THE GARDEN

Evening Star, Issue 18809, 6 December 1924, Page 18

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK

THE VINERY. Owing to tho carliness of tho season grape thinning will require attention much earlier than usual. As soon as tho berries are well set anid about tho size of shot tiie thinning should take place. To delay this work until the berries become crowded not only gives much more trouble, but prevents full development of tho fruit or a waste of energy on tho .part of the vine. Before commencing thinning, tie out the shoulders of the bunch with thin strips of raffia attached to wires above. Then with a pair of grape scissors clip out all surplus berries other than those required to develop a perfect bunch. Clip out all inside berries, leaving those standing well out, as those .have the greater amount of room to expand. Commence at the bottom of the bunch, and work upward. A considerable amount of judgment must be used in thinning as to the amount of berries to leave. _ Many err in this by not thinning sufficiently. They leave far too many, not allowing room for each berry to expand to its full size. It is quite an erroneous idea to imagine that heavy thinning reduces tho size and weight of tho bunch. Well developed berries and bunches not only weigh more, hut command about double tho price in the market that badly or lightly thinned berries do. Do not handle tho berries. Hold out or steady tho bunches with a thin pointed stick in the left hand, and thin out the berries with the right. A good guide as to the distance between tho berries is to leave just about room to put the point of the finger between them. A well thinned bunch of fruit when ripe should retain its proper shape when placed upon the dessert plate. .Avoid overcrowding of the hunches. On no account should two bunches of fruit bo left on one spur or side arm, nor should two shoots bo left on one spur, except in extreme cases, where side shoots have 'previously broken off, causing a blank. In that case ono may be trained out to fill the blank. To keep vines in good condition tho crop should not exceed about 1 Alb of fruit to each running foot of cane. Excessively heavy crops will have to ho paid for sooner or later by poorer fruit, and not much of it leaving out the shanking of berries. Attend regularly to stopping or pinching back laterals and sub-laterals as they appear. KITCHEN GARDEN. Take advantage of showery or dull weather to plant out all kinds of winter greens, such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and others. Plant out celery in trenches, giving plenty of water until well established. This crop should never suffer from want of water, or it may cause bolting to seed. Plant out leeks in trenches. This crop will stand a drier and warmer soil than celery, though to secure good thick sticks the trenches must contain rich soil, and not suffer from want of moisture. Bow peas and beans. .Sow lettuce, radish, and mustard and cress for salads. J’inch out surplus shoots in tho cucumber frame to prevent overcrowding and to allow the full development of the leaves. Eat leaves mean fine and welldeveloped fruit. Whoa tho plants become somewhat exhausted after tho first crop, water with liquid manure —this will start them off again, and give a good second crop. ELOAVER GARDEN AND LAWN. Hog and stir the surface soil of all flower beds, including those which have been recently filled with bedding plants, to keep down weeds and make a free, open surface. Wants do much better with the ground free and open. Continue the work of putting out all kinds of bedding plants, and where failures have taken place plant others, for until the individual plants in the bed arc sufficiently grown to meet each other and intermingle their foliage the beds cannot be expected to harmonise perfectly. Umlil then they should he kept growing by an occasional good watering. Dt> not sprinkle Hio ground, .is tills docs more harm than good. When water is required let sufficient be given to moisten all the roots. Auriculas.—As soon as the seed ripens of this old favorite it should be sown, for it is not one of the best to germinate from old seed. If the seed heads are not required, pick them off. Not only does this apnly to tho auricula, but to most other plants. It is quite an unnecessary strain upon most plants where seed is not required. Polyanthuses and primroses sown now will make fine plants to flower in tho spring. Stocks, both the Brompton and others of that nature, should_ be sown in boxes, as it is somewhat risky to sow these in the open border. The recent mtroduction of tho giant form of Brompton is a great acquisition to the flower garden, and makes wonderful plants for an effective background. Tho flowers aie a most beautiful clear and bright double pink, with enormous heads. One ot my best plants stood sft din in height, with tremendously thick stems and a head of flowers that I could not nearly encircle with mv arms without pressing tho bioome together. I certainly (advise planting these clumps facing a shrubbery, and as ■i I,•ict-iii" for large flower borders they vuub! "ITcftive. Certainly, n good percentage ot the. plants come single; but even these are. very showy. I must confess 1 have never seen such stocks before. , „ . . Sow . -wallflower seed for flowering in spring. , . , Keep the lawn regularly mown and rolled, tho rolling to ho done after heavy rain Do not allow daisies, capo weed, dandelion, plantain, and such weeds to seed. Dig them out before they get the bolter of the grass, which they certainly will if not kept in chock. _ (.'lip the grass verges to give a neat and tidy appearance. line and rake gravel walks to keep down weeds. 'Whero weeds have seeded and become troublesome, it may be advisable to water the paths with hot brine, or some of tho wood killers. By this a clean sweep >s rnado of them, and it will bo a long time before they trouble agam- ANSWERS. "LCAV.” asks me to name some suitable evergreen shrubs for shelter and a warden. To have a. pretty effect as well °as shelter, I advise a mixture, oi a few "ood flowering shrubs with trees for a background. Try such as Gaya Byalik flowering plum, cherry and peach or ornamental crab with Brachyglottis, Escallonia, arbutus, unido, Arabia sieboldtii, Cautua depeudens, Cotoneaster, Eunnymus vargatie, Magnolia grandiflora, with rhododendrons, azaleas, hydrangeas, doutzias, crimson broom, oleana ot sorts, tksnecio baronincas, Garrya eliystica, Lionatus leonorus (lion’s toil), Leptospermum, red manuka, Bpartium junciiohum, Prostranthera, and Ilaton-difolia. inis should give you a good assortment, but care should bo taken to plant them according to height and habit-tall growers at the back, and low-set at the_ front. Tho summer house idea should suit very well I prefer the American pillar rose to the Dorothy Perkins for covering the summer house or arbor. The purple clematis (C. lackmanii) would suit very well for tire same purpose. I should also include the pink flowering Tacsonia, ono of the passion fruit family. Pyrus japonica and Lasminum primulianum should suit for the 7ft screen. Solanum 1 gad including

Our contributor, a well-known gardener, will be glad to answer questions, .which must be received not later than Tuesday of each week. Advertisements for this column m ust be handed in to the office before 2 p.m. on Friday,

Vitus cnecinoa, should suit tho higher parts you speak of, “ Tomato.”—Leaf curl is what is wrong with your tomato plants. Partly trim tho lower leaves. Cut half the loaf of those that are near the ground, and the whole leaf where they have turned the least yellow. Clean up, and then spray tho plants under and over tho leaves with Bordeaux mixture (summer formuia). H .c. STRANGE PLANTS. LICHENS THAT GROW IN EXPOSED PLACES. There is no need to travel to tho amis of tho earth to find tho strangest vegetable growths in the world. These extraordinary plants are probably touching vour back at this moment if you are loaning against an old tree or boulder near the sea or up on a mountain side. People seldom display much _ interest in lichens except to admire their greenishgrev or golden beauty, or to take sides ,n tho discussion as to whether they arc more correct Iv pronounced “Im-kcus or ‘‘ litohons.” * That is a pity, declares Bassett Digbv, in the ‘Daily Mad. These scaly growths of insignificant size, blotching the rocks,_ are frequently centuries old. There is actually icasou to believe, from, I' lo recent research work that has been done upon them by biological botanists, that lichens still living cm British rocks wore already in existence at tho time of tho Norman Conquest, , Very slow is the growth of the lichens. Borne of them do not begin to seed for forty-five years and more. If lichens'grow in ft place whero you may be sure that the air is pure and .seldom stagnant. Hill-tops and the coast_ are their chief homes. A lot of long-suifering plants can bo induced to exist in industrial cities—but not lichens. Yet, though lichens will not make themselves at home in London, they arc- quite comfortable on the top of the'Alps, high above the altitude at which saxifrages, mosses, and the hardiest other growths give up the struggle. They withstand longer droughts and°coldor temperatures than any other vegetable growth on earth. Long after all other plants have stopped (he lichens go bravely marching on toward tho North (xml South Pules. it may be nows to you that the salamander among lichens, Lecauora cscullenta, is none other than the famous “manna in the, desert” that came in so useful to tho Israelites. It crops up, loose on tho ground, in little grey lumps lying us thick as a heavy dritt of hailstones. Chance stumbling on to drifts of it have saved countless lives since Biblical days. The secret of tho lichen's ability to “stick it out" under such adverse conditions is the extraordinary circumstance that it is a dual organism—a sort of fish howl or mammal-insect freak of tho vegetable world. It is partly alga, partly fungus. Neither kind of growth could exist for a great length of time, or in prolonged drought or cold, but together they manage it. Tho fungus cells got their essential organic food from the alga cells, and tho Winner develop acids in return that dissolve tho rock on which the lichen is growing, and produce tho mineral food that the alga coils must hnvo. STANDARD 'FUCHSIAS. Standard fuchsias when well grown look very well, and as they are not ditlicult subjects to handle they can bo recommended to any who like to take a little trouble (states the gardening contributor of the Auckland ‘Star’). The best way to start is to obtain a young plant, the stronger the better. Tho plant should bo secured to an upright stick. All side shoots should be. removed, and only the central growing tip allowed to continue. This should not bo injured in any way, but if such should happen tho first side shoot which forms should he taken up in its place, and if tied to tho stick and all other shoots removed it will soon assume the correct direction. By this means the required height will soon bo reached, ami when this is the case the top can be pinched out so as to form a branching head. The plants should he grown in a sheltered position, so (hat the winds do not- damage the plants. From I lie pendulous habit of the flowers standard fuchsias are particularly nice, and can be easily obtained 3ft or 4ft high. HOLLYHOCK RUST. Hollyhock rust (Puccinia malvacearum) is a native of Chile, and first occurred as a pest on the cultivated hollyhock in Australia, and has since spread until it is now in evidence practically wherever tho hollyhock is grown. At the present day the parasite lias attacked most wild plants belonging to Malvaceae, tho various mallows, and oven the abutilon. Tho fungus produces spores, which germinate whero they are formed, producing secondary spores which at once infect other leaves or plants, thus spreading tho disease very fast. It has been proved by experiments that if plants of the first year arc attacked they remain free from the disease in after ye Sirs. On the other hand, if seedlings escape tho disease the first year, they are very susceptible the, second year, or, as in many instances, one attack implies immunity in the future, ft is said that the disease has become hereditary, and that tho germs are in the seed, and this view is confirmed by tho fact that tho first leaves arc. affected. Condy’s fluid or permanganate of potash, made to tho color of wine is said to kill the spores. Bordeaux mixture (4-4-40) or lime sulphur (.1-75) are also effective. The, spraying should ho done as soon as tho disease is noticed, and several applications should bo given at short intervals of about a, week. ’Three or four applications at least are necessarv to check the disease.—Auckland ‘Star.’ ‘ PLANTS AS CRIMINALS Thieves and murderers are not peculiar to mankind. They are found among animals, birds, fish, insects, and even in the, vegetable world. Of murderers the homely ivy is a familiar example. Everyone knows how it will gradually smother’ and strangle a tree. But the ivy is a mild and gentle plant, compared with the matapolo or tree killer Of tropical America. It is a climber to begin with, and crawls up the trunk of a tree, but after a time it begins to send down aerial roots. These reach the ground, lake hold, and draw up fresh nourishment. Then the mafapolo grows enormously, smothers the forest giant which has acted as it.s host, and soon the tree rots and falls away, leaving tho killer erect in its place. Tho worst plant criminals in England are tho dodder and the broom-rape. The dodder grows from seed in a series ot whitish threads, which creep about until they find a suitable victim, such as the clover plant. Then tho dodder stems form suckers resembling on a small scale those of the octopus, and these extract from the clover all its juices. The dodder stems next become reddish and wiry, and in a few weeks' the wretched clover plant is murdered, and the robber occupies its place.