REMOVING SUCKERS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XL, Issue 10, 7 March 1908, Page 36

REMOVING SUCKERS.

Some fruit trees, especially plums, give a great deal of trouble through the growth of suckers from the roots. Fig. 2 shows how to effectually remove these suckers. If they are cut off above the soil level, as shown at B in the sketch, they will grow again and increase in nmn-

A, showing the way to bare the roots for the removal of suckers. B, the wrong way to remove suckers. her. The best plan is to take out the soil carefully and find the junction of the suckers with the roots, as shown at A. and then cut them clean away from the latter. Make the surface of the wound smooth with a sharf knife, and replace the soil. AMERICAN CARNATIONS. We reproduce an illustration of two new American carnations, Enchantress

and White Perfection. These American varieties are now very popular in England, and Messrs. Hugh Low and Co., Middlesex, make a speciality of their culture. Enchantress is, we believe, a sport from the famous Mrs. T. W. Lawson, and produces very delicate flesh-pink flowers. White Perfection is, as its name implies, a very fine flower of beautiful outline, blooms freely' on long stalks. The calyx is strong and not liable to burst during the expansion of the flower. The petals are slightly toothed and flowers highly fragrant. It is as yet very scarce, but will, we feel sure, before long reach the Dominion. J* Clay Soils and Their meat. Now, when the most of the year’s crops are being removed from the ground, is the time to make improvements and alterations. Perhaps nothing is so disheartening in gardening as bad soil or soil conditions, and, with the hope of being able to shed a little light on the subject, I propose writing a few articles on the different soils and their management. Soils may be classed as day, sand, loam, and peat, and under these headings I will endeavour to show the method of cultivation , and the manures best adapted to each. Beginning with clay, then, one of the prime factors in the improvement of a day soil is proper drainage; any attempt at the cultivation of a deep-rooting crop of an undrained soil must always result in failure. Drainage removes stagnant water, and thus allows air to penetrate further, and, as a consequence, roots can go deeper in search of food. Air also warms the surface layer and acts chemically on the stores of plant food lying

dormant in the soil. Next in importance to drainage is the exposing of as big a surface as possible to the action of the weather. Clay soils, if possible, ought to be trenched in autumn and thrown up loosely, the method of ridging being especially commendable, the action of the winter’s rains and frosts tending to disintegrate the particles which have coagulated through trampling in wet weather, etc. Lime also exercises a powerful ef-

feet in improving the texture by causing the finer particles to form aggregates. Clay soils can also be improved by the addition of what is technically called “humus,” i.e., decaying vegetable matter, which renders them more porous, and assists in the breaking up of mineral matter into a form more favourable as plant food. Those who possess gardens of a clayey nature will do well to collect all the vegetable matter at their disposal,

such as leaves, weeds, and all garden rubbish, with the exception of anything of a woody nature, and trench it well in in autumn. Of the organic manures com. nionly used, that from the stables is the most suitable; being lighter and more open in texture than cow or pig manure, its effect is more sweetening. But horse manure in itself is not a complete manure, and must be supplemented somehow. Of the plant foods derived through the soil, phosphates, potash, and nitrogen are the principal, and we will now discuss the best forms in which to apply these important rood constituents. Before going further, let me emphasise the need for lime in the soil. The fertility of a soil may be said to be based on the proportion of lime it contains. Where you seen a green glut gather on the surface, you may safely conclude that lime is deficient, and the best way to apply lime to a clay soil is in the form of quicklime allowed to slaken, and the powder scattered on the surface at the rate of 8 to 10 ounces per square yard. Never dig in lime; it has a tendency to sink of itself. The best way to apply phosphates to a clay soil that is well supplied with lime is by an application of superphosphate of lime. In a recent article in “The Scottish Gardener” I noticed it said that lime could be supplied to the soil in superphosphate of lime. Now, this is entirely wrong, as superphosphate of lime is decidedly an acid manure, and requires a certain proportion of lime in the soil to neutralise the acid; therefore, after an application of this manure, the land is poorer in lime than before, as the acid unites with the lime, and the two are ultimately washed out of the soil. On clay that is deficient in lime basic slag is the ideal phosphatic manure, as it supplies lime also in a finely ground state. Potash may be supplied through the medium of kainit, but, after a limeing on soil that has been liberally manured with farmyard manure for a number of years, great stores of potash are liberated, which will be quite sufficient for all present needs, and, after that, kainit may be applied at the rate of 2 ounces per square yard. If horse manure is used there will not be so much need for nitrogen, as it is rich in ammonia, whieh is converted into nitrates in the soil, thus supplying the crop with nitrogen; but, where it is deemed necessary to add to the supply, sulphur of ammonia may be given at the rate of 2 ounces per square yard. In summer, ply the hoe well between crops and all bare spaces to keep a loose mulch on the surface and kep it from cracking. The time for applying the above-men-tioned manures is — horse manure and basic slag in autumn, kainit in winter, lime in early spring, superphosphate of lime in spring before the sowing or planting of crops, sulphate of ammonia in two applications during the growing season.

H.M.E.