GARDEN NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14584, 5 February 1921, Page 13 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES

(By Nikau.)

"And 100k —a thousand blossoms with • the day Woke —and a thousand scatter'd into clay. i —Omar Khayyam, SEASONABLE WORK. Veegtables and Fruit. —Keep the hoe ;.-oing. Use crops as soon as they maIjre. Dig all spare ground and sow with oats, mustard or some other plant for turning in as green manure. Plant out various kinds of cabbage, etc., as r.r.on as good plants are obtainable. Put cut leeks, celery and silver beet. (Celery should never suffer a check, so it requires plenty of moisture.) Harvest onions and shallots. Pinch out side-shoots of tomatoes. Make sucrcssional sowings and plantings of let - tuoe, spinach, turnip. Spray with arsenate of lead for all kinds of caterpillars on vegetables and on fruit-trees, ai.d with Bordeaux or lime-sulphur for fungoid diseases. Bud all kinds of fruit-trees. Flowers.—Prepare ground for sowing winter-flowering sweet peas. Make an early planting of bulbs. Sow biennials and perennials. Mulch roses and shrubs. Layer carnations. Bud roses. Collect seeds. Stake all tall plants such as cosmeas, golden rod, etc. SPECIAL NOTES. New Zealand Peaoh-moth. —A note on this pest is seasonable, as some of the crops of peaches and nectarines now ripening are found to be rather badly attacked. The following note is taken from a bulletin issued by thu Department of Agriculture: "This is one of the native species, which is found on many indigenous plants and has now become fond of introduced fruit. The caterpillar is dull green, tinged with blue on the sides. The head Is black or dull brown. It is by ro means uncommon to And the caterpillar of this moth within the stone of the peach, where it remains, feeding on the kernel, till full-grown. The pupa or chrysalis is also found, showing that the whole period comprsing these two stages Is spent within the fruit. Before passing Into the chrysalis, however, the caterpillar, wnich i;as entered the stone by a tiny hole too small for the moth to crawl out of, eats a much larger opening to the outer air and through this the moth finally effects its escape. Considerable damage has been done in some orchards by this insect. Its attacks retard the progress of the fruit, and its presence, which frequently causes the stone to split, reduces the market value of affected fruit. Spraying with tar-water, as recommended for the cineraria-fly jr leaf-miner, or with arsenate of lead, have both been found useful —the forrrer as a deterrent; the latter, beins a poison,acts in the same way as Paris green for codlin-moth. To make tarwater, boil lib coal tar in two gallons of water for 20 minutes, and while bciling tip .into vessel containing 100 gallons cold water. Stir thoroughly, taen spray or water the plants. The smell of tar is disliked by inserts." (Note: It is now rather late to apply these remedies; we should, however, take care that no affected fruit is allowed to rot on the ground). Gooseberry Rust or Leaf-spot.—The fallowing, note is also taken from a bulletin: "This fungus disease causes, considerable trouble in all parts of the Dominion. It attacks both gooseberries and currants. The first notice the crchardist has of Its presence is the appearance of small spots, usually of a brown colour, upon the leaves. If not attended to, these spots rapidly become more numerous, till fbe whole foliage is thickly covered. The result is that the leaves fall and the plants are left almost bare, which greatly weakens them and reduces the following crop. !\$ the disease usually appears late in the sea'son, the plants should be sprayed with ammoniacal carbonate of copper solution. After the crop is off Bordeaux mixture may be used, and should be again applied before the buds break early the following season, as a pre\entive. All leaves should be raked up and burned."

There is also a mildew which attacks gooseberry bushes. It is caused by a surface fungus which extracts nourishment from the leaves by means of tiny suckers. It can be killed by spraying with Bordeaux or sulphide of potassium, 141 bto 50 gals., or by dusting thoroughly on a line, hot day with finely-powdered sulphur. Limesulphur, 1 to 100 or. even weaker, wili also prove effective. Codlln-moth. —ln some gardens "the moth" is worse than ever before. Where it has once established itself, it is very troublesome and very difficult lu overcome. Spraying with arsenate of lead should begin as soon as the petals fall, and should be continued at three-weekly intervals until the middle of February. It is highly important to remove all affected fruit and to destroy the moths (really caterpillars) by burning. Asters, —Early kinds of asters should s >on be in full bloom, but it will be some time yet before the main planting comes into flower. In one respect asters are perhaps the most disappointing of all flowers, for they have an unfortunate way of dying just when tt'cy seem healthiest. The trouble is caused by an obscure fungus which attacks the plant Just on the groundline. This part of the plant turns black, and in a day or two the upper p.'.rt dies off, just as if the root were partly cut through. An examination of ;!k- root, however, will usually show that lie latter is quite healthy, and that the disease works both upwards and downwards from the ground-line. A careful study of the aster border will probably reveal the presence of this d'scase; if so, all plants that show the characteristic symptoms should be at

ence removed and burnt. In passing \vc might notice that the so-ealle l aster is not really an aster, but a callistcphus; Michaelmas daisies or perennial asters, however, are true asters. Lilium Auratum.—This lily is perhaps the most remarkable liower in Hie garden, it is a native of Japan, and its every appearance reminds one of the glowing East. Its pervading scent and wealth of colour are truly Oriental and well worthy of the Mikado.

Like almost all lilies, Ihis goldenrayed lily succeeds nest when plantei in partial shade and surrounded with a cool, moist atmosphere, but it, should not tie planted immediately under trees or in total shade. An ideal spot for such lilies is an open glade In the woods with a small stream running through il. N'car the water all mois-ture-loving species will nourish, while (. auratum should be planted on n si ghlly higher level. This lily thrives best of all in a cool greenhouse or on ,i sheltered and shaded porch. Under such conditions a single stem may have as many as 50 large blooms. Every now and then plants with over 70 and even 90 blooms are shown in our towns. I'iie bulbs are rather expensive, but s few shillings cannot be invested morn profitably in the flower-garden. Whc?i the flowering stems have died away the plants may he lifted and divided, hut they are best left alone. As the roots ;'ic produced from the stem, the bulbs should be set well down in » wel!-

drained soil—eight inches is not too deep in such a soil. Well-rotted leafmould or turf is a good manure fo" Plies, but it must be reasonably free, from insect pests.

Boablosa Caucaslca. —This scabious is frequently called a 'florist's flower,' but the term is rather Inapt, as the plant will grow in any average soil with fair treatment. Unlike all the ether members of the 'pincushion' family, It Is a poor seeder. It is this fact alone which makes the plant rather uncommon. It is a hardy plant, beiiu able to endure both drought and frost, but It will not endure a waterlogged BC.JI. Large plants may be readily increased by division, as in the case of Gerbera. There is a white variety of S. caucasica. but the lilac-blue is llkeb' to remain the favourite. This species is a native of the Caucasus, while other species come from Europe and Britain. A beautiful red variety of the old fashioned pincushion was recently brought to the writer's notice; the flower was of great substance and delicate colouring, bearing little resemblance to the tightly-packed and Stiff Towers of the old varieties.