FLOWER GARDEN

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20639, 30 January 1937, Page 15

FLOWER GARDEN

TROUBLESOME EARWIGS Among the trembles of the gardener the earwig Is one of the most exasperating miscreants that in some seasons will defy most of the scremes devised to keep him from the choicest blooms of dahlias, chrysanthemums, or carnations. In Victoria (British Columbia) earwigs have been such a menace that the whole resources of the ity park authorities have been organised to wage warfare against the destructive host. The parks superintendent has published a formula which is recommended for use in gardens. Quoting from the “Colonist,” a Victorian newspaper, the preparation is a mixture of 121 b of bran, one quart of molasses, 241 b beef scraps, 12oz. of sodium fluoride, and six quarts of water. The beef scraps are soaked in water for three hours. The sodium fluoride is also dissolved in water. The liquor from the meat, the sodium solution, and the molasses are all mixed with the bran, and stirred until the whole forms a crumbly mass. The next step Is to stew the preparation all over the garden, choosing dry weather for the application. It is said that the dressed bran is non-poisonous to animals and birds, but fatal to earwigs. As a weapon of warfare against a serious pest this seems to be a fairly simple formula, and if it is as effective as it Is claimed to be by its advocate amateur gardeners may well have cause t obe grateful to the overseas reader for drawing attention to it.

THE LAWN IN SUMMER HOT WEATHER TREATMENT Where grass grows on porous soils from which moisture drains quickly, the comparatively short spell of warm, dry weather, for which everyone had so eagerly waited, had an unexpected effect upon many lawns. In come instances green gave way to a seared brown, and a prtchy, unhealthy appearance of the grass disturbed the peace of mind of those who are not yet experienced in lawn management. The unfortunate thing is that far too many garden-owners do not think about doing anything to keep their lawns in food condition until they begin to look really sick, and then, all too often, the measures adopted are wrong, because the time and circumstances make them so. Strong food cannot be properly assimilated by sickly plants, any more than people suffering internal troubles can properly and comfortably digest steak and onions. The great thing is to safeguard plants, including lawn grass, against prostration during drought by building up a robust constitution beforehand. That may be done by feeding well, and judiciously, in autumn and early spring. Counteracting Sun Heat Watering is another attempt at remedying damage of ’"hich amateur gardeners of little experience seem to be extremely ford can very seldom accomplish in a manner that is of the slightest real benefit. Wetting the surface of a lawn gives the inexperienced r.n entirely false impression of what is being done. The gras' experienced an entirely false impression of what is being done. The grass appears to brighten up, and the turf looks so thoroughly wet that one Imagines the lawn 1s safe for another week’s hot sunshine. The fact is, after an hour’s hosepipe watering the moisture will penetrate scarcely an Inch into the fibrous part of the turf. The uppermost roots will begin to absorb moisture, which will then relax the hardened surface they have formed in self-protection from sunheat, but an hour or two of hot sunshine will dry up the remaining moisture, and then proceed to scorch these new-

ly-softened roots. Their condition will quickly become worse than it was before the watering was done. A great deal more benefit will accrue from leaving the lawn mowings lying where they fall, or scattering, evenly, a topdressing of sifted leaf mould or other clean soil that is free from weed seeds. Such loose, light topdressings have a wonderful power of shading the fine roots beneath, and of checking evaporation of moisture drawn up from the subsoil by capillary attraction. Where tiny lawns were newly laid or sown last autumn or spring, it is possible to save them from hot weather by spreading sheets of serious harm during a spell of blazing canvas or old muslin curtains flat upon the grass during the heat of the day. The covers must be removed as soon as the sun goes down or ceases to blaze upon the grass, for daylight is essential to preservation of colour and health. In extreme cases, new lawns have been saved by covering with straw, loosely shaken over the grass, and, even though this means temporary disfigurement, it is a lesser evil than letting young grass die from scorching. The straw, like the canvas. must be moved as frequently as circumstances will permit. Sweeping will be necessary after its removal. Feeding is not advisable as a regular practice during the summer months, though in some special circumstances it may be resorted to. But in general it is far better to wait till the early autumn, and then give the lawn a good dressing of some fairly slow-acting fertiliser. Bonemeal is as good as anything, and may be supplied at the rate of three to four ounces per square yard. If the soil is naturally of a very porous or hard nature, and the grass has shown serious signs of distress during the summer months, much benefit will be derived from a dressing of dried sheep manure, broken up finely and mixed with three times its own bulk of sand. Spread this over the turf to a depth of a quarter of an inch, and work it in with a spring-toothed rake.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT OF THE PLANT WORLD Since the culture of figs in California, an Interesting secret of OldWorld growers has come tt> light. The fine Smyrna figs depend entirely on the Blastophaga, or Fig Wasp, for fertilization. Efforts were made to keep this information from the California growers, but meanwhile the wasp had accidentally become established in some wild figs, and the “book-notion 1 ' of Asia Minor became an established fact. Keeping these wasps in good health so that every fruit may be fertilized is now a major portion of the fig industry. The female wasp has saw-like mandibles, with which she cuts her way into the apex of the halfgrown Smyrna fig. The pollen she carries fertilizes the fruit . . . but the wasp dies inside, and any eggs she may lay die with her. Meanwhile the more fortunate wasps outside are depended upon to perpetuate their species. AU wood will not float. The Guaicum, or lignum-vltae (Zygophyllaceae) of Tropical America forms a wood so dense that if placed in water it sinks like a rock. It is used commercially for propeller bushings on large steamships, where it stands the enormous friction better than any known metal. Many people are acquainted with the fact that an injured plant exhibits a "wound fever” at the cut surface. It is equally true that plants display fevers wherever an animal would do the same. Infections of disease, cuts, /hinor irritations ... all cause fever in the plant. During the extreme heat and drought this past summer, the Missouri Botanical Garden made use of this fact by taking the temperature of the trees. When they registered above the danger point the water needle was used to feed them the numerous gallons of water necessary for their recovery. Experiments showed that if the water was not given promptly when the temperature showed the big trees to be feverish . they died. (