GARDENING NOTES.

Waipawa Mail, Volume LXVII, Issue 91, 19 April 1939, Page 4

GARDENING NOTES.

| WHAT TO DO ADD HOW TO DO IT. J • *

THE WORK OP THE WEEK. VEGETABLES. Beds intended for strawberries should be well forked over and worked into a fine tilth. Any perennial weeds should be taken out and burnt. Son-el, couch grass, or similar weeds are particularly bad to get among the plants. Fork round winter rhubarb and give a good dressing of manure, fowl manure being particularly good for the purpose. Any of the cabbage family which were planted recently, and which have got over the move and 1 started to grow, will benefit by applications of nitrate of soda once every three weeks or so. One ounce to two gallons of water is strong enough. Water the ground well before applying.

aphis family, the two best known being the ordinary green fly, which is so troublesome on roses and other plants, and the black aphis, which attacks broad beans, chrysanthemums, and the young shoots of peach trees, among other things. There are many peculiarities about the great aphis family. For one thing, although weak in themselves, a prey to many other insects, destroyed by the million in every summer shower, they are yet the gardener’s worst foe, because of their vast numbers. Certain females lay eggs, whilst others bring forth live young. They reproduce themselves at such an alarming rate that, were it not for the destruction of incalculable numbers by natural means, human life would be rendered impossible, for the insects would encumber the ground to a depth of several feet in a single year. Some varieties of aphis, notably the common green fly, grow to double their size in a day, commence to bring forth their young when only five days old, producing from ten to fifteen new insects daily. LAWNS. New lawns may be sown down either in autumn or spring, but the best results are usually obtained from autumn sowing, except in districts subject to hard frosts. When sown in the autumn the young grass has the whole of the winter to become established, and will make rapid growth as soon as the weather commences to get warm. It is then less likely to suffer in the hot summer days.

Finish the harvesting of root crops during dry weather and store in a dry, airy place. Dig over any vacant ground, adding either lime or manure as required. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Spring-flowering bulbs should be got in as soon as possible. It is getting late for them now. Carnations may also be planted. The ground should be well limed and made very firm round the plants. Continue to disbud chrysanthemums. At the same time deal with any leaf-rolling caterpillars, otherwise they will damage the buds. Be sure that chrysanthemums ar« securely staked. In warm districts plant out neme sias, wallflowers, Canterbury bells, Iceland poppies, and primula malacoides. Sow in the open ground sweet peas, calendulas, larkspurs, godetia, mignonette, and other hardy, earlyflowering annuals. Clear away all spent annuals and after digging and manuring the plot replant with early-flowering annuals if available. Give a final raking to new lawns. Seed may also be sown as soon as the plot is ready. GARDEN PESTS AND DISEASES. During the late summer gardeners are usually troubled by the ravages of grubs and caterpillars, while at the same time mildew and other fungoid diseases make themselves known. Regular spraying is the only satisfactory way to combat these troubles, but the labor and expense seem hardly justified in a small garden. For fungoid diseases the most commonly used sprays are either Bordeaux mixture or lime-sulphur. Both may be purchased ready for mixing and as a rule the directions for use at the different seasons are given on the container. Scale insects are dealt with by the use of an oil spray, which forms a film and smothers them. Grubs and caterpillars are checked by applications of arsenate of lead. Aphis, of which “green fly” is one variety, may be destroyed by “Black Leaf 40” or other nicotine spray, while kerosene emulsion is also quite effective, or even soapy water. Every effort should be made to keep the ground clean by frequent cultivation, as many probably most pests, whether fungoid or insect, breed in the ground or winter there. Heaps of rubbish left lying about prove a harbor and breeding place for these pests. Where a compost heap is kept a liberal sprinkling of lime will largely help to purify the material and cheek pests and diseases. It is necessary to stress the importance of wetting every part of the plant with the spray as otherwise some of the insects escape and soon will be as numerous as ever.

It is a mistake to imagine that it is sufficient to scratch over the surface soil and sow the seed. Certainly the seed or some of it will germinate, but the result regarded as a lawn will inevitably be disappointing. The ground should be properly dug, and at the same time any necessary drainage should be attended to. A good lawn cannot be expected if the ground is waterlogged. The surface soil must be worked to a fine tilth. Digging it over several times gives the best results, but if time does not permit of this any lumps must be broken down. The plot should be raked and reraked several times until a perfectly smooth surface has been obtained and the levels adjusted. Give a dressing of equal parts of basic slag and bonedust at the rate of 2oz. to the square yard, and rake it in. Having got the surface smooth and the levels right, thoroughly roll. It is a good plan to roll in all directions, .as the ground must be made quite firm before sowing the seed. During the rolling it will probably be found that some parts have gone down more than others, in which case the hollows must be filled up and the roller run over them again. Finally, rake over once more and the lawn is ready for sowing. Always make a point of getting good seed —cheap seed is liable to be full of weeds and will probably contain a big proportion of coarse grasses unsuitable for lawns. The usual quantity of seed advocated is lib. to 30 square yards of lawn. A little more or less won’t matter, but it is better to err on the generous side, thus allowing for inevitable wastage. Choose a calm day for sowing and, to ensure even distribution, sow first from end to end, then across the plot. After sowing give a good raking, and provided the soil is moderately dry—as it should be—run the roller over it.

It is always best to sow a lawn mixture containing several varieties of grasses, some of which do best at one season and some at another. In this way you can be fairly confident of having a good green lawn the whole year round.

Earwigs are very troublesome at different times. They seem to come in cycles, being very numerous one year and hardly noticed another. The general appearance of this insect is fairly well known, but it may be news to some readers to learn that this insect is furnished with two very large and elaborate wings. If an earwig is examined, it will be seen to bear at the hinder end of the middle part, or thorax, a pair of short, horny growths. These are the wing cases and beneath them, beautifully folded, are the broad, semi-circular wings. Strangely enough, earwigs seldom fly, and even when thrown in the air will not alwaps spread their wings. The suggestion has been made that the insect confines its aerial excursions to the hours of darkness, but there is very little evidence to support this belief. Another point which has often been disputed is what use is made of the nippers borne at the extremity of the body. If the wings are unfolded j artificially the pincers are used to re--1 fold and replace them beneath the wing- cases, but it seems highly improbable that such formidable weapons have been provided especially for this purpose. Earwigs have also been observed to capture small insects by means of their nippers, but this is by no means a common occurrence. The female lays a number of spherical eggs in the autumn or early spring, and these she guards from harm with as much apparent solicitude and affection as a hen displays towards her chicks. When hatched, the young remain with the mother for some time, but the latter usually dies before her offspring are fully grown. There are many branches of the