IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19974, 8 July 1930, Page 8

IN THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

• (SPKCIAJLLy ■■nUITHSK TO* I'UE PKESS.) , [By-J. T. Sxncla.tr.] I ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Enlightenment. —As far as I know, there is only one means of getting rid of thati dreadful post, Convolvulus. That is, by hard xrork and unremitting attention. AVhore this has got « hold it is nsoloss to crop the ground i£ ono ivislics to set it under. I can only advise conslant application, taking out ovevy bit as Boon as it shows abovo ground. If fences aro overrun "vritli it, ft good plan would bo to let in soma old sheets of corrugated iron about eighteen inches into tho Rround at tho foot ot the fence. This will' check it considerably from getting into the garden. Anyone getting,in soil for filling up sections Fltouhl ' talco great care that convolvulus is not : in evidence, as a good many section", have been practically ruined through this-cause. VEGETABLES. Shiillols—These bulbs are of value for use when onions arc getting t'carce. The crop can. be grown unci cleared off in time to mako room for other things such as lettuce, turnip.", etc. Now is a good time to plant, providing tho "round and weather arc suitable, otherwise wait a while. Shallots will succeed in any ordinary ginden soil, but do much better if planted in deoplv worked, well manured ground, Make tho ground firm bcior© planting. Select, if possible, the roundest, of each cluster tor planting and -chooso a day when the ground is dry enough to work on. Plant in rows "one foot apart, by-pressing .the bulbs into the ground afc an average distance of nine inches. Do not cover the bulbs in any way. By giving plenty of room to grow, letter and heavier c.rous arc the result. Keep clean during tho growing season by hoeing occasionally. Digging and Trenching.—lWoro passing anv'remarks on-actual digging and. fcrencfiiW, it may bo useful to consider •the • tools used 'for this work. 'Jtio short-handled spado, of course, is the tihie-honou red implement of tho man. who tills the garden. Digging at best is ! a back-breaking performance with this tool. Digging and some form of trenching mav be said to be the lou'idation for the after cultivation of successful crops in the garden. .After 'a number of years I havo coiuo to the conclusion that a long handled spade or sbovfcl is preferable to the short handled variety in that it is easier on the worker, arid for all I have.seen to the contrary does equally as . good work, and the resultant crops are in no way inferior to where the ordinary spade is used. Naturally, whichever tool, is used, should, to do good work be of good length in tho blade and kept bright and clean. Any worn-out tools need nob bo taken into consideration if good work is the object in view. Now as to tho actual work itselr. \\ e mav make four classes, viz.: Trenching" proper, double djgging or bastard trenching, deep digging, and just digging.' For all practical purposes the last sort may be dispensed with. Trenching is the mode by winch tho top 6t>it is changed with the one underneath. This is only suitable where there is quite two spades deep of good soil. The method in trenching is to take off* a trench two spades deep and about two feet in width, wheeling the soil to tbe end of the plot where the work will finish. Now give a dressing of manure in tho. bottom of the trench if thought .necessary, breaking up tho bottom of the trench. Measure off two more feet of tho grounded proceed bv turning the top spade or Bp't into the bottom of the first ..trench, afterwards throwing up the seep rid 01 bottom spit on top of the first; ineasure off Wo more feet and'go on as before until the end is reached, when the sofl that was wheeled out of the first trench is to be. used for filling I up the last one. In double digging, or bastard trenching as it is called, tho operation is somewhat different, this form being used where the good i soil is not of any groat depth. Ihe difference in the two methods is that in place of taking out a trench two spades deep to start with, only a depth of one spade is taken out and wheeled to the finishing end as in trenching. As this form is undertaken mainly where the undersmt 19 of a poor ! or clayey nature, it will be seen that this gives a chance to introduce Manure or any form of garden rubbish j such as leaves, ashes from the garden ' fire, decayed vegetable matter, etc. This should be thrown into the trench and dug into the poor soil, afterwards off two feet again and throwing up the top spit t 9. n preceding one and so on until the end ii : re&chcd. By introducing plenty ot organic /Blatter into the lower stratum ■and breaking i up thon>ugldy,it will add considerably to the fertility and productiveness of the soil, when, as tiriie goes on, with the introduction of-plenty of a humus forming commodity,: the undersoil will be in a suit,able state to be'brought to tho top 1 by!trenching proper.. Of course, every- ! iOne ' knows • what digging is, but, ! strange to say, everyone does not make > as good a job as might be when under-; taking this work. The first thing do should be to take out a trench as trenching, but in this case it need only. be a spade m depth and about the same in width, . This gives a good chance, to bury well .the manure as the work-proceeds, which cannot lie done satisfactorily in the slipshod manner of digging without a trench. Break up alflumps that will be underneath as the work goca on, but the top can be left as. rough as possible. The rains and frosts will attend to this. Keep an eye to the general level and do not throw,the soil too high; neither 011 the other hand let the trench nil Tip.

FRUIT.' Winter Spraying—As soon as all pruning is done attention can be turned to the necessary spraying of tho trees Of course one should always choose a, calm dry day for this work. Remember that for the diflerent spraying compounds to be most ©ffectn e they should be used at then- • greyest strehgfch, and this can only be done at this season when the (Movent van- j efcies of fruit trees are in a dormant state. ' Make sure that spraying is | necessary and also be certain what the particular pest or pests are that one wishes to combat. For instance, to eprav with arsenate of lead fo. scale insects would be a waste of timo and. money, and equally, so on the other hand would it be useless to spray for codlin motli with. Emulsatne. Inciefore make certain what spray to use and then, go ahead. Tf there aj;o anj old trees more or Jess covered with moss, lichens, etc., it would be advisahle perhaps to dress, these with a caustic spray as this will soon make short work of these eyesores, leaving dormant eggs, occ., exposed, when, by spraying with an oil spray later, all these will bo settled. Caustic soda wash is not pleasant to use. either the dry powder or when mixed for use; it will Wn the hands or face if it should come in contact with either. Gloves should ,be worn to protect the hands, and vaseline is good to rub 011 the face. Old-clothes should be worn and work as much as possible facing the. same way that anv slight breeze" may lx> going. .For a fungicide to combat apple or pear scab, brown rot. etc., flordeaux mixture is suitable. Tt may be necessary to spray for these posts in successive seasons, but thvs should be gauged by the appearance of the- fruit. However, as a fungicide is mostly used as » it would do no harm to use • if the erops are quite

clean. The work of dealing with aphides is practically one that covers most of the year, ana anything used to keep tho trees free from lichens, etc., will be money well spent, as the quantities of eggs of so many of tho pests will, by this means, be loft exposed to sprays that will deal effectually with them. Lime-sulphur is a good insecticide to use at this season, but the choice between this.and an oil spray can Ue left to the intending user. It goes without saying that a reliable spraypump should' be used and caro should bo taken to see that after being in. use —especially with caustic washes, and lime-sulphur—every part of the pump should be thoroughly cleaned before being put away. Vinerv—The pruning of all vines should be carried out at this time. Examine tho rods..for pests such as.mealy bug. If this has been troublesome, some care should be taken to get rid of it. Remove all loose bark, especially on the spurs and round about the eyes. Give a dressing of Gishurst Compound, taking heed of the directions on the box. Give the house a good washing down with hot soapy water, limewash the brickwork, and finish bv loosening up the surface of the border with a fork, removing some of the old soil ntid replace with some good turfy loam mixed with wood ashes or bone-dust. Tho ventilators can be left open night and day if there are no plants in the house, otherwise they must be closed at night.