THE GARDEN.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 160, 28 August 1886, Page 1

THE GARDEN.

Grafting. ] ( Continued from Last Week.) ( Splice or tongue-grafting is the method employed in grafting young stocks in { nursery rows. It is the easiest and best ' when scion and stock are about equal in i size, and when possible it is better to try 1 and get scions about the same size as the stock is; the union will be easier and better. , The above method is performed in the fol- ■ lowing manner : — The stock is first cut back to the height at which it is to be grafted (which should be from 6 to 12 inches from the ground), then a thin slice of bark and wood should be taken off the stock, entering about 1^ inch down the stock, and increasing the thickness as you approach the top of the stock, leaving a perfectly smooth surface. The scion, which 3hould have about three buds, should next receive a cut exactly similar to the stock, so as to fit as accurately as possible. Then a slit, or tongue, as it is termed, is made on the scion, and a corresponding one in the stock. All being thus prepared, the scion is applied to the stock, inserting the tongue of the one into the slip of the other, taking care that the inner barks o? both are exactly opposite each other, so that tbe sap from the stock may flow at once into the scion. Tie them firmly in positiou with a piece of matting or old. linen cloth ; apply grafting clay or wax immediately afterwards, so as to exclude the air. When grafting young stock always apply the graft some distance up the stock, as whon low-grafted and afterwards planted out permanently, the graft is apt to get covered up with soil, and in time the scion will push out roots of its own ; and this, in the case of a large number of varieties of fruit trees, would be very objectionable, especially connected with apples on blight-proof stock; they should be grafted at x least € inches above the ground. Cleft grafting is tbe form most commonly used, and is adapted for stocks from fiveeighths to an inch in diameter to those of three inches. The stalk or limb is sawed square off with a fine saw, and is then split with a knife or other Bharp implement. After splitting, insert a wgdge to keep it open. The scions are whittled so as to be wedge-shaped, having the wedge part longer or shorter according to the diameter of the scion, and & little thinner on tbe aide designed to go towarda the centre of the stock, and are cut to such a length as to contain two or three buds. The wedge part of the scion is inserted in the cleft cut in the stock, and the wedge is withdrawn Two scions are usually inserted if the stock is over an inch in diameter, one on each side. And here let me say that in all forms of grafting care must be used in placing the scion so that the cambium layer (that part between the bark and the wood) ef it and the stock shall be in direct contact. After the scions are properly fixed in position they should be clayed or waxed, and care must be used that the ends of the stocks and scions and the whole slit be fully covered with clay or wax, 30 that no air can gain admittance to any cut surface. [To be Continued.) Sowing Annual Seeds. As the season is just commencing for sow ing the seed of the many different varieties, & few linos on the subject may assist many amateurs. Get a barrow-load of good rich garden soil, mix with same about half a barrow-load of sand ; keep this in a dry place, turning it over once or twice so that the sand and soil may be thoroughly mixed. See while mixing that the soil is broken up into fine pamclos Whenever a few annual seeds are to be sown, make a small opening in the ground about an inch and a-half deep ; till naarly up with the good soil, sow a small pinch of seed and cover up with a little more of tbe good soil. As the soil of many gardens is too cold and wet for the seeds to germinate freely, the above treatment is of great assistance in causing the seeds to germinate, and there is also sufficient good soil for the tender roots to make some progress till they attain enough strength to penetrate the colder and stiffer soils. The above mixture would be greatly improved if a half i barrow-load of well-rotted manure or leaf mould were mixed with it, if they can easily be obtained. Even in gardens where "the soil is moderately good or first class, it is worth giving the system a trial, For some years I fcave been in the habit of sowing all my annuals in pot. I make up a good rich sandy compost, fill into four-inch pot?, sow a small pinch of Peed in each, cover up with a little fine sifted soil, place in a cold frame with the sashes taken off, water, and keep there till they attain sufficient size to thin ; afterwards plant out in the borders whenever the weather suits This system, of course, gives a good deal more labour ; but the benetifca recompense for the extra labour. They are established beyond injury from slugs before being put out. Weeds have no chance of smothering the seedlings, &c. Anyone having the pots should try it, as you do not need the frame ; any well sheltered spot will do, only before' placing the pots on their places sprinkla a little coareesalt over the surface of the ground, so as to kill any sluge. After the salt is applied no slugs will come upon that portion for some time.

Picking , Lemons. In j>Tew Zealand, there is a large number of lemons now grown for market. The following; extract; regarding the time to pick and -how to ripen the fruit before . «en Jing to market may be of vast use to some of our growere.' I , - <,*> :.- , ' .,- , , , Frequently,' in -conversation with lemon buyers from. the East,, they > have told me th»t the - imported lemon often arrives in] litfrr York 'quite green, even] in, Chicago - and the Western cities often find them oi this colour; *. 1 . <<„ , s w ,,, ...^..fj, ... . '.:< The lemon "grower must learn by. experience just when to pick,a,lemon, aa, the pear grower knows just when to j pick;; a. pear., It id when the juices of each < attain a. cer-

tain ripeness, after, they begin to deteriorate and bitterness, intervenes. ,My experience is that the rind of the lemon before it begins to get yellow on the tree never is bitter,, and if picked while green or jus,t changing from green colour, never will develop bitterness of rind. Picking the lemon as above — putting the stem is better — I handle them as ( carefully as possible ; do not allow them to be bruised, as any fruit slightly bruised will soon begin to spoil, and contaminate others'. ', 1 place them carefully in Florida orange boxes, and the boxes half full. I act these boxes one on top of another, so as to allow as free circulation of air as possible through the boxes and over the lemons. These boxes are placed in a dry room, which is kept open in dry weather and closed in damp weather. In dry weather keep the lemons from ten days to two weeks, in damp weather two to four weeks, when they will have sufficiently evaporated to become somewhat soft. Then I wrap them in paper, the beat fruit paper, and place them in boxes for market. Many will be yet green, but in the course of six weeks or two months they will colour up beautifully, when they can be sent to market. It is interesting to pick a green lemon, i.e., one just ready to begin to turn yellow from the tree. It is as bafa as a bullet. Cut and squeeze it, it givea but little juice. It would take four or five of them to make a lemonade. Now, set aside the same size and kind of a lemon from the same tree, and cure it as explained in the foregoing paper for two or three months ; then cut and squeeze it, and it is full of juice. Where dii this juice come from ? It seems to have absorbed it from the rind, for the rind is not half as thick as it waa when the lemon waa plucked, and the lemon itself has reduced in size from one-eighth to one-fourth. Yetthia lemon has as much available juice in it as existed in three or four lemons just like it when first plucked from the tree, and the rind is not bitter. Now, again, suppose you pluck from the spme tree a lemon that was of the same aize j of the twe lemons above described as being plucked, and that has been allowed by this time— two or three months— to ripen up well on the tree. The lemon will be two or three times as large. It will have no more juice than the first lemon plucked and cut ; the rind will be thick and bitter. This lemon is worse than useless. It is a State incumbus. It brings our whole section in+o disrepute ; discourages the man who raiges it and ignorantly lets it ripen too much. — " American Press." Lemon d packed away with dry sand in boxes will keep for months in good condition, if placed away in a cool cellar witk a low temperature, — Horxu.s, in Star."