554 



Gardening for Amateurs 



run in pairs or in strings, thus giving a 

 beaded appearance, which cannot be mistaken 

 for the normal root nodules, for the latter 

 are large and lobed, while the former are 

 small and elongated. The cause of the galls 

 is one of the eelworms. 



Eel worm is introduced with infected soil 

 or manure ; hence partial sterilisation by 

 heat or by commercial formalin (formal- 

 dehyde 40 per cent.) must be carried out as 

 a preventive. Infested land may generally 

 be redeemed by an application of sulphate 

 of potash, 3 Ib. per square rod. 



May we reiterate here that health in Sweet 

 Peas is mainly a matter of nutrition, for 

 which adequate supplies of phosphates and 

 potash salts are indispensable. These are 

 best applied in most cases as superphosphate 

 of lime and sulphate of potash say, for 

 example, superphosphate of lime, 6 Ib. ; 

 sulphate of potash, 3 Ib. ; nitrate of soda 

 and sulphate of ammonia, each 3 Ib. per 

 square rod. Apply in the spring, and fork 

 into the soil about 8 or 9 inches deep three 

 or four weeks in advance of sowing or 

 planting. 



Mulching the Soil. During summer and 

 autumn the soil of many gardens becomes 

 very dry, and the hose has to be kept in such 

 active use that the gardener has little time to 

 spend in leisure. The practice of mulching 

 the soil is adopted to counteract this drying 

 tendency. Mulching is essential in many 

 cases where the time that can be spent in the 

 garden is limited, while the amateur who 

 must go away on holiday for a time can 

 adopt no better method of ensuring that his 

 borders will not suffer in his absence. Mulch- 

 ing means that the surface is covered with 

 some loose matter of a non-conducting nature 

 such as lawn mowings, grass, straw, litter of 

 any kind, leaves and the like, or in cases 

 where feeding is necessary by applying a 

 thin layer of manure. This loose matter 

 draws moisture up from the subsoil to the 

 surface, and so keeps it constantly humid ; 

 the roots of plants are then under con- 

 ditions of temperature and moisture which 

 are practically constant, and they benefit 

 materially from that state of affairs. 



Curiously enough, too, evaporation through 

 this layer is extremely slow, so that any liquid 

 applied to the borders is conserved and does 

 not easily pass off ; the temperature of the 

 ground after mulching is fairly constant, and 

 if the work is carried out early there is 

 a heating effect, and the mulch keeps out 

 severe cold, which checks the growth of seed- 

 lings. I have seen surface mulching adopted 

 successfully to keep off Onion and Carrot 

 flies, for these pests don't seem to like the 

 loose matter, and if disinfectants or insecti- 

 cides are sprayed over the mulch its efficiency 



is greatly increased in that respect ; the loose 

 material retains these substances for a long 

 time. Manure mulching is carried out to 

 feed plants in order that exhibition blooms 

 may be obtained, and the practice is exten- 

 sively adopted by enthusiastic gardeners who 

 grow for show. Hoeing is a substitute for 

 mulching, and under certain circumstances 

 it is preferable ; it simply means that the 

 soil is kept broken and loose on the surface 

 by constant hoeing. 



Nearly all bushes and trees are suited by 

 summer mulching, but surface-rooting plants 

 in particular flourish under the treatment. 

 Raspberries fruit better when the soil round 

 the stems is mulched and all fruit trees benefit 

 from it, while Roses can be successfully kept 

 in bloom for a long season in light soils by 

 timely applications of some loose material to 

 the surface. Size in fruit and quality in bloom 

 depend largely on plenty of moisture during 

 the summer, and if we wish our bushes to be 

 prolific and their products of the highest 

 class we can rely on mulches to assist our 

 aim. In the flower or vegetable garden the 

 work can be carried out with advantage 

 whenever any crop does not of itself hide 

 the ground. 



When winter comes round and digging is 

 about to be carried out, the decayed mulch, 

 now much reduced in bulk, can be dug into 

 the soil and made to add to its store of humus. 

 Quite frequently a gardener can do with less 

 manure by this method and at the same time 

 he is making the utmost use of all waste 

 matter by turning it to the very best 

 account. 



