306 ] uiinial of Agriculture. [8 May, 1908. 



Tree or perpetual carnations will now be producing flowering shoots 

 that require to be staked as they develop. This class of carnation is 

 possibly the most estimable of winter blooming plants and requires 

 little beyond staking, and thinning if crowded, to jiroduce quantities of 

 flowers dunng the dull winter months. Some varieties are. very liable to 

 rust, a fungoid disease that appears on the leaves in the form of brown 

 pustules, which contain the reproductive spores of the disease. Affected 

 leaves should be gathered and burned, and the plants either dusted with 

 I'me while moist with dcAv, or .sprayed with a .solution of sulphide of 

 i:)otassium — i oz. to 3 gallons water. Soot is a valuable aid to carnations 

 and should l^e lightly w orked into the soil about the plants. 



Seeds of sweet peas may be sown. There is no annual plant so popu- 

 lar at present, and the popularity is well merited. Many of the newer 

 \'arieties are a distinct improvement on the older kinds and as the seeds 

 can be obtained cheaply, they Avill probably be grown to the exclusion 

 of the latter. The soil for sweet peas should be well worked and en- 

 riched, and sufficient room allowed for the full development of each 

 plant. 



Bulbs of many spring and summer blooming plants may l)e planted. 

 Most kinds are injured by the addition of stable manure to the soil, a 

 light dressing of superphosphate and bone dust, equal parts, being prefer- 

 alile where the soil is deficient in fertilits. In many cases fertilisers 

 are applied in such quantities that, even if no injurv is done to the plants, 

 at least good manure is wasted. The manure .should be finely cru.shed 

 and dry and be evenly distributed over the surface and lightly worked 

 into the soil. Two ounces to five square yards represent about one cwt. 

 per acre. 



Kitchen Garden. 



The drv weather during March and April, in addition to checking free 

 growth in the crops sown or planted, provided conditions suited to the in- 

 crease of cabbage aphis, red spider, and other insect enemies of the gar- 

 dener. In many cases it is .scarcely possible that the plants will survive and 

 produce satisfactory crops. The proper course under the circumstances 

 \>, to dig the affected plants w'ell under, or pull them up and burn them, 

 and sow seeds of other vegetables. A good dressing of lime is of great 

 \'alue in destroying insects and their eggs, and is a positive necessity to- 

 wards fertility. Half a ton to one ton per acre (a quarter to a half pound 

 per square yard) of slaked lime is found to be a satisfactory dressing. 

 Broad beans or peas, carrots, parsnips, or onions may be .sown instead of 

 the affected cabbages and cauliflowers, and the manure utilised. If clean 

 plants are available a fresh planting of cabbages and cauliflowers m.av 

 he made; it is unlikely that they will be affected to a serious degree at this 

 season. 



Young growing crops should be thinnerl and freed from weeds, earlv 

 attention in this direction contributing largely to the probaljilltv of a satis- 

 factorv return. 



