The Garden.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 221, 24 September 1887, Page 1

The Garden.

Kitohen Gordon. Whenever the soil is in a favourable condition continue sowing and planting out the main crop of vegetables. Thin out the earlier - sown crops as they require it, and earth up those that are advancing in growth. Continue the successional sowing of peas ; earth up and stake the early-sown crops. Make the usual fortnightly sowing of mustard cress and radishes. Lettuce : Prick out another patch ; tie up advanced plants for blanching. Celery : Prepare a bed for pricking out the early sown plants ; sow another patch for later pricking out. Give frequent dustings of lime to keep slugs off. Potatoes : Plant out the intermediate crop ; earth up the early crop. Cucumber, melon, and tomato plants in pot : Commence to harden off for planting out. Make hilL for planting the same about five or six fi_jt apart : and make a large hole and miv in it about a barrow-load of manure, thus making a little hill. When the plants are ready plant in the centre of the lull. At the present there are made at one of our local timber companies nice little square boxeo with glass tops ; these are the veiy thing that is wanted for protecting young plants of melon, cucumber, etc., in the eaily spring. They are obtainable at a very cheap rate. They are also \ cry handy for raising tender seeds in the open border, being placed over them at night- and slightly tilted up during the day to admit air. Sow a little Cape gooseberry under glass. Dig and manure all vacant pieces of ground ior later cropping. Look after seed coming through the ground. Lime frequently, or the slugs will make sa/1 havoc with it.

Flower Garden, Continue sowing hai'dy annual-* ; sow in patche«. Thin out advancing patches, leaving only a few plants in each. If required, rho thinnings will transplant to another situation if lifted wi f ,h a ball of earth attached ro their roots. Sow tender annuals in pot* or pans under glabs. Commence planting out the different bedding plants struck from cuttings last autumn,"" arranging them according to their height, colour of foliage, or flowers, and placing the tallest crowing vatiefcies afc the back of the border, the smallest to the fiont. All carnation*, pinks and picoteoss ought to be planted out now ; it will soon be too late, as they are starting into growth. Early spring H'jwering bulbs are now showing flowering stalks. Stir the surface soil about them, and give a little liquid manure occasionally. Camellias done flowering give a flight pruning back, so as to keep them in good shape. Fork surface soil and mulch with manure so as to encourage a healthy growth. Azaleas are now coming into flower. Give liquid manure ;it will help them. Lawn : Keep grass short, roll frequently. Give a dusting of guano so as to produce a rapid growth and get a good close sward established before the dry weather sets in.

Greenhouse. Most, plants are now starting into growth. Potting of all such as lequire a change of pot fchomd be proceeded with at once. Tuberou— rooted begonias, etc., shake out of their pots and re-pofc into smaller pots. Strike another batch of coleus cuttings, and in doing *o recollect thai this makes~a very effective plant in border if planted out about the end of November. Apply liquid manure freely to liliums, amaryllis, etc. Double pelargoniums, cinerarias, calceolarias, etc., keep near the glass. Give plenty of air during fine days. Slightly syringe when shutting up the house in the afternoon.

Grafting (Concluded). Four years ago, I also grafted four phoofcs of the Princess Bacciochi and Imbricata camellias ona very robustoneof another kind, which scarcely ever flowered, thinking to communicate its vigour to these two freerflowering kinds. This it did, but from that date to this neither have flowered any better than the one it was grafted on. Of course, plenty of its own growth was left on the stock, but last spring I cut the greater portion of it away, and gave the scions a monopoly of foliago ; so we shall sec by-and-by if they flower better. My idea is that the grafts were rendered barren by the superabundant growth permitted on the stock. Again, years ago 1 planted a Mrs Prince grape on its own roots, and grafted a vine of the same on the Black Alicante, of which two limbs were left as well. Though the Mrs Prince is a strong grower on its own roots, the one on the Alicante beat it quite, producing by far the heaviest bunches and finest fruit, and is still bearing as well as ever. Had I cut all the Alicante limb 3 away, however", and left the Mrs Prince on the stock alone, I have no doubt that long before its date it would have been no stronger than the one on its own roots, as the Alicante root would have been just in proportion to the growth of the scion. The general conclusions I draw from these observations are, that the root of a stock alone, when a more vigorous growth ! in the scion is desired, is of very little use ; that the way to get the benefit of the union is to allow a portion at least of the foliage of the stock to grow as well as the scion ; and that it would be advantageous, and certainly not injurious, to graft weak varieties with stronger ones at both ends, which may be considered a species ot double grafting, but not in the sense in which that term is used generally, which means grafting one variety on top of another, and *>nly allowing the last to grow. Lastly, 1 believe that none of the dwarfing stocks, like the quince or paradise for example, will maintain trees, in a permanent state of fertility at least, till tho trees acquire age and have overgrown the stock, but must be root pruned only in a less degree than the crab stock, especially the quince, which produces stronger pear trees than the paradise does apples. This is my experience here in our cool soil and climate. All our quince stocks have been pruned over and over again, and their roots are always found to be just in proportion to the vigour of tho alien top they bore. [J.S. W.