THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 1897, 12 June 1890, Page 9

THE GARDEN.

OPERATIONS FOR THE MONTH. June corresponds with December at Home. —Average temperature, 41*8.) SKKDS TO SOW. Beans and peas. In heat— Cress, oucumber, French beans, mustard, and radish. Rose Culture. v The secret of euccesß in rose culture, in the main, is a frequent renewal of the aoil, Among the best rose grower* the faith in merely a rich garden earth, however highly tilled and augmented with special manures, for this favourite flower is on the wane, while faith in new soils, fresh aitee, and farmyard manure grow strooger day by day. Could the rose bed be moved to a new location periodically, as in effect is done by those who foroe rbßea for cut flowers, the course Would'be simple enough. This being impracticable in the ordinary outdoor culture of private gardens, we' may instead report to the very effective substitute of applying heavy dressings of fresh coil periodically to the rose beds. To do this readily it is best to remove part of the Burface coil of the bed in the autumn, and forking in the fresh 'earth as deeply among the roots as practicable, with as little destruction of the roots as possible. As to the nature of the freshening earth, nothing better could be used than the upper layer, say 6in desp, from the turf of a pasture lot or of the roadside. This earth could be applied directly after being somewhat divided by handling. Bather a better course would be to prepare it a year in advance, by adding to it one-sixth of the bulk of good stable manure, piliDg the two Bubstancea up in alternate layers. But what of inßßct3 on rosos some one will say. Fortify the plants with the vigour that comes from right feeding at the roots and you will know much less of the attacks of these pests. Debilitated plants are the first choice of insects. If you buy small roses in the spring it is a good plan to plant them in pots or cans and set these in a shallow box of earth, having the earth come up to the top of the pots. These you can easily keep moist sufficiently, and they will be in fine condition for transplanting to their final resting plac9 by February. You will be having blooms all summer and with but little trouble At a meeting of the Connecticut Board of Agriculture,' Mr A. N. Pierson, in a paper on outdoor rose culture, gave expression to the following remarks on pruning :—" The rose Requires very little pruning the first season. When a branch has done its work' and ceased growing' remove it. You will find such wood on most of the strong growing varieties, and a jndioious removal ib beneficial. Soon after planting provide the bush with firmly set stakes, and tie as often as necessary. Staking gives proper support and assists growth, as well as giving a trim, uniform appearance. A bed of tea roses, thus treated, by February ought to be a thing of beauty, and will continue s'6 until hard frost Bets in. After the weather has become cold enough and the wood is properly hardened by the early froßts, cut back the soft wood, tie up eaoh plant closely by itself, and cover the bed with 4in to 6in of strawy horee manure. The Chrysanthemum. In its native country the chrysanthemum is a very popular flower, and is largely used on festive occasions for deoorative purposes. Both the Chinese and Japanese are said to make a liquor from the flowers, which they regard as a sort of elixir of life, and they use a powder made from the dried flowers as a cure of drunkenuoss In its natural slate the chrysanthemum is very different froir> tb6 cultivated florists' varieties, the flowers being flat and the petals'irregular, besides being deficient in substance. Great improvements have been effected by European florists within the last 40 years, and there are now in existence an infinite number of perfectly shaded flowers, embraoing nearly every shade of red, white, yellow,' orange, pink, and purple, whilst some are beautifully tinted with various colours. Moet of the improved varieties have been raised from* seed, but Rome of the finest sorts have been procured from what are called pports — that ia, from shoots bearing flowers differing from thoßß usually produced. It is a peculiarity with the chrysanthemum that in some kinds the flowers will occasionally vary, and a Bort usually bearing lilac flowers has been known" to produce blooms one of which was a pure white, another a rosy pink, while a third was a fine deep yellow. These sports when taken off and rooted have become new varieties. Some varieties have the petals reflexed or turning outwards, while in others they are incurved or turn inwards. Both c!as9es are grown in florists' collectionH, but the first mentioned ia generally considered to be the nearest approach to perfection, and eno more used for exhibition purposes than the others. The criterion of s, first-class fjow?r from a florißt's point of view is that it should be nearly a half glob 9in Ehape, tho petals regular and of Rood substance, and the colours distinct. There is another clas* of chrysanthemums with quilled petals, which were at one time popular in Europe, but they are now seldom grown, an thoir places aro filled to better advantage by tho improved varieties. Chrysanthemums are mostly grown in mi3cellanoouß borders, where they are very effeot-

tive, the flowers being showy, lasting for a long period, and coming in at a time when but few other plants are blooming freely. They are also well adapted for massing in beds upon lawns, or in front of shrubberies. When planted in the borders the taller growing varieties should be placed several feet back, in order to obtain the best possible effect, while, on the other hand, the dwarfer kinds will show to more advantage if they stand nearer to the margin. If planted in masses, only the brightest and most distinct colours should be used, in order to obtain the best possible effect. One or more colours may bo u«ed in each bed according to taste, with equally good effect, providing they are. brilliant, distinct, and contrast well together. The distance apart at n-hich the plants stand must depend to some extent upon the growth of the varieties, about 18in for the dwarf kjpds, up to 2ft 6.n for the taller sorts ; but in all cases they must be so arranged that the beds are well covered during the blooming season. MISCELLANEOUS. M. Ville, a professor of chemistry at Paris, announces that he has discovered a new compound, consisting of a mixture of phosphate of chalk, car-bonate of refined potash, and sulphate of chalk, which, placed round the roots of the vines, will defy the attacks of the phylloxera and will at the same time greatly increabe the abundance of the crop. Hyacinths are of little value after the firat year, hence must not be relied upon to flower well the second year. Tulips will flower much better if lifted when the foliage dies in January, replanting them in May. Crocus, snowdrops, squills, and daffodils may with advantage be left undisturbed in the ground for years. It is well known that growing plants turn toward the sun, and the phenomenon is called heliatropißm. Recent experiments show that clear moonlight exerts a similar influence, though in a muoh feebler degree. Even the sterna of the adult plants turn toward the moon on fine, clear nights. Selentropism is the proposed name for the phenomenon. A writer in the American Florist gives his testimony as to the superiority of evaporating tobacco water to burning the tobacco for fumigating purposes in greenhouses. He always keeps a barrel full of tobacco stems soaking in water and has a tin pan 2ft x 3ft and 4in deep, He fills the pan about half full of tobacco water and then puts in three or four red hot fire bricks. It kills the green fly very j quickly, and never injures the more tender plants. A Prolific Rosebush, — An American paper says :— " A florist of Wilmington has a re markablo rosebush. During the past three years over 10,000 buda were plucked from its numerous branches. Some idea may be had of the value of this vine when we state that these buds sold during the winter at 60s per hundred, At one time last year no less than 2000 buds were counted on the vine. It is believed that with two exceptions it is the largest and most prolifio Marechal Niel bueh in the United States. The orchid " bloom," thanks possibly to Mr Joseph Chamberlain's visit to the States, has " caught on " on the other side of the Atlantic, and with thoir usual " goaheadness " Amerioans seem determined to beat the record in the matter of top prices, hitherto boasted of in England. Thus Mr Jay Gould, who has gone in for orchid collecting with all the recklesß impetuosity of a Yankee " boss," has already distinguished himself by giving £600 for a cattelyea triannore. It is the thing now for American millionaires to affect orchid culture, and whilst the mania lasts we may be sure that their lavish rivalry " will make things hum," aB they call it, in the orchid market.