THE GARDEN. A PLANT-PROTECTING DEVICE. Miscellaneous Notes. THE AFRICAN HEMP: SPARMANNIA AFRICANA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2332, 10 November 1898, Page 8

THE GARDEN.

A PLANT-PROTECTING DEVICE.

Miscellaneous Notes.

THE AFRICAN HEMP: SPARMANNIA AFRICANA.

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK.

KITCHEN GARDEN.— The various early crops should now be in a forward condition, and after the final thinning out, or earthing up, as the case may be, should not require veiy much more labour, as if the weeds have been kept well under they will give but very little trouble as the ground becomes covered with foliage. l>ue attention should be paid to the sowing and planting owt^of the successionai crops of carrot, turnip, parsnip, beet, cabbage, and cauliflower, the whole of which may still be planted. The present month is a good time to make a large sowing of carrots for a main crop; tho seed should be sown in rather shallow drills and not covered too deeply. Sowings made now give better results < than when sown earlier in tho season. Late potatoes may still be planted, but low-lying land should be selected, as during the dry months such late crops suffer considerably. Sowings of Yorkshire hero peas, if made now, may be expected to yield a fair return for » late supply, although it will now be safer to depend upon beans for the summer supplies. Land which has been under winter vegetables should now be cleaned, manured, and dug, so as to have a sufficient area ready for the early autumn crops of cabbage, cauliflower, savoys, and broccoli, etc. The land, if now vacant, will be greatly improved by a thorough working and allowing it to remain exposed as much as possible to weather till the end of the year, hoeing over the surface occasionally to keep down any growth of weeds.

FLOWER GARDEN.— Advantage should be taken of the rain to plant out the various annuals and other summer flowering plants. Where the annuals have been sown in the open borders the clumps should be thinned out and the spare plants transplanted into vacant spaces, so as to have the borders well filled; overcrowding, however, is to bo avoided. All tall -growing kinds should be securely staked to prevent loss during windy weather. Chrysanthemums and dahlias are peculiarly liable to damago if not kept securely tied. Azaleas and rhododendrons in the open borders should have all seed pods picked off as soon as the flowers fade. If these are allowed to remain, the growth for another season is interfered with. These plants will receive great benefit if a good mulching of cow manure is given, so as to keep the roots cool and moist. Shrubs and other plants which were planted during the winter should have the points of the shoots pinched out, so as to .make dwarf and stocky plants, except, of course, with conifers, dracenas, and other plants, which should have a Btrong leading shoot. Carnations should still be planted out; older plants should have neat etakes given before the flower stems are too far advanced.

GREENHOUSE.— Attention to shading is very necessary to prolong the bloom of plants and to protect them from scorching ray 3of tho sun, which seem to gain in power by passing through glass. The preservation of the colours is also impossible without shading, and much of the beauty of a blooming plant is lost if it is allowed to become bleached. If seed is not required, let all seed pods be picked off as they form, and a fresh growth encouraged. Kalo santhes coming forward will do in the full blaze of the sun, and the blooms seem to be all the brighter for a few days' full exposure in tho open air. Give statices a dry corner, and in watering do not wet the flower spikes. Tuberous begonias should have a shift as they fill the pots with roots; use a good open soil with a liberal proportion of sand. Fuchsias struck in spring must be kept growing, potting on and pinching freely to make good specimens by the autumn. VINERY. — Grape vnfts are now growing freely, and require the daily attention of the gardener. Where they have been stopped as directed last month they will now be in flower. Some varieties set their fruit freely even under unfavourable treatment, but others again do not do so, and these are, therefore, designated bad setters. When they are in flower a good plan is to tap the stem of the vine with the hand or a bit of wood, so as to shake the bunches. ,The pollen will then be seen to fly off like a cloud of dust, and this mode of distributing and causing fructification is frequently done with success amongst the more shy setters. Stop the lateral shoots as they grow, and cut off all superfluous bunches, leaving only one on each shoot. The thinning of the berries is a tedious job, and no time should be lost in attending to this operation, as tho fruit swells quickly after being thinned. Admit air when

the weather is favourable. Moisten every part of the house and close it early. As the fruit swells a liberal supply of water at the roots at least onco a woek 13 necessary.

Tho cuts show a Very easily-made affair that can serve a number of useful purposes in the garden. It is simply two triangles

of board, nailed, as shown, to a square piece. In Fig. 1 it serves as a protection to the plants in early spring facing as it does the south.

In Fig. 2 it covers a freshly-transplanted plant, and in Fig. 3 two of the devices combined make a box to put about the plants

to protect them from bugs. Make up a lot of them the next rainy day.— American Agriculturist.

THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL VINERY.

Mr Hardy, the noted South Australian vigneron, is at "present at Home, and has of course had to submit to the inevitable interview at the hands of the Home correspondent — he of the Adelaide Observer in this case. " A good deal is said," says Mr Hardy, " about the Hampton court vine, which covers a space of about 75yds by 25yds, but the finest vinery I have seen is that at the Royal Horticultural C4ardens. This is in a building 250 ft long. 30ft wide, and 30ft high, ancl at the time of my visit the vines were full of grapes nearly ready for gathering. It takes six men a whole month to do what is necessary in the way of thinning the berries on. the bunches, and they have to work overtime, too." Mr Hardy has gone to Bristol, and hopes to inspect the wine-making operations in the West of England. He expects to be back in London in time for the first show of the Horticultural Society at the end of September.

RE-POTTING PLANTS.

Judging from the anxious questions I often rec9we about plants in ill-health, re-potting is thought to bo a certain cure for all their ailments in every season of the year. But there is a right and a wrong time to ro-pot them, ancl if dope at the latter it will make bad worse. Supposing anyone to re-pot plants in the autumn, as many are anxious to do, there would be no growth o f )-] 10 ro ots, as a rule, till spring, ancl the soil in tho meantime would be apt to become sour. It would certainly be much less capable of meeting the wants of the plant and roots when they begin to grow than if it was fresh then. The best of all times to re-pot the majoiity of plants which amateurs grow in their greenhouses and windows is in the spring. All parls are disposed to grow now, and the new soil will at once be taken advantage of. But some plants do not need re-potting every year. If they are in good health, and grow ancl llover freely, let them rerfain so. If they are in too pmall pots, re-pot them into larger ones. If the drainage it) out of order and the roots unhealthy, re-pot them by all means. Examine them all closely, and see if they want re-potting. If so, do not delay it till rhe autumn A\ hero the roots have perished and the roois are sickly, such plants will benefit more by being taken out of tho pots they are in ancl put in smaller ones than if moved into largor ones. A plant that fills its pot and spil closely with roots is always easier managed than one that cor.tains a great deal of soil in which there are no roots. All pots must be clean ancl dry when used for potting. Bo very careful to put sufficient drainage at the bottom to drain the foil thoroughly, uncl arrange it in such a manner that the soil will not block it up. When the soil is washed through it ancl stops the free passage of tho water; the plant will at once suffer. Some plants require one kind of soil ; others another. To grow them perfectly, as, for instance, the hard-wocded plants, siwh as heaths ancl azaleas, they must have peat, ancl not loam;' but the great majority of amateurs' plants, such as geraniums, begonias, fuchsias, palms, etc., will all do with the same mixture, or nearly so. Half-decayed turf, in which there is no weeds, should form the bulk of the soil. Break this tip with the hands, ancl allow as many little fibrous pieces to be in it as possible. Let this bo mixed up with such other things as are needed for the different plants. The ispidistra, so commonly grown, palms, and all of this cla»s, should have some silver sand, if possible; if not, river grit, added to the turf with a small quantity of leaf soil or light manure, and pot them with this. Begonia?, fuchsias, geraniums, and all softwooded plants of this description should have a quantity of rich manure added to the loam, as well as the sand, and a little soot should be put to all of it. The loam should always predominate. Plants grown m too much manure are never, patisfactory, the growth being thin and flabby and apt to wither. Remove every particle of the old soil that is not needed on the roots, but do not injure these in .any way by breaking them off. Where a grertt many roots have formed at the bottom of the pot, and have quite taketf possession of the drainage, cut the whole bunch off. This will let ihem more comfortably into the new pot and give them extra space to root in. Make the soil very firm about the roots. This is the way to keep it sweet and healthy. A loo&e, spongy soil iB ruinous. When repotted, . water the whole thoroughly, then nwrely keep the soil moist till the new roots are beginning to take possession of it, when they will need more water. Always shade newly-potted planta from bright sunshine, and, if possible, let the atmosphere in which they are be moist, as this assists the young growth .wonderfully,— Leeds Merourv,

The African hemp is a first-rate amatour'n plant, and one- that is very generally grown by them, though, judging by the number of specimens we receive for naming, iU idonlity is not so generally known. It is a nativo of South Africa, whore also two other species are found but aro not yet introduced to cultivation. It bolongs to tho same natural order as the lime or linden— Tiliacte.

Sparmannia africana is a quick-growing, shrubby plant, with large, soft, downy leaves, averaging sin long by 3in broad, and somewhat heart-shaped. The flovve,, aro borne in good-sized trusses on long s'CSlks, and the individual blooms are about an inch across. They are whito, and have in their centres a clustei of yellow stamens with purple tips, which acids to their beauty. Flowers aro produced at almost all seasons, unless we except late autumn. There is one variety — S. a. florc-plena — with double flowers.

The culture is very simple ; a compost of two parts loam ancl one part peal, with a little sand, suits it well. It should bo grown in large pols in the greenhouse during winter and in spring, ancl then planted outdoors in a, sunny position. An abundance of water is needed during summer, and a fair supply in winter. Liquid manure may also be given during the growing reason. Owing to its rapid growth the phoots should bo pruned to within an inch or two of their bases during winter after the last flowers have fallen. But little water will then be needed till now growth starts. Like other South African plants* it is nearly hardy, and a temperature of 40deg to 50deg is all that it need?. Propagation is effected by cuttings inserted in small pols of candy soil during spring or summer. They root easily in a close cucumber frame or under a bell-glasq in Ihe groonliouse. This plant is occasionally mot with grown as a standard. This is easily accomplished by growing a cutting en with a single fitom until the desired height is reached, then cutting off tho top. The side shoots should bo stopped when a- fow inches long, ancl the secondary shoots also until a head is formed. Close pruning should be practised annually to keep the head shapely.