GARDEN NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 10

GARDEN NOTES.

HORTICULTURAL SHOW. Ihe dates of the autumn exhibition of the Dunedin Horticultural Society are abo'ifc the latest 'n Otago, the other districts holding their shows during the preceding month. This arrangement has a double a-dvantage, inasmuch as it efives the Dunedin Society the advantage of having many of its exhibits previously judged- by experts, so that only the best can be forwarded to Dunedin, and then it gives our show advantages with the best exhibits only sent in for competition. This latter feature is kept prominently vi view by the Dunedin Committee, and this year it has made a point of specially inviting- tho cordial co-operation of its friends outside. A few years ago. when the society held its greatest display in the Agricultural Hall, Messrs Howden and Moncrieff showed what Alexandra can do in growing apples almost to perfection. Since then their exhibits have been much missed. Surely ' they will return aprain. Clyde growers j should not bs behind in showing their peaches, for the growth of which the dis- ' tricfc has a very enviable reputation. As special attention is being paid to raising the varieties more suitable for canning:, the district is likely to become a noted one in fruit products. Bannockburn astonished our growers by its samples of pears at last year's shows, when fruit of large size, clean, sound, and luscious, attracted general attention. Th-e great drawback to the Otasro Central district is the difficulty in transport. Railway facilities are being pushed on slowly, however, and in a short time the fruit centre of Otago will be within reach in a few hours instead of days, as heretofore. — Our Native Flora. — This study has not received the attention in the past to •nftiich it is well entitled. Practical gardeners have heretofore devoted atte'nion to plants introduced fiom other lands, altogether forgetful of the possibilities before them of producing from our native flora, by means of judicious selection and crossing, specimens which will surpass the originals. The interest is, however, on the increase, stimulated, perhaps, by the interest taken in them by other countries. The value and quality of our native plants are far from being exhausted, ' and almost every year brings into prominence something hitherto overlooked or not disclossd. Familiar plants, even among ourselves are coming into favour, stimulated, no doubt, by results obtained in the Old Land. The manuka heads the list, and nothing can be more up-to-date than a specimen pot of either the white or pink variety (Chapmanii). A correspondent asks if the manuka of Australia is the same as our own. No doubt it is of the same genus, ! it being confined to Australia, New Zeai land, and a few other countries in the South Pacific, the popular name all over being titri. Ho also asks if the rata is a climber. Several of the varieties twine th&mselves round the stems and branches of other trees, running up to a great height, anH making in the season the whole forest , radiant with their pink and scarlet blossom. ! Some of these are said to be epiphytic, the seed deposited in the stem of another tree, where it not only takes root and springs upward, but also creeps downward until it reaches the soil, whera, taking fresh root, it usurps the position of the original. His specimen is not a true gra c s. but a carex. commonly known as the sedge, of which we have a very large ! list, not yet fully arranged and classified ; ! but it is hoped this will be authoritatively j done in due time by Mr Oheeseman in his forthcoming volume on the New Zealand flora. The oarex is easily distinguished ! by its prickly nature, demonstrated by I drawing it across the hand or a piece of cloth. —The Fern.— This interesting subject, and especially the [ tree variety, is the subject of frequent inquiry- The hemitelia, illustrated in our pages a few weeks ago, is of general interest, and a f&w particulars are extracted firom the journals of the New Zealand Insti- ! tute. An article by Mr J. Buchanan, F.L.S., draws attention to the marked abundance of Hemitelia Smithii on the slopes of Mount Cargill, near DuMedin, remarking its strong tendency to divide at the top of the stem into two, and sometimes thi-ee, branches. He also memtions one particular 1 specimen (with an accompanying sketch thereof) of 16ft in height, with 16 branches and several buds, and says that the budding and branching may proceed from any part of the atom, the specimens mentioned ! I having several branches diverging in various directions and again dividing, as in dicotyl^- ' doi.ous trees. There is another feature in connection with the true or inner stems snd branohos of tree ferns on which he dilates — that is, for <jpv<?ral inches from the parent stem tho point Of atiac-hm-ent of tbe branch does not increase much in diameter; ihat it then gradually enlarges in an upward direction, and becomes covered ■nith a mass of fibres, which add greatly to their strenglh. the fibrous matter being veiy strong. He considers them as reliable as many timbers foi' transverse strain, and they are often us-ed in the construction of shol-fc bridges both as stringers and flooring.