HORTICULTURF

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 447, 10 November 1904, Page 6

HORTICULTURF

TWO hXhby rollers.

So Market Gardener Can Afford to Be ■Without One of These Cob. venicnt Implement*. ... %\$

The garden and flower beds require firming of the surface after planting. to insure even distribution of moisture and perfect seed-germination. This is necessary also in starting a lawn, and frequent rollings -will destroy ant hills and rout many soil pests that accumulate in neglected plats. In my own experience I have fully pro Ten the benefits of rolling, and would not attempt growing a garden, lawn or flower bed without some means of leveling and firming the rows and beds. The surface does not bake so hard in spots where the bed? are properly leveled

SMALL GARDEN ROLLER. and rolled; the seeds sprout more uniformly and the plants grow better, while the work of weeding is lessened and the appearance much more than pays for the care in properly preparing the seed beds. But every farmer does not have sufficient cash' at his command to purchase all necessities though the tools may be cheap and small, hence some homemade implements are often brought into use. Hand garden rollers may be made at home by any person familiar with the use of tools. «*- A cheap roller, large enough and good enough for even- the professional kitchen gardener, may be made for 50 cents or less, and with proper care will last for many years. The material I used in constructing this handy tool consisted of a joint of dx-inch

t- S7EELBABROW BOLLKt. stovepipe, a split oak sapling and a small two-inch, board nailed across the split just behind the roller. The pipe •was well riveted with wrought nails; a short apple tree limb, with old bolta driven in either end, was put in the pipe and packed solidly in gravel and sand, and an inch board was sawed out to fit the ends, and nailed in, after tamping the sand and gravel. Auger holes bored in either side of the split handle made that fit nicely, and to strengthen it wire nails were driven through and bent on both sides. A . upport to hold the tongue or handle off the ground was made by nailing an .-eight-inch peg in an auger hole at the point where the split stopped. The roller could be pushed or pulled back and forth, over and across, and did -nost effective work.

The small roller proving inadequate 5 a clod crusher and leveler, where the ;il was rough and uneven, I made a - ~er, stronger and more durable tool "'er the fashion of a wheelbarrow. this I used the six-inch stovepipe "d with sand and gravel, and iron kes driven in a center square block - an axle. The frame was made of vo by four-inch scantling, with boards ailed across for bottom, and a dashboard of eight-inch plank nailed to up.•ight standards just behind the roller. This made a platform for weighting the roller, by giving the children a ride or putting in some rocks. The legs may be left off, if desirable, and; the -oiler can be made of wood to suit • -> circumstances. In this roller, how•ve*\ where much weight is needed, the Mpr; ipe is hardly heavy enough, and •Timd block of wood, even one foot diameter, is preferable. This roller n be used in the same manner as a and is a very handy, inrpensive tool that more than pays for s vr.- av "acture in one season, and will ■' a great many years if properly dleii.—Joel Shomaker, in Farm and pr'.ie. *. '" •-r<--Vine* in Rows, tost people'are so used to planting 1 lons in hills that they deem this the sly wa}\ But very successful melon :.\vers think that making a very ight ridge and planting the seed in i row pretty closely together is a better way. So soon as the vines begin to run their tendrils clasp others, and this keeps them from being blown about by winds. By making the ridge? eight or more feet apart the cultivator can be kept running through them until the vines spread out and riccup? the whole of the vacant spac* which they will surely do before the summer is ended. If the vines appear to be too close together in the row the poorest may be cut out without leaving a vacancy, as would be the case if they were planted- in hill*. The Bartlett pear, we think, is tho best pear ever grown; and if you can put into cold storage until the glut in the market is over, you can get a good price for It. Do not work late among raspberries or blackberries, or they will not mature.