The Garden.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 320, 28 November 1888, Page 6

The Garden.

Mulching. Ix climates where we are durinjr tho summer subjected to long periods in which littye rain falls, every endeavour should be made to retain the moisture in the s il as loner as possible. The hot rays of the sun striking 1 the soil day after day soon evapor" afces all moisture near the surface. In order to modify and weaken the power of the pun's rays, foiuo lisyhi materials spread on the surface are of great assistance, as they prevent the heat from penetrating with such force as where the soil is left fully exposed. There is n vast difference in the power of soils, even in the sume locality, to .absorb heat. The position oraspect whiehsoH has to the sun's rays is an important factor in this matter. A piece of ground sloping towards the noith will absorb more heat and p«irt with its moistuie quicker than one sloping towards the south. Light porous soil will also aosorb heat; quicker and wart with it& moisture quicker than soil of a more compact tenacious nature. But whatever be the aspect or whatever the quality of the soil, all of them will be greatly benefited by being mulched with some material during the summer months. The best material to use for mulching purposes, is stable or cow litter in a fresh state ; this, independent of covering the". ground, contains n good deal of manure, part of which will get absorbed by the crop. At the same time, all old straw, fresh-cut" grass from the lawns, and other debris of the gaiden make capital mulching materials. 1 have also seen old sacking used witii advantage between the rows of vegetable crops. Wheie late summer cropping is cairied out it is imperative not only to mulch, but also to water in abundance so as to keep the plant food in such a moist state that the different crops are always able to take up sufficient for their daily wants. The great secreb of success with the Chinese market gardeners in having good supplies of vegetables during the summer months, is the using of plenty of stable manure for mulching, and watering the plants once or twice a week. Where bedding plants are planted out in mass, mulching can be nsed with effect now, as the plants will soon cover up the mulching and hide any unsightly appearance the mulching materials might have in the flower border. Trees or shrubs that were planted last winter will also be greatly benefited if a layer of mulching material be placed immediate!}' aiound them ; this will give them a much better chance of making some growth during the incoming season.

Improving Plants toy Selection. The following I take from the America 11 press. It should be of some u^e to tho5 c who may be trying to improve any variety of- plant : —Breeders of domestic animals who seek the greatest development of any peculiar and valuable characteristic carefully select animals to breed from that possess it in its most pronounced form. The- reason for doing so is, because it is well known that characteristics are hereditary, and readily transmissible from parent; to offspring. Not only are desirable tra ts of an animal transmissible, but objectionable ones as well ; hence more care is needed in making selections. While this I is well known to every intelligent breeder ! of animals, and seldom or never overlooked, it is to be feared that comparatively fe>v persons adopt the same system in the selection of plants for propagation, al&housrh it is quite as important with the latter as with the former. Of course we do not claim that we can develop a breed of plants that shall, under the circumstances, possess the stability of character noticeable in our most highly developed breeds of domestic animal*, ; but in many instances we have nearly reached that point, and might, perhaps, in many others, had proper attention been paid to the selection of the parents. The larger proportion of our cultivated fruits, vegetables, and cereals have become so thoroughly domesticated and fixed in their improved or advanced characteristics that they bear little resemblance to the wild or original t> pcs of the same race or species. In a -recent paper on the "Improvement of Plants on the Farm," by Mr Henry Evershed, publi&hed in the " Royal Agricultural Society's Journal,'' the author says : "It is well to understand that in effectingimprovementsin plants-, the experimenter is primarily dependent on what are mere treaks or accidents of nature, or casual variations, which mu&t be detected, and, if desirable, perpetuated by judicious crossing. The great object 'the experimenter should have in view, therefore, is to .guide the work of nature into such channels as will pro'-e mo&t serviceable to man, and this is done by encouraging and establish ing useful variations, and at the same time discouraging and gradually suppressing such as are undesii able." [To bz Continued.)