The Garden. (By Hortis.)

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 342, 13 February 1889, Page 3

The Garden. (By Hortis.)

Kitchen Garden. The hoavy soaking rains which we experienced during the latter portion of last week will havo had the effect of starting in to active growth all lately- plan ted vegetables. Celery : If the main crop is notalready planted, put it out at once ; earth up the early planted crop, and prepare another trench for planting about the end of this month. Tomatoes : The late lain is causing these to put forth too much wood. Judicious pinching must take place, so as to keep the fruit exposed to the sun as much" as possible. Some of the large leaves might in some cases be taken off with the same object in view. See to the tying up of all fiuiting shoots. Keep the soil moderately damp about the plants. French and running beans : — Keep up the successional sowings ; earth up and stake as may be required ; on the fruiting plants, pluck off all pods as they become fit for use, To allow your plants to ripen the seed simply robs you of a large portion of the crop. Have the main crop of broccoli planted out at once. Cabbages and cauliflowers: asmall patch should be put out about once in three weeks now so as tokeep up a succession. Plenty of water will be roquired to keep them growing. Cucumbers, water melons, marrows, pumpkins, etc. : Pinch and regulate superfluous shoots ; keep the plants growing by giving a liberal supply of water, Rock melons : Also regulate the growth of these, but keep the soilabout them moderately dry. ' A little starvation of the plant will enhance the flavour of the fruit. Oniona : As the autumn and spring town onions ripen they should be plucked and placed on a walk, where they should be allowed to dry for a week or so before being stored. All early and intermediate pota toes should be lifted, if ripe, and stored, as after the late rains they will be apt to grow if left in the ground. Now is the best periad of the year for either trenching or draining vacaut pieces of ground. It perhaps costs a little more for labour while the ground is dry and hard, but the benefit the soil receives by being laboured in a dry stite will more than recoup the extra expense. While trenching, use plenty of fresh manure. The great art of cropping with success is putting in the ground plenty ot plant food.

Flower Garden. The late heavy rains will have freshened up a large number, of plants that were beginning to suffer from bhe effects of tho dry weather. Dahlias' will now be showing plenty of flower buds. Sec that each plant is properly staked. Where very fine blooms are required, systematic thinning- of buds must take place. Give liquid manure frequontly. Chrysanthemums : Look to the tying up and staking to obtain fine flowers ; thin out superfluous shoots, and as the buds begin to form pinch off all but a few on each shoot, Also give liquid manure frequently' Common gladiola bulbs which have ripened phould be lifted and dried in the sun for about three weeks and then replanted, so as to obtain early spring flowers. Cockscombs, ' balsams, tuberou&-rooted begonias, colous and other strong-feeding plants will require to be watered frequently so as to keep up a strong growth. Bedding plants : Pinch back and regulate, and give liquid manure. All flower stalks should be cut away as soon as the flowers are spent. Besides looking unsightly the maturing of seed simply robs other flowei'a or the plant. Stir the Surface soil in ' tho borders frequently with the hoe, This will not only keep weeds under, but the freshly broken surface will act as a mulch to the hard ground underneath. Carnations, pinks and picotees should now be layei*ed. Put a little sand round each plant in the form of a mound, then elit the shoots and peg down in the sand. Keep moderately moist and the layers will soon root. Anemone and ranunculus seed 1 should now be sown in a cool shady situation. The best soil to sow in is a light, rich, sandy one. After sowing, keep moderately moist." Hardy geranium cuttings can now be taken off and placed in a cool shady spot. They will strike easily and make fine plants for the borders next bpiing. The lawns will be looking a little better after the late rain. They should be rolled well before the soil gets hard and dry again. If soil Ins not yet been procured for top dressing it should be obtained at once so as to give it time to sweeten befoie it is used.

Greenhouse. Give plenty of air and shade during the day and water freoly every evening. Cinerarias, calceolarias, and primula should now be sown in light rich soil. All hardy plants which have finished flowering should be placed outside in a- qool place. Plunge the pots in the ground. This method will save labour in watering during the next two or three months. Repot such fetrong growing plants as require more pot room. Use liquid manure freely, especially to plants in small pots. Caterpillars are now making their appearance, and you should take measures to destroy them.

Bud Variation, Negative evidence is not usually good evidence, and when we, know that countless millions of fruit and 'flowers have in the past 100 years been budded and grafted without the individuality of tho'- Variety being .in any way affectedfjby t>be»jsfcock» and that only a < fqw instances, -'such as the (Jytissiis purpureus and the Bizzaria Orange can be" cited as exception's, it is not fair to infer- that these almost solitary cases are due to what Mr Darwin calls " bud variation " a condition by no means uncommon in scores of families of plants which are never budded or grafted. Nearly all of us see' every season scarlet and- scarlet and white striped carnations on the same plant. Dahlias are found crimson, crimson and white, and sometim,es l almost pure white on the same plant. Last spring' we had plants of the double, sc&rlet hibiscus with scarlet, orange, and scarlet and .orange — thr.ee,, distinct kinds of "flowers on the same plant; and that wonderful freak ot nature, the striped tea rose,- America 'Banhor, was a "'sport" from a plant of Bon Silene X and' has no resemblance to it, either in flower, or foliage. Scores of other instances could be cited if time would permit, but enough lias been shown, 1 think, at least to throw doubt on the theory that tho stock' affects the individuality of the graft. In the past quarter of a century millions upon millions of Bartlett pears and Baldwin apples have been grafted upon millions of stocks, and yet to-day they are as true to their individuality, as the Qoncord grape or Wilson's strawberry that are perpetuated by cuttings or runners,' arid none of them are in any way changed from when they first appeared, unless by the temporary accidents of soil Or climate, I believe that the smallest or the greatest of the works of creation has a sepai-ate and distinct individuality, and that they cannot be blended except by generation, and that the 1 product of generation, whether in the lowest microscopic germ or in the highest type of nian, has an individuality so distinct and separate that it cannotattach to another. — "American Press."