FARMER'S AND GARDENER'S CALENDAR FOR JANUARY.

Southland Times, Issue 886, 22 January 1868, Page 3

FARMER'S AND GARDE NER'S CALENDAR FOR JANUARY.

Mean temp 60° — corresponding to July in England, mean temp. 63 ° . The Farm:.— Turnips and Mangold-wurzel require constant attention, " in horse and handhoeing, and potatoes will be ready for moulding-, up— but it is a practice in some measure growing obsolete. Cross-ploughing the laud broken up during, the previous winter will occupy all spare time till harvest. New- land should lie fallow nine months previous to cropping, and have at least two ploughings or scarifying. Low, levol ground, with clay subsoil, should be ploughed in narrow ridges, leaving' broad water furrows, 30. 18, or 15 feet off each other, as the nature of the ground m:iy require ; or underdrain, and then no furrows will be required. . . Oaten hay will require close attention. Particular care " chonld be taken that its exposure to the "sunshine and wind shall not last, long enough to make it more justifiably called straw than hayi deteriorating its quality and weight. It is a profitable and uesful crop. The d;iiry should be kept as low in temperature as possible." Take care of milch cows, that they are not over-heated ; their health, and, conse-' quently, their produce of milk, is more injured by sultry weather than is commonly supposed. To obviate this, yarding them in a sheltered spot,' -with cut clover, tares, &c, will be found advantageous. ' . . Kitchen Gakdeit.— - This month, like the preceding, is generally showery, and should be taken advantage of for planting, as,' through the rapid evaporation of the New Zealand soil, several diiys rain will dry np in almost as many hours. Hants of any kind planted in showery" weather take root immediately, being assisted by the" moisture o the atmosphere, and very rarely meet a cheek, whereas if ' Water is applied ever so plentifully, with a drying wind, the chances of a fair start are against them. Plant Walcheren and Cape broccoli ; also cnuliflower3 and nonpareil, early York' and Enfield market cabbage, for autumn and winter use, or, if preferred, the cattle cabbage called drumhead. Plant also, for winter and spring use, Savoys, green kale (or curly greens), and various sorts of broccoli, such as the mammoth, tlie brimstone. Chappies' cream, the imperial, or any other choice varieties from the seed beds sown in August or September. Brussel '■ sprouts should now be planted. The ground for these crops should be well dug and manured. Draw drills two feet from each ther, and set the plants eighteen inches apart, except the nonpareil and early York cabbage, which may be eighteen inches row from row. and twelve inches plant from plant, to allow theni to be drawn out for open ones when young. Should the weather be dry.make a puddle of half cow dung and half mould, and as much water, as will make it into a thick paste, into which dip the roots of the plants until they have a .portion sidhering to them (the more they take up the 'better), this will greatly accelerate their growth. Turnips may now be sown without the risk of Tunning to seed ; ihe best garden sorts are the white stone, the mouse- tail, and the golden ball : the Swede is preferred by some, and should be sown now. "•■■■• — Puase, a last crop may be sown; SangsterV No. 1 is as good as any, as it comes quick, and is - dwarf in its nature, but this sowing js not to be depended on, as it may be cut off by early frost. J3road beans, by cutting down the old stems when the crop is oft, will shoot out at the bottom, and produce a greater supply than beans sown tow ; but to be thus treated they should have tln-ir tops pinched out as soon as their bottom flowers are expanded, which process should never be neglected. , ;. Keep the hoe going amongst all growing crops ; this not only destroy s weeds, but tends greatly.tp the health, of the various plants ; earth up alt crops requiring it, take up shallots and spread them out. in a dry place to dry thoroughly before putting away, for if put away wet or sappy they will most likely rot ; gather all kinds of sweet and - pot herbs while in bloom, tie them in bunches, not too large, and hang them in aTlry shady place j to dry, when they may be rubbed into powder and put into ''wide-mouthed' bottles for winter use. ' .■■-•• Fruit and Fio-WEB- Gabden-.— ln the fruit gnrden the operation of midsummer pruning must be attended to, by taking out 'all foreright and misplaced shoots, that i?, from all fantrained trees (whether against «a wall or espalier); .take on t all young wood that grows directly out from the front of the tree, and ull that run across each other ; the side or proper placed ones should be tied or nailed in, as the caso may be. The same rule equally applies to standards, indeed the form and beauty of a fruit tree depends more upon ''this 'pruning than upon winter training. Strawberries will now be ripening their' fruit, and, if the weather be dry, should' be 'supplied with water to assist them to swell off their fruit and prevent their going blind ; take off nil runners as. soou Ss they shoot from the . plants, except they are required for new beds or forcing, in this case they must be fastened down with small pe^s, either in pots or in the beds between the rows • these plants will also produce runners,. . which must be kept cut off to allow .the, plants, to get sufficient strength for bearing next season. Budding, should now be done .where required and, as many do not know how to perform this interesting . operation, to. such the following instructions "will be found correct : — The instruments required are either a proper budding knife, or any other having a thin smooth edge, and a piece of wood or. bone having a thin flat end, perfectly smooth,, with which to. raise tha bark or rind off the stock, and .some worsted .to biud with ; then, suppose it is required to bud a peach. upon: a, -plum; (Stock, take from the peach tree. a shoot of this year's wood, and, wife! i this and the above implements, go to r the stock to be budded', take/the stock in one hand and with the knife make a cut lengthways', just, through ithe bark, about an inch or an inch and 'a-half ; long, the Vat the top of this mark a tsro^s "cut, but only through the bark, forming as it werffthe letter ~7"Y then take the" branch and cut a "bad from it, in the following manner- — Set in~~th> knife (which should be. sharp and smooth as a razor) about a quarter of an inch above the irad, and cutting about an inch below it-, that is towards the cut end of the shoot, cutting as thin into the 'wood as possible ; or, it' too much wood is taken ( off, it-should be pared out, the bud;then;.with-its; 'leaf adhering, is fit for insertion, then with—the handle of your knife, or substitute for it, raise the; rind off Ihe Stock where the two cuts .were ; made; l and insert the bud," then c'.ose the stock of -the . bud over it, leaving the leaf sticking out from the L cut in the stock,' then with the worsted bind, the whole close together, but. not too tight, and tho . operation -ia finished. To be successful it must be •■ quickly done, lot' if the. sap dries the bud is-bure- • not to take ; note also- that it ia not necessary ; to take the whole of the wood out from the bud, but it should be left in as thin as possible ; puLthe bud oh the- side from the sun, and abqnt three or ' four inches from.. the ground, unless it ia for " standard trees or roses, for which any height may ) be th")sen. .; ; ;.' : • ■■ Tiie flower garden will now be giving some j recompense for past months of toil, by a rich display of poses, carnations, picottses, geraniums, fuschias i verbenas, and also a number of beautiful ' annualsv All should be neatness in this 3; department ; stake and tie all plants requiring it,

* and cut down and clear away all plants that j have done flowering, and cut up weeds wherever they appear. This is the proper time for the general propagation of all hardy and half-hardy flowering plants, such as verbeans, heliotropes, scarlet and other geraniums, phytania%ageratums, f ga'ardias, lobelias, &c, by cutting-, to be sheltered through the winter for bedding out next spring ; and also parsies, polyanthus, sweet williams, and all hardy plants, to stand in their nursery bed till wanted ; choose for this a shady border, but not overhung with trees ; the soil should be light and sandy, but. no manure should be in it. Carnations, cloves, picottees, and pinks, are propogated by layers and pipings for layering ; get some small pegs and a sharp knife, draw some earth up to the plant, then with the knife cut at a joint on the underneath part of the shoot you intend to lay a slit up to the next joint, cut about half through the shoot, but not moro, then peg the layer down with the heel strai?ht in the soil, and cover the pegged or cut part about an inch with mould. Pipings are the young tops termed grass, snd are taken off at a joint, they should not be more than three joints long ; strip the leaves from the lower joint, and cut off about half the lenjrth of the tops, and prick them out I as directed above. "._".. i