10 April, 1918.] Orchard and Garden Notes. 249 



ORCHARD AND GARDEN NOTES. 



E. E. Pescott, F.L.S., Principal, School of Horticulture, Burnley. 



The Orchard. 



As soon as the fruit is off the trees, the land should be well ploughed 

 and left in a rough condition until the spring ploughing. Tf not 

 already done, and the orchard conditions demand it, there is still time 

 to put in a leguminous crop for green manuring purposes. But this 

 should be done as early as possible, so as to give the crop a chance to 

 make some good early growth. Soils deficient in lime or in organic 

 matter are always benefited by a crop of green manures. Where stable 

 manure is unprocurable, the green manure crop is the only means of 

 adding organic matter to the soil. 



Pests and Diseases. 



All second-hand and old cases should be thoroughly overhauled. 

 It is preferable to do this work now, instead of leaving it till spring, 

 when the rush of other duties will certainly prevent it being carried 

 out. The cases, if not bad enough to be destroyed by fire, should be 

 dipped for some time in boiling water. And this is not only for the 

 killing of the codlin larvae, but also to destroy larvae or eggs of any 

 scale or aphis, and also any spores of fungus diseases that may have 

 found lodgment therein. 



As soon as the trees have shed their foliage they may be sprayed with 

 red oil emulsion for woolly aphis, peach aphis, and the bryobia mite. 

 And this should be done before pruning, so that in handling and carry- 

 ing the prunings the pests will not be spread about the orchard to infect 

 the clean portions. 



Flower Garden. 



The removal of permanent shrubs and palms, and the planting out 

 of evergreen trees, shrubs, and herbaceous divisions should not be 

 delayed any longer. The nursery section of this class should be cleared 

 out into the garden at once. It is a mistake to wait, as many growers 

 do, for the removal of such plants until the winter season. If planted 

 out now while the ground is warm, the roots of the plants have a fair 

 chance to grow, to take a considerable hold of the soil, and to establish 

 themselves in their new location before the growth period ceases. Then, 

 after the winter's rest, they are ready to break away into new growth, 

 both in the roots and crown, with the advent of the first spring weather. 

 When planted in winter they have no chance to grow ; the roots remain 

 as when planted, and with every chance to rot in the cold, wet soil, 

 the foliage becomes yellow and debilitated, and the plant, if it dees 

 not succumb, often takes the whole ensuing season to recover its general 

 health. And then, of course, the season that has been lost can never 

 be regained. 



Bulbs, tubers, and corms of spring-flowering plants should now all 

 be planted. As they appear above ground, they should be protected 



