454 Journal of Agriculture. Victoria. [lo July, 191 2. 



reduced considerably. It should be remembered that strong, heavy prun- 

 uig results in wood growth, and that weak pruning steadies the tree, and 

 promotes an even growth. When framing and building a tree, the former 

 consideration is observed, and when the tree is coming into fruit bearing 

 or is mature, it will be pruned according to the latter. Any operation that 

 will cause the tree to produce less wood growth will induce the tree to 

 become more fruitful, provided the tree be in a healthy condition ; so that 

 when trees are mature, pruning operations, as a rule, should not be severe, 

 lut rather the reverse. 



Old fruiting wood, and dead and dying wood should always be re- 

 moved, and aged spurs should be considerablv reduced, in order to make 

 them produce new growths ; crowded and overlapping laterals should be 

 shortened back; fruit bearing in the higher portions of the tree should not 

 be encouraged ; and due consideration should be given to the admission 

 cf light and air to all parts of the tree. 



Where varieties of fruit trees are prone to bearing crops every second 

 year, their lateral system .should be pruned so that they will not produce 

 too heavy a crop in the fruiting year ; and at the same time they will pro- 

 duce wood in their fruiting year to give a crop the subsequent season. 



A model tree will always be light on its topmost leaders, bearing the 

 major portion of the crop in the lower regions of the tree. The main 

 pomt to be noted is that a heavy wood growth in the upper portion of the 

 tree tends to reduce the bearing capalnlities of the tree in its most useful 

 parts. 



Sprayinc 



Spraying should be carried out on the lines indicated in last month's 

 notes, and it should be completed by the eml of the month. 



Fio^wer Garden. 



The cleaning up and digging will be continued this month. A good 

 top dressing of stable manure may be given before digging, and all leaves 

 and litter should be dug into the beds. 



Herbaceous plants may be lifted and stored till springtime 3 they 

 should not be allowed to become too drv. Shrubs and small perennial 

 plants may now be removed if necessarv. lifting evergreen ones with a 

 good ball of earth. 



The planting of roses will now be carried out. The soil should have 

 been well sweetened and seasoned beforehand. The plants require to be 

 firmly planted in the soil, and after planting, a vigorous pruning should 

 be given to each. 



■Gladioli corms for early blooming may be planted ; and. as well, plants 

 of the Japanese Iris, /. Kccrnfferi, and the German and English " Flag" 

 Irises. 



Hardy annuals may be transplanted, and where these have been sown 

 in the open, the clumps should be considerablv thinned out. The young 

 plants should be given ample room ; better flowers will result if fewer 

 plants are grown, so as to give the individual plants more room, and to 

 prevent overcrowding of roots. In cool districts, a few seeds of late sweet 

 peas may still be sown, and seedlings of this class of plant may be trans- 

 planted. 



Roses will now require pruning. In rose pruning, the rule is that 

 strong-growing plants require less severe cutting than weak-growing ones. 



