THE GARDEN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 879, 4 January 1889, Page 18

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR JANUARY. The Fruit Garden. _ Trees bearing a good crop of fruit, of whatever kind, will be greatly _ benefited by copious waterings. When it is done by means of a hose care must be taken to see that they get enough to thoroughly saturate the soil. We say take care when a hose is used because it is very difficult to gauge the quantity given by a hose, and most people who have not made a study of their work will think they have watered the roots when, in reality, they have only laid the dust on the top. ' When the trees are on a level surface perhaps the best plan is to scrape away the soil from the bole of the tree into a ridge, forming a circle with it right round the tree, thus forming a basin over the roots Bft or 10ft across ; this should be filled with water several times and allowed to soak in; every drop will then reach the roots, and there will be no difficulty in judging when they have had enough to be of service. When the watering is done the soil should be raked back to its place, when it will act os a mulch to retard evaporation. Mere surface waterings are not only useless as far as supplying food to the trees is concerned, bub are positively harmful, as, if continued, it will coax the small greedy feeding roots to the surface, where they will soon suffer. A good dose of manure water on top or the watering will prove a good investment ; but never give strong liquid manure on dry soil, for it will prove very hurtful to tho trees. Every garden should have a good brick and cement tank, holding 300 or 400 gallons for the manufacture of manure water for the fruit trees and vegetables. After this time growth among fruit trees will not be so gross ; bub a watch must still be kept, and lueless shoots taken out. When gooseberry and currant bushes are cleared of their fruit, if conveuient give them a good mulching of manure, followed by a good watering. The black leeoh will soon be showing on tho pear and plum trees ; the importance of ousting it before it has perforated the leaves is not sufficiently understood. The effect of ifcg work is to cause the half matured buds, from which next year’s fruit and shoots should come, to start into growth as a vent for the moving sap, which the perforated leaves are unable to take ; result, no *** next year# The leeches can be destroyed by dusting them with lime and sand, or dry earth, in equal proportions ; or if the trees are within reach of a hose with a good pressure of water they can be dislodged by it, and without the parching effects of the lime and sand. The Vinery. Grapes will now in most cases be making their final swelling, and should be abundantly supp ied with water ; give a good soaking about three times a week; give liquid manure at the same time, unless the border is already sufficiently rich. In the management of the vinery the chief difference will be the a Imission of a little more air, and as colouring advances far keep a drier atmosphere. The Kitchen Garden. A start should now be made in planting for winter and early spring use. The first things to be got out should be cabbages, savoys, and brussels sprouts, to be followed by broccoli, spinach, and turnips. If the present crop of carrots is not large enough to carry well through the winter another sowing may be made now ; otherwise, delay sowing again till April. Celery should now be planted out in the treuchcs. Water them well, and shade for a few days if possible. Sow French beans, and keep those in the ground going with plenty of water. A last sowing of peas may be made of some dwarf kind, as Little Gem or American Wonder. Owing to the cold season tomatoes, marrows, and pumpkins are in a very backward state, and promise very badly ; in some places, in fact, they are almost destroyed. It will be best to train the shoots rather thinly, in order to concentrate the efforts of the plants to a few fruits. The Flower Garden. Now is a good time to proceed with the budding of roses on briar stocks. Select buds which show up prominently without having actually pushed into growth. Buds taken from the upper half of a shoot aie considered to produce more floriferous plants than those taken from the lower half, but those taken from the latter will necessarily develop into plants possessing the greatest vigour. By inserting the buds in the stocks close to the ground, in the courpe of time, the young plants will have the advantage of a double set of roots, that is, from both the scion and the stock, and in the case of roses which ultimately do better on their own roots, like the climbing Devoniensia, Mareehal Neil and others, the advantage will be read ly apparent, as the roots springing from the scion can be made to supersede those of the britr, and in time, admit of the latter being \vh lly cut oat. But by the insertion of a few luds in almost any kind of rose in their ; oss-osion (wild or cultivated), neighbours can readily exchange _ their choictsb varieties with each other, without harming the plants in the least, and with-

out incurring the uncertainty attending their propagation from cuttings. Other work in the rosery such as summer pruning, destroying of Buckers, tying in the long shoots of climbing varieties, stirring up the soil between the plants, and mulching where necessary will require to be attended to. Climbing plants on arbours, walls, &c., may also require attention. Iu the mixed flower borders clear away decaying annuals, cut off dead flower spikes, and prune unwieldy shoots of shrubs that are unduly encroaching on other things. Daffodils, snowflakes, and other suoh bulbs may require to be lifted and transferred to freßh ground in order to flower more satisfactorily. Violets may require to be mulched and kept free from runners. See that all tall growing plants are properly secured to stakes, and use the hoo and rake to give the borders a tidy appearance. Chrysanthemums intended for the production of large blooms will now require frequent attention. All the large growing varieties will require to be restricted in the number of their leading shoots, and the latter divested of all lateral growths and allowed to grow without cheek their full length. By the end of February clusters of flower buds will have made their appearance on the terminal points of the shoots, and will require to be thinned out to one or more buds, according to the will of the grower, on each shoot. Finish the layering of carnations and picotees, if this has not already been done. Prick out into boxes biennial and perennial seedlings raised during the past month, placing them in a cool, sheltered position. Go over the lawns with the scythe to cut off any wiry flower stems which the mowing machine may have left untouched. After this time of the year it will not be advisable to mow the grass too closely in case of drought. Keep grass margins neatly cut, hoe and rake walks, and sweep off all falling leaves, &e. The Greenhouse. The main sowing of calceolarias will now require to be made. Drain the pots well with crocks and other open materials. Use finely sifted soil for sowing the seeds on, pressing it firmly and evenly in the pots ; moisten thoroughly, and sow the seeds on the surface whilst the soil is still moist, covering each pot with a sheet of glass and standing them in saucers filled with water till the soedliugs have made their appearance. Cineraria seedlings will require to be pricked out into boxes two or three inches apart, and kept shaded from bright sunshine. Young libonia plants should now be shifted into their flowering pots. Poinsettias which have started to grow afresh will have to be shaken out afresh and repotted. Continue to pot off seedling primulas, gloxinias, cyclamen, begonias, achimeues, &c. Top dress autumn flowering lilies, fuchsias an 1 geraniums. Gloxinias may now be propagated from leaves. Select those which have fully matured their growth, cut them off within an inch or so of the footstalks to fix them in the soil. Prepare pots filled with light sandy soil, surfaced with an inch of pure sand. Dibble in the leaves so as to stand upright; water, and place the pots under a beli-gla9S, or in a close shady part of the greenhouse till the leaves will have rooted and formed miniatuie bulbs.

Pelargoniums no longer in a decorative condition may be placed outside in a sunny sheltered place to ripen their shoots, previous to being headed back. Chrysanthemums may require ttakiug and tying out, according to their state cf growth ; and the same applies to bouvardias, begonias, and other such. Sponge and wash the foliage and stems of plants subject to the attacks of red spider, thrip, mealy bug, or scale ; this more particularly refers to fine foliage plants, such as palms, dracaenas, crotons, and others with coriaceous leaves. LIME AS A REMEDY FOR THE DESTRUCTIVE SLUGEvery one knows that lime will kill slugs and snails wbioh are brought into contact with it. One way of getting rid of these creatures, therefore, is to sprinkle this substauoo over the places which are infected at the timo when the slugs come out seeking for food. The method ia but little employed, however, on account of the difficulty which is found in sprinkling tho powder under the leaves or among the branches of the plants in such a way that it will reach the peats. Two years ago I bethought myself of using for the purpose a pair of bellows such as is employed to sulphur vines. The result has been so satisfactory that I feel I ought to give the public the benefit of my experience in the adoption of this simple process. The lime should be slaked in the ordinary way, but not moistened over much ; then, after it has been dried and sifted, it will be ready for use. A handful or so is then to be put into the bellows, and the latter is to be worked just as it would be if the operator were about to sulphur a vine. The lime will be thrown out regularly, and will diffuse itself through the air like a kind of fog, and make its into the hearts even of the most compact plants. When it has been well dried (and it should be understood that this is an essential condition to the success of the experiment), it will even remain m the air for a few seconds. All the groundings and slugs which are on the surface of the ground will then perish, as will also the snails which have come out of tfceir shells. The best time to choose for the purpose is either when it is quite dark, or, better still, early in the morning when the dew is on the ground, for then the insects are hard at work feeding. If there has been soft rain, preceded by drought, the gardener ought immediately to take advantage of the opportunity and make the tout of hia garden, bel-

lows in hand, for it is at suoh a time that the obnoxious creatures will come out in the greatest abundance. A few handfuls of powdered lime will be sufficient for a moderafce-sized garden, and they can be sprinkled ovsr it in about half an hour. If the operation be repeated two or three times the ravages of the insects would be put au end to for severai weeks. It often happens that if the process be repeated twice, once in the morning and once in the evening, a seed plot will be preserved which, but for this, would be completely destroyed. The lime will only kill the slugs, etc., while it is fresh. After it has been in the air for awhile it loses its effects. This is the reason why it is necessary to choose the time when the creatures come out of their hiding-places for the performance of the operation. If lime be sprinkled over the nurseries of plants newly transplanted, it will preserve them from being injured or disturbed by worms. Last year I lost threequarters of my Indian carnations, zinnias, etc., through the worms destroying them after they had been pricked out. This year I sprinkled lime over the young plants for several evenings after they had been transplanted, and I have nob lost a single one. Two minutes each evening was quite long enough for me to do all that was necessary. The bellows might be very advantageously employed for sprinkling soot or wood ashes over beds of cabbage, etc,, which have been attacked by caterpillars or other pests. The operation can be accomplished as quickly this way as by hand, and more effectually, for the force with which the substance comes out of the bellows causes it to adhere to the vegetables, both under and upon the leaves. If there be any who feel inclined to doubt the efficacy of lime in destroying slugs and snails, I would advise them next spring to fill a flower-pot with snails, and then to put upon them a little lime which has either been recently slaked, or else kept from the air after it has been slaked, and they .may then satisfy themselves that not a single snail, little or big, will ever come out again. —G. D. Huefc, in the Journal de L’Agriculture.