THE GARDEN

Evening Star, Issue 19894, 16 June 1928, Page 22

THE GARDEN

SEASONABLE WORK THE VEGETABLE GARDEN The instructions given for last week will answer very well for this. THE FRUIT GARDEN Pruning.—Generally speaking, small fruits, such as gooseberries and currants, aro tho first to shed their leaves. Consequently, they may be pruned first. I think it advisable to get all the small fruit trees pruned first, so I will give a few instructions upon pruning them. Tho gooseberry is probably the most useful and the most generally grown small fruit we have, yet many do not quite grasp the proper method of pruning it. Only this last season 1 inspected some bushes, and was asked why they bore so little fruit. In tho same locality my bushes wore loaded with fruit. 1 could sco at a glance what the trouble was. Like many others, th; owner had pruned for wood rather than for fruit. Many persons think it quite easy to prune gooseberries This is so. But there is a right way and a wrong way. One can prune for wood or fruit. First cast your eyo over the bush and clip right out all crowded small shoots and any pointing inward or cross shoots. There must be no overcrowding of tbo wood. Each shoot should have room and point outwards, leaving sufficient room for one lo move the hand between the shoots without fear of being pricked. When sufficient thinning has been done, all that is required is to clip off a few inches from each of the young stout shoots that are left. They should all point outwards, for we prune to keep tho bush shapely, to produce the best possible fruit, and to supply a set of young shoots for next season. _ If these young shoots had been just clipped or shortened back- a little the result would be a mass of growth at the expense of the fruit. Gooseberries differ very much in their habit of growth. Some kinds are very stiff and upright. These should be pruned to cause them to grow outward and as open as possible. With drooping kinds tho object, so far as tho shape of tho bush is concerned, is to induce them to grow upward; otherwise, if left to themselves,, they would grow down urn til the points touched the ground. If allowed to do this, the lower branches would take root and fasten themselves to the ground, and become a source of annoyance. With young bushes in the year of planting select three or four of the strongest shoots and prune these back to three or four eyes, and clip away the rest. These will then break into two or three shoots each, and form tho basis of the good bush. From tho second year and onwards short pruning must bo avoided, and _ tho branches pruned as advised for fruiting as above. The Black Currant.—The finest fruit of tho black currant is always produced upon the new wood; consequently tlie object should always be to select the best and stoutest year-old wood. Tho same principle should he carried out with tho black currant as with gooseberries, only not to so great an extent. If tho cuttings-aro put in in the orthodox fashion, 12in or 14in in length, with, four eyes at the top and tho rest removed, three or four good shoots will bo the result of tho first year’s growth. For the first pruning cut these back to about 6in. You will then have a hush tho second season with eight or ten good shoots. From this onward the bushes aro established, and should be treated differently, and much in the same way as gooseberries. Thin out by cutting away all surplus growth to leave the bush open and airy. Then shorten hack all _ side shoots to about Gin, and the leading or main shoots or branches to only have throe points removed. Tho Red Currant. —Red and white currants ‘ fruit somewhat differently from tho black currant, for the reason that they produce fruit both on the old as well as on the new wood; consequently the pruning should bo modified. Cut out all thin and surplus shoots or growth, leaving only strong shoots and those pointing outwards. These shoots should be cut back to about half their length, as there is always a danger of their splitting down at tho base ot the shoot through heavy winds when they are in their green stage. This may to a great extent be avoided if, when these young shoots aro about 12in to loin in length, the points are clipped off. This checks the growth lengthening, - but they got thicker and stouter, and aro not nearly so likely to bo damaged _or blown out with heavy winds, which they aro liable to do if left to grow their own way. They aro also hotter fitted to carry a good crop of fruit. Raspberries.—The first season—or tho season of planting—raspberries should bo cut hard back to within 12in of the ground. By this much stronger canes are produced tho first year titan if they were left the usual length. Four canes will be sufficient to leave the next season, and from then onward eight to ten canes may be left, but ten should be the limit, and that only when tho canes aro very strong. At tho same time remove all surplus canes by cutting them close down, including dead canes from tho previous season’s. When all tho surplus canes have been removed tie the heads in a clump about Gin from tho top, and cut the tops off at a spot near- to where they are tied. A good practice in very exposed or windy places is to hoop them—that is, bend over half the canes from one clump, and bring the half of tho next clump over and tie their heads, and shorten back as with uprights. Dig up all the straggling canes from near each clump. Rake up and burn all clippings in case of borers that may be in old cano, after which dig the ground and manure the clump in the usual way.

ANSWERS “ Beginner.”—You wish to plant some fruit trees on a section of ground at Opoho. Y’ou would like apples and pears (cooking and eating) and a good pencil for a concrete wall. You do not say how many trees yon require, so 1 will name six good apples, four pears, and a pencil. Apples: Alfriston (late cooker), Ryraor (late cooker), Lord Suffickl (early cooker), Emperor Alexander (early cooker), "Cox’s Orange Pippin (late dessert), Jonathan (midseason dessert or cooker). Pears: Ganscll’s Bergamot (medium or mid-season good cropper), Williams’s Bon Cretion (early). Winter Nelis (late), Pcoknm’s Triumph (early), Kipper’s Hybrid (late). Poach: Brig’s Red May or Royal George. All of these should do in your district. “ Broad Bay.”—The apples forwarded aro badly affected with black spot and scab. Y’ou say your Delicious does not grow to any size. Ido not think they ever will in'your locality—in fact, good ns the apple is I would not recommend it for Dunedin localities. You want to know what you can do. Firstly, what is necessary to obtain good fruit is shelter and good drainage, with the ground deeply dug or trenched. A cold subsoil or water at the roots, with exposure, aro most common causes of the abovo troubles. Remember, shelter, good drainage, and the ground well dug. To clean the trees give a winter spray with Bordeaux mixture. After pruning and cleaning up let them have a summer spraying of the summer formula of Bordeaux mixture just after the fruit is well set and swelling. By following the above instructions you will have the best chance of producing good fruit. lI.C. BASIL This intensely aromatic herb, known to tho French as Herbo royalc, is generally employed in domestic circles for cooking and flavouring purposes, and its agreeable flavour and perfume recommend it as a kitchen-garden plant. Active medicinal properties aro also claimed for it, and it is said to have been used with success in a medicine for mild, nervous disorders, while in South America the fresh iuico of the plant is used as a vermifuge. Tho plant, Ocimum Basilicum, is quick-growing, and succeeds best in a light, rich soil, and a few plants suffice to ensure a supply of its aromatic green leaves during the whole summer. An annual, and a native of the warmer parts of India, it should bo raised in heat in spring, and planted out so soon as weather conditions allow. By August (February) the flowers borne in whorled, leafy clusters so common to the Labiates, should appear and the stems may bo cut and dried in the shade for winter use, after which the plants may still develop .healthy lateral growths, furnishing a supply of green leaves until frost destroys them. There arc several varieties, including a lettuce-leaved one, with broad, undulating, crimped leaves; and a verv distinct form with curled leaves, if green supplies are required during the winter season, a few plants may be grown easily in small pots for this purpose. TULIPOBSANIA It is interesting to recall that some 300 years ago tulips were tho subject of nation-wide excitement in Holland (says a ‘ Star ’ writer). The tulip was originally introduced to the Dutch by Conrad Gosner. Wealthy Amsterdam people were soon paying high prices for specimens. The craze extended to merchants and shopkeepers, who vied with each other in securing rare bulbs. Ono of the scarcest, called Semper Augustus, was sold for 5,G00 florins (approximately £540). There were only two of this variety _ in Holland. For another highly-priced specimen a merchant offered to exchange two lasts of wheat, four lasts of rye, four fat oxen, eight fat swine, twelve fat sheep, two hogsheads of wine, four tuns of beer, two tuns of butter, 1,000 pounds of cheese, a bod. a suit of clothes, and a silver drinking cup, of tho total value of 2,500 florins.

By 1U34 tlie Dutch wove so obsessed with tulip speculation and trado that the regular industries were ignored for the most pari. By 1636 the demand for rare varieties had become so great that they were dealt with on stock exchanges in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Haarlem, Leyden, Alkamar, and Hoorn. Tulips wore sold on the London Stock Exchange in 1030, but there was never tho same rashness as was displayed in Holland. The French were equally conservative. THE NAMING OF FLOWERS Many flowers arc named from the shape or texture of their stems or their leaves; others because of some fancied resemblance to animals or objects, and many others have names reminiscent of persons. Those names are usually intended to honour the one who either cultivated this particular plant or was recognised as one ol the great botanists of Ids time. To a certain degree this process goes on today, and new varieties of sweet peas, chrysanthemums, or roses are called after the one who first grew them or after some relative or friend of tip's person, whom it was a pleasure to honour in this delightful way. The fuchsia was so called in honour of Leonard Fuchs, a noted German botanist of the sixteenth century. The wistaria was named for Dr Caspar Wistar, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania. The zinnia pays honour to John Godfrey Zinn, a German professor of botany. The dahlia recalls tho . noted Swedish _ botanist, Dahl, and the lobelia, Matthias do Lobel. a Flemish botanist. These are only a few of the flowers whoso names commemorate famous men, who made botany their chief interest. The stately gladiolus derives its name from the Latin word for sword, owing to its sword-shaped _ leaves. Tho friendly little dandelion is so called from its leaf, which is supposed to resemble the teeth and jaw of a lion. The French words “ dent do lion ” (lion’s tooth) sound sufficiently like dandelion to account for the word as we use it. Geranium means “ crane’s bill,” which is a description of the shape of its seed vessels, and the wild geranium still bears the original name. The delphinium is supposed to resemble a dolphin, which accounts for its name, with a changed vowel only, and the tulip was so christened because its shape is like an inverted cap or “tulipan,” a headdress worn by the Turks and made of brilliant and varied colours. The pink owes its name not to its colour but the fact that its petals are “pinked” or notched after the fashion of pinking, and the primrose is, of course, not a rose at all, but should read, according To the best authorities, “ primrole,” or the flower that makes the first appearance or plays the “prime role” in the summer’s annual flower show.

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

Ook * wsH-known .gardener, will be glad to answer questions, which must bo received oct later than Tuesday of each week. AdrortiaooMnis fear column most be handed in to tho office before 2 P-®-Friday.

ASPARAGUS The following exhaustive end comprehensive experiment on asparagusgrowing was made at the experiment station for the Department of Yonne, th result of which, although primarily of local application, may be of interest 1,0 growers in New Zealand. A fertiliser which proved very suitable for sandy soils with a permeable subsoil, was composed of 2cwt to 2Jowl of basic slag, IJcwt of nitrate of soda, and Jcwt of sulphate of potash per acre. The basic slag was put on in the course of the winter at the same time as the farmyard manure. The sulphate of ipotash and part of the nitrate was applied early in September, and lightly covered in. In rainy weather, however, the application is delayed. It is that the nitrate of soda bo applied in several doses in order to ol':am tho host ■ results on these light soils. _ For a less sandy soil or light loam with a somewhat clayey subsoil, larger quantities of manure are recommended—viz., 1-Jcwt to 2cwt of nitrate of soda, in three applications, and scwt to 1-fcwt of sulphate of potash. The full effect of the manure will not bo obtained tho first year, but. in subsequent years the crowns of asparagus will be much more vigorous, and the unused mammal constituents will serve to enrich the stores of plant food in the soil. Whilst the employment of farmyard manure is always to he recommended, artificial fertilisers may occasionally ho employed alone if necessary where tho soil is well provided with humus, and is fairly retentive. For this purpose 2fcwt of mineral superphosphate, or 3-\cwt of basic slag, 2cwt of dried Flood, 2ewt of nitrate of soda, and liewt of sulphate of potash may be used. The effect of these manures over successive years has been to increase nob only the quantity of the asparagus gathered, but also the average weight and curliness. In clay soils sufficiently provided with potash, sulphate of lime may be used instead. SALSIFY AND SCORZOHERA • Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) is a hardy biennial, cultivated for the use of its white, fleshy roots, which may be cooked and served in several ways. Seeds should be sown during the first half of- April (October), _in drills loin apart, the seedlings being subsequently thinned to 9iu or 12iu apart. This vegetable requires a ieh and well-cultivated soil, and is an excellent crop to follow celery; the roots should he lifted in autumn and stored in sand, or, in favourable districts, 1 hoy may be lifted as required for use. The young ilowei stems may he gathered in spring and used like asparagus. Salsify is a valuable vegetable, and its value is best realised in a hard winter.

Scorzoncra luspamca was at one time valued as an antidote for snake bites, lienee the generic name, from the old French scorzon, or scurzon (a serpent), and the conirnou name, viper’s grass, its cultural requirements closely resemble those of salsify, except that tiro requisite period of growth is shorter; tho seeds should be sown in early May (November), and tho roots will be ready for lifting in . September (March) or early October (April); those roots may remain in the ground until required for use. S. hispanica was introduced from South Europe so long ago as 1576, and it is a matter for surprise that this really useful vegetable i-s not more generally cultivated. THE CHINESE ARTICHOKE Stachvs tuberifera, pi more correctly, Stacbys sieboldii, is scarcely known outside the garden of vegetable connoissienrs, and yet such an excellent and easily-grown vegetable may well lend variety to the produce of many gardens, both largo and small. Tho quaint tubers arc boiled for about fifteen minutes, and served with sauces; in addition, they may be fried, employed in tho salad bowl, or used in mixed pickles. Their small size and peculiar form arc properties that do not, 1 suspect, appeal to the presiding genius of tho kitchen, but on tho Continent tho Chinese artichoke is esteemed highly (says a correspondent of the ‘Gardeners’ Chronicle’). A sandy soil, manured during the previous season, and a warm sunny position, will meet the requirements of this vegetable; the tubers should be planted in April, 2in to din deep and about Sin apart, will) loin between tho rows. Tho crop should ho lifted in autumn and stored in sand, although, in warm districts, .1 have known the tubers to bo left in tho ground and lifted as required for use. The Chinese artichoke is very prolific, and spreads with rapidity into considerable masses.