FARM AND GARDEN OPERATIONS FOR FEBRUARY, 1873.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume 1, Issue 24, 5 February 1873, Page 2

FARM AND GARDEN OPERATIONS FOR FEBRUARY, 1873.

Corresponding to August nr Europe. Far*.—During this and last month the weather is generally too dry and hot for sowing seeds, as they will not germinate—however there is plenty of work to be done, ploughing, harrowing, burning, fencing, ditching, drainmg, cleaning out water-courses, carting manure, Ac., and making preparations for sowing autumn crop in March or beginning of April. The main crop of potatoes m4y be taken up, and put away at once under cover; first, however, selecting your seed. for next crop; pick well-formed, smooth-skinned, flat-eyed, middling-sized ones; some farmers will use none but large potatoes cut, leaving one eye in each set; our experience, however, is in favor of smaller sizes, with the growing end cut off, leaving two or at most three eyes—and for seed the potatoes will be improved by being spread out in the open air to green before storing. After reaping the grain, put the cattle on the land to eat off grass and weeds, then plough it up. Collect the weeds on the surface and bum as directed for last month. In foul pastures or land full of toots and weeds, paring and burning is the very best method for clearing the land. You may sow Cape barley and oats this month for green food, they will spring with the first rain. Summer follow new fem land for permanent pasture. Fot-est land only requires felling and burning; fell three months before firing light scrub; but heavy bush, eight or even twelve months will be required. Early in March or April is time to bum. Kitchen Garden.—As the peas are gathered plant late celery, savoys, cabbages, broccoli, and cauliflower; plant after heavy rain* We must be guided by the seasons in sowing and planting; for better let the plants remain in the seed-bed till the nights get a little longer and the air cooler, besides, insects are-very troublesome at this season. In season—peas, tomato, rhubarb, beans, carrots, cauliflower, turnips, beet, cabbage, vegetable marrow-, lettuce, radish, cucumber, and small salad.

Fruit Garden.—Gather -fruit as it ripens ; see that the young trees havjHt liberal supply of water, or the fruit may ripeA. prematurely and drop off. Strawberry beds done bearing should have the runners Cut away, and the hoe run through them; preserve as much of the foliage as possible, as that, in a great measure, tends to mature the dormant buds for the following season’s crop of fruit. Cut away banes from the raspberries after the crop is gathered, and encourage the young growth for next season’s crop, leave about four or five young rods, and destroy all the rest. Hoe all spare ground; trim hedges. Flower GarDejl—Operations this month—watering, staking, tying, bedding plants in full flowef. Attend to mowing, sweeping, rolling, and keep the edges well defined, so as to give all a Heat, finished appearance. Greenhouse.—Chrysanthemums must be shifted into their- flowering pots. jCut down pelargoniums done flowering and ripetied their wood, set them in a shady place out of doors, till they break into leaf. Cuttings will strike freely out of doors of in a cool frame, if shaded. Heaths and all hard-wooded plants plunged in a shady place out of doors. As soon as cinerarias have formed suckers, shake them out and divide the roots, pot the best into four-inch pots for another season ; same for the calceolaria. Keep this department gay with flowers in succession, —Chapman's Neto Zealand Almanac.