THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 1892, 15 May 1890, Page 9

THE GARDEN.

OPERATIONS FOR THE MONTH. [May correspond! with November at Home. — Aver-

age temperature, 477.) SKEDS, AC, TO BB SOWK. Beans and peas in a sheltered situation. In heat— Cress, oucumber, mustard, and radish.

SEASONABLE NOTES.

The planting of fruit trees may be commenced towards the end of the month ; in the meantime keep the ground well worked in dry weather, and dig between tbe old trees as Boon as the leaves have fallen. Keep the surface of the ground loose between the rows of newly planted strawberries, and dig between Iho rows of old ones.

There are several so-called methods of ?.■<•'>' pruning, but two golden rules are to fi» i <• , what you are going to do firsf, l>y li-mk../ • roots, at least in part, and rn 1 » '> eujyp'fg away anyhow in the dark, an. i,. go to work cautiously, doing too little at one time rather than too much, for it is an easy matter to cut another two or three roots next year, but » very difficult ope to bring round a large tree that has been crippled or half killed by the loss of nearly all its roots at once. Vertioal-growing or tap roots should always be looked for first, and, if found to exist, promptly severed. In the absence of one or more of these, search for coarse, forked, and comparatively fiberless feeders sending in a horizontal direction, and these may as a rule be fearlessly sacrificed, In case, however, that neither are to be found, or of there being any doubt which to out, it will always be found safe to sever all, or nearly all, the strongest main roots that are met with in digging a trench half-way round the tree, or to be quite on the safe side extending to one-third sf the circumference only. The proper distance from the trunk at whioh the trench should be taken out is, in the case of small or only moderate sized pyramids or bushes, fully 3ft, and for large standard trees twice that distance. If a large proportion of the branching fibrous roots are found at a distance from the surface of the ground, say more than Ift dedp, it will be found very beneficial to take out all the overlying soil, lift the roota to about 4in only below the ultimate ground level, and place this depth of earth over them, treading and subsequently watering it well around and into them. Before ' cutting several large roots that may be found lying close together in any direction it would be as well to try all round the tree and see how the roots are disposed, for it sometimes happens that nearly all the feeders of a tree are found on one side, and in such a case it would never do to sever them all.

Plant bulbs of nearly all the hardy special in dry weather; dig and manure borders between shrubs and herbaceous plants, and form new ones where required, leaving the ground rough. Examine the haunts of slugs, as every one destroyed now will save considerable trouble and annoyance in the spring. Dig and manure all spare ground in dry weather. Rhubarb when wanted may be taken up and forced. Clear away the old leaves some time before lifting the roots ; then dig them up and cut away any very long ones. Then pl<*ce the plants thickly in » cellar or on a very gentle not bed ; in fact, anywhere where they oan have a temperature of from 50deg to 60deg. They require to be kept rather dark in order to bring up the leaf stalks sweet and crisp. They need but very little water during the forcing season, only a oprinkling now and then in order to keep them just moderately moist. A little light coil should be worked in amongst the roots. It ia a bad plan to take in too many roots at any one time. A few should be introduced at intervals as may be needed, so as to keep up a stoady supply. It is a pity to destroy young plantations for forcing, for old roots such as may be obtained from plots about to be broken up -do quite as well. Seakale may also be forced in the same way, only it must be kept quite dark. The young roots of seakale should be kept cut up in piocas about 3in or 4in in length laid on a bed of soil and covered about 2in deep. They make good sets for next year. Tops of asparagus should aow be removed; they ought never to be cut away while they have life in them. If there are any weeds on the beds, they should be cleared away. The beds should then have their winter dressing applied. This ought to consist of 3in of wellrotted manure evenly spread over the surface. This not only has the effect of enriching the soil by its fertilising properties being washed into the ground by the rains, but it also protects the crowns from frost. If the alleys contain plenty of soil an inch or two may be thrown over the manure, but the whole method of sinking these too deep frequently does much injury to the roots. The great mistake in the cultivation of asparagus is too closa planting. Two rowo are quite enough for a4f fc bed. There is nothing gained by close planting. When plenty of room is allowed, the heads, jf tboy nro not too numerous, are double the H'zo, and the beds will last much longer in good bearing condition.

Gbeenhouse, — Cutting of geraniums that have struck root should be potted into small pots, to be shifted into larger as they advance iv growth, The same rule npplioa to cinerarias, calceolarias, &c. ; give air fveely during fine weather, and water moderately during damp or wot weather. Gloxinias, achimenes, and other bulbous plants that have done flowering should be allowed to dry off; primulas and cyclamens that are coming into bloom should be kept near the glass and watered freely,