FRUIT GROWING PROBLEMS 133 



form a screen round a plot which I propose to make into a fruit 

 garden. Do you recommend this, and how can I proceed so as to 

 make them form such a screen ? T. E., Mitcham. 



A . Yes ; the Raspberries would do well planted to form a screen 

 round the fruit quarter in the garden. The planting should be done 

 in November. Select canes of medium strength and discard the 

 gross and weakly ones. Dig the soil deeply and put in some rotted 

 manure, and after planting is done put on a good surface mulch of 

 littery manure. The canes should be planted about 9 inches apart. 

 Black Currants do best in a cool position ; the Red and White 

 varieties require an open, sunny place. 



How to Keep Walnuts 



Q. Would you kindly inform me as to the best way to keep Wal- 

 nuts when they are ripe, so as to have them good for some length of 

 time 1 A. S., Surrey. 



A. When the Nuts are ripe, spread them out thinly just long 

 enough to get the shells dry, then place them in bottles or jars, and 

 securely cork the latter. Store the bottles or jars in a cool, dry cup- 

 board. 



Q. Referring to the above question. As we have rather a large 

 quantity this season, would tins such as biscuit tins answer the pur- 

 pose if they were fastened down securely ? We put some in a large 

 pot with a piece of thick tin for a cover and buried them in the earth 

 floor of the potting shed, but they did not keep. Was it because 

 they were too damp or not sufficiently airtight? A. Scrivener, 

 Bucks. 



A. Yes ; if you can seal up the biscuit tins the Nuts may be kept 

 in them. The Nuts, buried in the earth as you state, would rot, un- 

 less they had been first dried and then kept in airtight vessels. 



Blackberries for the Garden 



Q. I am anxious to grow Blackberries. Should I plant the com- 

 mon kind, or are there better sorts'! Ignoramus, Bath. 



A. So widely are excellent Blackberries appreciated that one can- 

 not help feeling surprised that they are not far more extensively 

 planted in gardens. They do not involve either a great deal of 

 space or a considerable amount of skilled attention, and the crops of 

 fruit which they bear annually will be more than welcome. I should 

 advise planters to beware of the majority of American varieties, for 

 some of the seedlings of our own country are superior in every 



