THE GARDEN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 766, 5 November 1886, Page 15

THE GARDEN.

SEASONABLE WOBK IN THE GARDEN. The Fruit Garden.

The same work of disbudding and stopping young shoots on fruit trees that wsb. recom■mended in the last paper should still be continued. On wall trees no growths should be allowed to extend at right angles from the ■wall ; such shoots should be rubbed off at the ■ first, or be kept pinched close back._ Look oat for 3 supply of young shoots for tying in ; let them run 10 or 12 inches before stopping them. Peaches, nectarines, and apricots will often set more fruit than they’ are able to carrv to maturity, and they should be immediately relieved of the surplus, reducing -the number to a reasonable crop. • Young shoots forming in the centre of gooseberry bushes to be kept pioohed back, or broken out where too crowded ; but allow the main branches to extend a bit, and encourage, ■where there is room, the growth of good strong young shoo s. , • Strawberry beds should be cleared of weeds, -slugs, and other vermin, the surface being slightly loosened, and a mulching of half -decayed manure laid between the rows. The Vinery. The shoot 3 should now be ready to tie down into their places, but do not hurry this work too much. If they are at all stubborn, tie them down a little way at first; then come at them again in a week, ar.d bring them a bit lower. "There need be no haste so that they are low enough to keep the leaves from press ing against the gla?s. It is well to take even a little too much care iu this matter of tying down, as it may save loss afterwards. It is very annoying after having, as one thinks, tied clown a lot of sbools safely, to find next morning that a few of them are broken off, and they often give way a few hours after being left in apparent safety. This difficulty is only •experienced where the shoots are vigorous, epindly ones being generally easy enough to manage- When the tying down is safely accomplished, any shoots in excess of one to each spur that mav have been left should be cut close back. Only one bunch cf fruit should be left in each spur, and for the first two or three years oven this will be too much fruit to leave. The shoots should be stopped one joint beyond the bunch. Hub laterals, as ■they form, should be stopped beyond the first A The Kitchen Garden. Successional crops which may be sown will bo turnip, spinach, carrot, peas, bean6—both broad and French—radish, mustard aud cress, -lettuce. ‘ Australian golden cress ’ is a ealad not very well known here. It is a most excellent relish, as well as an ornamental crop. Sown in long lines, it will give cuttings of (Several weeks. It is now time to get in the last sowing of parsnip and red beet, and where the whiteieaveii beet is grown for the sake of its leaves in winter as a vegetable, it should be sown at ■once. Sow also leek-’, in a drill, to be afterwards transplanted into trenches. marrows and pumpkins may now be io,w in the open ground, as also hardy -ridrre cucumbers. . Plants raised under, glass " may b 3 put out n0w.... Keep a sharp lookout for these and be prepared to cover, them with ' ■ ibox.es/ or some protection, if needed, against ithe force of the wind. ... Tomatoes should now be planted out in rich ground in a sunny position. Against a fence ■with a north west aspect is the best place for •them, but they will do well in any sunny spot, with the support of a single stake. Plant out cabbage and cauliflower plants ; •sow cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, savoy, Brussels sprouts, and curled greens for midsummer planting, for winter and spring use. AH crops that need thinning should be attended to aB early as possible, before the young (seedlings become crowded. Keep the soil loose between the rows of all crop., and draw the •soil up to such crops as need it before they Slave made too much growth. .... ' Melons in frames on a hot-bea should ba •encouraged to send a shoot to sach corner ot the frame. They should then be slopped, and will produce fruit-bearing laterals. Melons require no shading. The lights should e closed an hour before the sun is off them in the evening, first sprinkling the foliage and bed with water. Cucumbers will need shading from the sun; keep water frequently sprinkled around tnem to keep the atmosphere moist, and stop the laterals a joint beyond the fruit. Pinch out all superfluous shoots and male blossoms as eoon as they show. Water occasionally with liquid manure. An occasional syringing all

over the plants and house with very weak and clear soot water will greatly help to keep the plants healthy and free from insects. The Flower Garden. The weather during the previous month has on the whole been favorable for planting operations, and, as a consequence, the bedding out of flowers, as far as the hardier kinds are concerned, will be well nigb finished. During the ensuing fortnight the temperature should be warm enough to permit of the more tender class of plants taking their places in the designs in the oourse of beiog worked out in the flower garden. As a rule, floral designs bordering on simplicity are more likely in most hands to be more effective than those relatively more " elaborate in their features. Dahlias, amaranthus, castor oil plants, zinnias, balsams, and ail others still under the protection of glass should now be freely exposed to the weather when favorable. They will thus acquire the necessary robustness prior to beiDg planted. Hyacinths, tulips, and other spring flowering bulbs now out of flower may be lifted at once, should the beds they occupy be required for summer flowering bulbs. If they are carefully dug up and immediately replanted rather deeply, so as to cover the lower part of the foliage, no harm should result from the shift, and the beds, being redecorated, will be bright and gay for the rest of the season. Put stakes to carnations, gladiolus, and other plants requiring support, and tie up and regulate the young growths of climbers on trellis-work, walls, &c. Thin out annuals, and sow again iu suitable places for succession.

Necessarily, with the frequency of spring rains, Weeds of all kinds make their unwelcome appearance in competition with the objects of our culture. The frequent use of the dutch hoe in keeping the soil loose and open, and preventing the surfaces between the plants from becoming crusted and oracked by the action of the weather, is also at the same time a sure preventive against weed growth to any extent. It is not too late yet to apply mulchings wherever necessary. Roses, in particular, relish rich manurial topdressings. The absence of the rose blight this season, so far, augurs well for a fine crop of bloom shortly. Should the blight, however, appear later on, two or three syringings with tobacco water will destroy the pest. Look over grafted shrubs of all kinds, and remove any suckers which may be found. The keeping of lawns and grass verges in high order is now no easy matter, growth being so rapid ; but nothing will be gained by allowing the grass to grow too much before using the mowing machine, as then the work cannot be so well and quickly done. Frequent mowing with rapidity should be the order of the day. The Greenhouse.

Calceolarias, pelargoniums, roses, and spireas should now be more or less in flower. Care.should be taken that the change from the cooler atmosphere of the frames to that of the greenhouse does not injuriously affect the calceolarias. Being of Alpine origin they require a moist and cool position, and must not be placed far from the glass. A low house suits them test—somewhat shaded. Tuberous begonias, fuchsias, double petunias, lilies, gloxinias, hydrangeas, and so forth, should be in a forward condition to turn in succession to the abovr. Some of these will require staking and tying out in order to form nice proportioned specimens. Continue to shift bouvardias, gesnerias, archimonep, balsams, and eelosias for midsummer and autumn decoration. Pinch off the points of the bouvardia shoots three or four times during their season of growth if strong bushy plants are desired. The later this is practised the later the plants will be in flowering. Plant out in a warm border young plants of winter flowering salvias, deutzias, and of other shrubs desirable for growing in this way, instead of growing them in pots the season through. Towards the end of the month shift chrysanthemums into their flowering pots. They like a strong loam, mixed with dried sheep or cow manure, using crushed bones for drainage, which will also supply a certain amount of nutriment to the roots. Plunge the pots in a bed of coal ashes or into the soil of the border in any open but sheltered position. Stop the shoots for the second time after they have grown three or four inches, and supply the plants regularly and abundantly with water till the flower buds begin to appear, after which manure water should be substituted until the flowers have unfolded. Make a final sowing of primula sineiuis, and transplant and otherwise attend to seedlings In their various stages of growth. About the end of the month sow cineraria for the first batch, and place the seed pan which should be covered with a sheet of obscured glass—in a frame facing the south. Azalias, heaths, and other such hsrdwooded plants, as they cease to be attractive, should be removed, to pits and frames to complete their growth, or at least till their shoots have hardened, before standing them out in the open. 4tt©nd to all softwooded cuttings turning into plants, and endeavor to grow them on without check.