The Garden.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 332, 9 January 1889, Page 6

The Garden.

Kitchen Garden. During the last two weeks there has been considerable grow bh in cucumbers, melons, marrows, etc. Continual pinching back and regulating superfluous shoot? will need to be done now ; also give liquid manure and water freely so as to keep them growing. Cabbages and cauliflower, earth up ; give plenty of water. Fow a small patch of seed for planting out about the end of February. Yeitche's Autumn Giant or Itaiian Giant are about the lust i'or autumn planting. Celery: The miiii crop fhould be planted out early this month See thai there is plenty of manmc pub in the bottom of each trench, and watu: well after planting 1 . The early - planted celery will now require to bo eaithed up : when tying up the stalks gi\e plenty of room id swelling. Leeks : Plant out the main crops in very rich soil. Wheie \ciy fine leeUo aic required, plant in well-mamued ti ouches and earth up the same as celery : these also will requite libeial treatment with Mater and liquid manure. Tomatoes : These are now making good growth. I'ineh back or oufc all suueiiluous shoots : train fruiting shoot;, to the trellises : gi\e plenty of liquid manure if youi soil be poor: w here ibis rich m plant food gi\o onlj clear water. Tomatoes aic hea\y foeduis. and where good eiop* are expected liberal treatment must be adopted. Make sueeessional sowings of French beans ; nuth up the earlyplanted crops. Running boanfe : Alakc a succe>sional t-owing: caith up and stake the crop that is advancing. Onions : See that the crop is kept free trom weeds by frequent hoeing between the io\v-. As soon as the eaily crops of potatoes come ori the ground ha\e soil duir and inamaed so a^ to be able to take advantage of any wet weather we mi^ht have for planting 01 saving the early autumn crops. Keep sturins: the surface between the io\\^ of all growing crop*. A loose, w el!-bioken mrtacs wiL help to pull a cop through the dry weather, and when by chance we do get latn ib at once can penetrate to a greater depth in the loose soil and ennsjquemly will be nice la-tincr- Wheic plent.y of water can be used attend to the usual fortnightly sowings of mustard and cress. To get these cri«p and juicy soil must be kept moist. Lettuce : L'liek oufc another batch; keep gi owing plants moist ; tie advance plants for blanching ; sow a small patch of seed foi eaily autumn planting. All vacant pieces ot ground should, where required, be trenched to the depth of two spits at lea^t. Xow is the best time of the year for trenching soil ; it will now get well cerated ; at- the same put plenty of fresh manure between the bottom and top spit of the soil. Any giound now trenched will be thebesfctortheautumn crops. All debiis of «peub crops should be at once conveyed to the rot heap and recene a liberal dressing of salt and lime so as to get all insect and vegetable life killed. rotted -vegetable refuse makes one of the best manures that can be applied to the soil.

Flower Garden. The wirra diy weather that we have experienced for the last two wcekt is beginniny to tell on many of the boidei plants, especially on the early planted or the fo^ii annual?, many of which aie now showing sin-ns of goinc: °rF. V\ r hcr.ever such ha\e f.iiriy spent their flowers they should he taken out of the border at once, as the dying plants will make the other plants look bad. Bedding plants : Atterd to the regular pinching and pejreing down so as to Keep them within their pioper cl'mencoiis. Vriien possible give a thorough drenching with water about onca a v esk at least. At this season of the year it. is worse than usele?s to use ■water in small quantities : it only encoinage- the roots ol plants to come tv the Mitfaio ut the soil, "where the hot rays of the Kin t oon seoich their.. .Alwa\- apply Wetter tv that it v. ill pencil ate foi some di-tanc-j into the .soil. Continue stikiny; and tynrj up all tall-tri owing plants a--soon a- they lequire suppoit. Regulate iho t;io«vth of siicli as may be pi educing tank b!ioot=.. Pick oir all bloom- as soon a^, t!ie ilower is eet, not allowing them to produce ■-ecd, as the jnoduction of seed - nip'y iol"- the plant and keeps it fi om matiuing other flowei:- pioperl}. lJahlia? are now begiuniiig to grow fioeiv ; ane plenty 'of liquid raanme. Chiy-jntho-inuin -3 should now be staked : pi ich back s!i(jot& : it will cau«e them to break again ; L r i^c l] r [a t d nirimue. Cockscombs and bal-am- need wMtcr freely to U<-ep thoni growing. Portulaca i? now beginning to shf~w ilowers : t'ns plant w ill J jwell if kept mctty <'iy. Tiie surface -oil on all the border;? -Mould be lYe<jU<Mitlv -tn red up and broken with thu lioe or fork so a., to keep it iieo £in*l loo^e, thus allowing beuer iitmo-plie'.ic action to the loots. Lawn: Tno gra^s i- r.ow beginning to yive way unle-b in such places Avlieie unlimited water can be applied. In .-uch place= the ground should us heavily rolled after being cut. The walks should now be raked weekly so as to keep them tidy and fiee fiom weeds.

The Effect of Spraying. '• Last ycdi," the "El Doiado Republican,'' '• two ot our hoi ticulturists tried the experiment oi fiiut-sprajinrf with most f-atisfactoiy ie~ult*>. L. M. J)a\U 500 or 6CO Dai tSett- pear tiee^ ith a ,-oluiion of one pound of Pan-, <^iecn in IGO tralionT of v.atei. He found that this .solution killed tne pear &'uy and produced no visible eflect upon the; ft uifc foliage, and, although ho onlj epiayed the trcc=> once, he iound it \tiy bencficJal to,the fruit. Spiayiny %vith this -iluiion co-ts about th/ee mills to the vvee besides the hibour and expense for a pump. Earl Norton and hi?- &is^ter, Mrs Delaney, smayed last yeai about 2,000 pear and apple tfee=, r.gine a solution of Paris one pound Lo 100 gallons of uater. Although they only apiaycd trees once, >eb the result-, v. ere \ery satisfactory. An apple oichaid that was spiayed yielded 150 boxes, and the year 'before, without spraying, only twenty nine boxes.'

Codlm r/loth in Oregon. At the recent meeting" of fruit-growers held in this city, the codlin moth was pretty thoroughly discu=teed, and spiaying" critic. -cd. There weie present several large fruit-growers who iittfd up spraying apparatus la»t spring and attempted to save their fruit from the worms. In regard to apples, it is thought they saved a large propoition, though many were wormy. Several reason-; were given for this partial iailure. One was that soon after the iirst spraying a rain came, and thoi-e were heavy and continuous rains after that, which may have wat>hed off the poison. Another reason was that the spraying was generally done so late that it could nob be made thoroughly effective". • Bub the conclusion was that there was no cause for discouragement, as spraying was effective elsewhere. With respect to Bartlett pears the spraying seemed satisfactory, as these pears were hardly bonchod by the worms. But it appeal s that other Eartletts were also free from worms and the proof was nob so strong. The opinion seemed to be thab Bartletts came- so early at. to be ahead of the codiin moth. • But two persons said that while the orchard trees that wer§

sprayed were perfectly free from wotfms, they had a low in their homo gardens that vveio nob sprayed that were somewhat infested. So the evidence was rather in favour of some good done by spraying. Another conclusion arrived at was that no other remedy than spraying could be depended on. How arsenical poison acted to prevent or destroy those pests wo confoss never to have seen stated, though wo havo read caiefully and tor information, so this writer camo to the erroneous conclusion that it prevented the moth from laying its eggs ; but the trne solution is that when the worm hatches it eats the fruit and is-, killed by the arsenic. That shows how easy it is to be mistaken. While the early crop ot worms was not I large, the second crop that comes about i midsummer was very destructive. The (irst eggs aro laid in the caly\ of the fmit and eat in freni theie; the latter ones eat in from the side, or on any part, and do not make quite as filthy work of it as tho iiisfc o.ies do. Some insect fiiendly to &he apple destroyed many of the insects while in the proccs* of tiansformation by oatinir into the cocoon and killing the pupa. But tho teniblc incioasc ot this pc^t is manifest by tho immense quantity of fruit that covers the giound in all apple and pear orch.uds. This destruction is fearful, and if fruit is of any value must be chocked by any possible means-. Where a few neighbour combine they can piocuic a spray my apparatus that can spray 500 small tiees, ten to hfteen yeais old, in a day. Such a rig can bo got up for s3O to £60 that will do e'leetive work. London pin pie is not e\pensi\c — say 35 to 40 cents per pound — and the saving will be great in piopoition to the cost. — ' Portland Oicgonian.'