ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT.

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 134, 4 December 1930, Page 27

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT.

MHsapjibinted.''—lt- Is- impossible to say do, finitely what is causing the trojible with yojir black currants, but I should be incliffed to suspect, sparrows, which are often v'ciry destructive There docs not appear to beany disease.'present—the samples sent BS'lne quito fresh and healthy... With regard to the blisters appearing on tho bark, / this would probably hot cause any trouble. Black currants,1 unlike red or white ones, Should be encouraged to send up sucker Si'owths from the; base each'season, as it is' mostly Upon the young wood that tho Iruit is borne. AVhcn pruning, therefore, NRsVmuch of the old wood as possible should be'cut out. If you spray the. loganberries ■sfith Bordeaux ihixluro the rust will be checked.-' ,' .

Michaelmas Daisies, which arc perennial giants, are . .indispensable as autumn and\lato summer flowering subf jects.ilMost;of them- are vigorous growers and spread rapidly, becoming rather" troublesome; unless taken in hand. =' The blooms\are very useful for cutting", and/.if the stems are placed in boiling water .for a few minutes as soonjaa cut will generally last quite weli.-The clumps should be lifted every second .year and divided up, only the strongest young growths from the edges of .-the clumps being replanted. Being such rank growers they naturally require, a lot of food, so the soil should, be wpll worked and enriched beforo planting. If they are planted in clumps■. of from four to fivo and grown on single stems much better results will follow. Any weak growths should be cut out and each of the remainhig:»nesshould have a neat strong stake to, tie' the stem to as it grows otherwise they are very liable to be blown, down.; The.- plants very- soon fill tire" surrounding soil with roots, and unless given fairly liberal supplies of water during the summer cannot be expected to give the best results. Some of the strongest growing varic-, ties are. quite useful for filling up waste cornels:•where, perhaps, it might bo difficult to get anything else to grow. If used for this purposo naturally such fine blooms could not be expected as from cultivated plants, but they will pr'tfdnee.^ahunaance 6f flowers. There are "several "sections in this group of plants,., .some- producing plants up to three feet-tall,-while others arc comparatively dwarf, from IS to. 20 inches. The colours range from .while through the various shades of blue and lavender while there aj-e some so-called pinks tvhich are more correctly ]aven<3er pink, the blue .not being entirely eliminated. li^EEjL SUMMER ANNUALS. The coldJwet season has had disastrous effects en the tenderer summer annuals such jas zinnias, salvias, etc. Those whicE were planted a fortnight or-more ago lave either been killed altogether or are at a standstill. Although ..if;is usually considered safe to plant ,this class of annuals from the bcr giiiiing of November the present sea-son-has been so stormy with such cold spells that those put out up to the presenVhave suffered badly. In very sheltered, positions, of course, the ill-effects hayelnot been so. marked. Zinnias are among the most popular of the summer flowering-annuals and another planting made now should'prave more successful as^there will probably be a warmer and more-uniform temperature. Other an-. nneilsr-of^similar requirements which majlß planted out now are phlox driimmondi, eelosias, cosmeas, balsams, scarlet..salyias, French, and -African

marigolds, etc. If the seedlings arc well-hardened off before planting those put out now will probably do better and flower as early as those which were planted earlier. DWARF AND RUNNEE, BEANS. These tender subjects have suffered badly by thoUate storms, in many cases having been '-rendered useless. No time should lie lost in re-sowing. Even in the best of seasons these crops should bo grown in as;shGltered a position as possible, as they cannot stand any great amount of cold wind. TOMATOES. -' Tomatoes,'; which were put out early, unlqss they/were protected in sohw way, .will also require-to be.replanted. Those which have survived the cold should be regularly sprayed as it is, in a season such as this that blight is most likely to make ;an appearance. Stakes should be placed in position while the plants are quite small and tying should commence as soon as they are a foot--high. All lateral or side growths should be rutted out as soon as %y appea.r. ■ • ; PXnMPKINS AND MARROWS. It; is not too lato to sow. pumpkins and marrow seeds in.the open ground on prepared plots. As a.' matter of fact it is doubtful whether anything is gained by sowing earlipr. A good amount of humus, decayed vegetable rubbish,, grass cuttings,'etc., should be put into the holes before the seed is sown. This gives a mild bottom heat and at the sanie time holds moisture. Three or four seeds should bo sown to each hill placing" them a foot- apart. Some protection slibuld bo placed round the young/plants -until they commence to rur.. ..■'.-'. ■:'.-:.; •-' ,;;"■ ■' ■ : '. GROWING CROPS. All growing'crops .require attention after stormy weather.. Pea stakes should be replaced where they have been blown ovpr and the plants be carefully replaced on the stakes.' Cabbages should have tlje soil drawn, up round them for protection. The heavy rain has beaten down tho ground .and the winds have dried it into a hard crust which should be broken up with the hoc or fork taking caro not to disturb the roots of tho plants unnecessarily. The thinning out and weeding of seedling root erojjs is particularly necessary, and should always bo dpno as early as pos-r sible, otherwise the roots are liable to become twisted and entangled. While the soil is still moist lettuces may be planted out, also cabbage and silver beet. ' .'. ■