CALENDAR.

Otago Witness, Issue 1752, 20 June 1885, Page 7

CALENDAR.

The weather continues very favourable for out-door epoi-ations. Although a small amount of onow fell on the 9th ingfc., it was mostly cinfiup.d to tue hills, and in no way Interfered with work o£ the spade, nor have the frosts been so severe a3 to aif ect the soil. No time should be loot in galtiug the ground prepared, and trimming and pruning completed, so as to have ovaiyrtsins; " in order ioi the sowing season, which will ,vory stjon be on. Ifc is an old and a good maxim to take time by the forelock, and what can bo done to-day do not put off till tomorrow.

At the present time it is out of the question to try aud give very particular and precise insbruction as to whftfc to do and what not to do. The maxims for gardeners which appear weekly under the heading of "Seasonable Notes," give the pnusiplos oa which gardening operations should be earned on, and by an adherence to them us strictly aa circumstances will permit suocesa 1b almost sure to follow.

Recommendations have been made, some of them with an air of authority, as to oast-iron rules for gardening in New Zealand. These have bean given forth on the lines of garden experience in Britain, simply changing the names of the months from June to December.

The compilers of these "Directions" complete^' forget in their arrangements that cliroatic icfluences here are widely diverse from the OM Country. With us we can grow in the open air plants that require protection in Engi3nd,_ Many examples could ba given, but disppiißing with these, our advice is to suit altered circumstances to our own peculiar position. Time has not yet been given to ascertain v/hat can be done, but of this we feel ci?"'.ahi, ths«; Hy close attention and a little *namnit ox judicioviM handling we oan produce llov.efs, irui!,, and vegetables at the time when tfaay are all considered out of Beason. The new and improved varieties which are regularly received both from Europe and America will give us a foundation on which to work, and with results which will astonish our most sanguine expectations. Let every enthusiast try his own experiments and carefully note' methods of working, and particularly wherein failure has ocourred.