THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2330, 27 October 1898, Page 8

THE GARDEN.

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK. KITCHEN GARDEN.

[ Cucumbers in frames are now coming into fruit if the conditions necessary for their successful culture have been secured — a warm, moist atmosphere, partial shade, and careful ventilation. It is also necessary to keep the j leave 9 from, touching the glass, as they get the condensed moisture which cannot be removed by ventilation, and they consequently soon decay. The plants are often put in too high, undwr the impression that the nearer they can be got to the glass the better they -will fruit. Crop, tho plants moderately, and atop and thin out superfluous growths, which will cause them to last much longer. Th * necessary preparations for vegetable mairows and tomatoes should be advanced, and the plants should be got wel'. liardaned off prior to planting out. The superiority of sowing such plants as onions, carrots, turnips, etc., in drills is generj ally admitted, and the extra labour is amply j compensated for" by the ease with which they can be subsequently dealt. Run the hoe lightly betweea the rows, and in the case of turnips, parsnips, and beet cross hoe between th 9 bunches, which can afterwards be thinned out by hand. Sow peas for succession — Veitch's perfection and Lexton's Omega are strong, growers, and seldom fail to crop. Carter's Delephone is also highly spoken of. FLOWER GARDEN". Constant attention must be given to lawns to get them into good trim for the season. Hollyhocks are now growing rapidly. Let them have a rich top-dressing, remove all the shoots but the strongest, and tie into a stake as they advance. The best time to sow hollyhocks is at the end of November, as they form strong plants which do not attempt to flower like those sown earlier. Weak plants of carnation and picotee should not be allowed to bloom, so that they may form strong " glass " for next season. Many of the old varieties have become weak from constant preparation, and require cutting down to keep them alive. Plant gladioli for autumn blooming, putting tho carms 4in deep in rich soil. Choice sorts for exhibition should not h& planted till the first week in November. Repot dahlias as they form rojts. Established plants may be placed in cold frames, giving plenty of air during the day and covering up closely at night for the nsxt fortnight. All the i> re P ara t°iy work for bedding out must be done, the Deds dug and tho edgings planted. GREENHOUSE. The treatment of plants under glass is now changed, and instead of retarding them the chief object now is to obtain as quick a growth as possible. Where new climbeis have been planted it is often desirable to push thoin into vigorous growth now to enable them to ripen ofi their wood for next season. The house should therefore be kept close, air being admitted only between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. If there are many things in bloom the syringe cannot be used much but the requisite moisture can be kept up by pouring water on the floors and stages. What can .be more graceful in its effect than a well-grown fuchsia, with its cluster of blooms drooping like so many pendants of; jewellery This flower is equally suitable for greenhouse or open ground. To grow fuchsias successfully they must grow quickly. For furnishing the greenhouse it is a good pian to have a succession struck every year, for af'.er the second year they are best re-placed with the previous year's plant. There may be exceptions in which you require large and old plants for a special object, as the furnishing of a large and lofty conservatory, etc., or for competition at an exhibition. There are other modes in which the fuchsia may be cultivated as a decorative plant besides growing in pots. The pyramidal style, no doubt, is the best, as the majority of the varieties are naturally inclined to that style of growth, though they vary in constitution, and further than that, in this system of training the plant and flowers are seen under the most favourable circumstances. Pelargoniums for exhibition require constant attention to keep the foliage in perfect health, so tie out and train as needful ; give plenty of air to strong plants, and manure water, rather weak at first, increasing the strength o£ it as the plants develop — every flvo or six days. The pelargonium is a veiy accommodating plant in respect to soil, for it will thrive in any kind that partakes of a loamy texture, provided the pot is well drained. It does exceedingly well in the following mixture: — One-half or more of soft or mellow loam, say the top-soil of a pasture that has been stored some time previous to use, the remainder to be equal portions of decayed cowdung, leaf mould, and river sand. Camellias making their growth require liberal supplies of water. The plants, should be kept away from the currents of air, as the young foliage is susceptible to the slightest difference of temperature. Calceolarias coruina into bloom

should be kept rather close and watered freely until the flowers are fully expanded.

A ffOVEL PLANT PEOTECTOE.

Enclosed I send you a drawing of an idea I use myself in the hope that it may be of use to some of ray brother amateurs. It has for its object the prevention of rapid drying up of the soil in, say, chrysanthemum pots while the grower is absent from home. It is always a source of o,nxiety *-o those s'ho are

at home only in the morning and evening to provide for the welfare of their pets during hot sunny weather. The plan I adopt is as follows: — I make a rough covering by taking two end pieces of board with slanting upper edges, of a height sufficient to quite clear the pots. On the sides I nail a strip of wood to

shade the lower part of the pots, and two more pieces on the sloping tops to hide the soil. A space is left through which the plants grow. These pieces could bo easily made to take on and off, so that should one face the shady side there would be no need for a close fehadmg, and also to facilitate the application of watering. The drawings will serve to elucidate my remarks. — P. T. Margate, in Amateur Gardening.

Miscellaneous Itotes. DAFFODIL CLUB.

At a meeting of the Daffodil Club, held in the Cafe Continental Rooms on Wednesday evening, Mr Blair was elected president and Mr Millar hon. secretary (pro. tern.). The election of vice-president was deferred. Those present thought there was need for such a club, to foster a love for, and encourage the cultivation of, the beautiful family of daffodils, and the club will, it is confidently anticipated, help in this direction. SCARLET RUNNER BEANS. The scarlet runner holds a high position as a summer vegetable in most gardens, and deservedly so, owing to its easy culture and enormous yielding properties. It is, too, usually less influenced by seasons or disease than most occupants of the vegetable garden, and a very large amount of produce may be obtained from a small space of ground when the plants are properly managed. There is, however, one point conected with its general culture which sometimes escapes attention, and that is the want of a proper system of sowing to secure a good succession of tender beans all through the summer months. As a rule, in the generality of small gardens, only one sowing is made, which is expected to produce a good supply of beans all through the season. It the season happens to be hot and dry, the chances are that just when the iroduce is most needed and is most valuable it runs short. It is, therefore, far better to make at least three smaller sowings instead of one large one. To ensure good produce, a fair supply of nutriment when the plants are in full bearing must be a consideration, for runner beans when in full growth make heavy demands upon the soil. To ensure success in their culture, some pains should be taken with the preparation of the soil. Ib is not advisable to sow more than two rows side by side, and a single row is better still. The ground should if possible be trenched or bastard trenched two spits deep, working in plenty of good manure if obtainable as the work proceeds. The work may be carried out with advantage sometimes before the season of sowing, as in most gardens there is more time at disposal then to do the work properly than at the busier season later on. Runner beans are best sown in drills about 4in in depth, and if the seed is good and from o a reliable) seedsman, the beans may be planted in singly about 6in apart, or if there is any doubt about it they may be sown thinly in the drills, and the plants afterwards thinned out to the required distance. When the plants are about 6in high they should be staked. Tall pea sticks may be uped, and if they are good sticks I prefer them to the single stakes or rods generally used. Should dry weather set in it is a good plan to mulch the soil to a distance of 2ft or more each side of the row of beans, as this will be found of great value in keeping the soil moist, and thus save watering. Short, partly-decayed manure is the best mulching material for this crop, but if this is not obtainable, old mushroom-bed manure, short lawn grass, or stable litt.er may be employed. When .the plants are in full bearing, an occasional good watering will also be essential in very hot weather, and if this oan be supplemented by. a soaking or two of weak liquid manure the beneficial results will soon be apparent. It is 'essential to keep the beans well gathered, for if the haulm be allowed to remain heavily loaded for a few days only, its growth will be stopped, and the yield much diminished. There is, too, no advantage in allowing the haulm to run too high, therefore it should be stopped at 6ft from the ground, so as to have the beans lower down where they can be conveniently gathered. Weeds must, of course, be kept down by the use of the hoe, and by hand-weeding around the plants. Should there be a glut of beans at any time, they are excellent preserved in brine aud kept for winter use. There are now in cultivation several improved forms of scarlet runner beans introduced of late years, and some of the best are Sutton's Best of All, Prizewinner, and Scarlet Champion. The new climbing French beans are also well worth growing, being very early, prolific, and the beans are of suuerior flavour.

, BLUE-BELLS— THE' LAST OF SPRING'S ! WILD FLOWERS. - The three great land-marking flowers of the early year are the daffodil, the primrose, and the wild hyacinth. Other flowers come in single loveliness or in small clusters almost hidden from the eye. You must look for violets if you want them. Anemones, most fragile of all spring blossoms, droop over their thee-leaved stems in the dainty seclusion of woodland recesses. But the other three come, not single spies, but in multitudinous beauty, giving their colour to the whole landscape. Daffodils are gone, and the primrose will be only a memory in a few days, but the wild hyacinth is at the height of its profusion. By every country road you get glimpses " that seem the -heavens unbreaking .through the earth," hillsides and upland meadows paved with blue, or beech groves where the universal colour is toned down into violet by the woodland shadow. Lovely as they are in the mass, the individual beauty of each separate flower is beyond the power of words. With the passing of the wild hyacinth the sequence of the spring earth flowers closes, and the year begins to lift its wealth of blossom from the ground. Hawthorn and the great spikes of chestnut blossom, lilac in fragrant clusters, and the downward flame of laburnum — these come with the warmer days, and lead us on to the time of poppies and the hedgerow rose. But the magical secret of spring is lost in the hot triumph of full summer. There is an indefinable coarsening of the year. The wild rose is very beautiful, with the drone of heavy bees about it; and the scarlet flare of field on field of poppies is magnificent. But_ it is oiot- the spring. It is fiill accomplishment: it withholds nothing. The sv.eetness of unfulfilled dreams has gone out of the year. It is like a successful man of 40. The hyacinths are best. — H., in the Saturday Review. A PLAGUE OF SLUGS. " W. G." speaks of a plague of slugs and snails. An experience of mine may be useful to him. Some years ago, finding the strawberries, lettuces, etc., almost uheatable owing to a plague of slugs, I tried ' various plans, and decided on placing small lengths of old decaying boards, say sin or 6in wide and 15in to 18in long, between the rows of strawberries and seedlings. Poplar, alder, elm, or ash are preferable to fir woods. In one small patch of a garden, for the first three years I destroyed an average, roughly counting, of about 18,000 in a season ; now some 300 is the outside, and my strawberries, etc., are untouched. One hundred pieces of wood after being down three days, after a wet night, produced about 16 slugs each. A boy, basin in hand, duly collected the 1600 slugs, and with a little fresh soot, lime or boiling water soon destroyed them. The numbers speedily were reduced, and out of about 13 sortß of slugs or snails, which abounded in this garden, only six are now to be found, and in very reduced numbers. An abundance of thrushes has greatly helped in getting rid of our shelled enemies, and I here and there have an unsightly stone soon well-polished to crack them upon. One day I placed two bits of ! board on a small bare patch of ground of about syds square ; on lifting them I had 44 '.slugs, next time 22, then 11, afterwards 1 only, nor did any trace of any remain. The spawn of some slugs is to an experienced eye almost as visible as mustaxd, and, surely, any carefuL digger can duly account for them. I have also been very successful in reducing ; beetles, ants, arid mice to a minimum. — W. Baskerville Mynors (Llanwarne Rectory, Hereford), in the Field. ASPARAGUS PLUMOSUS. This plant is often called the "asparagus fern," but is, in fact, a true asparagus, having nothing whatever to do with the fern tribe._ It has probably obtained this sobriquet in consequence of its value in making up bouquets, wreaths, etc., for it is quite as elegant in effect as maidenhair fern, whilst it lasts far longer in beauty whether in water or without it. The variety tenuissimus is even lighter or more decorative than the typical plant, but it is not quite so robust or so easily managed as A. plumosus. The dwarf variety Nanus is very useful as a pot plant. All the foregoing do best in a moist atmosphere, such as ferns love, and a temperature of 45deg in winter to 70deg or 80deg in summer. They will do well for some years in pots, being trained on a wire balloon or neat stakes ; but when the roots become large, they should be planted out in a well-drained border under glass of loam, peat, leaf mould, and sand, in which they will throw up fine shoots, which should be trained on wire netting or on strings at a little distance from the glass, or they will wreathe, a light pillar in the conservatory delightfully, and when grown thus a surprising quantity of fine foliage is available for cutting. Care must be taken that the young growths are not eaten off by slugs or snails, for these creatures are very fond of young asparagus shoots. They should be trapped with bran, after making the soil near the plant damp with tepid water, which will tempt them out ; they will be found feeding ! about 10 p.m. ! Seed of A. plumosus can now be sown on ' a moderate hotbed, or small sprays slipped off an old plant, with a slight heel attached, will root if placed round the edge of a sin pot of sand and peat, well drained ; the slips should be made very firm in the soil, and the pot should be placed in a cutting box, or a propagating frame covered with glass. Repotting of old plants should be done at once, giving them equal parts of good turfy loam | and peat with a little sand and soot. Liquid manure or soot water will be very useful to them towards the middle of the summer, with plenty of tepid water between the closes ; in winter the plants should be kept rather dry. — I. L. R., in Amateur Gardening.

DUNEDIN CITY MISSION.

At the monthly meeting of executive held on the 19th at the George street Bible Depot there were present— Messrs G-. M. Thomson (in the chair), Shacklock, G. Reid, William Hutchison, Wilson, Roscvear, D. Wright (missionary), and Captain William Thomson. The Hon. Treasurer reported the following donations, etc., which were acknowledged with thanks : — Knox Church Sabbath School, £5 ; J.S., fl/8., JE2 2s; lady friend, for cards for the Bible classes, £1; Russell street Hall, 18s 2t3. Several accounts were passed for payment. It was reported that through the spontaneous kindness of Mr J. A. Rawlinson (with whom alone the idea originated, and is being carried out), a service of song ia in preparation by a large choir of young people and their friends, and will be given shortly on behalf of the City Mission funds. The Bible classes were during the month attended as under: — High street, G24; Arthur street, 527; George street, 38S; Union street, 371 ; Albany street .(two weeks only), 223 ; — total, 2139 — girls 1346. boys 793. As in former years, these classes will be closed for the session at the end of November next. Interesting reports were also given in as to the Russell street Sunday and week-day meetings. The missionary, in addition to seeing the

sick and aged, etc., had 'visited Maori Hill anil Knox Church Sunday Schools, and many calls are made upon him- id assist in anniversary and other services in different parts of the cityv*-, and suburbs. Special cases were discussed^' and suggestions offered as to how these shoulcl be dealt with. The committee are grateful for sympathy 'and assistance.