THE GARDEN AND ORCHARD

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1851, 28 August 1907, Page 53

THE GARDEN AND ORCHARD

m.rnyY tkotts tor krostt. In W tbusrcness 4b the dictum mors •cpprcrpriate than -what xe -worth doing »t aU* Me worth doing well than j in 'fruit growing; indeed, we: might go. -further and say emphatically I that ffi it cannot he dome thoroughly j with the aid of the best experience and ! ycnp-to-date knowledge on all points it J •should net be attempted. This, of' course, entirely applies to cultivation for ! profit ianly, .as there is a great source of | pleaimrc .open? to 1 .amateurs and ethers .Who wish to kmi by their own -expert-. ‘Onee in a *sny#i way before proccKling to • thc'.mote ■?' -r"o •« pu tof the work. The iiechhi gro't <-■ nisi' of -failure, i.e. insufficient capital, is partly ' reevomeib for seme of the mistakes already noted, •but .it .also brings well organised 'Schemes to grief, The best thing which -can happen to such beginners m fruit culture is to be stopped beloro they ■have irreooverab J y lost their small stock of cash.. It is being gradually realised by the : most successful growers, and expounded •by the most experienced and far-eeedng •teachers, that the only satisfactory pro- t spect in the profitable cultivation -of \ hardy fruits is the application of the ’ fullest energy to the production of the i best fruits obtainable in the open air. j Inferior produce often fails to pay the . eost of carriage, market dues and Gales-; meats charges.; iif that preponderatesj ruin is.> unavoidable; even if it forms aj considerable proportion, the profits of j the best quality are seriously reduced. To secure the finest fruits the utmost j dare must be exercised m the selection •df the .land, both as regards quality■ and position; the best proved varieties ’ should b 9 -selected ; every detail of culti- j vation must have the -closest attention; and finally -the produce should be placed before-the probable purchaser, in the beei 1 condition. „ Good land near to towns or railways ; ae always in some-demand, but it is bet-! ter. ho pay a higher rent or purchase- * price, than •be hampered with a placed which is a constant source of heavy ex- ■ penoe in cultivation or outlay for cart- ; age. When soils are of an exception- : ally retentive character, though t-hev may be otherwise adapted for some fruit: ®uch as apples, it net only means much labour in preparation or cultivation, but the ( grower is so entirely dependent upon weather conditions to enable him to .compete routine operations at the 1 .light t. me, that long and costly dela-vs aa e-ofitc n. unavcidabie. A freely work-; able aottl that is no i too light iss, therefore, an important acquisition'. Again, if neglected land foul with ■weeds is offered cheap, as it often may be, for 'the reason that the owner dare

not venture to clear it, and tenants who ; know the conditions will not have it at any price, the intending fruit grower may find , himself in alarming daiiicul-; ties lopg before it it-is fit for planting. I laow situations should also be . regard-; • «ed with considerable doubt; they require* many advantages to counter-balance • such a. defect in position that there is ' a constant liability to spring frosts when j ifche trees are in flow®. In the beet - sites these dangers have to be encounter- ! «d at times, but we must have some ; hopes of a fair average in a course of! yeans if our. books a/re to show a balance ; on the right side. ; As .regards kinds of fruit,, ! am of I opinion. that apples will always form | the grower s mainstay, especially of the finest .dessert varieties, but early and; late apples for cooking are -also in .large ; demand. In partticularly favourable 1 - circumstances substantial returns can be made from pears, but the opportunitifiß are more limited. Small fruits like gooseberries, especially the earliest crops ' gathered green, sell well and the demand is extensive. Strawberries in ; good land and situation can be rendered under the right management and judicious methods of marketing highly profitable as one of the crops. Raspberries also, like the preceding, are bought in; each enormous quantities for preserving that they are indispensable among the profit-yielding crops. If any lucky man «an obtain a stock of black currants free from bud mite and beep them so for a few years there, is a small fortune to |}e made. Red currants are less in demand, but are more reliable. Plums wf the best sorts are of standard importance, though prices are low in seasons of .glut; but the trees are sadly neglected iff many dfotrichs. Cherries are a special crop for certain places only, but many plantations of well-managed bush and half-standard trees of the leading varieties would pay better than some if the old orchards of semi-wild sorts.— B. liawis Castle. \

-LIME IN SOILS. . It has long “been recognised that the Km© "in soil is subject to regular loss. ' This is owing to the carbonic acid which is presOrtt in rainwater, and •-al&r that whidh is constantly being formed ih, . the soil itself aoting as a solvent to any Kin© which may be there, and so removing it into the drains or to the general stock of underground water and out Of the reach of roots of« most garden crops.'' - Ordinary garden soils which contain one per cent.

of lime and but little or came matter are subject to a normal loss of: carbonate of lime in the drainage -water “to i&foocQt 800 pounds p©r acre' every year. Most of the carbonate of lime present in soils has been derived either from the natural chalk formation of the district, or .artigcial .-applications of chalk to the land, *r dressings of qnioklime and marl. * the loss <of this carbonate of lime in §oils is increased by the -use of manures containing sulphate of ammonia, lowSade acid superphosphates -or a- coal ashes, 3>ut is dimished,.by-thc use-r sod»; basic • mag, farmyard üb.3 stable manure, and vegetable dety- ■ . . >v . ? ;^Bfe f ' s iS|^bam#ed . agrioulturM.w gf with arganie manures, sHchas^t&bld-jnmnure,

rape, cake, shoddy, dried blood, skin 1 .and bone manures, etc., rand the growth j of -peas, beans, -clovers, and other legu-i •ruinous crops which leave behind in the j soil a considerable residue of roots .rich! in -oxalate of lime, or the debris of! plant-root tissues which accumulates :< n j the soil of grass-land, or of fields laid j .down to temporary pasture, all go to; maintain the stock of carbonate of lime,! Which in its turn is being constantly ■drawn upon for nitrification purposes by the micro-organisms of the soil, and for > the neutralisation of the acids pr oduced j duringthebacterial decay of the organic j matters which the soil receives in manures.

further, the normal .growth of crops ■tends to restore a certain amount of carbonate of lime ;antl of carbonate of potash to the soil, because the plant, in •feeding upon the various salts dissolved in the soil by the rainwater, melted ? •snow;, and minor deposits takes more of the acids than of the lime or potash, j combined with carbonic acid excreted from the roots of the growing plants. Experimental research has shown that i with ordinary garden crops the restoration of lime and of potash base in the before-mentioned fashion must be considerable, probably supplying sufficient base for the nitrification processes which are always going o-n in the soil be- ; neath -our feet. The soil is not a dead, inert -mass., but a laboratory of living germs which are always working for the benefit of man, or for the development of the higher descriptions of plant-life. • These facts go to 'explain why many soils containing little or no carbonate, of lime yet ..remain healthy under ordin- i ary garden cultivation, provided that j acid manures or coal ashes are not used j on them.

In old garden soils and market gardens, to which large quantities of farmyard or stable manure or peat-moss litter are constantly applied, there is a danger of these becoming sour, provided but little lime exists in them. In this case an application of crushed chalk, 2001 b per acre, or of ground quicklime, 10001 b per acre, or of basic slag, SGOlb per acre, or a liberal dressing of old mortar rubbish, is to be recommended. Any one of these may be applied in the winter or early spring, and dug or •ploughed in, so as to get them well incorporated with the soil. One application of these -materials given once ; n five years would, in most cases, be sufficient. For fruit trees and for vines Boz of bone-meal may be given once in each two years to each square yard of land immediately under and around the stems, according as the surface i ccis may have extended. In garden soils which are subject to the club-foot disease, or to the “finger and too” fungus, it is a sure indication that the soil is in' want of lime, and an immediate application should not be neglected. It is alto necessary that the diseased plants be taken up -and- burned; do no>t put them upon a manure heap, or into a pig-tty, -because the dis--ease would be again returned to the soil, and in a more virulent form.

SOWING CUCUMBER SEEDS. An< the season will soon be here for ©owing the seeds for the main crop of cucumbers, a ie<w practical hints will perhaps help to lessen tke failures and di.-a.r.point'inoiite, and to minimise the unkind utterings at the expense of the much abused vendor of the seeds. The cucumber seed is nourished and protected by two thick, flees-hy seed leaved which are called cotyledons. As the seed germinates, thee© cotyledons are gradually pushed up, until at last they rise above the soil. Therefore the seeds must be so placed, when sowing, that the least possible resistance may be offered to the parsing of the cotyledons through the soil to the surface. x

Nature has provided these seeds with, a Sharp, horny, pointed end for piercing the soil, and gradual sloping shoulders do oast or thrust aside the surr» unding compost. When the surface is reached, and the side pressure of the ©oil removed, the protecting point, having finished its function, gives way, and the cotyledons thus released fall outwards at the same time throwing off the husk which has been protecting, umbrella fashion, the delicate -growing point from excessive moisture. ' On a close inspection of the cucumber seed the true "kernel” may readily be defmed, and! by taking note of the difference in the appearances of the ends of the seeds, the grower will find tho key to the proper method of placing them when sowing. We are told in horticultural works to plant with the end downwards, but we are not always given clearly to understand which end is meant. The root or radicle is always * sent forth from the wedge-shaped end, and never from the pointed end, no matter in what position the seed is sown or planted. Therefore the seed must be planted with the wedge-shaped end downwards in the soil, and in a vertical position, if the beet possible results are wanted. Tc illustrate aud make more clear the advantages of planting in the right way, we will suppose that three- seeds have been sown in three different attitudes: No. 1 placed, “point” downwards. No. 2 placed “wedge” downwards, and No 3 planted “flat” showing a broad side* uppermost. Remembering that the radicle emanates “from the ’weageihaped r end, when germination takes place, we ?et the following results, depicted in Jos. 1,2, and 3 below.

No. .1 —The radicle, after being emitted, has to make a “right-about turn,” in order to go downwards into the soil, consequently the seed has to be literally dragged up to the surface before the cotyledons can -expand, and this drag-ging'-up a severe tax on the radicle, and often ends in a total collapse, or a thin, sickly seedling. Again* as the radicle increases in size, the wedge end splits open, and offers a lodgment for moisture, which gathers at the point end, and partially rote that

portion of the seed, thereby rendering the cotyledons, when they eventually reach the surface, unable to cast off tfie husk and expand their fleshy leaves to the warmth and light, without doing which they cannot gather food for, the growing plumule. No. 2—The radicle here has a clear downward course, and as it elongates, the point of the seed easily pierces the soil, thrusts aside the surrounding particles, and the seed Is quickly above the surface, the cotyledons expanded, and at work. In this case the least possible resistance is offered to the downward course of the radicle, and the upward growth of the seed— No. 3 represents the very worst position for a seed to be placed in. True, there are few difficulties in the -way of the radicle •at first, but what an herculean effort will be required later on to lift up or thrust aside the roil resting on the broad side'! And “'further drawbacks are in store for No. 8, for as the radicle swells in size the seed -splits open, moisture gathers ><m the lower cotyledon, rotting or seriously crippling it, and if the struggle should end in the surface being reached, the seedling hue to start life with one lung only. Such seedlings very rarely make the strong, sturdy growth so much sought after by good Cucumber growers.—‘"Tasmanian Mail.”

WILT) GARDENING. Gardening, since it became recognised as one of the arts, has passed through many phases. Only a generation ago the craze mas for topiary -work, and instead of the graceful trees and shrubo that now embeiligh our lawns and gardens the arboreal features took the form of animals, birds, ships, etc. Where we now find beds „of luxuriant perennials and gorgeously-coloured annuals were rigid rows, circles and arcs of a few contorted forms of plants, and the design was either known as a ribbon border or a carpet bed. At the present day there seems to be a universal craze for huge flowere, but on every side the careful observer marks signs of a change, and these of the more aesthetic tastes are now endeavouring to bring .about a love of the natural style of gardening. As the gardener's mission is to assist and not to thwart Nature it le strange to think that gardeners of the past have not thought before of taking her as a pattern from which to make their arrangements. The advocates of “wild gardening/' as it is termed, have been very successful in their agitation, so that it may safely be said that we have now well entered the period of natural grouping. One of the most popular subjects, we believe, to be the various climbing roses. Nowhere do they look better or thrive better than when allowed to develop in wild prodigality. The secateurs should be used but lightly where climbing roses are grown. Roses may be divided into two big classes—viz., those that bloom once a year and those that flower twice in the year. The former distinguish themselves through masses of light and small flowers, sometimes single or halfsingle, and amongst the most suitable for training on poles, over dead trees, or forming wild clusters are the different ramblers such as the Crimson Rambler, Thalia. Aglaia, Euphrosine, and climbing Whita pet ; also Paul’s carmine pillar, a single rose of a beautiful shiny crimson. All the above-mentioned varieties possess a very vigorous constitution, and whether it be in town or country they always produce a very good effect for very little trouble, while for dinner table and other decorative purposes they are unequalled. Quite recently hybrids have been raised from the wild Wichuriana rose and some of our best tea scented. These can also be advantageously used to' cover np unsightly fences, etc. The most popular climbing roses, however, are contained in the various groups of teas, hybrid teas, noisettes, and hybrid noisettes, where all shades of colour from yellow and white to different shades of red, may be obtained.

THE PRESERVATION OF PLANTS,

The preservation of plants by a process of ©teteping and sand-drymg as the title of an interesting article an the “Gardener’s 'Ch-ronicle.*’ Decorative plants may be made to preserve their freshness and beauty for some considerable time by the employment of a method discovered by an Italian. ihe method employed consists in washing the roots thoroughly, so as to remove every particle of earth from them, and then to cover the plant with dry sand in a box. Care must be taken that the leaves do not fade or shrivel, and that those packed closely together do not ferment, otherwise the foliage, when dry, will turn black, In order to prevent this happening the plants are plunged iatto a solution of salicylic acid in the

proportion of one part of the acid to 600 ports of alcohol, heated in a -waterhath.. It is only necessary to place the base -of the lejaves and of the larger branches in the.solution for some hours. For plants of finer growths, such as asparagus plumosus, the lower parts are immersed in a solution of 15 parte of alum and two parts of nitric to 80 .parts of water, in which they must remain for four days. If only the lejaves and branches are required -to preserve, it will be sufficient to immerse thau? bases in the solution, aiid in this manner the natural colour of the foliage remains unimpaired. One may also use the sand of fine gravel, well screened, and cleansed, from all earth, and dried thoroughly in the stand or in a stove, with an emulsion well mixed, composed of 70 parts of alcohol to three of steaiine, three of paraffin, and four of salicylic add. 'The sand thus prepared will last fox a ©onujdernaibte time. The fatty matter is to prevent the sand from sticking .to the loots or foliage, and the salicylic acid and alcohol prevent fermentation and preserve the colout. A box of oufricieut size to permit of the branches being stretched out their full length without crushing them must be used. The box should have thin sides and a sliding bottom, and on the top a .grating, with spaces sufficient for the sand to pass through. At the bottom of the box is placed a thin layer of sand, and then the plants, leaves, or branches are policed ae much as possible in their natural positions, and the sand is dropped in through. a sieve or funnel, so as to fill every interstice closely. When the plants axe covered completely with sand the box nr placed in a stove or oven heated sufficiently to dry its contents thoroughly in six hours, after which it is taken out, and a day or two later the sliding bottom is removed, so that The sand faltle through below, leaving the branches and leaves sterilised, but uninjured.

In Germany a different method is adopted of sterilising green plants, each leaf having a hot iron passed over it to remove any moisture from the tissues and to prevent fading.' To further secure absolute dryness each leaf is placed flat between pieces of blottingpaper. To give the leaves their former suppleness, and to make their colour lasting, they are steeped in a bath containing carbonate of copper and aloe., hoi for half-an-hour, and then hung up separately to dry. After two or three days they are given a coat of white varnish, and are again hung up to dry, after which they may be arranged fid* form a decorative plant. If the plant?) are faded, and it is desired to make them green again, they should be steeped in a bath containing carbonate of copper for two or three hours, according: to Whether the plants are much faded, and whether an intense green is required or not. They should then be hung up to dry, and placed in a. preparation ooneabting of glycerine.