THE GARDEN.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 138, 12 June 1908, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

-♦ . :.■••■■ . ~ A NEW ANNUAL.- . A beautiful new annual flower (Dijnorphotheca Aurantiaca) is the subject of a note by a contributor to the Garden, who writes:—"l have been expecting an article on the subject of this very beautiful annual, catalogued by Messrs Barr and Sons this last spring as a new introduction; it seems very little known. This state of things will not, I venture to think, be long the case, for a more effective plant for a brilliant mass of colour I do not know. The flowers, as large as those of the Gazania and much the same colour, are produced in the greatest profusion, and by keeping the faded blooms cut off a constant succession is produced up to late autumn. It comes very freely from seed, and the habit is neat and bushy; it is about 12 inches to 15 inches high.' ' MANURING FRTJIT TREES. At a recent meeting of the Angaston branch of the South Australian Bureau of Agriculture Mr Newell, off Mildura, delivered an address on the above subject. He said:— "The plant foods we have mainly to consider are nitrates, phosphates and potash. Nearly all soils contain sufficient of all other plant foods, with perhaps one exception, i.e., lime. Where this is lacking it must be ap{>lied to get the best results from the and. Nitrates promote strong and i vigorous growth, and care must be | taken not to apply too much, as other- "< wise the trees, will make very stronggrowth at the expense of fruitfulness. They should be applied in the spring to prevent leaching. Phosphates should be applied to the soil every year, as they increase the fruitfulness of the trees, while potash improves the quality of the fruit. The question as to which • manures are most suitable for any particular soil is best found out by experiments. Farm yard manure is relatively poor in plant food, and its value is about 12s 6d per ton. The best that can be said for it is that it improves the texture of the land by giving it more- humus. The land should be well cultivated and kept clear of weeds. The best wiay to apply manures is to apply superphosphates and potash in the winter, and work well into the soil, and to use nitrates in the spring. When growing legiminous plants, such as peas, beans, vetches,' etc, nitrogen may be added to the soil by ploughing these crops under whilst still green. This method is called green manuring, and helps to make the land rich and friable. Where the land requires-lim-ing this can be supplied by the application of air slacked lime. This should be thoroughly worked into the ground, in a dry state, as if allowed to get wet before using it will cake, and remain in that form for several seasons. Finely ground gypsum (sulphate of lime) is more easily applied. The best way to ■ apply all manures is with the drill." WHAT IS AN HERBACEOUS PLANT. • An English horticultural exchange has devoted some space to a controversy on the above subject, and one writer, Mr J. Weathers, submits the following views:— Altogther it may not be altogether an easy matter to decide whether a certain plant is "herbaceous" or not, surely there can be no doubt as to the meaning of the word "herbaceous" itself? Perhaps the simplest and plainest definition of "herbaceous" is nonwoody. Consequently trees, shrubs, and under shrubs cannot be "herbaceous." Last year I had occasion to object to the following remarks in the official report of the R.H.S. examiners in connection with the school teachers' examination, viz:—-"Several candidates stumbled over the term 'herbaceous,' using carnations, pansies and other evergreen plants as illustrations." I asked the secretary of ' the R.H.S. whether an "evergreen" plant henceforth was to be barred from being "herbaceous." The question was evaded, and I was referred to some., indefinite but well known stock definitions as to the word "herbaceous." My special attention was also drawn to the R.H.S. "Rules for Judging, sec. 179, in which it is stated that herbaceous are (sic) plants with stems which die down yearly, but hay- j ing root stocks remaining alive through ! several winters." I was also referred I to sec. 180, which defines "Carnations, I Pinks, Arabis, Trift, etc.," and also "tufted evergreens which do not die down in winter," as "suffruticose"— that is, "plants of a more or less shrubby growth." It is obvious from these quotations that the R.H.S. "Rules for Judging" 'require amend-' ing. At present, because an herba-! .ceous plant happens to be evergreen the R.H.S. "Rules for Judging" make it into a "plant of a more or less shrubby growth." Fancy such evergreen plants as Meadow Grass, Pansies, Violas, Thrift, Arabis, Aubrie£ias, Houseleeks, Daisies, Cerastium,

Stachys lanata, Spiraea filipendula—not to mention many others—being "suffruticose." The . thing is ridiculous. It also appears from the "Rules for Judging" that the mere adjective, "herbaceous," implies that a plant must be' "hardy" as well as "perennial." So that annuals and biennials—which are, of necessity,; "herbaceous"—are excluded from the group to which they naturally belong. As every qualified gardener know.s, an herbaceous, plant (i.e., a non-woody plant) may Nbe either "hardy," "halfhardy" or "tender"; it may also be "deciduous" or "evergreen" ;■' and again it may be "annual," "biennial," or "perennial" in its nature. Each group may be— subdivided in other ways, if necessary. Thus "hardy herbaceous perennials" may include (i.) such bulbous plants as Liliunis, Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinths, etc.; (ii.) tuberous rooted plants like Dahlias, Anemones, Rannunculi, Artichokes, etc ; and (iii.) those with fibrous roots. So far as the discussion has gone, surely because a woody plant like the Fuchsia, for instance-, gets killed down by the frost, it does- not become herbaceous. It is naturally a woody plant when properly developed, and will add new wood each_ year to its frame under normal conditions. It is\ a mere accident that the plant cannot stand our "winters in all parts, and has to^ start afresh each year. The same may be said of many other woody plants. In the great winter of . 1879 and 1.880 I think many exotic. ' i trees and shrubs were killed down to the ground by the frost, but new • ; growths were afterwards developed from the uninjured perennial root : \ stock. I fear if we were to leave the word "herbaceous" out of schedules, i it would be possible to include any tree or shrub—big or little—as a i "hardy perennial" at least, if not a \ "hardy border perennial," and then the judges would have a lively time of