102 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



August, 1913 



third time, a considerable proportion 

 will die off after once liowering. To 

 promote the perennial character, the 

 seed-pods should be assiduously re- 

 noved, and from the finest only 

 should seed be taken for keeping up 

 the stock. 



Roses from Seed. 



Roses arc multiplied in a great 

 variety of ways, but new varieties are 

 raised from, seed. It is an interesting 

 process, but has the drawback of be- 

 ing rather slow, as two years at least 

 will elapse before the first results are 

 apparent, though afterwards one may 

 have a bed coming into flower each 

 season. If seed is procurable it may 

 be sown at any time, preferably dur- 

 ing the next two or three months. It 

 cSh be placed either in a seed pan, or 

 box, or in the open ground; the great 

 objection to the latter being that 

 slugs are likely, to be troublesome 

 Prepare a suitable soil by mixing to- 

 gether some loam, leaf mould, some 

 finely-sifted cow manure, and some 

 sand, these ingredients being thor- 

 oughly mixed together, and before 

 using run through a sieve of one- 

 eighth inch mesh. The pan must 

 have placed in it a sufficient quantity 

 of drainage, best formed of ^broken 

 pots, the pieces being of the size of 

 peas; this may be kept open by plac- 

 ing on top a little dry moss. Fill the 

 pan to within half an inch of the rim, 

 and press the surface down, some- 

 what firmly, with the back of a trowel 

 or a flat piece of wood. Then give a 

 good soaking watering, and allow it 

 to drain for at least an hour. 



It is now ready to receive the seed, 

 which, being large enough to handle, 

 may be placed "singly at equal dis- 



WHAT TEA 



are 



YOU 



Drinking. 



For Quality YOU can't Beat 



AMLUCKIE TEA. 



H. H. MANSFIELD, 



Unley Boad it Culvert St., Unley CHy 



tances apart, and arranging them in 

 rows for the better convenience of 

 weeding the pan. Cover the seed to 

 the depth of half an inch with some 

 of the finely-sifted soil, and give an- 

 other watering. Cover the surface 

 lightly with some dry moss, and over 

 all place a sheet of glass. In all pro- 

 bability they will not need watering 

 again, but shoul-d be looked to occa- 

 sionally to see that the surface is 

 damp. Some seedlings may be show- 

 ing in a month, others may take much 

 longer. One may, of course, raise a 

 large number of seedlings withouf 

 getting more than very ordinary 

 merit, but there is always the chance 

 of something worth keeping, and the 

 remote possibility of an Edward 

 Mawley or Lyon Rose. 



Ornamental Fruit Trees 



The Persimmon or Japanese Plum, 

 properly speaking, is a fruit tree 

 which was introduced from Japan (as 

 the name implies) some years ago, 

 but the beauty of the plant, when the 

 branches are laden with brilliantly- 

 coloured fruit in the autumn, suggest- 

 ed the idea that it woul^ make a 

 splendid addition to the shrubbery or 

 back lines of the open border. The 

 plants may be procured from the 

 nurserymen, either in pots or out of 

 a bed, but in the latter case very often 

 breakings of roots, when digging 

 them out of the bed, has a most detri- 

 mental effect upon them. Prepare a 

 station by digging out the soil one 

 spit deep and then mixing with the 

 lower spit some very old rotten cow- 

 dung, stable manure, or sheepdung. 

 When planting, the roots should be 

 spread outwards, and, as each is put 

 in position, a trowelful of earth placed 

 on it will keep it in place, whilst the 

 next is being treated in a similar man- 

 ner. Press the soil firmly on the 

 roots, and fill the hole in three parts. 

 Then give a good watering. Two or 

 three days later the rest of the soil 

 may be filled in, the tree tied to a 

 stake, and a mulch of manure two 

 inches deep placed round it. The tree 

 will bear the second year. The fruit 

 is not eatable until it is perfectly ripe, 

 and is generally picked and stored for 

 some weeks till ready for the table. 

 Another fruit tree whose presence in 

 the shrubbery or flower garden greatly 

 adds to their beauty is the poitiegran- 

 atc. The tree is so hardy and of such 

 an accommodating natur.e that it will 

 practically grow in any position ex- 



cept upside down, requires no water- 

 ing during the. summer, does well un- 

 der big trees, and when its limbs are 

 bent by the weight of gorgeously- 

 coloured but unsatisfactory fruit, it is 

 a thing of beauty. The crab apple is 

 another of the fruit trees which might 

 well be added to the list of fruit trees 

 worth a place in the front garden. 

 It is beautiful ^n bloom and handsome 

 in its small highly-coloured fruit. In 

 large places, too, the handsome foli- 

 age of the mulberry and its abundant 

 shade entitles it to consideration. The 

 Figoas is another tree which combines 

 beauty with more practicallj^ useful 

 qualities. The flowers are very hand- 

 some, and the fruit is not to be de- 

 spised. Unlike the foregoing, the 

 Vesuvius Plum contributes only the 

 beauty of its gorgeous foliage for the 

 fruit is useless. 



Poultry Manure for Roses. 



A well-known Victorian rosarian 

 speaks highly of the value of poultry 

 manure, and prefers it to commercial 

 manures. When kept dry it* is a 

 very powerful fertiliser. He applies 

 it three times in the spring, and 

 three times in the autumn, just dust- 

 ing it on the ground as you would 

 use superphosphate. According to 

 analysis, it is lOO per cent, stronger 

 than any other animal manure, and it 

 must be used with care. 



Pie also has great faith in the use 

 of cow hoofs for the production of 

 champion blooms. Nitrogen is an im- 

 portant factor in the production of 

 fine plants and flowers, and the hoofs 

 contain from lo to 12^ per cent, of 

 available nitrogen. He prefers them 

 to nitrates or - sulphate of ammonia, 

 as they are slower in decomposing. In 

 fact, he considers chemicals as stimu- 

 lants, and he does not use them. He 

 is a firm believer in the efficacy of 

 good liquid martiure judiciously ap- 

 plied. As regards the manuring with 

 the hoofs, the method adopted is to 

 bury a few of them with each rose 

 bush at the time of planting, but away 

 from the plant a little, so that a good 

 start in the growth of the plant may 

 be effected before the new roots 

 reached the hoofs. Comparisons 

 made between plants which had the 

 hoofs placed under them and those 

 that had not showed a marked dif- 

 ference; the former were more 

 sturdy in growth, and finer blooms 

 were produced than by the others. 



