210 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



October, 19l3 



charding, nothing is gained bv 

 balling or potting. If the condi- 

 tions of jjlanting out bare-rooted 

 trees arc carried out as descriljed 

 and all wasty and weakling trees 

 discarded at planting, there should 

 be no failures. Lemons are more 

 delicate than oranges, but both 

 require equally careful treatment. 

 Bandaging the butts of the trees 

 with hessian or jiaper is not a ne- 

 cessity, and wire netting renders 

 the orchard proof against rabbits. 

 Potted and balled trees are suit- 

 able for persons growing only one 

 or two trees, and who do not 

 understand priuning methods. 



Spring Work on Citrus Trees 



Oranges and lemons of all ages 

 should now be in a position to 

 start into vigorous foot and head 

 growth, and to ensure this the 

 soil must be loose, rich, moist and 

 perfectly sweet. \\'eeds are often 

 an advantage to citrus trees dur- 

 ing winter, especially where frosts 

 and raw winds prevail, as the 

 green covering of the soil tends to 

 Seep the roots warm. But now it 

 is time that the surface be cleaned 

 and prepared for a feeding, irri- 

 gating and mulching, so that the 

 trees are placed in a good condi- 

 tion to meet the summ'er. Any 

 green manure should be ploughed 

 in at once, and not bi'iried deeply, 

 or it may cause sourness, and 

 thereby injure the tree roots. This 

 is a good season at which to thin 

 out crowded living and dead wood 

 from trees which are either too 

 dense or dirty with scale or other 

 pests. B'oth oranges and lemons 

 can make good leaves, flowers and 

 fruit in quite .shady interiors of 

 trees, and it is only where the 

 leaves are seen to run very small 

 or disappear altogether from the 

 inside that we know more light 

 and air are necessary. Hence the 

 thinning is usually at the top of 

 the tree, that the" light may fall 

 through and stimulate useful leaf- 

 age in all pa-rts. For economy in 

 pruning citrus, light branches may 

 be removed outright, as where 

 snijjpings are made of every indi- 

 vidual piece of small and faulty 

 wood, no end of work is involved, 

 without 'any better resultsi than 

 follows from what may be termed 

 branch thinning. Don't allow 

 strong sunlight to fall direct on 

 to citrus wood, or it will be over- 

 dried, and ])ossi1)lv burned and ])er- 

 manentlv injured. When trees havo 

 been thinned, smear all hard and 

 dSrtv wood with a lime and salt 



wash, to which has been added 

 sufficient cow dung to make a 

 thick brown i)aint. If the trunks 

 of trees are at all long and ex- 

 ])osed, or the trees are old and 

 make too little wood to vield use- 

 ful fruit, then bandage the trunks 

 with a good thickness of bagging. 

 At the same time use a hand tool 

 round the base of the stem to 

 loosen and clean the soil, and 

 place a heavy and iiioist mulch 

 over the ground before it becomes 

 dry and over-beated by the ad- 

 vancing power of the sun. Chemi- 

 cal manures of a quick acting kind 

 are most useful stimulates for ci- 

 trus but do not wholly supply the 

 trees' needs, and a heavy mulching 

 of good solid manure should be re- 

 garded as the chief means of keep- 

 ing up the vitality and profit of a 

 citriMs grove. When the manure 

 supply has been equally divided be- 

 tween the most needy trees, collect 

 all weeds and free soil from head- 

 lands, outside paddocks, the banks 

 of the creek, anv ditch clearino-s 

 and such other material as will 

 prove at once a food and a source 

 of p'rotection during the hot, dry 

 season. If irrigation is practised, 

 mulching and feeding are equally 

 necessary, for citrus very quickly 

 exhaust soil where water is.always 

 present to liberate its food sup- 

 plies. Citrus trees should never 

 be flooded with broad sheets of 

 water. The land requires close 

 furrowing, and the water sent 

 down in small sections or checks, 

 and the surplus drained off as 

 promptly as possible. A certain 

 amount of surface grading should 

 therefore be regarded as a necessi- 

 ty at this season. The age and 

 condition of the tree should be 

 well understood before apphino- ir- 

 riijation water, as voung citrus 

 which have not obtained a free 

 grasp of the soil are often ruined 

 by over-do.sing with water. A 

 light ploughing or cidtivating 

 should follow closely on irrigating, 

 that a loose surface may provide 

 the necessary air, iirevent a hard 



iwn forming, and retain the water 

 as long as possible. AMiere no 

 water is available, frets cultivating 

 should be carried out as often as 

 possible. Well f;irrowed is prefer- 

 able to flat land for citrus, and if 

 the harrow or cultivator smooths 

 out all the surface the furrows 

 should be reopened by the plough, 

 so as to ensure sufficient air to, 

 and a cooler summer soil, with 

 better means of storing and utilis- 

 ing any summer rains. By fol- 

 lowing the foregoing instructions, 

 in as as far as they apply to dif- 

 ferent soils and situations, the 

 best will have been done to secure 

 a vigorous and profitable growth 

 during the coming season. 



Cultivating Strawberry 

 Plantations. 



p'ree fruiting, health in the 

 l^lants and fine size and quality in 

 the fruit may be summed up in 

 the words — a favorable soil and 

 climate. The strawberry will 

 g'row almost anywhere, but it at- 

 tains perfection as a fruit only in 

 comparativdy cool and protected 

 regions. Voung strawberry plants 

 should now be rooting freely, and 

 the m.ain concern of the grower 

 should be to provide a large body 

 of free, sweet soil. Plants more 

 advanced and capable of yielding 

 frt'iit should not be deeply culti- 

 vated, as surface rooting is more 

 conducive to fniitfulness than is 

 deep rooting, and it is only where 

 plants are yonng and weak that 

 their roots should be encouraged 

 to descend. Until the flowers ap- 

 ]:iear the land should be freely 

 worked and cleaned, the hand ho'e 

 being employed Ijetween the rows 

 where cross wo'rking with a horse 

 implement is not possible. Only 

 weak jilants should be mulched be- 

 fore the appearance of flower, for 

 if strong plants are mulched early 

 they are liable to run to leaf, 

 and prove fru tless. It nearly al- 



ALBERT O. PIKE, 



(Late GAMEAU BROTHERS. 



Clairville INursery, Hectorville. 



All kinds of fruit trees for sale, Citrus trees, Lemons and Oranges a 



speciality. Send for illustrated Catalogue. 

 Telegraphic .A^ddress— Pike, Hector ville, Payneham. Telephone— Cen- 

 tral 2768. 



