The Garden. (By Hortis in "Auckland Star.")

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 398, 31 August 1889, Page 6

The Garden. (By Hortis in "Auckland Star.")

Propasrating In Sand and Water. \ The busy season for working \ip a stock of many kinds of soft- wooded plants employed for open-air decoration having now arrived, it may not be out of place to recall the merits of this system of propagating. The great object at this time of the year, when space is so valuable, and a great deal of work has often to be got through in a little time, is to adopt a method of propagating soft-wooded subjects which may at the same time be rapid, easy, and efficacious." All these points of merit can be claimed for die sand and water method, and the great wonder is that, considering its simplicity and the time saved by its employment, it should not be more universally adopted. All that is required to carry out this -system is some ordinary flats, which are to be filled nearly to, the rim with fine sand. The cuttings are then inserted, and the pan is filled up with water and placed on a brisk bottom heat. The advantages of this sand-and-water plan consist in the rapidity with which the cuttings strike when subjected to a high temperature, such things as alternantheras and verbenas being ready tn pof off in ten days from their insertion, the diminution of labour, no tedious crockins: of pots being necessary, no shade being required— in fact, the more sun the better, and the ease with which the cuttings may be potted off, for they can just be drawn out without in any way injuring a fibre. — J. Corxhill.

Hints on Grafting. We are just now on the eve of the graft" ing season, and those contemplating prac' tice will do well to be prepareed with scionsToo many who wish to graft trees otherwise useless or not of sufficient merit to retain, have found a season lost solely because they omitted to provide themselves with the neeriful grafts at the pr.oper moment. To work with prospect of success tree growth should be a little in advance of the scions, aud if these have been taken from off the parent trees aud laid into the soil as if ordinary cuttings they will remain dormant even after all tree growth has v pushed freely. No doubt trade growers provide themselves with an ample stock of grafts seasonably, but grafting is much less resorted to in the case of young stock than formerly, and budding is preferable whereever possible. Buds must be full ot excitement at the time of insertion, and union with stock and bud soon result. Were that not the case, the bud would soon perish. Ou the other hand, a graft has so much of body and of hard wood in it that it will endure for some two or three weeks in an active state, even though union with the stocs be not effected. When the stock is in fit condition for grafting the scion is the same, and if the work is properly performed without doubt the uniting process follows rapidly. After all, it is just possible that the condition of stock has most to do with the rapidity or otherwise of the process of union, fcr grafts are not easily killed until the season has considerably advanced. While seasons and situations must govern the time for grafting, yet'during the end of September and beginning of October is the best time in the Auckland climate. To be able to apply the grafts at the earliest period the stocks if not already lifted and replanted in new nursery rows should be done at once so- as to give an early chance of the sap to rise. The scions should also be cut off the parent tree and healed in. If a large tree is. to be cut back and regrafted, it is be,tter to do the large branches now. If cut some six inches or so above the point at which the grafting is ultimately to be done, even during the winter, the stem will not appreciably suffer, and if freshly cut clean off lower down just when the grafting is de sirable, the stem "will probably be found amply supplied with sap. Of course, very much depends upon the extent and condition of the roots, but a* grafts cannot for several weeks absorb all the sap created it is evident that too powerful a flow early is not desirable. Later, when the union is perfect and growth has resulted, the sap force can hardly be too strong, as a vigorous growth from the pcions the first year means the foundation of a fine tree-head later. There are literally thousands, of fruit trees in New Zealand from five to twenty years old which would be all the better, and would soon well repay their owners, to cut hard back and.regraft with newer and better varieties. For instance, we have in the country districts an immense number of apple trees, but how many of them either fruit sparingly or produce fruifc that is almost worthless ? How many, too, have become literally <-opse heads, so thick that pruning or thinning is a work of despair, and even if done would hardly be remunerative. In all such cases it is wiser to take the heads off to clean stems and resrraft with some other productive and meritorous kinds. The beheading does not check the root action of the tree, while the reheading by grafting literally gives renewed life and vigour to trees previously thought only fit to grub up. The robust growth on the tops allied to healthy and vigorous leafage reacts on the roots — inspires them, as it were, with renewed activity ; and conjoined, a fine, prod ctive treehead soon results. When so s-erved, orchard or garden trees have a start which no newly planted young trees fan hope .to overtake. A stout stem, pay six inches through, will easily take four strong grafts as big as a man's finger ; and each one, throwing the first year stout c hoots, forms a big head at once,. which in three years becomes a large tree. Then fruitfulness follows quickly also, for the root aud head forpe is f>oon equalised. Of course, much then depends upon the sorts worked, as some are so much the more precocious than others, and some so much the more, prolific, especially early kinds. We must not, however, be too anxious to get up everything good in fruits for the sake of securing precocious or free fruiters. We want some which will give us late keepers, high flavour, fine form, or other qualities having special market . value. There is so. much room for development, in apple culture especially, that too much stress can hardly be laid upon the importance of regrafting old and apparently worthless trees. A very odd-looking object certainly is a newly-grafted tree which has some seven or eight branches all worked. After _ all, it is very doubtful whether that is the most desirable plan to adopt. As a rule, I think a clean stem some four or 'five feet from the ground to be preferable, in the case of standard trees, to many branches worked higher up. In the former case ; eome four or five stout grafts only can be employed, but the sap force is concentrated and the growth all the more robust; the resulting head later becomes the most handsome, while one the product of many branches always presents an ungainly appearance. The work of graftingia simple enough, and when done not too' far from the. ground is very easily performed. A clean part of the stem is seledted and a clean cut with a aaw^ia made, so as to obviate the tearing.^of the bark. A sharp knife is drawn from the top of tho stem four or \

five inches in length and clean through the .bark in as many places as the grafts are to be inserted. A specially prepared piece of wood, painted and flattened like one side of a clothes- peg, is prepared and driven in behind the slit in the bark to open it. The grafts stout and of clean vigorous wood, bevolled on one side to fit the opening made, is driven well in, and then is secured by a bandage of stout bast, then clayod over and finished off neatly. Carefully done, the result may be looked for with entire confidence.