checked. A little soil can be drawn round the bottom -of tho collars in order to keep them in position. As growth advances ' the collars can be pulled, up a little and soil put round the blanched ,portion, or another paper can be put above the one already on tho plant. Of course, for main and late crops, paper only does not do, as soil must be put round the plants after the paper collars, but for early, easily blanched varieties paper is sufficient. Needless to say, the plants must bo kept well supplied with moisture when this method' of blanching is practised. Spinach.—Some time before the end of ihe month a goodly sized plot of this" should bo sown for autumn use. A piece of ground well manured for a previous crop is to bo preferred to a piece freshly Manured with green manure. A gdod dusting of superphosphates will, act'as a splendid fertiliser, especially so if put on ground just cleared of potatoes. Sow in drills one foot apart, thin early, and do not stint water: > . Current Work.—lf mildew is beginning to show on peas dust, sulphur over the foliage, as mildew is a most fatal foe to'tho pea from ; now onwards. Keep the pods, well,picked off dwarf and runner beans, as nothing causes plants'to stop producing flowers as much as pods reaching maturity. Pods three-parts grown are in a'good stage for gathering. Runner beans grown as dwarfs must have the runners removed as they show.

FRUIT. Black Currants.—The pruning of these is often left until winter, with the result that the. shoots do not get properly ripened. As soon as the fruit is picked the centres should be well thinned out to allow a free circulation of air. The old wood that has just fruited is what should be cut out, leaving plenty of this season's growth, as it is to this growth we look to for next season's crop. , When this young wood is overcrowded, it becomes spindly and. unfruitful, and in many cases soft and full of pith. The aim should be to get firm, short-jointed wood, r:.d this can only be got by admitting plenty of air and sun into the bushes. The variety, Black Naples, usually makes too mu wood, and should have some of the weakest of this season's growth cut out, as well as the wood that has fruited. Red and white currants, on the other hand, should only have the growth pinched out at this time of the year, unless they are too thick and crowded in the centres, in which case 6ome of the growths should be removed entirely. The bushes can be spurred and regulated during the winter. Black currants, if properly attended to now, need little or no attention when they are dormant, i

FLOWERS. Freesias.—Bulbs for the first supply should be got ready early. The most suitable time for potting up the majority of the bulbs will come during the next fortnight. Until recently, the white and yellow varieties were the only ones grown, hut now the range of colour is much greater. Boxes or pots can be used, and the compost should bo two parts loam, one well-decayed manure,. one part leaf mould, and a liberal quantity of coarse sand thoroughly mixed together. Seven or eight bulbs can comfortably bo planted in a six-inch pot. Let them rest an inch below the surface. After potting, supply water, jand then plunge the pots in sifted ashes in a cold frame. Keep the soil uniformly moist. If too wet, some of the bulbs will rot, and if too dry, some of them will refuse to I start. Antirrhinums.—These are not at all fastidious as regards soil, and will flower freely even in poor soil. If some seed is sown now the resulting plants will give a fine display early next summer. If any particular position is going to be planted varieties of a suitable height should be chosen. Chrysanthemums.—A close watch should be kept for grubs in the points of the- shoots, as the loss of points at this date means a late and inferior Moora. Greenfly must be kept down with some insecticide, and plants i affected with rust should be sprayed with liver of sulphur or lime-sulphur ' As the pots are nearly full of roots, a little weak manure can be given. Soot i» a safe and good manure to use at present, but must not be given often or strong. Liquid manure made from animal manure can be given now and ■cam until the bud is taken, as this class of manure does not hasten or i retard much. | Brompton Stocks.-Although the flowers of these are single in character they are well worth growing. The seed can be sown now on a moist, shady border -When the seedlings are large enough to handle, thin them out six inches aDart. " bIA