THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2058, 3 August 1893, Page 4

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

Fiiuit Garden.— Prepare for grafting; the proper time is as soon as the stocks are well started. Raspberry>nd strawberry borders may still be prepared, and new ones formed. Look carefully over apple trees, and dress the parts affected by aphis or American blight. Manure freely vines and fruit trees that are weakly. Kitchen Garden.— The few days of fine dry weather have been of great advantage in this department, and should have enabled the amateur to overtake some of the arrears of cropping caused by the previous wet weather. Rather larger sowings should now be made of the main crop of peas, of Buch sorts as Stratagem, Yorkshire Hero, Marrow-fat, and Veitch's Perfection. The earlier sowing should be kept hoed and free from weeds, and earthed up as soon as far enough-ad-vanced. The tall growing kinds should have stakes placed in position as soon as they begin to grow freely. A sowing of beet should now be made. If sown on soil that has .been heavily manured for the previous crop, they will produce a better and cleaner root than if grown on freshly manured soil. Dell's dwarf crimson and Covent. Garden are highly coloured and useful sorts to sownow. Carrots, if not yet sown, should, bo sown early in the next month for summer use ; slugs are very destructive among this crop while in a young state, and if not attended to often have to be re-sown several times, as the slugs will clear off the whole of the plants in a row just as they appear above the surface. To" destroy .theslp a light dusting of fresh lime should be applied all over the bed, late at night, or else hand-picking should be resorted to. The transplanting of onions should be commenced as soon as the plants' are 1 large enough, unless these have been sown where it is intended they are to grow, in- which case the plants should be thinned out as soon.ris possible. More attention will have to be given to the growth of salads than has been necessary during ".the winter, and more frequent Bowings, of radish, onions, and lettuce should be made. The strongest lettuce plants should now be planted out, and it should Be remembered that all salads should, be grown on the richest land, as these require to- be grown quickly to be satisfactory. Tomatoes growing in the heated frame should bethinned out,' and kept close to the glass, and air given on all favourable days, so as to induce a firm and sturdy growth. Celery plants which are growing in boxes should be plucked out as soon as they have fo.ur or five leaves : seed also may now be sown on a warm border in the open air. Parsley and other. herbs may also be sown now. , Flower Garden. — Flower beds should be manured and dug ; edgings formed, trimmed, and repaired ; herbaceous plants divided ; biennials planted. Roses may be pruned, and most sorts increased by cuttings. Seeds of hardy annuals may be sown in the borders ; tender ones on a moderate heat for transplanting. Choice dahlias should be placed in a gentle heat, for the purpose of propagating by cuttings. Verbenas, shrubby calceolarias, pentstemons, &c, may be increased by the same means. „',.*-. •.«! Greenhouse.— Admit air freely in fine weather ; re-pot geraniums, cinerarias, calceolarias, &o:, as the roots advance to the sides of the pot. lucnsias that have been dormant should have their roots reduced and be re-potted in fresh Boil. Cacti and other plants may be watered more freely than in the depth of winter. Sow seeds of balsams, cockscombs, eeg plants, &c, on a gentle heat ; keep all plants clear of aphie, scale, &c.

Amateur Fruit Growing. Gordons. —The, most valuable position in which an amateur may cultivate fruit— the walls or fences surrounding his garden, and the walls of hiß house or buildings. These may in nearly all cases be turned to a most profitable use. To cover walls the trees should be planted from 18in to 2ft apart— that is' where the wall is a good height, say from 6ft to 10ft, and the trees trained at an angle of from 30degto 45deg ; but where the wall is lower than this they should be planted from 2ft to 2ft 6in apart, and, of course, trained at a greater angle. The distance apart for planting is an important point. Some people, thinking this too close, have planted them 3ft apart, but the result has been disappointment, the greater 'freedom of the roots causing the side growth to become too strong, and the wall to be covered with a vigorous growth of wood instead of fruit spurs.

The training must be done according to height and position of wall. If the height be sufficient, say 12ft to 20ft, they may be trained upright ; if lower, it is better to train them obliquely to an aDgle of 40deg or 50deg, or even a greater slope if the wall is low. This gives a greater length to the tree, and also tends to check wood growth and induce fruitfulness. Do not prune when planted, but tie the leader in full length.

Wooden fences are occasionally placed in such a position as to be available for fruit. A wooden fence is in no case so good as a wall, as in * the best of them there is always some amount of draught, so that there is not the same uniform temperature maintained as in the case of walls, which, from their greater substance, retain a certain amount of warmth during the night. Nevertheless, wooden fences are very useful for fruit. They should always be wired before planting the trees, as it is difficult to nail to the wooden fences. I have seen wooden fences employed to great advantage { for fruit growing. In one clergyman's garden lin particular I noticed a number of light wooden fences in bis kitchen garden, about 6ft high and 9ft apart, running north and south, and parallel to each other. These were covered on both sides with cordon-trained pears, and .at the time of my visit they were laden with heavy crops of remarkably fine pears, and be was by these means enabled to grow a very large quantity of fruit in a small space. Many -wooden fences surrounding the gardens of suburban villas might be turned to very useful account for growing fruit, and would afford healthful and interesting employment to the over-wrought brain- worker in cultivating it, as ■well as the supplying of his own table with the freshest of fruit.

Pruning and Treatment.— lf the trees are properly planted and tied up according to f oregoiag instructions, the subsequent management required is extremely simple, granted that the trees are in proper condition when planted. I But this is of the first importance. Apples should be worked on the Paradise stock, and •pears on the Quince, to ensure early fruitfulness, and as a safeguard against the production of wood instead ot fruit in the future. It is also important that the trees should be furnished with fruit-Bpurs and buds from the base upwards when planted. If the trees can be brought into fruit the first or second year after planting, there is but little trouble in continuing to fruit them. Do not shorten the leader until necessary, but continue to train in the required direction until the full height is attained. Prune all side shoots in mid-summer to within about two or three eyes of the last pruning. And again early in autumn go over them and prune i all shoots to within one or two eyes of the i summer pruning. The first pruning generally results in the development of fruit buds upon the spurs. Therefore, pruniDg at the right

time is very important to induce fruitfulness, but it, is a most simple operation, _ and if carried out according to above directions will ensure success.

Manure should be applied when planted unless the ground is very rich, and occasional ftop-dressings may be subsequently applied according to the oondition and nature of the boil ; aud if the trees should make too strong wood growth instead of forming fruit* spurs, they should be carefully jroot-pruned in autumn. A mulching of manure in summer in light soils will be found very beneficial* In heavy soils they may also be mulched in dry seasonsi— Amateur Gardening.