Round the Year in the Garden 



Cleansing Fruit Trees under Glass. Winter is the 

 season when Vines and other fruit trees under glass can 

 be cleansed most effectually. They should be untied 

 from the trellis to which they are trained, and then 

 pruned. In dealing with Peaches and Nectarines, old 

 shoots that have produced fruits are cut out to make 

 way for those of the previous summer's growth. These 

 will bear the finest fruits next year. While the trees 

 are detached from the trellis the opportunity should 

 be taken to have the trellis and woodwork scrubbed 

 with hot soft-soapy water, with which a little paraffin 

 is mixed. 



All loose bark is scraped off the Vines, and, if 

 that troublesome white insect called mealy bug is 

 seen, it should be killed by the use of a brush dipped 

 in methylated spirit. Gishurst Compound is an excellent 

 insecticide to use on Peach and Nectarine trees and 

 Vines, though in applying it care is necessary to see 

 that the buds are not damaged or rubbed off, as may 

 easily be done by a careless worker. Some growers paint 

 the Vines with a mixture of clay and gas tar in solution, 

 using | a gallon of clay, made into paste with water, 

 and adding -J- a pint of gas tar. This is brushed into 

 cracks and crevices, and it does undoubtedly get rid of 

 insect pests. 



For cleansing an empty greenhouse there is no 

 method at once so simple and so effectual as burning 

 powdered sulphur. The ventilators are tightly closed, 

 a flower-pot containing hot coals is placed on the floor, 

 and a handful of sulphur is sprinkled on them. The 

 fumes are deadly to all forms of life, both vegetable 

 and animal, so that this plan can only be adopted in an 

 empty greenhouse. Needless to say, the gardener, 

 having placed the sulphur on the burning coal, will 

 make haste to leave. The disadvantage of this practice 

 is that the fumes may damage the paint on the 

 woodwork, 



