IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15989, 25 August 1917, Page 12

IN THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. (-rEciAu.r wr.nT~r 1-or. "tite ratss. ) {Br J- "SINCLAIS.) vegetables. Or.icns.—The onion is a vegetable oi great, importance, jyid the prepara iiou of the bed ir- worthy of more care than almost anv other part of ihe kitcr.eu garden. The site for the bed must bo open arid unshaded. Lniike most ether crops, it. thrives suocossluliy oa the same soil year after year, but- as cnion mildew remains dormant in tho soil for a considerable tiuic it is wed to chanuo the site ol tr.e bea CvOiv fev,- years. Although any soil will gvo-.v onions of a k'.nu, yet if the owner possesses a good deep ioam, light but licit in texture, t;io crop ol ! QTjicns

will ainpiv reward sucii tort ana to conditions *\Vua lever cue tuMui'u or the sou, it must uc tiioroujjmy aua pre oar eu o v \>iuter or Li ciJOi;u;y", ac winch time goou. u-uiiare 01 lii.l suouiu ik* • c oueu iucu. porateu vviui n. coarse ami over-oLimuiau.iH, "-•aiiiires should t>e avoiueu or i:je onions will not ripen as tiiey snotnu. \> neru no anima-l manure is avauabiC, superphosphates at tuo rate oi 4»u per pwvn can be sown on beiore tue ui'iiis arc drawn. .Light soils —in fact, almost all tnat do not contain clay in quantity—suouiu bo consolidated by treaumg, an J tuun made level with tho raiie. Ail is a matter of common-sense and judgment, iiowcver, as, of courso, tho objocti *s not to cake the soil, so tliafc the. young growths arc weakened in trying to push through, but to present a firm, line and even surface. iiuke tho drills an incli deep and a loot apart, and sow the seeds thinly, ana cover with fine soil. Good kinds are Brown tiloba, Brown Spanish, Ailsa Craig, Cranston's Excelsior, and James Keeping. .Potatoes.—A few early varieties such as Early Hose, Beauty of Hebron, Ashleaf Kidneys, and lio'jiti Adair can bo planted along the. bottom of a fence facing north, or whore they can be protected from late frosts. The best soils for early crops are those jf j a loamy, sandy natulre. Soil containing lime is improved by the addition of superphosphates, and those containing no lime basic slag; tho latter should have bee n put on some timo ago as it is very slow in action. Spring Cabbages.—While it is satisfactory to get a certain proportion of tho earliest batch—that is, the bate:! planted in autumn —to "turn in" early in the season, there is always a danger of spring cabbages "bolting" and running to seed when thoy grow too freely in August. To prevent this every means nvust bo taken to encourage the young plants to make solid instead of flower stems. By judicious feeding at tho present time, it is possible, to a largo extent, to prevent "bolting." If a mixture consisting of two parts of superphosphates and ono part of sulphate of ammonia is applied to the cabbage plot, at once, using it at tho rate of one and a naif oz to ihe square yard, the danger of the plants running prematurely to seed will be reduced to a minimum. A dry. still dav should bo chosen for giving this dressing, and if it can be worked into tho soil by moans of the Dutch hoc tho sooner will its effects bo felt. Later on, just as hearting up begins, nitrate of soda at the rate of one ounco per square yard can be hoed

ln * Jerusalem Artichokes, being untidy in their growth, are often given any odd corner of the garden, and loft there year after year. But thev are an exhausting crop to the soil, and it is worth while seeing that that corner lias been well manured. If this is done they can bo grown with success for several years on the same ground. They do test when -planted about the end of this or the beginning of rext month. Plant in rows tkreci feet apart and from eighteen inches to two feet between the sets. Manv prefer the old purple variety, but the white gives good returns.

FLOWERS, Half Hardy Annuals. —In the greenhouse the amateur whoso ambition is to raise a baccn or two of uau-jiaroy annuals for tiie decorations of Jiis summer garden, will now liavo to bestir himseir* Tiio choice of subjocts with which to experiment is a wiuc one, but tiie treatment t.o bo accordcd to them all is 6im<>ar. Thus he may select ageratum, balsam, _ aster, nemesia, mangoicl, nieotianu, 'ph.ox Drunnnoncii, salpiglossis, salvia, ten-week stock, 01 zinnia and bo certain that all will germinate and thrive in an average temperature of oOdeg. Some of these can be sown in the open border the latter part of next month, but earlier bloom will bo had when tho seed is sown indoors. Tho seed may be sown in pots, pans, or boxes, though for a comparatively email garden a pot full of seedlings of each kind will provide more than enough plants for the purpose. Sow the seed thinly in finely-sifted sandy soil, water carefully by plunging tho pots to the rira in a nail of tepid water before sowing. Lightly cove"' the seeds with line soil, and cover t-lie pots with sheets of glass and brown paper. After germination is apparent the glass should be tilted to admit air. As soon as two pairs of leaves have formed tho seedlings must be carefully pricked off into boxes of somewhat richer soil, taking care in the process not to damage tho tender roots, and. placing each seedling deeply 111 tho sou, so that tho bottom pair of leaves just touch tho surface. Jiy the end of September the seedlings will be robust enough for transference to cold frames, whero they may be finally hardened off in readiness for out. Beading Geraniums. —Cuttings struck in the- autumn in pots and boxes arc now well rooted, and are growing jreely. This is a sign that they are j ready for transference to small pots, j Lanliv, drawn specimens should be pinched back after repotting, in order that they may bo induccd to produce vigorous siuc-shoots, and Uius be moulded into shapc.y plants. Window Plants. —The time for the repotting of window plants will be with us veiy shortly, and most o: us will ba inclined to think that there is room for improvement in this work.. One of tho chief reasons why many plants fail to do well in the house window is because of the imperfect drainage arrangements. In tho first place, good soil is required. It is absolutely no use trying to get along with house plants if they arf> potted in ordinary garden soil". This is at once an imperfectly drained soil for pot work, therefore mako an effort to get hold of a bit of new loam, a piece of turf cut and stacked last autumn is good. A little of this pulled to pieces, together with some leiif mould, a bit of old mortar, and some sand makes an admirable compost when mixed well together. Such a compost is open, and will remain ooen and admit of free drainage for at least twelve mouths. C*ean pots and clean crocks (drainage) are essential, lor the roots of a_piaat do not tarivo in a dirty pot. _ Pot fairly fum, and always water n plant baiore tailing it out of the old pot. 2si-.. »v pot a"plant until it shows some sign of activity, or until the pot it is in is fairly full of roots. Greenhouse Ferns. —The present is a gcotl timo for locking over the maidenhair ferns, which arc growing in xha greenhouse. If these do not actually reauire to be repotted, it is well to see 1 jiib the drainage of tiie j?ot ia in ®cpd

order for tho health of pot plants largely depends on whether the drainis ample or not. In addition it wnil be advisable to top dress the plants with a soil consisting of equal parts of loam and leaf soil, with a littie sand. This; must be carefully worked in anions: the fronds and made firm, but the crowns of the ferns themselves must not bo covered oyer., otherwise, of course, the plant? will die. If any want, re-potting care must be taken to see that- sufficient drainage i=; afforded, for there is nothing more distasteful to maidenhair ferns than poorly-drained sail. Plenty cf room should be left in the pets for the re- ; coition of water, as icrns consume- a : good deal of water dining the \ season. ____________ ! _ ,