August, 1913. 



be measured by the adaptation of the 

 soil. ll will not thrive in land 

 that is very dry, shingly, or, very 

 sandy, or very heavy clay, nor will it 

 succeed if at any time its roots are 

 standing in water — though the land 

 should be fairly retentive of moisture, 

 water should at no time lie upon the 

 surface or within 2 ft. below the sur- 

 face; good drainage and aeration of 

 the soil are essential to success. In 

 short, it may be said that raspberries 

 like deep, loamy, well-drained soils, 

 rich in humus; therefore labour spent 

 at the outset in deep plaughing an J 

 thorough preparation of the land al- 

 ways repays the outlay. It is an ad- 

 vantage if the land is cultivated at 

 least one year with some su>-h crop 

 as potatoes before setting the canes — 

 wlnich leaves the soil in good condi- 

 tion for the reception of the plant, 

 and assists to economise and facili- 

 tate the subsequent cultivation; for 

 experience proves that intensive cul- 

 ture to secure a good physical con- 

 dition of the soil, combined with the 

 application of suitable fertilisers, se- 

 cures the best returns. The ideal me- 

 thod of cultivating raspberries is to 

 have the land at all times in about 

 the condition it would be if worked 

 with a garden rake, the work being 

 done with a suitable implement when- 

 ever necessary to keep down the 

 n eeds and prevent the formation of a 

 crust, thereby conserving the mois- 

 ture of the soil, which is often lack- 

 ing during the season of fruit-harvest- 

 ing, the most critical period of the 

 plants' growth. 



There are two principal methods of 

 setting out the canes and training — 

 by planting in rows 6 ft. to 7 ft. 

 apart and 4 or more feet in the row, 

 usually setting two canes in a stool, 

 or by the continuous-row system, the 

 plants being set about i ft. apart in 

 the row, leaving sufficient distance be- 



tween the rows to allow the culti- 

 vation to be doiYe by horse-labour, 

 ol)serving, with whatever implement 

 is used, to work very shallow near the 

 plants so as not to disturb the roots; 

 tliough the later system has to a great 

 extent found most favour with grow- 

 ers, the former method, in the opinion 

 of the writer, gives the best results. 

 The training of the canes for the se- 

 cond and subsequent seasons after 

 planting varies with individual grow- 

 ers; most successful growers favour 

 removing the old canes soon after 

 harvesting the fruit and the cutting- 

 back of the canes during the winter 

 to 4 ft. or less, and the thinning-out 

 of the young canes at the stools when 

 about 6 in. high, leaving only the re- 

 quired number; this system, while giv- 

 ing excellent results, is, in the opinion 

 of the growers who follow the me- 

 thod, beneficial in many respects, and 

 generally should be followed. 



♦ 



Flour Paste as a Control 

 for Red Spider. 



The United States Bureau of Ento- 

 mology reports in Circular No. 166, 

 the result of some experiments with 

 flour paste as a control for red spid- 

 ers, and also as a spreader for con- 

 tact insecticides. Difficulty had been 

 experienced in obtaining an efifective 

 spreader for lime-sulphur, and it was 

 observed that a mixture of flowers of 

 sulphur 15 Ib.j water 100 gallons, and 

 paste (as a "sticker") 4 gallons, 

 spread over the leaves very readily. 

 It was accordingly mixed with lime- 

 sulphur solutions', and the result was 

 a smooth mixture that spread over 

 the foliage very readily. Experiments 

 showed that with 698 mites (red spid- 

 ers) present, 99 per cent, were killcJ 

 when the flour paste vVas used with 

 the lime-sulphur spray, but that of 



360 mites present, only 37.5 per cent, 

 were killed by the spray when no 

 paste was added. Further experi- 

 ments showed that flour paste, 8-100 

 and 10-100 strengths, was effective 

 against red spiders on hops, and from 

 the encouraging results of other ex- 

 periments with mites attaclcing pears 

 it seems "very probable that flour 

 paste, 8-100, will give gi od results 

 when applied for any of the small leaf- 

 feeding insects." 



To prepare the paste mix a cheap 

 grade of wheat flour with cold water, 

 making a thin batter, without lumps; 

 or wash the flour through a wire 

 screen with a stream of cold water. 

 Dilute until there is i lb. of flour to 

 each gallon of mixture. Cook until 

 a paste is formed, stirring constantly 

 to prevent caking or burning. Add 

 sufficient water to make up for eva- 

 poration. It may also be prepared 

 by stirring boiling water into a moder- 

 ately thin batter, until there is i lb. 

 of flour in each gallon of mixture, 

 and allowing it to stand until the 

 starch is all broken down. 



If the paste is not sufficiently cook- 

 ed the resulting spray- will not be 

 effective, and if over-cooked the 

 paste will harden when thoroughly 

 cool, and will not mix with water very 

 readily. Usually, however, the paste 

 is used as it is prepared, and over- 

 cooking is not a disadvantage. 



When mixed in the spray tank flour 

 paste has a tendency to settle, and in 

 order to do satisfactory work agita- 

 tion is necessary. This is but a slight 

 disadvantage, and is necessary with 

 most materials. 



♦ 



Customer: " Do you keep a good 

 corn cure ? " Druggist : " ^es, 

 sir. Here is an excellent prepara- 

 tion. One of my customers lias 

 been using it for the last fourteen 

 years with verv good results." 



h DEOIDUOUS FRUIT TREES. 



leKS Bros.. 



P.O. Jaa.ll:i.a.ni:xa.l:\, S.A. 



Late H. Wicks, Riverside and Balhannab, Payneham 



We sp3cialize in Deciduous Fruit Trees and Vines. 45 acres of faultlessly grown Fruit Trees. 



Large Stoeka of Apples, Almoads, Apricots, Cherries, Plums and Prunes, Pears, Peaches, Quinces, etc, etc. 



ORDERS FORWARDED TO ANY PART OF THE COMMONWEALTH, 

 inspection invited. Visitors met by appointment at Balhannah Railway Station 



Catalogues Free on Application. 



