[ ® THE GARDEN ® J

Evening Star, Issue 20032, 24 November 1928, Page 19

[ ® THE GARDEN ® J

SEASONABLE WORK THE VEGETABLE GARDEN Broad beans may bo sown for a lato 01 French beans of all kinds should bo sown in quantity, and runner beans mav still bo sown. Peas should bo sown for succession. Dwarf marrowfat and main crop kinds can be put in now. Sow turnips for succession. Savoys and Brussels sprouts may still bo sown. Broccoli of the third division or late kinds may be sown. Sow lettuce, radish, mustard and cress. Plant out vegetable marrows and pumpkins, also celery into well-pre-pared trenches, giving abundance of water. Protect the plants from the sun by laying branches across the trenches until they have become established. Thin out all growing crops, such as carrots, turnips, parsnips, beet, onions, etc. Ply tho hoe freely among growing crops to keep down weeds. Tomatoes for the open air should be planted now, ■ giving them a warm, sunny position and linn and Irco open soil. Plant them in rows or near sunny walls or paling fence. THE VINERY How to Thin Grapes.—This detail of vino culture is of considerable importance, because if the bunches wore letb to themselves they would certainly bo spoilt. Wo thin grapes to obtain superior fruit. No matter how many bunches there are to a vine, if tho berries individually are small the crop is considered a poor one. The cutting away of surplus berries constitutes tho art of thinning. Experience only can teach the cultivator how much space to leave, also the variety of grape to bo thinned. For instance, we do not leave as much room between berries of Sweetwaters and Muscats as we would with Gros Colmar and others of the large typo. They could not possibly fill the spaces allotted them. A wollthinned bunch of grapes, when cut and placed upon the table, should retain its shape, and not fall flat and apart as would be the case where small kinds wore thinned as severely as largo ones. Over-thinned bunches are entirely useless for exhibition purposes. On the other hand, many of the black grapes are very thin in the skin, and if they were left too crowded they would swell and crack at the ripening, and consequently would damp and turn mouldy and rot during damp and cold periods in late autumn. Do not delay thinning the berries when they have attained tho size of shot. Many people leave this work too long. This work cannot bo done properly when tiro berries are crowded. Vino scissors with tapered points should be used. Large bunches should have their shoulders carefully tied out with split strips of raffia tied to_ the wires above to allow for air and light and expansion" of the berries. A thinner with some experience will tell at a glance which berries will swell to their full size. In the case of Black Hamburg, which variety is generally cultivated hero, tho bunches are generally made up of small branches, which as a rule carry three berries on the end or point of each. Leave the end one and cut away tho two; but three may be left at the bottom or lower end. This gives a more massive appearance to the bunch generally speaking. About two berries arc clipped out for every one left, Tho berries should not touch each other. A good guide is just sufficient space to allow the point of the linger between the berries, always leaving those berries that arc farthest or pointing outward, as they have most room to expand and generally are the best berries for cs nibitkm purposes or show fruit. A second thinning or an examination may bo necessary just before colouring commences to see that none of the berries are jamming each other. Where these occur clip out one here and there to relievo the pressure. On no account should the head or hand touch the berries, or tho bloom wil bo rubbed off, nor will it ever come again. Attend carefully to stopping and pinching out laterals. The scalding of berries will have to be guarded against—a thing that is very likely to happen just as tho berries are stoning. Scalding is mostly caused through the hot sun striking tho berries through the glass whilst the moisture is on them, through not giving enough air early in the morning, when tho air becomes hot and congested. _ Keep tho inside border well supplied with water during'tho growing period. _ The outside border will take oaro of itself, only do nob allow it to be overrun with weeds. THE TOMATO HOUSE Tomatoes will now require a great deal of attention by way of keeping all side shoots pinched out, staking or tying to supports, and hung between tho rows to keep down weeds. Tomatoes like firm soil, but a light hoeing will not only keep down weeds, but admit air and warmth to the roots and absorb moisture. Give plenty of air on hot days and regulate tho air as well as possible in changeable weather. When watering tomatoes give a good soaking, and leave them until the surface becomes dry again. Do not bo always giving dribbles. No plant likes that, particularly tomatoes. THE FLOWER GARDEN Take advantage of suitable days to complete the work of bedding out plants. Should the ground be very dry, water it and let it stand for an hour or two, then plant out and water after to settle the soil about tho roots. Remove dead or faded flowers from pansies and violas to encourage thoir continuous flowering. Remove dead or ripened off tops of narcissus whore lifting of tho bulbs is not to bo done this season. Plant out quick-growing annuals to brighten up tho garden for ths summer. Tho bulbs will not suffer any ill effects thereby. Tie up tall growing plants, such as chrypsanthemunis ana delphiniums. . Bed or plant out sweet peas for a late (lowering. Hoe and rake flower beds and borders. ANSWERS “Novice” writes: “A, friend gave me some geranium cuttings, and he called them pelargoniums. Kindly tell mo tho difference, if any.”—All kinds of geraniums are pelargoniums. The common red geranium found in most gardens arc zonals, named from the zone or marking on their leaves. What are generally recognised as pelargoniifms are those grown in pots in greenhouses, although these make a grand display if planted in a warm, sunny situation. They will last for years if sheltered from severe frost. “ R.N.G.”—Tho shrub forwarded is Euonymus elegantissima (spindle tree). “Lion’s Tail,” —You wish to know how you could grow a plant of Lion’s Tail (Lionorus Leonatus), and if it will grow from cuttings. Yes,_ cuttings of this plant roots fairly easily if shoots are taken in the autumn after flowering. Use half ripe > shoots, cut about Bin long, and at a joint. Inser tin good rich soil, and keep moist. H.C.

CULTIVATION AND HISTORY OF CARROTS Carrots arc a biennial native of r Asia, Africa, and Europe, whore they j aro commonly found wild by tho road- < sides and on dry banks near tho sea. J Tho varieties grown in Now Zealand t and Australia aro chiefly rod, although \ on tho Continent white, purple, and lemon-coloured carrots aro used. [ Carrots form one of the most im- - pbrtant kitchen garden crops, as they 1 are available for daily nso throughout ; tho year. ■ ' Among tho best varieties to grow | arc Oxhcart, Early Morn, James In- : tormediate, Manchester table, and Al- { tringbam. . 1 A sandy, alluvial soil, well drained, i will suit intermediate carrots, as it £ allows the tap root to descend porpen- i dicularly. In shallow • soils the short I varieties are most reliable. These can c bo sown almost at any time of tho . year and crop very quickly. Tho best i of the short varieties is Early Morn, i Lime, potash, or soda might bo ap- : plied with advantage as manures. « Farmyard manures laid on the surface ' and dug in is apt to make tho roots j fork. The best way of applying it is ; to trench the ground, and in so doing ' make sure tho manure is about 18in ' deep. In this way ovefc fresh stable j manure may bo used. Tho ground I should be well dug and thoroughly I raked before sowing. ' For early short varieties tho seed s can be sown in drills 12in apart and 1 thinned out to Gin apart in tho rows. Longer varieties should bo sown Win between the rows and Sin apart. ; SOME USEFUL GARDEN HINTS I '' Herbs. —Always cub tho tops and flowor growths off thymo, sugo, marjoran, otc., and apply well-rooted stable manure to the roots to force the young i growth. If this is not done, the plants arc apt to produce a lot of wood. Whitewashing—Whitewashing stones and edges of pathways is a splendid idea and always gives the garden a nice clean appearance. Fat or old dripping, with a handful of alum added to and water, wall help to make it stick, .potato Reelings.—Never throw potato peelings on the ground; either burn or bury them. The eyes have a nasty habit of growing where you least expect them. Sweet Peas.—Always keep the flowers of sweet poas regularly picked before the seed pods can form. To obtain good blooms on long stems a weekly application of nitrate of sada at the rate of loz per gallon will surprise you. MANURES AND FERTILISERS AND HOW TO USE THEM Stable Manure.—Tho most valuable of all manures is that from tho farm yard or stable, for it supplies the sou with Jnmius or mould winch is essential to tho continued fertility of tho land. . Basie Slag,—Supplies lime and phosphates, and is valuable for top-dress-ing lawns. It may bo applied m tho autumn with advantage at tho rate or Coz per square yard. Sulphate of Ammonia.—ls a quickacting nitrogenous fertiliser, used chiefly to push on cabbage and lettuce. Valuable when mixed with potash and super for tomatoes: loz to tho gallon, in liquor, or Joz per square yard and raked in. Nitrate of Soda.—Used m tho same way as tho above and at tho same rate, but it is quicker acting and needs to bo used with greater care, or it will force tho plants into weakly and spindly growth. Boncdust.—This is a splendid fertiliser, bub slow, and may be applied in the spring to almost anything without fear of hurting tho crop. It is useful also for all bulb life, also for mixing in potting composts. Wood Ashes.—Ashes From the garden lire aro rich in potash, and may be applied with advantage. Sifted and kept dry they aro splendid for onion and carrot crops scattered freely on soil. THE DESTRUCTION OF SLUGS The following, signed “ Victoria Slade,” appeared in the ‘ Gardeners’ Chronicle/ London In connection with tiva destruction of slugs and snails, it may perhaps bo of interest and practical use to record a method which I havo seen employed in France with great success. The old hospital of Saint Marcoul, in Reims, where Charles VII. touched tho patients for King’s Evil after his coronation in the cathedral in 1429, was reduced to ruins by constant bombardment during tho war, but its attractive old garden suffered little injury. After tho Armistice, tho ruins were converted into a temporary maternity hospital by Americans, who delighted in the garden. I lived there as a very happy guest for four months, helping the poor population of the city to make little gardens around their ramshackle temporary dwellings. In 1922, this garden was devastated by hordes of slags and snails, which wo tried in vain to exterminate by every method known to us. They simply ale every bit of green so soon as it appeared above the ground. At last a French gardener told us to pound up the blue crystals of copper sulphate until they were reduced to the finest possible powder, and then place it all around the garden plots, just iaside the box edgings, and also around the seedlings and plants, taking great care that it was too far away from them to injure either thoir loaves or roots. The result was sudden death to every sing and snail which touched the copper sulphate, because it immediately dried •up all the. moisture in thoir bodies, leaving them as a hard, dry skin at tho edge of the copper sulphate cordon. A groat advantage of copper sulphate is that moderate rain does nob dissolve it. A disadvantage of it is, of course, tho fact that it is a deadly poison for human brings,and animals, and for that reason should only bo used by responsible persons. Gloves should be worn when it is handled. Since that first introduction to this method of slug destruction, 1 have always nsed it, with unvarying success, and have never found it injurious to plants or animal life, but I liave naturally been careful when applying it. A very little is sufficient. I may acid that tho onslaught of slugs on the sweet pea seedlings in that-old garden at Reims gave me an interesting tip. These plants were eaten to tho ground several times, but after the copper sulphate had annihilated the slugs they came up as delightful, rnany-branched, little bushes, bearing exceptionally fine blooms. Since then I have always grown sweet peas as single plants in herbaceous borders, and by judiciously pinching them when in the seedling stage have turned them .into little shrubby plants, which I stake in the same manner u Michaelmas dairies.

wow FOR THE WEEK.

[©at oostriMns, » wdl-fciwwn gartow, "will V> glad t» taaiwer qnfictiorra, -which irrast bo received Bat labor Sian Tuesday of each -week. Mrerf&rasnwfflte -Sar Sub cohrann must bo handed h» to the office before 2 p.m. on Friday.

A NEW CURE FOR WEEDS Writing in the ‘ Scientific American, Milton Wright says that he thinks wo may grow all our crops under paper before long. His conclusion is based on the success of this method in Hawaii. The pineapple moworeot that territory last year paid £IOO,OOO 101 paper under which to grow pineapple?* The growers raiso 30 per cent, more pineapples than they otherwise would —and there is a tremendous saving in labour. He goes on:—“Without any groat stretch of the imagination wo can sea the day when nearly all pur plants—potatoes, corn, tomatoes, spinach, cotton, and what not—will be grown under paper. To understand the use of paper in agriculture, suppose wo go back to its origin. On a sugar plantation near Honolulu bet ore tho World War, Charles If. Lckart foun>’ it a stupendous task to keep down the weeds. Year after year he had been heaping crop refuse between the rows—mulching is tho terml armors use—for the double purpose of_ blanketing the weeds and retarding the evaporation of moisture. _ The mulch would decompose after a time and actually encourage the weeds. It ouly Eckart could find a mulch that would control tho weeds permanently ho would bo making a tremendous stride forward. At last ho hit upon a tough kind of paper. Tho sharp shoots ol tho young plants easily stabbed their way through, but the weeds were smothered. The idea grew’. Tho use of black paper, it was found, raised the temperature of the soil. Tho activity of bacteria was increased. Iho moisture remained in the ground until it was absorbed by tho plant roots instead of being wasted quickly by evaporation. .Then, too, the paper preserved tho original cultivation of the soil throughout the growing period. With ono unused to mulch paper the thought is likely to occur that rains would bo prevented from reaching the soil under the paper. The fact is that tho water reaches the soil through the openings whero the plantings are made or between the edges of the paper, and seeping downwards or sideways is stored up under tho blanketing effect of tho mulch paper. One thing made clear by the experiments is that nob only aro crops more abundant, but they are earlier. _ In many cases this affords the possibility of an additional planting before the growing season is ended.” WHEN PICKING EARLY PEAS Peas aro among the first crops to come to maturity, and gardeners should soon bo reaping the results of the first sowing, it is a golden rule to ‘ keep on picking, so that you may keep on picking”; in other words, the pods should not bo allowed to yrow old upon the vines, but should be picked as fast as they fill. Many and many a row of peas ceases to bo profitable before its time merely from want or timely gathering of the pods. Iso strain that can he put upon a plant is so severe as that of seed-bearing, and in filling tho pods tho pea plant is producing seeds. In gathering peas, care should bo taken not to break or snap tho stems; some gardeners will go to the trouble of using scissors for severing tho stalks. - Sometimes early peas aro slow in forming their pods, and may bo hastened along bv pinching out tho points of tho leading growths after tho flowers have formed. This may also bo applied to peas that have formed pods but are slow in tilling them, and so tho plumping up of tho seeds is hastened by this means. THE MAKING Of PERFUMES The perfumery industry of Grasse, on tho southern spur of tho Maritime Alps, dates back to the sixteenth century, says the ‘ Gardeners’ Chronicle, and during the last sixty years or so lias made rapid strides. This period, curiously enough, roughly corresponds with that of tho introduction of synthetic perfumes. Synthetic chemistry has cheapened tho production of perfumes enormously, and has thus created a much greater demand for them, which has reacted favourably on tho natural perfume industry, for the reason that satisfactory perfumes cannot bo made from synthetic products solely. At tho moment there aro over forty perfume factories in Grasse and its environs, and from Grasse to Cannes tho gently sloping land is formed into a series of terraces mainly devoted to tho cultivation of odoriferous plants. Of these the orange, rose, and jasmine are most important, and a rough estimate of the flowers supplied annually to tho factories isOrange flowers, 2,000 to 2,500 tons; roso flowers, 1,500 to 2,000 tons; and jasmine flowers, 1,500 tons. Among other flowers the tuberose must be specially mentioned, as the cultivation in France of this charmingly graceful plant of delicious odour is almost peculiar to this district. Violets, cassia, carnations, mimosa (wattle),_ mignonette, jonquils, narcissi, pelargoniums, and mints are among other plants cultivated in the district and utilised in the factories of Grasse. In the mountains above Grasse lavender grows wild. It is also cultivated in the district, and enormous quantities are distilled to obtain tho essential oil.

The egg market is easier. Large quantities aro coming forward, and everything points to supplies being plentiful for tho next few weeks. Honey is still offering freely, but sales are slow. Hams and bacon are in good supply, and tho market steady. There is a better demand for cheese and si good demand for old matured cheese. Hairy pat butter has a good inquiry. Business in tho fruit marts has been busy during tho week. A largo shipment of Australian fruit came to hand, and everything points to prices easing. Canadian apples are still coming roiward, but there is a fair quantity ot local grown still held m cool stores. Cherries, strawberries, and gooseberries aro now coming on tho market. Tomatoes are starting to arrive in larger quantities, and prices are easy. Rhubarb is short supply. Fea f‘ also coming forward in larger quantities, and the price easy. Cabbage and cauliflower are now short supply, and the price is firming. Cucumbers arom good demand. There is a gowl teady demand for all clean lines of fruit and vegetables. Tho following prices were realised during tho week:— Section Honey.— Choice, 8s 6d; medium, 6s. ini , , ■ Honey.—Bulk, 3Jd to 4Jd; lOlb ti is, 4s 6d to ss; ilb pats, 3s 6d; pottles lib 7s Gd, 21b 15s. • Cabbage, 4s to 6s sack Cauliflowers, 6s 6d to 8s sack. Asparagus. —Christchurch, 6s to 6d dozen. . .. Christchurch tomatoes, Is Bid to *s 3d Locaftomatoes, 2s to 2s 3d dozen. Green peas, 3Jd to s|d lb. Lettuce. —Extra choice, to 8s 6d dozen; others, to 2s dozen. Cucumbers, 10s to 14s dozen. Gooseberries, 4d to 8d lb. Cherries, 10Jd to Is 6d lbRhubarb, 2kl to 3*d lb. Eggs, Is 3d, Is 2d dozen. Butter.—Pats ; bulk, Is jd. Cheese.— Medium, to lOd lb. Beeswax, Is 8d lb. Bacon Pigs.—Franc, 1° 1 4< -' j porkers, 7Jd. , ~ ~ Bacon.—Hi tchon’s, Is Id lb. Peanuts,. 5d lb. New Potatoes.—Wanted. Locals, ml to 6id lb; Pukekohes, to did lb. Potatoes.—Outrams, new, 4)d lb. Carrots, 7s cwt. Parsnips, 4s cwt. Onions.—Australian, 28s cwt. Oyster grit, 8s 6d. Fat, 18s to 27s 6d. n . , Apples.—Delicious —Choice 9s od to 12s, medium 7s 6d case; Stumers, 6s to 12s 6d case; small, 3s to 4s case; Democrats, 6s to 8s case. Pears.—Winter Coles—Dumps, 10s to 12s 6d; halves, 3s. Bananas. —Ripe, 3os; green, 19s 6d to 22s 6d. # Lemons.—Missions, 47s 6d. Valencias.—Dumps, 16s to 22s 6d. Californian grapes, 25i..t0 -7e. Australian cucumbers, to 2Js case. Raspberry buckets, 42s dozen. Strawberry punnets, 655. Crates, 6s. Wheat.—Fowl, 6s 6d. Bran, £7 10s. Pollard, £9. Oatshcaf chaff, £5 5s per ton.