WORK IN THE GARDEN

Evening Star, Issue 25003, 23 October 1943, Page 3

WORK IN THE GARDEN

" Cocoa Husks."—Cocoa husks are now sold as ground cocoa shell by-pro-ducts. This valuable material rots more quickly than the material not ground, and is assimilated with the soil _ and available to plant life in a comparatively short time. For tomato and general plant cultivation it will be found to be an ideal natural fertiliser. ORNAMENTAL TREES AND FLOWERING SHRUBS. At this season of the year it is wise to make a note of the ornamental and flowering trees which it is intended to nlant when the planting season arrives. Note should be taken of the position and also the character of the different varieties growing, as this will be a good guide. From the writer's experience, orders are placed often with nurserymen for varieties which are most unsuitable for Dunedin and district, it is also desirable to place orders as soon as possible in order to prevent a disappointment. These trees and shrubs are not grown in a few months, but often take two or three years before they are ready for sale. SPRING FLOWERING BULBS. Daffodils and hyacinths, especially the grape hyacinths, have been a great success this spring, and at the present stage are ,a great sight in many gardens. These, like ail other bulbs, enjoy the moist conditions prevailing. The tulips are not-such a success, as in some gardens many of the bulbs are throwing foliage only. The' reason for that •is that the bulbs, were not thoroughly ripened off last season, as the months of November and December were wet and the bulbs never had a chance to finish, off, as they should have done If the weather conditions are favourable from now on, owing to the heavy foliage that they are making, we can look forward to a splendid display next season. To finish off these bulbs so as not to interfere with their flowering next season, none should be lifted until at least the foliage begins to turn colour, as the food required to build up next season's flowers is derived from the leaves, and is stored up in the cells of the bulbs, and when resting tl'» flowers are slowly being formed, although there is no root action wliiln this process is going on. If we cut » bulb in half immediately on lifting it after the foliage has died down, nn flower is to be seen, but after resting till about March, after cutting a bulb in half we can see the flower formed, proving that the food for the building up of the flowers has been derived from the cells while resting. When storing, no materia! of any kind should cover the bulbs in the trays, Care must be exercised to see that they are thoroughly dried off before placing them away in trays or boxes in a cold, dry store. Striping, or what is known as broken colours, should not be very prevalent this season, as the pollen was destroyed in many eases last season before .any pollination could take place and be carried by various agents. THE PERENNIAL BORDERS. After hoeing the surface between the clumps and plants use a dressing of well-decayed manure or, better still, compost, which has been well prepared, as tne latter will not contain any weed ■ seeds. This will not only preserve the I moisture, but will feed the roots when these plants, which are gross feeders, require it. It is wise to stake all the tall-grow-ing varieties at once, or else.there will be a danger of the strong growth becoming unsightly, as often the wind prevents the growths from growing straight when they are not fastened to a stake. Lawn mowings when not required for the compost heap ma'ke an excellent mulch for the summer months, and the slugs do not enjoy, travelling over them. THE ROSE GARDEN. Look over the roses, and where there is too much growth this can be removed at this stage very easily. Where prun- ; iug was carried out early watch should be kept to see that the early growth is not affected with aphis Jf so, spray at once with nicktiua. This is the nest spray for green aphis. On no account should this pest be allowed to spread, or else all the early roses will be ruined. Assist the roses when the buds commence to form by disbudding. Leave only the strongest formed buds. THE FRUIT GARDEN. Itun through the fruit trees, and remove any wood that is forming and is not required. In the case of peaches and nectarines on walls and trellis all wood buds showing on the front and back of the leaders should be removed at once Leave only the wood which is forming on the left and right of the tree. Everything else should, be removed. In the case of gooseberries a. great many of the wood buds can also be taken out at this stage. Leave none that will have a tendency later on to shade the surrounding wood. THE VINERY. Although the rods are sonieivhat later than usual in breaking away into growth, the buds in many cases are looking strong and promising for a good crop. At this stage disbudding should be carried out, allowing only sufficient buds to remain that there is room for. If too many buds, are retained the bunches will be small. Watering should be carried out with care at this stage. or else there will be trouble later on in the stoning period. Give all the air possible at this stage when climatic conditions are favourable. LAWNS. Continue to sow down new lawns aiul also renovate old ones. The weather conditions are ideal for the sowing down of grass seed and for top dressing lawns. Use compost if a good surface is required, as compost does not destroy 'bacteria, but keeps it in a healthy condition —no bacteria, no humus. Heavy rainfalls always mean acidity. The heavier the rainfall the greater the acidity and. the need for natural non-acid manures. * F.S.P.

One side of her face is out of control, and 1 want you to .tell me how long it will be before she has another. Remember who it is now?" " I know whom you mean quite well," I said. " She's been a patient of mine for years, but she hasn't had a stroke. She's had Bell's Paralysis. She'll be better soon." " What's Bell's Paralysis, and why isn't it a stroke?" asked the brother. " It's more of a neuritis of the facial nerve than anything else," I. replied. " It is limited to the face and recovery is so usual that we always expect it. We don't expect it to recur or that anything like it will happen anywhere else." " Whatever causes it?" asked the brother.

" I don't think we rightly know," 1 replied. "It generally conies oil all of a sudden, and mostly, affects younger adults."

" How long will it last in my sister's case?" asked the brother. " I'm not risking a guess." I said. " Its duration is anything between a week or two and a year. The chief thing is not to worry and to understand that it's a local thing, and isn't a sign of serious infernal trouble." Generally the first sign of Bell's Paralysis, or Palsy, is that the-patient feels the face- stiff. The paralysis appears soon afterwards and the face is drawn over to the opposite side. Often the eye cannot be closed for a while. It's an uncomfortable condition, but not serious.

Wednesday, October 20. " I've been asked to go away for the week-end." said Mrs Donald on the 'phone this morning, " There's'a child in the family who's just getting over whooping cough and I've never had it. Do'yon think it's safe to go?" "What do you mean by 'just getting over whooiping cough'?" I asked. " Does the child still whoop?" .■ : ''My friend says not," said Mrs Donald. "She tells me that it's 10 weeks since the attack started, and that there's been no whoop for three weeks, though there's still a cough.".

" It sounds safe enough to me," I '"Hov long is whooping cough infectious?" asked Mrs Donald. " A debatable point," 1 admitted. " Roufhly,- I would say that the ordinary case .shouldn't be infectious a, fortnight after the whoop has ceased. - Thursday, October 21. " And how's the lad?" 1 asked Basil Norman when 1 met him at the { local hospital board meeting to-night. fen 11 up north?" . , , "We had a letter saying he to in hospital this week," he replied. " Worms or something." I "Worms?" 1 repeated. I " That's what he wrote," said NorIman. " His mother said, ho had them. ' when he was a child, and she supposes thev've come back on him again, what, with the strain of the jungle-fightm'. and all that. They were tiny, little white things, the ones he had! when he was a boy." j 1 made no comment, but registered the opinion that the Norman son was probably suffering from hook-worm and not the comparatively harmless sort of threadworm that children have. Hook-worm, once uncontrollable, but now on the way lo being preventable,was formerly a scourge of the tropics. Modern science has taken much of the | menace out' of it. ! The • hook-worm, has a life cycle which reads like a fairy story. The mother worm lays its eggs in the intestines, but the eggs cannot hatch there. Once they pass out into a hot, moist, shady spot, however, they hatch in less than a couple of days. Now comes their race for existence, for, in order to develop, the young must find their way back to intestines again. . Accordingly, the embryo looks for an animal like a man to come along. It even climbs up weeds to have a better, chance of being brushed on to clothing. It may bore its way under thin socka or stockings. Once landed on flesh, it gets inside the skin, finds the nearest convenient blood vessel and begins the first part of its journey. First it reaches the heart and then gets passed out by the blood stream into the lungs. From the lungs it gets breathed up into the throat and then slips across to the gullet, and finally gets down to the intestines. Once there, it iputs out booklets and begins to feed on blood from the intestinal wall. One drop of blood a day'■■will keep it alive. It is easy to see that a number of worm« wili deplete a human of much blood. In other days hook-worm was a devastating factor in tropic settlement. When the war is over not only hook-worm, but probably malaria and other tropical diseases, will be completely controlled. Friday, October 22. " What's the matter?" 1 asked ona of the medical students attending my " rounds " to-day. " You look a bit under the weather." " Oh, I'm all right," he said hastily. " Quite sure?" I asked. " Well . . . we had a bit of a farewell party to. one of the lads last night." he admitted, putting on a brave face. '' What's a good cure?" " What were the symptoms?" C asked.

" A frightful thirst and a bad head this morning," he replied, "and' I didn't have much'drink-really." " They never do," I commented. " Anyway, a good prophylactic measure is to take plenty of water to. drink—say, three tumblers full at least, just before going to bed. Some aspirin at the same, time also helps. Names in this diary are fictitious, (Copyrght.)