GARDEN NOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume LV, Issue 2043, 28 October 1893, Page 7 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES.

STRAWBERRIES. Treatment Daring and After *th© F rafting' Seasou. In a 'bulletin issued from the Rhode Island experiment, station L. F. Kinney, the horticulturist, advises, when practicable, that on the approach of the fruiting season the soil about the strawberry plants be stirred with a light hoe and a coating of woodnshes, ground bone, well rotted compost or other fertilizer scattered tiitiong them. Even if the landi.isi already ridxV such a treatment will 4?H crease the quantity and improve the quality of the fruit. In the latter part of May or the first of June the paths should be mulched to keep the soil moist and the fruit clean. The fruit is in best condition to be picked in the morning of the day it is to bo marketed, but if picked; in the afternoon and stored in a~ cool place over night it can he sold in g'pod condition the following day. If allowed to stand in the sunlight, the fruit is soon' injured. After fruiting, the mulch in the paths should be removed and the ground thoroughly worked. If the plants are thick, the beds are improved by thinning. A coating of fertilizer can be profitably applied at this time. It insures a vigorous growth of the plants and the formation of strong crowns for the next season’s fruiting. Every strawberry bed shatM bear at least two profitable crops of good fruit. The first crop is. usually the larger, but requires a somewhat greater outlay to produce it than the second. In setting out new beds, Mr, Kinney does not advise the average planter to employ a large number of varieties. He says: “Three or four kinds are enough for ordinary purposes, and those that are the most desirable at the present time we believe to be the Buhach, Charles Downing, Gandy and Haverland. These ■ are all productive varieties, which, when well grown, bear fruit of rare excellence.” Sweet Peas. As soon as sweet peas are well above ground the plants ought to be staked. This is an important point, and here are some directions from Vick: Give preference to new twiggy sticks undressed. The delight and beauty of the sweet pea is to ramble and hang from the points of the twigs and therefore should he allowed to ramble at will, and what is of the last importance is a mulch of some light material. Should the weather be, dry .. and hot, any refuse, such as well decomposed leaf mold, spent hops or horse . droppings well broken, will answer tbis purpose, or all these mixed together would form an excellent dressing, and this to the sweet pea, and indeed to everything else, is of infinitely more importance than watering, beneficial as this is in some oases. The stakes should be put in with the crowbar and made thoroughly firm. The Gladiolus. The cultivation of the gladiolus is very simple. . It thrives in any ordinary garden soil. Planted fx-om the last of April to the middle of June in the eastern states, and correspondingly in other sections, it always flowers. It is one of

the most useful and showy of cut flowers for hou.se decoration. The hulbs should he lifted after the frost has wilted, the foliage in the autumn. There are many varieties of this flower, but the one depicted in the cut, it is claimed, is the best white gladiolus ever grown. Another variety worthy of special mention is the gladiolus childsi. This new strain, which represents all the colors known to the gladiolus, Is said to he stronger and more vigorous than many other kinds. Lemoine's new hardy hybrid gladioluses, with their °dd and li.iii-ii.il markii-4> aud g'n.r';’ i,» shapes, are an nuM mg art-uu^r and must be seen to be fully appreciated. These last named are early and hardy.