The Garden.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 250, 28 March 1888, Page 7

The Garden.

Storing Apples and Pears. Many persons complain that apples and pcavs keep badly. Well, we have a good <leal yet to learn in the matter of storing fruit. I have seen n nil-rooms built specially for storage, in which the fruit kept so badly that they \\ cie gi\on upas failures and some oidinaiy shed or nuthouse substituted. My impression is {.hat ior stoiing latc-kovjping fruit tlie .\\vU 5m or open shelves is about the worst Ihfit could be dcvis>ed, nsspieadout in ti)at wny the fruit parts with its moisture too lupidly, and when lipe the fruit i-< by no moans so juicy as it ought to be. I lather than .'-tore on shelve* 1 uould stirc in bins or tubs, or c\en in large heaps on the iloor. In Kent many ot the inut-growcrs, who aie also hop-grm\e»s, utilise the hop kiln-* (or stoiing late tipple.? in winter, .m<l such soils as Xurthci.i Greening, Wellington, and others that eomo )n after Chu«tmas ate put into lai^e hear- on the Joor and covered with hh.iu, mil. of wliich they come m .spang whh -i areolv n.iy lo of weight, .iml very tcu decay. I may also mention another cibc —that of a cottager— who had :i unit li Lu^ei quantity of apple* than he had the nu\.ti>- o's.tonu«_", and who, owing to tho low pnt.es oilering at the time, resolved d tiy .md keep them through tho w Liter. He- purcliased 'bomo emply o;i il;&, packed them full ot apple-, and 5-et them in a .shod. Whon severe ho^t .set in he covered them over with piotccting material. He was so well repaid in s print? by the mci eased price obtained for them that he lesohed in future to all hi;- ft mb that would keep for any length of time, rather than part with in for about hull its leal \aluo (J. Groom, in '• The Garden). Jloie in New Zealand 1 am quite ccrt.iin that if many of our frnic growers who send fruit to market would adopt a system of storing late fiuit. in barrel"", or bo\es, they would be able to keep the market supplied fur amurh longer period, and at greatly advanced pi ices to themselves. One ot the most important points connected with the gathenng of late fruit X not to pull such from the trees too soon. Th<> fmib should be allowed to hang ciH it is almost going 1 to drop. When gatheicd, put (lie fruit in a heap for about a week before storing past in the banelsorl)O.\e.->. While handling the fruit during the storing, it should all be assorted. First, all the damaged cr imperfect fi uit should be put aside for immediate use or market. Next, a distinction should be made beween those which show signs of ripeness and those which it is evident will take a long time to come to maturity. F. uit ot the same variety from different and even from the same tree willvury considerably in the periods at wliich it becomes tit for use. Some of it will -.how a shade of yellow colour, and feel soft, clearly showing that it will soon be fit for use. Tina should be all packed and used, or sent oft" to market first. .Some of the fruit will be still quite green, and with that j peculiar cast of surface which indicates that it will keep long. This should also be packed together, so that in each box ov barrel all the fruit; is of about the same degree of ripeness.

Hoot Pruning. I have frequently drawn attention in these columns to the question of root pruning. In doing so again I would instance the late season. During the early part of it we had fairly good weather for the growth of fruit trees, it being not nearly so hot as some preceding beasons. The latter portion wa« also much cooler, with little or no rain, the result of which was that a large number of pear and plum trees 1 ipened their wood, and in many instances lost, most of their foliage, lea\ing them during this month without the necessary leaves to elaborate any sap which may be sent up the tree during the ne\t two months. About a fortnight ago we received heavy tains, with accompanying cold weather, which cold for the time being kept the growth slightly in check. New, if thi« cold would continue and get colder for the rest of the season, fruit trees would stand a chance of still farther ripening oft'their wood, but that is hardly to be expected. During the end of March, all April, and a portion of May, we are likely to obtain fine warm genial weather. The usual result on fi uio trees is a fresh autumnal growth. The heavy rains have developed more plant food, which the roots are bound to absorb ; it will pass up the stem and branches of the tree, and must find vent somewhere. That somewhere is usually the blossom bud, which it will soon cause to swell, and the tree will come out into full flower. Certainly this, in some instances, is a pretty fcight, but it is ruinous to the future cropping of the trees. The autumnal flowering expends the forces which the tree ought to have stored up for the next spring. Now, to get over the evil effects of this annual autumn drain on our trees, root pruning must be resorted to. Whenever a tree shows the slightest sijjn of swelling the buds in the autumn, a greater or lesser number of its roots should be cut at once, so as to check or fctop further supplies of sap from going up the tree. The cutting of the roots will at once accomplish this. Immediately the roots are cut, a re-action in flow of sap will take place, and a portion of the fluid sap will begin to descend the tree, going to the roots so as to repair tho damage. The wound made will soon heal over and a number of small fibrous roots will spring out which will greatly assist the fertility of the tree next season. The balance of the sap will be absorbed into the tree and assist in bringing the wood and buds into a more perfect state of ripening during the winter, besides giving the tree a much longer rest than it would have obtained if left unpruned. Anyone who has had much practice with fruit trees in New Zealand (especially near Auckland) will know that an almost perpetual activity is going on in the sap. In some instances it is almost impossible to tell when the tree is at rest, the sap being nearly always in motion. The cau*e of this is the mild climate we possess during the winter months, there not being enough cold in the winter to give the tree a sufficient check. Now, to be able to properly perform their functions trees need an annual rest, and to bring this rest about the roots must be pruned. Root-pruning is also the best method at our command for limiting the size and habit of fruib treos. Where a tree is prone to grossness in habit, the grossness its easily taken out of it by judicious pruning at the roots. Again, where the space for e*ach tree is limited the .size of the tree can easily be kept within due bounds by curtailing the roots from time to time. Some cultivators try and keep trees under by pruning the branches ; this only forces tho branches to grow with greater vigour, but the instant the knife is applied to the roots the effect is at onco apparent. Thus, root-pruning solves tho problem of the size, form, and iabits of fruit trees, and enables cultivators with ease to regulate them at will. (To be continued.) j

. " See the corn-curine h6ro coiWa "is the • -way in which a travelling chh'opddisfc recently placarded a We.°ter» town.