February, 191 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



.399 



nuist Ik" used undcrstandinply, is 

 crops prown to turn under a« man- 

 urt-. Thf lejiunies arc cspeciallv 

 viiluable for this i)uriiosc, l>ecauso 

 cif tho nitrof^ii tliey contain. . 



A proper circulation of air irn 

 the soil is just as important as 

 ,inv other factor of plant onrowth. 

 Ncarlv half of the volnire of ordin- 

 ary soils is occupied hv air spaces. 

 These air spaces wind in and out 

 iH-tw-een the sail particles, .just as 

 tliev do in a pile of larger stones. 



If the layer of water on the suf- 

 face of the soil j]frains becomes so 

 thick as to stop the air passa<Tes 

 here and there, the soil is then 

 too wet for most crops, and needs 

 drainapfe. Plants Have no sp€cial 

 breathinjf org^ans, the oxypen re- 

 qi:iTed in thenr breathinsf fitidin? 

 entrance all over the surface of 

 the plant. Plants roots must there- 

 fore be supplied ■with air, and 

 hence the soil must be porous 

 enoueh to permit of free circula- 

 tion of air. A eood supply ol 

 humus, draininor, and proper till- 

 a«^, will accomplish this result in 

 clavev soils. Sandy soils need 

 little or no draininjr, as they are 

 usually too porous. They want 

 humus to help them retain wateti. 



Another reason whv air must 

 circulate freelv in the soil is that 

 larp^e quantities of oxvsren are re- 

 ouired to insure proper decay of 

 orn-anic matter to suppIv plant 

 food. — " American /Homes and Gar- 

 dens." 



Frtlit Garden 



Fruit or Vegetable. 



The tomato is usually defined 

 f as a fruit botanicallv, but popn- 

 larlv known and used as a ve^et- 

 i able. I find myself (says a writer 

 in Wisconsin Horticultiire) in the 

 position of the old Scotchman who 

 was ha\'ingf rather a hard time to 

 hold his own in an arffument. 

 " Well," he said, " I am open to 

 conviction, but T would like to see 

 the man that is able to convince 

 me." So I would like to see the 

 ^ man that is able to convince me 

 fc that the Tomato is a vegetable. 

 ► To emote another of mv illustrious 

 countrymen, an old Scotch minis- 

 ter was lecturing his flock aboitt 

 the wall round his garden. He 

 I said, " It does na matter whether 

 '• it is a brick wall, a stone wall or 

 ' a wooden wall ; it is a wall a' the 

 same." So I say that it does not 

 matter whether the tomato is used 

 ' as a fruit or a vegetable, it is a 

 a fruit all the sani«. 



Fruit Notes. 



Bag any bunches of grapes that 

 •vou wish to keep from the birds. 

 PajK-r bags will do. Pin them at 

 the stem, and cut a hole in the 

 end, so as to allow the fruit to 

 throw off any surplus moisture. 



' The folly of leaving fruit trees 

 unpruned can be seen at this time 

 of the year, when the long, whip- 

 o stems are bearing do'^-n under 

 the load of ripening phnns, apples, 

 or peaches. No good shirking the 

 pruning. For the sake of the tree 

 and for the fruit, the limbs must 

 be cut back every year. Negkct- 

 ing the work means spoiling your 

 stock. 



Fruit trees which have made 

 verv little new growth owing to 

 the drain upon their recourses, oc- 

 casioned by the ripening of the 

 crop, will take a thorough soaking 

 now, and be all the better for it. 

 The taking away of the fruit will 

 in itself be sufficient to give the 

 trees a new start. The watering 

 makes the movement all the bet- 

 ter. Trees are' no different from 

 roses. Those yon favour with 

 attention will repay more than 

 the cost of the .labour. Afl' through 

 the flower and fruit world it is a 

 matter of dealing out with the left 

 hand to gather in with the right. 

 Those who give little, either in 

 labour or manure, have nothing 

 much to gather after a dry tiine ; 

 but the company who know what 

 is required of them, always have 

 something for home use and a lit- 

 tle for giving away. 



Sparrows have troubled ns pret- 

 ty much of late by their attacks 

 on the ripening fruit. Much of the 

 damage that we have been in 

 the habit of debiting against the 

 starling is really done by the 

 cheeky and useless sparrow, a bird 

 against which it will soon be time 

 to beg-in a systematic crusade. 

 Experiments have proven that this 

 winged pest is a serious menace to 

 the orchardist and the farmer. 

 Grain and fruits are more to his 

 likinsj than insect pests. 



Remove the bandages ^ from the 

 apples, pears, and qniTice trees 

 every ten days at least, and in- 

 spect the^m thoroughly for codlin 

 moth ffTubs. Where no catch is 

 recorded tie the bagging round 

 again ; wrappers which hold any 

 insects should be boiled. There is 

 only one way of ridding ourselves 

 of orchard pests, and that is by 



laying ourselves out to catch and 

 kill every noxious moth and grub 

 that can be trapped or poisonctl. 



Should you ever become pos- 

 sessed of an acre lot where there 

 is some native timber standing, 

 think hard before you destroy the 

 trees. The first mistake a man 

 can make is to clear his holding of 

 the timber. Trees a;re easier to 

 cut down than to grow. It is all 

 very well to say, " I'll plant good 

 \'arieties in place of the eucalyptus 

 cut out." Bnt how long will the 

 new things be in making the shel- 

 ter and shade which the natives 

 are able to give ? Twenty years 

 at least. Not much when you say 

 it quick ! Still it is very nearly 

 half a life-time. Ready-made, hardy 

 gum trees are much better than 

 nine-tenths of the stock people 

 plant to-day. Give a gum '15alf 

 the attention which the exotic tree 

 gets and it will surprise you. Say 

 what vou like, there is nothing in 

 the world of timber trees to com- 

 pare with our o-wn wild .stocks. 



The citrange is the natne of a 

 comparatively new American fruit 

 which was originated by the 

 TT.S.A. DepartVnent of Ap-ricidture. 

 The fruits produced to dnte are 

 said to be small, and slightly bit- 

 ter, and very juicy, carnnng a 

 much larger proportion of juice 

 than the best lemons grown. For 

 a drink they are equal to lemons, 

 and make a first-quality marma- 

 lade. The addition of a little 

 sug-ar makes the fruit quite palat- 

 able. The citrange is said to be 

 able to stand much more cold than 

 any other member of the citrus 

 family. 



The enorm-ous energy and power 

 of a growing plant is one of the 

 many questions which are apt to 

 puzzle men and women who do 

 their garden work vnth their eyes 

 and ears wide open. Take the 

 bracken fronds which we fretjiuently 

 see forcing their way through 

 ground that can only be broken 

 with a pick or a mattock. How is 

 it that this brittle thing works its 

 way to the surface ? There mnst 

 surely be a greater power wd-thin 

 the brittle stems than i§ appar- 

 ent to human eyes. As an illus- 

 tration of the lifting power of 

 plant life, a portion of a solid 

 asphalt path was lifted in one 

 place to a height of six inches by 

 several small fungi which had 

 reached their fruiting age. 



