TO CORRESPONDENTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21906, 15 September 1934, Page 8 (Supplement)

TO CORRESPONDENTS

" Constant Reader" (Hamilton). Tho ashes will be quite suitable for garden purpones. The value will be fn the potash they contain. Apply lib. per square yard. See noiea for further details. M.H. (Morrinsville). —1. The disease on the polyanthus is the primrose rust (Puocinia primulae). Destroy affected leaves and spray with Bordeaux powder, loz. per gallon of water. 2. The rose is affected with mildew. Treat as in (1). " Amateur."—l. Fork in blood and bone lightly on the surface after transplanting. '2. If the trees are lifted with a good bsllof soil, no pruning should be necessary, JF® 6 birds are sometimes destructive to the blossoms. which prevents a; good set of fruit. "Curio" (Wainku.—The lemon tree ie a fleeted by wither-tip. Remove and bum the diseased portions and epray with Bordeaux powder, loz. per Ballon of water, before the main blossom opens and again after the fruit has eet. Repeat at intervals of one month. J.W.W. (Avondale).—To prevent the birds taking the grass seed, mix a small quantity of tar disinfectant with the seed. Stir up well and leave for a few hours before sowing. One teaepoonful will be enough for 7lb. of seed. The odour is distasteful to birds. Rake thi seed well in when eowing. • 4 Hillside."—The peach trees should have been sprayed for leaf curl before the buds opened. The best you can do now is to spray when the blossom has fallen, with lime sulphur, 1 in 120. This may check the curl to some extent, but the fungus will be already in the tissues of the leaves. " Paeroa."—Acacia verticillata will be auite suitable for a road fence. It is stockproof and grows to a height of about 10ft. to 12ft.. but makes the best hedge when kept to a height of 6ft. Better res alto are obtained by sowing the seeds where the plants are to stand than by planting. " Barberry."—The bcßt way to deal with the young barberry plants will be to transplant them now into l*nes in the garden or some finely broken-up land, and transplant next winter to permanent position*. If left where they are now, next winter they will be all top, with vecy little root to sustain them when moved. " Orange" (Point Chevalier).—The disease is verrucosis and can be controlled by spraying with Bordeaux powder. Use at the rate of loz. per gallon. Prune out any dead or declining wood now and epray with' the Bordeaux before blossoming, and again after the fruits have set. Repeat at intervale during the growing season. " Novice" (Cambridge).—You will find it a difficult matter to hybridise carrots, the individual flowers being eo small there is not much chance of isolating them. Improved varieties of carrots are usually obtained by selection. It would be best for you to experiment with simple flowers nntil you have gained some experience. " Tauranga."—Vegetables and fruita in bush-sick areas will lack the essential iron salts. The application of sulphate of iron, loz. to four square yards, will act ae a corrective. This can be mixed with the ordinary fertilisers. Qasio slag is good for heavy land, but not quite so efficient on land of lighter texture. This fertiliser should be applied in autumn. R.P.O'C. (Frankton).—The yellowing of the leaves may be due to two causes—insufficient drainage and lack of the necessary fertilising elements. Improve the drainage if necessary and apply now superphosphate two parts, sulphate of ammonia two part*, and sulhate of potash one part. Apply agarin in March. Allow lib. of the mixture for each year of age of the tree The addition of sulphate of iron. loz. to four square yards, will also assist in the recovery. C.M.L. (Kaeo).—lt is not possible to overdo the application of wood ashes from a manurial point of view. Wood ashes contain a quantity of potash, which quickly leaches out with rain, hence the necessity of keeping them dry until applied. The physical condition of a heavy soil, however, ;b not improved by the wood ashee; in fact, rather the roverse. If you can apply some gritty matter, such as coarse sand as well, it will act as a corrective to the tendency to stickiness. M.C. (Whangarei).—l, The rhododendron leaves have been badly infested with thrips. Spraying at intervals with nicotine sulphate, with enough soap to make a good lather will remedy the trouble. 2. Put plenty of leaf soil round the roots of the rhododendron, also mulch with the same. Keep moist and •liude from bright sunshine and growth should be satisfactory. 3. The small bush •nails are not likely to do much damage. They are not the destructive garden kind. Helix aspersa. J.E.M.—The poinsettia is not evergreen in our climate out of doors, and the growtha usually die back after flowering. These growths should be cut back to well-ripened wood in August or September in each year. E.H.F. (Papatoetoe).—The loquat seedlings can be budded at any time from October onward, when the bark will lift freely. Procure some buds from a known good-fruiting tree and insert them low down. The stocks can be cut back to the buds next September. T.R. (Grey Lynn).—One of the most frequent causes of bnd-dropping in peaches and nectarines is dryness at the root. If the tree ij lacking moisture in the spring, when the buds are starting, give a good, soaking of water. It is paradoxical that lack of drainage and consequent stagnation will cause the same trouble, but not so frequently. _Th© use of a pre-blossom spray at excessive strength will also cause some buds to drop, but nothing is as bad as dryness at the root. " Amateur'* (Devonport).—The best time to sow seeds of the Peruvian lily (Alstroemeriu) is as soon us the seeds are ripe in autumn. If kept until ppring, the seods take much longer to germinate. The seeds you have sown will no doubt appear later. A temperature of about 60 to 55 degrees is most suitable. Prick off the seedlings into light, well-drained land and leave undisturbed for several years. Tho ground should be well manured for the best results. " Anxious" (Whangarei).—The cause of the escallonia dying is some root trouble, most probably a root fungus. If there is insufficient drainage, the excessive water wculd start, decay. The only remedy would be to remove the affected plants and lime tho soil well before replanting. Fmh air and sunshine will kill the fungus if exposed as much us possible by turning over the soil. Examine the base of the posts for decay, and, if present, treat with creosote, us this may have been the start of the trouble. " Hedge" (Tuakau)^—l. It is not necessary to trench the ground for Acacia verticillata. A dug strip is all that is required.. 2. Use bonedust or blood and bone manure." 8. The roots do not travel very far. 4. Cannot say how long the trees will live, but they should be good for many years. 5. Single rows are best. 6. Two feet apart. 7. Acacia verticillata makes a good stock-proof hedge, and is best sown where the plants are to grow. Scald the seed before sowing and when the seedlings are about Ift. high thin out to the required distance. 8. Pittosporum crassifolium would make a good hedge for the position, but it is not stock-proof. "Inquirer" (Umawira).—The .name African pine is too vague to convey any infor- , mution as to the species. There is » pine which grows in the Canary Islands under the botanical uume of Pinus canadensis. Tho tree belongs to the three-leaved pines and is usually grown as sn ornamental tree. It is not particuloriy hardy and ia somewhat difficult to establish, but whether this is the species in question it is not possible to say from a single seed. Unites you can provide additional information as to where the seeds were collected. I cannot haiard any information as to habit or height of growth and suitability for shelter. " Old Subscriber" (Warkworth).—l. Name of shrub is ilahonia japomca, sometimes included under berberis, but now definitely classified as mahonia. 2. Which is the choicest berrying shrub for winter use is a matter of individual taste. There are quite a number of varieties and speciee, but the majority berry much more freely in southern districts than in the North. Euonymus europous does well in the Auckland district. Viburnum Sieboldtii is excellent for winter decoration. There are also many spociis of cctoneaster and pyracantha. all of which an at their beat in winter. Whore Berberis wibonae does well, its coral red fruits ere attractive, but the birds levy a toll on all these varieties. L.C. (Okaihau).—Soya beans may be sown as soon as danger from frost is over. One bushel of seed should be sufficient for one acre, rows Bft. opart, with hills of two or ihiee reeds at ISin. apart in the rows. Cultivate well in the early stages of growth, prefeiably with a fine tooth implement. When the ground is becoming covered cultivation may cease. Soya l*sans are a profitable fodder crop for the farm, and may he u«ed for ensilage or hay. S»eds may be threshed out when a few pods begin to split and used as pig food. For cattle and horses the seeds need to be ground, but for pigs and poultry this is not neceseary. The crop may be cut and cured as hay. Pies afterwards turned out on the grcfund wili clean up the looso beans. It is not nepessary to inoculate the soil, and a seed merchant will be able to procure the eeed beans. Kim.