IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20572, 14 June 1932, Page 5

IN THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

(BfBCTlIlt wnrrTßK *un I'h* ***>>» •' [fly J. T. Sinclaik.l ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. P.T.—lf the evergreen honeysuckle has been established more than three years, it is not likely to remove well. Better plant . a young sample in a new site. If J* oll elect to try removal open a largo nolo in tho new position a foot deep, and fork up the bottom soil. Tjift the plant with a mass of soil and root, and llrmly. Cut out all useless growth to relieve roots. Spinach—Your spinach lias Anlhraenofe, which is hard to control. Before sowing again dig in some cheap naphthalene, leave ground exposed to the weather for a week or two afterwards before setting tho seed. After the plants aro half-grown apply and hoe in nitrate of soda at the rate of loz to tho stjuaro yard. Immediately afterwards spray with limo sulphur one-third pint to 4 j gallons of water. Linwood —I always prefer transplanting rhubarb, which has been broken up, in the month of August to doing ho now. The present is a, good time to preparo the bed so that it will have subsided by the spring in readiness for receiving 1 the crowns. It is only when ono desires to force tho stools of rhubarb in heat at this soason that the roots_ are lifted and nllowed to lie in tho air for some time. This acts as a check and causes tho crowns to respond more readily to the forcing. There is no necessity to do this when transplanting the 6t00)3 from one part of tho garden to another. 1 CURRENT WORK. Winter rhubarb will respond readily if given a good dressing of manure arid dug in. Failing animal manure, apply blood and bone, or basic slag and sulphate of potash. Rhubarb and seakale can easily bo forced with an equal mixt.uro of leaves and fresh stable manure. Continue to work and keep the soil stirred between growing crops, but in no ease work the soil while sodden and likely to become puddled. Peas showing above ground should bo protected Irom birds with black cotton or wire netting. Dig over all vacant ground in tho vegetable garden. Ground set apart for the planting of early potatoes should be turned over more than once to bring, it into a nice friable condition. Look over seed potatoes to mako sure they are free from disease. Ornamental trees and shrubs can be planted; the ground must be> thoroughly prepared. Plant roses. Deeply work and enrich the ground, but fresh manure must no't come in contact with tho roots. Plant firmly. 31 arm re and dig through the mixed border after removing dahlias and cannas, reducing some of the herbaceous perennials and regulating the growth of different shrubs. This is the best time of the year to plant Japanese irises. They prefer ground that is on the damp side. Give plants in frames all tne air I possible when the weather allows this i to lx> done. If any grafting is going to be dona next spring the grafts should be obtained nt the present time, labelled, and heeled in on a shady border to await the season of grafting coming round. Prune the grape vine; sec below. Prune all kinds of bush fruit and fruit trees. Collect and burn the primings. Plant all kinds of fruit trees and bushes. Prepare each station deeply and thoroughly. | FRUIT. Tho Loganberry. —When nups aro plentiful, the merits of tho loganberry i\ro apt to be overlooked, yet it is a most useful fruit, and should lind a place in every garden where a fair amount of room exists. Reputedly it is the result of a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry, but sotue aro inclined to think it is a. true natural species. However that may be, it is one of the few useful fruits for which we have to thank our American friends. It is an exceedingly vigorous subject, frequently making growths ten or more feet long in one season, hence it must be given plenty of headroom. It delights in a deeply-worked, rich, and rather heavy loam, which will afford it a cool root run during the hot days of summer. After the fruits are gathered, the growths which havo liorne them should bo cut right out at the base, the best of the young ones being tied in to take their place, and for bearing fruit the following year. Propagation is done by pegging down tho tips of the young, non-truit-ing canes and covering them with sou. Treated thus, thev soon make roots, and in tho autumn they can be grown as independent plants. Pruning the Grape Vino—lt is vcrj true if we are vftreful with the knife, and afraid to cut our vines, we will have poor and few grapes. I wish J could persuade cultivators of this 'act. Many of the small, inferior bunches ot fruit are due not so much to interior culture in the matter of watering, manuring, and &o us to the lacli of knowledge in pruning. In some cases, and with some subjects, we must use the knife very sparingly u we would get an abundant crop or good fruit, but it is not so in this case, anil one might almost say that the harder back we prune the better will op tho fruit. Naturally, something is sacrificed in quantity; but where is the amateur who would mind this could he only get the massive bunches of fruit sometimes seen iti the windows of fruit shops? These, ol" course, are out of reach of all but those growers favoured with ideal conditions for grape culture. But there is no reason why all should not have fairly well-developed bunches, ni'tch better than the general run. It is well, at this early period of the season, to give some attention to tho vines which are now lying dormant. If the matter of pruning is left until later, the sap will to move. No one can know just when that How commences, and there is always danger in cutting the vines when the sap is moving. A newly-cut surface at that time affords a means of egress for the sap, so that much sustenance is lost through bleeding ere tho wound naturally heals over. An aged vine requires special treatment. Hy an aged vine, Ido not mean a very old one, but one that ct>n no longer be termed young. We will suppose that We are dealing with an established vine, and that the growths made during summer have only had the green tips cut off, in order to let more light into the house during the autumn.

The iirst thing to do is to clear away any planU from under the vine. Then proceed to cut back the laterals on either side of the rod to two buds. Of course, the best cultivators cut back to one eye, or bud, but this is sometimes risky for the amateur, for should lie have an accident with the one bud, it means the loss of the lateral growth, and consequently the loss of n bunch of fruit. Leave, then, two eyes, and when growth is fairly started in spring, the weakest bud can be nibbed off, leaving the one growth only on the spur. In doing this work, cut back close to the spur, for both these buds are at the base of the lateral., t point thi<! out., us some may mistake me j here, and be led to leave too long a portion of the lateral growth; which.'

unduly lengthens the spur in a few years' time. Burn all prunings forthwith, so that insects which may be present will bo destroyed. Then sprond a mat under tlio rod and proceed to rub off the rougher portions of the bark with the hand, carefully rubbing round the buds, so as not to damage them. This further gets rid of insect pasta, and the rods are then ready for washing. This is done by means of a fairly soft scrubbing brush and soft soapy water, to which has to be added some insecticide—not an oil—according to directions on the package. Those readers who have recently introduced tho vine into their greenhouse should not proceed exactly on the lines laid down above. Remember that you have to lay the foundation of growth as well as the foundation of fruit. Thus, the knife must bo used in a different manner. If the one year-old or tvvo-year-okl vino has done well, it will have made some tremendously long growths, and some latitude must be given these.' Jn the case of the vine planted a year ago, 0110 single growth only will have boon mad©—with 110 fruit, of course. If you followed the remarks made in the case of the old vines as to hard pruning, you would bo wanting to cut tho youngster back almost to whore it started in tho spring. This, naturally, would bo a mistake. The 0110 growth need not bo cut back to Jess tliap a third of its length, making the cut, of course, close above a strong bud. The two-year-old vine will have made some lateral or side-growths, and theso should be pruned hard back, according to tho manner advised with the old vines. In this case, also, it is necessary to establish the spurs in their proper place—unless the matter was attended to in spring—by rubbing oil' certain buds. Tbp spurs on oither side 1 of the main rod should bo about fifti'Mi inches apart, the spur on one side being opposite the space oti tho otheT. This distributes the growths a I'd foliage more equally. Pruning done, all rods should he cleaned, for both red spider and mealy bug hide beneath tho loose hark during the winter, and the careful cultivator niust get rid of such at any cost. Bend the rods back so that they run parallel with the eaves of the houso. This bending of the rod induces the growth to oome more evenly in the spring. You will perhaps have noticed that the growths at tho extreme end of tho rods come away first, and grow strongly at the expense of the growth lower down when the rods are left in an upright position. Bv bending tho rods the buds, towards the hase get a more equal start, mid nil come away morn evenly. After this, remove a little of the surface soil from the border, and replace it with some good loam mixed with basic slag or bone meal, and some wood ashes. This will encourage surface roots, which are very desirable. Keep tho house as cool as possible until the vines have started into growth in the spring.