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Otago Witness, Issue 2295, 24 February 1898, Page 8

THE GARDEN.

SHOW DATES. March 9-10— North Otago Horticultural, O^maru. Match 9 — Duriediu Horticultural Autumn Show.

OPERATIONS FOR TJIE WEEK. KiTCHEJf Garden.— Celery should now be growing freely, and must be kept well earthed up as growth proceeds ; and successional trenches of this e'steeiuVi vegetdble may still bo plauied out in the manner previously advisi'd. Vegetable iuau'ow and pumpkins, as ?r.ou as the skiu i q 'hard and shows signs of being ripe, should he cut and stored in a dry shed oi' cellar for winter use. JSaily summer beans will now be past their best, and should be pulled up and the stakes stored in a dry portion on their ends, as with cave these ahouM la*t several years As the seasou advances it will be necessary to anticipate the probable demands likely to be made upon the various kinds of vegetables generally grown for winter v**, ah it.-.hould be the aim of the grower to have the neces->aiy quantities of what are likely to be required planted or sown in good time. If strong plants of cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli are planted out immediately after rain they will start to grow rapidly, while if planting is deferred till labe in the autumn this will not be the case. The earlier supplies uf ths above vegetables .shoul.l now be earthed up, or hoed, according to the condition of their growth. Onions should now all be ripe enough to admit of their being &ti red, as exposure to the wea,toer any longer is very risky, and in case of rain in sure to affect their keeping qualities. A further sowing of cabbage seed should be made to provide a succession of plants for winter use. A considerable area of land should also be prepaivd for sowing in the drier districts ; in new soil the seed may be sow nat any tima. Potatoes which have ripened off should not be allowed to remain in the soil for a lengthened period, but should lie lifted and stored, and thus set at liberty the laud for future treatment. Seed of parrots, pursnips, and onions should be cut, as it ripens rsipidly. Rhubarb which was planted out last spi ing will be raakiug a second growth now, and should any of the stools show a tendency to throw up flower stalks these should be pulled out as i,oou as observed and a free growth encourage], as tuch will materially increase the struogtu of the roots fur another season. Fruit Gardkn.— The recent hiea winds and rough stormy weather we have had have worked sad havoc among the heavy fruits, especially apples and pears, and in many exposed gardens nearly all the bent of the fruits have been blown off. Often when this happens it is; likely to tempt the inexperienced amateur lo gather his fruisprematurely, he r<afcnrall> concluding that if it is so easily blown off \t must he lipe enough io si.ere. No greater mistake can be made, as U discovered too late to remedy by the fruit snivelling up. It is a safe procedure in gathering apples and pears to cut open a few fruit of each sore that are thought to be fit for gathering, and if the pip 3 are of a brown colour the fruit can be gathered with safety. Strawberry beds, if not already cleaned off, should be attended to without delay. All runners which are not wanted lor sock purposes should be cut off cloae to the plant, and all aeail leaves removed, and the surface lightly pointed over with the fork. All runners which are being saved for planting must receive regular supplies of water to keep them growing, when if they are planted out", early in Apiil a fine crop of fruit may bo looked for daring the first season. The seasou for small fruits now being over, the quarters which these occupy bhould have a thorough cleaning off, removing all weeds and rubbish and at the s.ime time giving the surface a lisht pointing over with the fork. This i 3 particularly necessary with young bushes, as, although these havo finished their growth, it will tend to improve the buds for another season. Budding of fruit trees, where aiiy remains to be done, should receive early attention, as with the hot, dry weather now setting in the bark will soon set too firmly to | admit of further operations in this direction till spring, when grafting can be undertaken. It is a saving of time, and ofteu saves a season, if buds are worked in the summer ; any failures can then be worked in the ususd way in the spiing. Flower Garden. — All tall-growing plants must be kept regularly tied or much damage will be done them, 'the principal work now to be done will be to aim at prolonging the blooming period of the plants by keeping all seed pods cut clean off and all decaying flowers, and if available give them an rccisional watering of liquid maniuv, which will do much towaids keeping them fie.sh. Pansy seed may now bj sown in boxes or pans and kept in a nice shady position. Covering the boxes with a sheet of thick brown paper until the seeds are above ground will be found beneficial in assisting germination. Some few of the early-flowering chrysanthemums will form their flower buds this month. These should be removed, as being too early to produce good flowers. If, however, they are only required for border decoration or for cutting the buds may be left as they form ; but for the finest blooms the first week in March is generally the best date. The display of asters should be kept up as long as possible by giving the roots sufficient moisture and cutting, off the faded flowers. The various other kinds of annuals should also bi examined and prevented from ripening seed pods, which are destructive to continuous flowering in any plant. "When seed is required, one or more of the best and mo3t distinct varieties should be selected for this purpose and allowed to produce the necessary seed supply : better results yill thus be attained thau when gathered iudh dtoiinately and. without injury to

the main display of bloom. The plauts of picotees and carnations which have been layered should be kept uniformly moist or the rooting process will be delayed and often completely prevented. At this season pieparations shouM be made for planting out the eailier portion of the spiing flowering bulbs. The bed should be deeply woiked and decayed cow manure added, and if the soil is inclined to be stiff and heavy a dressing of fine sand should be added, ad a light open soil is best suited to their culture, llnot action of these bulbs should be in advance of the tops, aud this is not the case when late planting is adopted. Greenholse and Frames.— All pelargoniums that have bt>en properly treated should be ready for cutting down ; if longer delayed they have not sufficient time to enable them to break freely aud become established iv their ne,v soil until the winter is upoa them. After cutting thrin down they should bo kept somewhat drier for a few days. Moio air upon all calm days should be admitted to the ferus in order to mature their SL'owili, as if this is done they will cany their fronds a good colour right into the winter. Primulas aud cinerarias must be potted off singly as fa&t as they become strong enough. Azaleas should be carefully looked over in search of thrip, and if any appear theplantsshouldbeatoncedi2)ped in oue of the many insecticides recommended and (he leaves well syringed from underneath. We seldom see this plant properly managed, chiefly from neglect of this precaution. Care should be taken to prevent worms getting into the pots through the drainage ; while standing ouiside the pots should rest upnn bricks or a piece of board, as if the drainage of the pots b?comes impaired the plants will soon fall into a bad state of health, which can be seen by the colour of the leaves. The various plants required for winder decorptions "-hould be giown on freely, giving larger pots as required. Grreen fly must be kept under on its first appearance.