The Garden.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 995, 27 March 1891, Page 21

The Garden.

. STIMULATING THE PLANTS. There is one infallible way to make the plants in the garden sickly, stunted, and discreditable to the owner ; and that is, to let nature do everything for them after they have been planted out. If the plants do not pine away fast enough, use a hosoto sprinkle them a little every day, or souse water npon the beds from a bucket. This treatment will have the effect of caking down the surface of the soil, and thus capillary action will be best promoted, so that the hot air Will suck np ail the moisture quickly, and the ground will be as dry as a brick to the depth of a yard or two. But supposing the gardener wants to avoid tha above evils, he will break up the Burface with the hoe or rake, then he will put on a mulch or covering of leaves, very old manure, seaweed, sweepings from a eowyard or sheep pen, or some similar substance that will lie lightly upon the ground, allow the air to Outer freely, and give shade and coolness to the soil bstienth, Excessive heat and dryness is as enervating to plants as it is to auimals. The loosened surface and mulch together break up the possibility of rapid evaporation of moisture, and no| only so, there is actual absorption of moisture from the air. The broken surface throvrs back the heat and keeps cool, and in cooling the air, whiob finds its way between the interstices, it compels it to part with a portion of its moisture. Whenever wator falls upon the mulch it dissolves some of the salts, and these help the growth of the plants considerably.- Such a mulch ia quite sufficient for any of the native and hard-wooded shrubs, indeed a heavy mulch of leaves and twigs is good enough, as a rich mulch would probably kill the plants. But for anything of a succulent nature, and plants which make rapid growth, a tank of liquid manure is a very useful help. If the tank is kept filled up with water, exposed fully to the sun, the benefits will be enhanced. The liquid manure must not be strong, as this will smell badly and also injure the plants. A bucketful of horse droppings in a hogshead of water, then stirred np, will be good enough, and a very little added to the dregs, and again stirred will make a second sixty gallons. A hogshead half filled with stable manure, filled regularly with water, and stirred each time, will last through a season, and then only a quart of the liquid is taken in a waterpoi, and filled up with pure wator. A bucketful of soot placed in a bag, and put in a hogshead of water will give a great quantity of liquid manure. The bag will need a shake or a poke with a stick now and then to enrich the water. Liquid manure should only be poured upon the soil—not the foliage. Gnano and many other substances may be used iu making liquid manure, but it must never bo made Btrong. MUSHROOM CULTURE. The open ground culture of mushrooms is the simplest of garden operations ; it is only necessary to prepare the bed and spawn it, and the mushrooms will come at the proper season. In some soils mushrooms are pro. duoed without artificial spawn, but, as they cannot be relied upou to do so, we shall not recommend anyone to risk a disappointment. The moist season of autumn is the time whan mushrooms are produced naturally ; a few alsq may, some years, be gathered in the spring, hut the autumn is the principal mushroom season, and the beds should be preparsd just long enough before that period of the year to ensure a full growth at that most favourable time. During the month of August a quantity of fresh horse-droppings should be collected. They should not be thrown into a large heap, but kept thinly spread out under cover of a shed until the quantity required has been obtained. Then throw out a trench, 4ft wido find Ift deep, and into this put the horse-droppings, to the depth of :9in, treading them firmly together. By this process of treading the air will in a great. measure, be excluded, and this will prevent the heat rising too high. When the heat is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, break up spawn into pieces the size of a walnut, and insert them a foot apart, just level with the surface. Then water slightly if necessary, and a day or two afterwards, put 3in of fine soil over the bed. If the weather prove moderately moist, and yet mild, there will be plenty of mushrooms in about a month ; but as cold, heavy, soaking rains kill the spawn, it will be expedient to protect the bed by an awning of some kind. The great heats of summer are highly prejudicial, and should therefore be guarded against. Mushrooms m y be grown all the year through in cellars, by filling boxes or baskets with horse droppings, rammed tightly in, and spawned as above directed. The spawn is obtainable of all seedsmen. STRAWBERRIES. Teats with fertilisers on strawberries at the Ohio Experiment Station show that sugar was found in the largest portion when 400 pounds to the acre of sulphate of potash was applied, aud the smallest after 300 pounds of superphosphate. Nitrate of soda and muriate of potash gave about as much sugar as sulphate of potash. The most malic acid was found when no fertiliser was applied. No difference could be perceived in the appearance of the fruit, but it ripened several days earlier after the superphosphate than after the nitrate of soda, while sulphate of ammonia caused still later ripening. The colour of the foliage was stronglj' affected. Superphosphate scarcely changed the colour, but nitrate of soda gave a stronger growth and a darker green to the leaves, and the contrast was Btill greater with the sulphate of ammonia. Both decreased the quantity of fruit. Potash seemed to have no effect.

The Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution is a credit to the gardeners of the United Kingdom. Its career has been one ol uninterrupted success, and the institution does a large amount of good to those who by their thrift and foresight have earned what they get iu their old age from the society. 'One of the most pleasing incidents in connection with the annual meeting of this institution is the fact of Mr Cutler having been elected secretary for the fiftieth time.