HORTICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3102, 27 August 1913, Page 12

HORTICULTURAL NOTES.

Bt J. Gep.bie.

THE PEAR No fruit tree exhibits such remarkable transformation and improvement under the hand of man as does the pear —especially under the scientific treatment which it has received during the past two centuries. The original wild form occurs in Groat Britain and in many parts of Europe, as well as in Syria and in high altitudes o' Northern Africa. In its natural state it is a low. thorny, shrub like tree, with very austere

fruit, which is uneatable. This, compared with the elegant trees of our modern orchards, with their glossy loaves and showy corymbs of white blossom and luscious fruit, afford one of the greatest demonstrations of the possibilities of horticultural art. From the earliest records concerning the pear it seems to have been first improved by cultivation by the Greeks, from whom the Romans imported it into Italy, where in the gardens of these early enthusiasts in fruit-growing a number of varieties were developed. From early in the seventeenth century to the middle of the nineteenth the pomologists of both the Old World and the New World devoted special attention to the pear, and many of the finest varieties were developed. Of those in cultivation prior to the year 1700 only two or three varieties are to bo found in the catalogues of the present'day. The oldest cultivation is the Jargonelle, which has bei.n cultivated in gardens for over 200 years, Williams's Ron Chretien was cultivated prior to 1770; Ganscl’s Bergamot was obtained from a seed of the-autumn Bergamot about 1763, and Chaumontel was in cultivation prior to 1750. It is well known to live for several centuries, and when grown in congenial soil will attain a height of 40ft to SOft, pud in cxvop.iouu! cases specimens have been known at GCft high. (STARTING OLD FUCHSIAS.

Now is the time to shake out and re-pot old plants of fuchsias, and for a house plant of fairly easy culture the fuchsa. is one of the best. Badly-shaped old specimens are frequent, tiiis being due to their wrong treatment at the commencement of the growing season The old plants need judicious pruning, the reduction of the old ball of soil, and also some root-pruning; then with a little attention it is an frasy matter to grow compact specimens in the form of bushes and pyramids. Presuming that the old plants are under the greenhouse stage or some out-of-the-wav corner, and in a dormant state, they should bo stood upon the greenhouse stage, where they will get all the light possible, and some fresh air when the weather is mild. Then the old stems and shoots must bo syringed, and in about a week’s time the soil should be thoroughly moistened through. In a short time new shoots will grow, and the dead ends of old stems must be cut off, also others, if necessary, to the formation of a good plant. Weakly inner shoots will need removing if they tend to overcrowd The object should be to encourage strong shoots to grow instead of a mass of weaklings. When the young growths are lin long shake off nearly all the old soil from the roots, carefully prune back ill-shaped roots, and rc-pot the plants. Place them in rather small pots to begin with, allowing just sufficient space for a small quantity of new compost. The future repottings must be done, ns the plants need more root ; ng-spaco, and in this way very beautiful plants may be grown. The soil most suitable is two parts old fibrous turf, one part leaf-mould, one part sand, and rotted manure. When the plants possess plenty of voting shoots w'th liquid manure will prove highly beneficial ANNUALS IN POTS. Many annuals are found to ho of great value for greenhouse decoration when grown in pots, and one of the best for that purpose, and which may be had in bloom at any season, is schizanthus. The improved strains of these beautiful plants are indispensable for greenhouse and conservatory decoration. When well grown the plants are from 18in to 2ft high, and arc literally covered with exquisite butterfly-liko flowers, with beautiful combinations of colouringwhite, dotted with rose; purple and yellow: pink, and many other colours, both solfs and spotted. I saw in the conservatory at Eldorslic a few days ago a beautiful display of I hose plants. They are grown in quantity for house decoration, both as pot plants and lor cut flowers. To grow these and all other annals good soil is essential, and the following is not difficult to obtain:—' Good turfv loam, with plenty of fibre in it, one-half; leaf-mould, one-quarter; rotted manure and coarse sand, one-quarter. The plants may bo flowered in Sin, 6in, or 7in pots, these being the most useful sizes. In some cases the seed.- may bo sown in the pots, the resultant seedlings thinned out in due' course, ami the plants retained left undisturbed in the pots to flower. This is a good way to treat annuals raised late n the season. Early-sown plants must be transplanted from boxes, or even the open border while they are small, and bo grown on quickly—that is. before they become pot-bound they should be repotted. If the potting material is of a light nature fairly firm potting is advisable. The newlytransplanted or repotted plants must never be allowed to droop through full exposure to the enn. At first, until well established. shade the plants a little. Clear water only must bo given until the flowerbuds form ; then liquid manure occasionally will do much good Of the many annuais that may be grown in pots we may mention a few of the hardiest: —Sweet peas, nasturtiums, stocks, asters, godetias. schirzanthus mignonette, phlox drummondi. saipiglosis. darkies French marigolds, and calliopsis arc all beautiful. FRUIT TREES GUMMING. This tlis-oase is common to the three stone fruits-—cherries. peaches. and apricots. Young trees that become badly affected should bo removed and destroyed. Isolated branches or shoots of larger trees may be cut out and burned. When, however, a tree of several years’ growth gums badly, and then throws out clusters of stem shoots, the best thing is to throw it out. Some recommend pruning off the diseased parts and supplying fertilisers. This is misleading. often* aggravating rather than relieving the malady.