The Garden.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 256, 18 April 1888, Page 4

The Garden.

Froparing tho Soli for Tree Planting. The future welfare of trees of all kinds depends much on tho preparation of tho soil for planting, how it. is pulverised and to »vhat depth it is loosened. {"People who plant a tree just about the same as planting a post, with a hole just large enough for its reception, need never look for pood results. Orchards ot many acre* should be ploughed, and how V Be planted with fruit or ornamental irec". >Suppo J ing a proper soil has been stait a four-horse plough and put a .sub soil plough after it in the same tin row. Continue (hi* work until the whole ground i? completed. Then start with the same plough in the samp manner, and cross-plough the whole. This- mode will bunsr thes-oiltothedepthoftwo feet. If itbe still lumpy, putthehairow or cultivator over it : it w ill soon reduce the soil from lumpinc^-. Then mark oft for the trees, and do not put them too clo.-e, for there is nothing gained by close planting where fruit is re quired. Having determined the distance of the trees, proceed to get the holes out. Thcemay be madeaslargeas you please, four teet deep by j=i\ feet wide, or larger in the same proportion. Now ie the best time of the >ear for picpaiing the soil for planting ticc? . it is now in good working order through the leccnt rains. If broken up now it will get \\ ell pulverised befoic tho piopei planting »ea&on comes on.

Mixed Farming. Combination is illustiaied as among t-hc impoi taut meant- of increasing thorc\enue of the farm, and it is !>eld that when each pait is veil done, too many things cannot be combined. Nevertheless, it must be lemcmbcred that it i^ fully a> difficult to eairy out a large combination of intercut- in agriculture as it is to undertake se\eral tiades or professions undei one management. Few pei-ons can carry out the breeding of turf or draught horse^ in their several strains., bleed se\end families of beef a?ul daiiy cattle, ami at the same time cany on a system of general cropping and of dairying. But one and the same man, if he has good business ability , may select a single breed of hoise^ or of cattle, whether beef 01 dairy, one of sheep, and one of hog;., and at the same time can\\ on cropping, and if he keeps a dairy breed of cattle he may carry ondaiijing successfully. In fact, a man cannot bieed successfully without also combining an intelligent s\stem of crop ping theiewith. Combination is always an achantage where the parts combined pei form their H:\eial functions as well as could be done singly. One pha^e of this was illustrated a*« follow?: The cornplanter and cheek lower that accomplishes in one operation what was formeily done in the four sepaiate operations of "maiking," 'chopping,' 'covering and 'rolling' is bat one of the many inventions which lllustiate the gicat ad van t iges of combination. A^ a countiy of \aiicd resoutccs is siipciior to one limitod to a few, so a business having •>e\eral -ouioe- of piortti- more ceitainof success than th.it limited to one thing. — 'Chicago Tiibune.'

Stools, Graft and Leaf. It ha- been supposed that the stock- of fmittiees exeiei&ed an influence upon the ehaiactei of the fi nit, but it i- alwajs found that a sweet apple giafb on a sour rmolp ;tOC.k Will nrnrln.'o " J ' "^o fiuli.ua if grown troni the beed. Nature mak' -no nn-tako. The. giaft ha- it- mot in the -took, whcthei at the bottom or top of the tiee, ciM'l the fj nit acquires its u hole character fmin the le.oes beyond it. Whfthir the mu sen man v ct^ hi- apple giaft-5 upon whole -tocks or piece-> of loot:-, the must .-oon become the main taetoi , beeau-e the -lock, not pi educing any leave-, ar-t- aiiiiply a- a feeder until ou'tconie bv the <_ r t aft, which -ends albur nmn, or -ap wood, into the root- that they nnij ha\rgiowth to ooi re-pond with the tiunk alxne giound. In .-hort, the .-toek cdine- up the tood, but the graft a^s-imi-late- it that it may produce its kind, un ini\ed with any others. Jt i-> in thi- manner that the original -toek and root aie overwhelmed by the giaft befoie the tree leaves the nui'-ei \. Sa\ - -Mr Knight, an English w liter of nun) ) ear-' -tancling as an authority 'The tiue .-ap of tiees i« wholly genet ated in theii !ea\e-, tiom which itd< ?eend- throuirh the bai k to the (.\tiemitie- of their toot-, depositing m it- eoui-c t,he mattei which i- -iiece-axely added to the tiee.' That the leaf i-> the main notnishei of the fitut a- well a- the builder of the tiee, let the ..ultnatoi coiupaie the lcif of the giaft with that of the trc<' fiom which it wa-hi-t taken, and he will find that, tininline leat under all condition- will produce i the sune fuut. J'rofe^sor Liudlry, the gieat botani-t, .speak- directly to thn point when he .-a) - . 'Ot the food to be con Mimed in the manufacture of the fruit, a portion is deined from the atmosphere, but the principal part ha- to bo piepared by the leaves, which obtain-> it fiom the earth thiough the ioot 1 -.'