THE GARDEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16300, 5 August 1916, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE GARDEN.

With the advent of August and the anticipation of fine weather, outdoor gardening operations,' Mich as the diggin;: of the beds and borders, the planting of some of the smaller subjects, and weeding and general tidying up that ha* been in abeyance during the past five or six weeks, should again be resumed. July is generally our coldest. wettest, most dreary, and fiowerless time, the past month being really no exception to the general rule excepting that the temperature has been exceptionally mild, and many plants that should be leafless and at rest are in active growth. This is especially noticeable with roses, which have never ceased growing and producing an occasional flower. Pruning and Spraying. The last of the rose "pruning should be completed this month, also that of all deciduous trees and shrubs.- also evergreens, including the various hedges. Spraying to destroy fungi and kill insects and parasitic growths, as recommended in previous notes, should be done as soon as possible, a.- the buds are already swelling. For syringing always choose a fine day. as rain washes much of the material off and makes the work less effective. Spraying is a necessity, and must be practised more or less in almost every garden where permanent trees, shrubs, and other plants exist. Attention to Beds and Borders. General overhaul of the beds and borders is necessary, but before proceeding with this work the walks and paths must first be cleansed of weeds, and the various edgings neatly clipped and trimmed : this chiefly refers to grass edgings, box, etc. But editings of violets, polyanthus, primroses, thrift or sea pinks, echeverias, daisies, lobelias, freesias. lemon, thyme, etc.. only need the weeds pulling out. The nioely kept edging always greatly enhances the appearance of the garden. Box edgings should be kept thin and neatly trimmed. Otherwise they form a harbour for slugs. The Snail Pest. These pests are ever present, and are the greatest bane of the gardener. They have already commenced their depredations, insidiously preying upon some of the choicest plants, eating off the shoots of the herbaceous varieties, just as they are starting into growth. Perennial delphinium and phlox are special favourites with slugs, and must be carefully watched to save them. Slugs may be greatly reduced in numbers by a little extra attention at this season. Carefully examine the plants for shellback snails, which usually congregate in special places, notably, in clumps of agapanthus and such-like plants, where they may easily be collected and destroyed either by liming or hand picking. The small black slugs are more difficult to get rid of. Lime should be freely used, not only on the surface soil but amongst the plants, lifting the trailing kinds up and dusting the lime on the soil underneath them. The Rockery. The rockery also needs a general overhaul Vittadenias. mesembryanthemums gazanias, polygonum repens, plectranthus fuchsia procumbens. ivy-leaved geraniums and a few others that are of spreading habit, and have outgrown their allotted spaces, require to be shortened back and regulated. Mesembryanthemums that ar* old should be pulled out and replaced with healthy young plant*. In summer these ice plants are always in flower, and make a brilliant display of colour. Kalo sant-hes coccinea should be renewed annually, as the plants that have flowered the previous summer become exhausted and sticky. - Popularity of - Bock Gardens. The rock garden beds become indispensable, as conditions of soil and dryness may be obtained that cannot be provided in the open beds and borders, thus enabling the growing of a large number ol varieties of plants that cannot be arccessfully grown unless special provisi .n is made for quickly draining away excessive moisture and keeping the roots in a fairly dry condition. The properly constructed and arranged rockery has many advantages, especially during such weather as we have experienced during the past six weeks, when other portions of the garden have been too wet for planting, and also for the well-being of the plants. Weeding, planting, and stirring of the soil could be done at any time amongst the rocks and spaces devoted tc the growing of plants.

THE ORCHARD. Attention lias already been drawn to the importance of securing at the time of pruning all scions required for regrafting the various orchard trees. In almost every orchard there are found some trees that fail fiom some reason or other to produce satisfactory crops of fruit, and only cumber the ground if allowed to remain", while they could, providing the trees are healthy, he remedied by redrafting with varieties that have proved to be more profitable and that are known to succeed well in the locality. In many of the older orchards, far too many varieties have been planted. In some instances scores of varieties, when probably not more than a dozen ] varieties are worth the space They occupy. Varieties for Special District*. As to the best and most piotiianle varietics to work, only experience of the <!ifferent kinds that are known to succeed in the district in which they are grown ran be taken. For instance, some varieties of apples succeed well in one ul.-tr : v that will scarcely grow in another. Soil and situation has much to do with the success or failure. The same, too. applies to pears. Varieties that succeed' well furi ther south often fail to give satisfactory results in the northern districts. Selecting Scions. j All scions required for graft should he selected from well-ripjned young wood and taken from the healthiest and best sorts, while the trees are dormant. These, j should be heeled in the soil in a cool place, until the stock is readv tor crafting [ In the selection of varieties* one must be guided by the requirements. If grown simply for home consumption select such varieties as will cover the season of ripening from the earliest to the latest kinds, this does not necessarily mean growing a large number of varieties, but simply the best, and the number of each kind needed to meet the requirements. i Selecting Commercial Fruits. When- grown for market nianv things have to be vonsidcred-the season when the trim is likely to command the highest price, varieties that are good and prolific bearers, and that produce highly-coloured showy fruits. As far a* market value is concerned, high colour atill appears to be of more importance than the quality of the fruit. The trees to be grafted should be headed back the branches being cut hack to within 6in of their base, and the wounds carefully smoothed over with a sharp knife. The Best Time to Graft. The best time to graft varies according to the varieties to be treated Peaches apricots, nectarines, and plums, in fact' all stone fruits are the first to show M,r„s of activity, and are the first to need attention. Although peaches and nectarines are all stone fruits, and are more difficult to work successfully than pip fruits, nothing is lost in making the attempt, particularly if the vanetes have proved unsatisfactory. ' " Heading Back for Crafting. The fact of heading the trees back for grafting will even, if the grafts fail re . sult in abundance of young growth being made which may be successfully budded during the summer. The grafting should be done soon after the san in the stock has become active, though, as already stated, the scion should be kept as dor mant as possible until the time for inaer-

The Science of ©ratting. J The science of grafting is now generally known bv robsf fruit-rower?, and is performed with more or less success by many amateur*. The mode of grafting, however must, in a measure depend upon the size of stock* to be worked. With large. stocks, when- the branch** are thick, rind grafting is the simplest and most likely to '-■meed but where the stock and scion are nearlv of a uniform size. whip, or what i* known as tongue, grafting i.« the simplest and hc«t.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. " Inquirer." Silverdale . Nam" of wattle is Acacia tleciirrens, vanity normali.-. I I'* 3 blooms .ire more freely produced and showier, and the foliage I-uger and more dense than the parent The blooms are more freely produced. In applying either farmvard (*>■• artificial manures when plant ins potatoes the best and most economical method is to scatter it al->i ; the drills before dropping the sets. The presence of humble bees i- a.-euiintab'.e for your broad bean.- not fruiting. They pierce the flowers for the extraction of honey dew and destroy the structure and fertilising properties "of the organs. Cover portion of the row .to keep the bees from the flowers, and the result.* "ill he apparent. K.8.H.. Whangarei : Rhus sin cedanea. "'the Chinese sumach" i- the name of the shrub that i- so < on.-oi. 1- fir the brilliance of it-- autumn foliage, it is exceedingly hardy. Stork plant* aie infested with green aphis. Syringe them with (;isliurst".s compound. M< Dou-iaii's insecticide, or kerosene emulsion. " Orange." Kpsom : Spraying with red oil is the best remedy for orange or lemon trees that are attacked with brown, red. white, or other scale insects Now is a good time to apply the insecticide, before the new season growth starts. Vennorite is practn ally useless as a spray for scale. Well liming and manuring the ground is always beneficial to the citrus family, well dusting the foliage at the same time. Placing a tent over the trees and fumigating with hydro cyanic gas is an effectual means of ridding the trees of scale insects, and is largely practised in the orangeries of California. "Mount Hobson": Clematises thrive well planted near the stems or trunks of living trees. For example, note our NewZealand variety, C. indivisa. rambling over manuka and other trees, and wreathed in lovely blossoms in early spring. The plants have grown from seeds naturally sown, some being close to the supporting I tree. Clematis, flammula. montana. viti- ■ cella. and other strong growers would bo suitable for planting to grow up an acacia. The large-flowered species would be better •planted to grow against a trellis. "Inquirer," Opunake: The white grey mould that you describe upon the foliage of verbenas, chrysanthemums, and many other plants, is powdery mildew, one of the many forms of fungi, and amenable to fungicides. Either Bordeaux mixture, lime and sulphur, sulphide of potassium, and dry sulphur occasionally dusted and syringed over the foliage should check fungoid germs. Unfavourable conditions, draughts, and excessive moisture, or dryness often bring about mildew. E.G., Coromandel: Re beans. Where stakes axe available, runner leaves are much more profitable for tie family kitchen garden than the dwarf kind. They cover a much longer period, especially when the beans are gathered regularly and not allowed to mature. Scarlet runners keep on bearing until late into the autumn, and need not be sown annually, as they start again from the old roots. Some of the newer kinds of pole butter beans are greatlv prized. The Canadian Wonder is still the most prolific- and best of the dwarf kindney beans. The old white haricot bean is also the best for the purpose. White beans are essential on account of their appearance on the table. "Elmstead," Epsom: There are several varieties of mistletoe indigenous to &ew Zealand, the variety Moranthus ten apetalus being plentiful upon the beech trees in the forests at the base of Ruapehu, and is a beautiful sight in January with it* large crimson blossoms. Ix>ranthus tetrapetalua and Loranthus colensoi are plentiful in the beech forest* in Nelson, and have established themselves on plum trees at Foxhill. Loranthus micranthus is abundant at Waihi, Lake Taupo. The flowers of this species are insignificant. Kepos.

HINTS TO GARDENERS. I A large number of herbs mar b« raised from seeds by sowing them in the open | garden at any time in spring. At very little cost one can obtain a varietr of herbs for home use, and now that "economy" is the order of the day, more should be done in this direction. Balm is used in salads, and also medicinally ; horehound, hyssop, lavender, rue, rosemary, and . wormwood are others that fulfil various medicinal purposes, several of them being good tonics when infused and used like tea. Others are in freqeunt demand in the kitchen, such as sage, marjoram, lavender, horehound, clary, caraway, summer and winter savory, "sorrel, tarragon, and common and lemon thyme. These axe not all, but will serve as a commencement. The seeds are very small, and should be covered very lightly, and given water in dry weather till they come up.

Witch hazel is one of the very few I shrubs that flower very early in spring, and is worth bringing to the'notice of all interested in hardy trees and shrubs. It is a native of Japan, where it forms a small tree about 20ft high, and from that country it was introduced about 40 years ago Its flowers arc curiouslv formed, .but pretty and abundantly produced un the short branches. The "petals are four ,in number, Jin to lin long, quite narrow i and curiously twisted. Thev are golden | yellow in colour and give a' marked coni trast to the short crimson sepal* In i the bud stage of the flower the petals are I relied up like so many pieces of ribbon. ] During winter the plants are quite leafless. I I he botanical name is Hamamelis arborea .It is usually propagated by grafting on an -American species.

The old growers were experts in the cultivation of huge berries of various kinds, and their methods are mo>t interesting The fruits were severely thinned, and only one was left where a dozen would lie allowed to remain in the ordinary wav Berries were selected that were oi good shape, stout stemmed, and well placed on the branches. The selected berries were weighted by fixing small pieces of lead or stone, weighing half an ounce or more to the corolla on the end of the fruit Then what was known as •■suckling" was indulged in. Capillary attraction, attained by winding one end of a woollen thread round the stem of each fruit, the other end being kept in a bottle or basin of water, kept the hemes moist and a«<d<t«d them to swell to a large size. A basin of manure-water was also placed beneath the bushes, and dips filled with liquid mantle were suspended oeneath each finit ',i addition to this, each bus!, got a'"o.'.d dose of rank manure, and was amply mulched with the same material. A* plenty of moisture is essential for th- prodii-f' '■> of huge fruits, the bushes were snrink' ■'• overhead two of three time- a dav wii'pure water.

Vegetables make heavier demands , soil than any other kind of crops j, - s the most intense form of cultivation, ami where continuous results are expected the supply of pant food must be maintained by judiciously manuring the land and pro viding suitable rotations. There i« m. thing to compare with stable or farmyard recuse in the maintenance of soil fertility It contains the proper proportion of niti. gen. potash, and phosphoric acid, ami'is a naturally balanced plant food In -~{ dition to this it furnishes the soil with humus or vegetable mould of the ,i-ht kind. But it i, not always ix.<«ihle to secure sufficient quantities and other forms' of sustenance have to be utilised AH kinds ot vegetables are not imniediatelv benefited by woiking into fhe soil animal refuse at the time of sowing and transplanting. They receive more assistance from it after it has lain in the ground tor three or four months. When beds are charged with heavy supplies of «tab'e or farmyard manure and stocked straight away with turnips, carrots, beet, parsnips peas, or beans, it induces the growth of more leaves than are desirable, and there la not an adequate proportion of roots or pods.