GARDENING NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXIII, Issue 153, 28 June 1902, Page 4 (Supplement)

GARDENING NOTES.

[liV ili.X.l'l'.lUKNCK.j FRUIT TRKEB. In tho last "Notes" I lcmarkcd that people often do not tako up iruit-grow-ing seriously enough. 1 must again say that 1 only lefer to the sni.ill amateur as .i rule, but 1 must in this ease in - cludo countiy settlers, who add an orchaul for home supply as an adjunct to their ordinary business as dairy farmers, etc., and the wealthy citizen m the suburbs is also very often an offender in this wuy. Tho common stumbling-block is too great haste to get fruit. This must vl Hays end in failure. Another common eiror is to think tho treea will pietty well tako care of themselves. There is mi old saying that "He who plants pears plants for his heirs." If this is inteipieted to mean that tlio ortfhaidisb must Jirst play a waiting game, and planteis cau be got to see that permanent success can only be attained by patiently building up the foundation, tho first great cause of failure will be understood. Then as to letting the trees alone: this may do in some eases, but in most instance it brings disaster in its train. It is the main cause of the spread of blights, which iiijuie all the community moro or les.i. Then, blights neglected become moro nnd moro difficult to eradicate, and proportionately more expensive, and ono man's neglect often inflicts serious injury on a moro perßevering neighbour. I am leferrhig now moro particularly to codlin moth, which flies from place to- place, and the grubs of which are distributed broadcast by infected fruit. The mean/) of eradication aro somewhat expensive to thp man with a few trees, but some meaus should be enforced by Act of Parliament to keep tho pest in clieck, because, as before stated, he who neglects his own trees is injuring others. The other blights — scale, American blight, etc. — injure only the owner of the infected trees, but a man's own interest should cause him to clean his trees, us they will not bear good fruit if covered with .«calo or blight. I do not intend to deal with the modes of eradicating pests, because all interested can obtain all needful instructioim by applying to the Agricultural Department in Wellington, which will post its useful pamphlets to any addres-K in the colony. But ono thing I may say, mud that "is that while I believo firmly in the lime, salt, and sulphur wash recommended for American blight — having tried it and found it keep tho trees clean for four years from one application — yet, as some country people may not havo the ingredients handy, they will rind "kuroseno emulsioni" for which, also, directions for making and using are given by the Department, equally effective if applied very hot, nt about 12 to 1 wtrongth, and the ingredients are in every settler's horne — just .soap and koroseno. Pruning. — After trees have got into bearing it is by no moans necessary, as many think, to annually shorten all tho ynunij shoolv ; in many cases this leads to less and. loss fruit, and I have Heen cases whoro it led to nono at all, and whero tho opposite treatment — namely, nn pruning, or at leust very little — restored tho trees to a fruiting state again. Plum tri'tM particularly will jjo for years without pruning when once woll formed, nnd to shorten tho young shoots much is disastrous. Kottlcrs should try to get a visit from tho Government expertf, as thero is nothing like ocular demonstration. Itiispherrios. — Those thrive best in a fairly sheltered place. The ground should bo deeply trenched, not because they root very deeply, but because they like plenty of moisture, 'and shallow digging moans drying out early in summer becauso thero is no storehouse for tho moisture. Remember, when choosing tho site, that, deeply-trenched ground will probably bo dryer in tho winter than shallow ground, because tho water will bo deeper, and the case will be reversed in summer. There aro various ways of planting. Usually separata clumps nro favoured ; those should be far enough apart to prevent crowding — say 4ft by 6ft ; at tho time of planting the canes chauld bo shortened to about nine or ten inches — this will cause them to throwup strong canes for tho next 6e»son. It is <t very common practice to leave tho Aines nearly or quite full length when planting, and disappointment follows, as tho young canes made are very poor. Old plantations should havo the dead cane 1 ! removed and tho now ones reduced to about six of tho HtronßQst ."I each clump ; shorten two of them by about a foot, two by one-third of their growth, and tho other two by half, and tio all together. Never dig tho beds ; hoo off, weeds, clean with ti rake, and apply manuro us a top dressing. Gooseberries. — Every effort should be made to keep tho bushes from "stooling" — that is, having more than ono stem springing from tfio ground. Every bus-h should have v clear stem of about twelvo inches befoio the branches begin. Training should bo in tho direction of forming open buHues with, hollow centres, round which tho branches radiate ; keep the bush so formed that it will bo easy to gather tho fruit. This will ensuiro tho branohes} being sufficiently thinly distributed to admit plenty of light and air. Do not fall into tho mistake, bo frequently made, of thinking to uttain this end by spuring in -nil tho young shoots, for before tho fruit is ready for gathering moro shoots will havo grown. Whole branches should be cut out where crowded, always leaving tlio youngoßt or most healthy branches, and the young "shoots should only bo shortened a little. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Rhubarb beds that nro deteriorating may be made good again if the plants aro dv.' up, tho bed well trenched and mamncri, and the clumps cut up so aa to leave only two or three crowus to each clump j replant these and pull very little of the first crop of stalks in tho spring. • Sea-kale may be covered for forcing ; sprinklo a littlo salt round tho steins first to kill insects. Cover with boxes with movable tops ; cover theso with about 18 inches of fermenting manure. Tho crop will be fit to cut in about two weeks. Asparagus. — The old growths will have been cut and cleared away some time «go, and now manuring must bo attended to. Tho old idea was that asparagus won't grow satisfactorily without a largo quantity of stable or some such manure. As a matter of fact ouir best bed, and it is a good one, h<is had no such manure yet ; it i» now in its fourth year and produced good stuff last spring and made splendid summer growth. It is in an exeoplional spot, lying moist and sheltered, with a deep soil containing a lot of ve^ctablo matter in the May of decayed garden rubbish, which was trenched in. It has been manured by moans of wood nshes, blood manure, salt, nitrate of soda, and household refuse. It will now get a three-inch coat of sand nnd nshes from n inbbiuli fire, with two pound* of bono meal to each barrow-load of tho compo«r. In spring, about tho beginning of Soptcmber, it will get two ounces salt and ono ounce nitrate of soda to tho square yaid. Ground intended for Dew nsparngihs beds .should bo trenched so that it can settle well before planting in September or beginning of October. Pens should be sown at tho beginning of July. Koroseno emulsion is splendid for cleaning paint without injury. Rub on the. pure emulsion with ft soft rag and clean off with water. It will remove any I Wind of dirt.