OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2286, 23 December 1897, Page 8

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK.

Flower Gardes.— Where staking and tying las been neglected, much damage has occurred tlurisg the past few week?. Such plants should be gone over, cutting out all damaged shoo's and tying in all strag&ling growths. Tall chrysanthemums especially have suffered owing lo their brittle nature. Any of the3e plants which are showing their flower buds should have the points taken, off to a lower growth, which should be taken up as a leader. These plants must be kept in vigorous growth ; if suffered any check, either from want of food or water, the lower leaves show it in a few dayc, and no after treatment can it-place thete. If go d flowers are wanted either for exhibition, table or garden decoration, there mubt be ample, and healthy foliage. Verbenas should be kept pegged down to the soil, and old fadel trusses cut off twice a week to keep the plants fresh. Iledgea of privet, pittosporuin, hawthorn, and cumessus bhould now be clipped back with the shears*, and all walks and borders have a lieneral clean up. Tree carnations should have neat btnkes before the growths are damaged. Young plants should uot have too many blooms the first season. This section is very free flowering. A strong growth of grass is preferable the .first season to a quantity of bloom. Fruit Garden.— Late stone fiuit should be ihinued out, as in many gardens far too heavy a crop has set, and unless thinuing is resorted to inferior fruit will be produced. Raspberries should he kept mulched liberally in order to impioye the quality of the fiuit. The euckers which persist in coming up between the stools should be removed, and the others thinned out, lei.ving five or six at each stool. This is better done now and secures stronger canes for another season, as allowing all that form to grow, only to be cut away in the wiuter, is bad practice. The time required to go over the bed now is of small value compared with the increase of strength afforded to those which are to produce next season's fruit. During rainy weither the great advantage of mulching strawberry beds is apparent, as without this protection a large quantity of the fruit is spoilt by grit and sand. All runners must still be kept cut close off both newlyformed beds or those fruiting. If it is intended to plant out new quarters of strawberries next or following month, give close attention to watering tho 'runners selected, as advised some time ago, and 'give them every encouragement to make rapid progress. The ground thej\are intended to occupy should be trenched and manured at once, if not already prepared in that way, and allowed to jbecome consolidated again before .planting. Red currants should have a good cutting back cf the young growth now. .Except such shoots a» are required to forni the bush or increase its size, all lateral growths should be pinched close in so as to favour the formation of fruit Bpurs. EirciiEN Garden.— Advantage should be taken of the moist condition of the Eoil to finally thin out all crops of carrots, parsnip?, beet, turnips, etc., wbich may fceauue attention. Horba may now be cut back

for drying purposes. The best time for cutting is just as they are going out of flower. Tho stems and leaves should be quite dry at the time of cutting, and^the shoots should be tied up in small bunches mil hung up in a dry, wa'm shed or store to d i y. If they are tied up in large quantities together mildew occurs and destroys the flavour. While the so.l is moist a planting out of cabbage plants should be made for cutting in early autumn, just as many of the summer veK«ta v '«»? are failing. Due attention should be paid \" uwing successional crops of kidney beans. Two 01 three dVil's shouH be sown a3 soon as the previous sowing has commenced to run f leely. In peking the beans, which on the earliest-sowu cropi sbould now be fit for use, caie is requixed so that all beans ma5 r be gathered as soon as fit. If only a small portion aie allowed to ripen there will be but a very poor crop. If seed is require 1 a ■ row or port ion thereof should be eet aparUfor this ! purpose. Bro"ad Windsor beans should be pulled tip as soon as the crop has been picked and the land lnanuied and dug As this is a very exhausting crop, if th"c land it not required for immediate use it should be left as rough'on the (surface as ■ possible, which, can be readily broken down with 1 a hoe or folk when required for planting. Growing crops of onions should have the surface , loosened up . with the h~e, and a top dressing of soot will improve the crop. An excellent pl*n for blanching celery is to place a common earthenware drainpipe, four or live inches in diameter, according to the s>ize of the stalks, over each plant. This, without any further trouble, will result in beautifully blanched sticks, for the foliage will in a short .time block up, the upper end of the tuba so as to effectually exclude all light. Should the pipes be rather tallerthan the plants whenplaced inposi&on good rather than harm will accrue, for the foliage is certain to rise up into the full lights-day, and ! the sticks will become, so much longer in conse- ! quence. A, third plan, and a very good one, though perhaps not quite so effective as the' last, is to wrap each s'.eni round with several turns of stout brown paper. This should be done by j degrees as the plants gain in height, and by no me ins tightly at first, so as to leave loom for the J stalks to swell.

Gkee.miouss and Frames.— A supply "of autumn flowering plants should be grown on in order to keep the greenhouse gay, as well as to provide^ a change of. plants for table and room decoration, as such plants as ferns aud palms are much improved by removing to the greenhouse or waru^ shaded frame for a few weeks at a time. Bonvardus, tree carnations, cineraria, primula, and Btreptocsvpin aye all suitable for winter flowering. The two first-named should be grown oa from young plants now, while the others may be raised from seed sown during the next mou'h or two. If the plants are required to b'ootn early sow at one •, and if later sow in succession. Fuchsias which ha\c been kept pinched back may now be allowed to grow and flower, so as to supply the place of the pelargoniums as they go out of bloom. Green fly must be kept down upon all kinds of growing plants, or the points of tender growth are soon hcriou&ly injured.