THE GARDEN [BY HORTUS.]

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 346, 27 February 1889, Page 6

THE GARDEN [ BY HORTUS.]

Kitchen Garden. This heavy rains we experienced about the beginning of this month arc still telling on I most of the autumn crops. Tomatoes are growing freely ; pinch back superfluous shoots, and thin out a few of the older leaves so ab to expose the swelling fruit to the sun's rays ; the fruit will thus lipen quicker. As the* .soil gets dry use a little liquid manure. Caterpillars are in some ir.&tances making sad havoc with the' fiuifc. The plants should be syiinged about once a week with a mixture ot soap, kerosene ' and water, two ounces of soap and about a wineglassfull of kerosene boiled in about two quarts of water. When the soap is melted mix with two g^lone of cold watei. Syiingo the plants with this ; it will assist in keeping the caterpillars off them Onions: Lift all onions as they n'pen off the foliage, and diy in the sun for a week or so before storing pa^t for the winter. The best place tor storing onions so as lo get them to keep wull is a dry airy shod, where a free current of air can get at the bulh c . Cabbages and cauliflowers planted outlast month will now bo growing.' To keep the fly off thorn use the same mixUne ! as recommended for the tomatoes, Water them occasionally with the waste water from the house. Soap-end-, in parlioular will do the plants pood. Plaufc out a few more of each so as to keep up a good succession. Celery : Earth up the early- planted crop ; ffive plenty oi wafer about two days before eai thing up. Main crop lately planted also water ; plant out another row fur succession. French beans : Sow another low. With a good autumn there will be ready for picking before the winter ?cts in. Eaith up the growing crop?. Leeks: Water and earth up early ciop. Main prop : (Jive plenty ot water &o os to keep them growing Cucumbers, pump Kin* and marrows . Keop pretty moist and legnlatc feupedluous shoots. Bock melons : Keep fnirly dry and expose Hie fruit to the sun's lays as much as possible. Recollect that a small haid fruit will bo better flavoured than a large rank grown one. Late potatoes should all bo lifted, as they may start to grow again. Mako a small sowing of turnip*, cai 1 ots, "vinter spinage and parsley for Cdi ly winter um\ Lettuce: Piick out anothei batch of plants in rich giound, using plenty of water. £>'tit up ad\nnoe plants for blanching. Sow another -mall pinch of sr>ed so as to keep a succob-ion of young plants for plicking out. Preparations should now be made so as to have the break of ground dug and heavily manured toi the uMial planting of the fresh strawbeny patch T?ecolleot that tho young runners if pl.intcd out in March will giow and make stiong plants before the winter sets in, civiny a batter chance of a good crop. Next reason have tho ground toady eaily f-o as to be able io take advantage of the usual mm-> generally obtained in March. Runnri'. promise to be eaily and strong thio season, consequent on the late moist weather. Seed potatoes promise to be scarce and dear next season. It would be advisable to plant a few rows now in a dry situation so as to get seed for next spline's planting. All ground bare of crop should' be well manured and dug, leaving it in a rough .state till wanted for latei cropping. It will then be easy to biing it into a fine by simply breaking it np with the fork. Soil lying rough for some time gets well ;yratcd and pulverised, which is almost as goort as manuring, Rubbish heaps oi heaps of soil for top dressing purposes should be turned over now, as this will help to lot, disintegi'ate and sweoten tho heaps for use during the autumn or winter.

ov/er Garden. Where a little trouble was taken in planting out in the cavij' reason, portulaca, balsam,' phlox drnmmondii, yenin.% etc., will now be giving their reward in the many-coloured 'loweis which they are producing in abundance. The late moist weather has given most autumn floweiinjj plants a fiesh start. Dahlias a\o growing 1 .sfronglv. See that they are property staked, and ;f; f diy weather sets in resort to copious waterings so as bo kcop up a vigorous giowth. Thin out flower bud.s so as to mci case the size and quality of those left. Chrysanthemums : Give liquid mamire frequently. These plants promise to give i splendid show this season, where they have received attention. Carnations and picotees : Continue layering so as to obtain a young stock of plants. Young plants w ill always give better flowers than old worn-out plants. Bedding plants : Still continue pinching back superfluous shoots ; many of these will give a good supply of flowers during the autumn if kept in a moderately moict condition. Annuals : Many of the hardy early spring floweiing annuals will be geuniriating all over the flower borders fiomsoed self-sown in the spring. Ths^e should be lifted and prioke'd out in iows in a bed in some cool shady part of the garden, and well watered. In the beginuing of winter they will be in fine order for replanting back in the borders after they get the usual early winter digging over. Pelargoniums : Now is the besb time to pai tly prune these back. The best way to deal with them is to cut back about' a third of the old stalk. The cut parts will soon throw out a number of shoots. When these shoots have piodu'ced loaves another third of the p'anb can be cut back, and the last third immediately after tho second lot produce foliage. By following this plan there is always plenty of foliage to take off all superfluous sap, at the same time shading the young foliage and voots till the new shoots gee well established. Grladiola bulbs : Early flowering: bulbs Hit, dry and store or replant; late flowering bulbs, water so as to keep them growing ; intermediate flowering, cut of! all seed stalks. Liliums done flowering still watei so as to allow them to ripen off slowly. The mixed borders should now receive an overhaul, staking and tying up all plants that require support, at the same time cutting out ail straggling growth and spent flowering stalks. All spent annual? and other debris of plants should be cleared away to the rot heap. Aiberward the whole surface should be thoroughly hoed and broken up. This will not assist the growth of plants, but will kill the thousands of seed weeds, otc., that have sprung into existence since we received the late x'ains. Lawn : It is seldom with us at this season the lawns look so green and flourishing. Constant cutting and rolling must be kept up so as Lo maintain them in good order. A few of the early spring bulbs can now be planted so as to get early flowers ; after starting they must be continually watered so as to keep them growing.

, Greenhouse, Continue giving plenty of air and shade during bho day, also allowing a little air during the night. Re-pot such plants as require more pob room. Water liberally every evening, and &cc that every plant watered has its root thoroughly saturated,

Orchard. The effects of insect ponts are being folt on some of tho fruit trees, especially on the' apples and pears, which are affected with' codlin moth. Some of thoso who would l not tako the trouble to syringe with Paris green are now reaping a harvest of wormy

fruit, whereas those who made a judicious use of the Paris green last spring are now obtaining a largo proportion of sound good fruit. All immature fruit which falls from the trees should at once be picked up and destroyed, as in nearly every apDle 01 pear n codlin moth grub will be found. In pome instances they will hp.ve made their escape, and will either be found amongst the debris lying on the ground or in the crevices -ot the lough bark on cho stems or branches of the trees. To catch these stray grubs bands of old Packing should now be put about the trunks and limbe. The grubs will crawl under the folds of these bands so as to get a safe hiding place to winter in. These bands can from time to time be taken off and burned and others put on in their place. By this means thousands of grubs could bo caught every season. I would also take a strong mixture of Paris green, clay and water, and paint the trunks of the trees, trying to fill up the crevices so that when the grub tries bo excavate a place of re&t it will gob poisoned.