March 1914 



43!^ 



Editorial Notice*. 



ACtiNTS— UeMTS, ATKINSON A. CO. 

 and MESSUS. GOUDON & tJort'll, l.nl. 



I'LUUi^illlNc; DATF:.— On the 'JMh oJ 

 MCh month preceding lllle dapte. 



TO A1)V KUTlSt^K^i — AUerallon of ail 

 TartlMmenta attuulii be In our handa not 

 later than the ISlh of the month. 



SUHHCKU'TION.— Poated to any part 

 of Auatralaala &/- per year, In advanc«. 

 Korel^rn, ft/. 



AUURBSS— St. Cnrrle St.. Adelaide 

 Telephone. 1334. 



Garden Notes. 



Mildew is a fungus that grows 

 ami thrives on the leaves and stems 

 of the rose, and so quickly does it 

 multii>ly and spread that if not 

 checked as soon as it appears on 

 a bush the whole of the plant in a 

 week or so will be covered with it. 

 It is very easily rcco'gnized, as the 

 leaves attacked assume a curled 

 or crinkled appearance, and appear 

 as if covered with a white powder. 

 Plants grown in an open situation 

 are not so liable to its attacks as 

 those grown in positions sheltered 

 from the wind, and where, there- 

 fore, the air does not circiilate 

 freelv. The remedy is to cover 

 the foliage with a fine shower of 

 flour of sulphur. This is best ap- 

 plied with a sulphur bellows, for 

 if the sulphur is merely dusted over 

 the plants the imder side of the 

 leaves, where the mildew is worst, 

 remains untouched. 



The principal work in the open 

 garden consists as it always does 

 at this time of the year, in water- 

 inn^ and hoeing, especially the lat- 

 ter. The soil of the beds should be 

 in the fine tilth of a seed box, so 

 often should the hoe be applied. 

 It is astonishing how long the 

 moisture will remain in the soil 

 after a eood soakir.n- if the sur- 

 face be hoed a few hours after giv- 

 ing it. 



r 



The annual phlox may be planted 

 durincT anv month of the year, and 

 there is no annual so deserving of 

 cidtivation. 



When transplanting seedling stock 

 put them rather close together, so 

 that the singles mav be pulled 

 out as soon as they show, and a 

 gap is not tnade in the bed. Stocks 

 delio^ht in a good irarden loam, a 

 little sandy ; feed them with man- 

 ure water, sav half an ounce of 

 guano to a srallon of water as soon 

 as the flower buds aopear, and the 

 result will be extra fine flowers on 

 the doubles. 



Cuttfties of pelargoniums, carna- 

 tions, and evergreen shrubs should 



he luit in now. The best soil for 

 this purpose is one in which sand 

 forms a conspicuous jiart. The 

 Iirincipal point to be remembered 

 is to take care that the soil is 

 pressed firmlv round the base of 

 the cutting. Keoj) the soil damp, 

 but not wot. If the cuttings are 

 in pots, the pots must be well 

 drained and the slips i)laccd near 

 the edfc of the pot. 



Old blooms in roses, pentste- 

 mons, pelargoniums, ; sunflowers, 

 antirrhiniuins, are apt to spoil the 

 opener al effect of a garden if not 

 remo^'ed. besides, thev prevent 

 t)arth' the production of fresh 

 flowers if allowed to seed. 



Good loam, decompo.sed dung, 

 with a {rood proportion of sharp 

 sand, well incorporated by turning 

 it over three or four times previ- 

 ous to plantinri^. is what is wanted 

 for the hyacinth. Plant this month. 

 Take out a trench sin. deep and 

 place the bidbs in it 6 or 7111. 

 aiiart ; then turn some fine eartli 

 rentlv on thdm, and proceed in 

 this wav until completed. 



The coral plant, bv which name 

 Russelia Juncea is often known, 

 rrows to the height of from 2 to 

 ^ ft., and bears throughout the 

 summer quantities of brierht scarlet 

 flowers. It is an everfrreen, and 

 IJerfectlv hardy, and altogether Is 

 well worth a place in the p^arden 

 border. It is a native of Mexico, 

 and revels in the Adelaide climate, 

 if well watered, reauirin? little 

 other attention. It is easily pro- 

 pap-atpd by layering, and if one of 

 the long stems be pinned down, 

 covered with soil, and kept damp, 

 it will root at nearly every joint, 

 and mav be afterwards fin the 

 autumn or sprinp^), cut tip into as 

 many plants. It also forms a 

 pretty specimen planted in a pot 

 for table decoration. 



The statice is rareh- seen — not 

 nearly so often as it deserves to 

 be — in our "-ardens. There are few 

 "lanit-j hardier or more attractive. 

 The flowers, which are everlasting, 

 co-^-cr the whole plant for the 

 T^reater part of the sumTner 

 months, and if picked iust before it 

 is fully out will la.st a lone time. 

 Thf> two usually orown are Statice 

 Dicksonii. which be^irs n -n^rik flow- 

 er, and Static? Halfordii. havino^ a 

 bine flow-er. They attain a height 

 of i'8 in . , and may be put out from 

 Pots now. Propa"-ate them by 

 division of the root or by slips. 



A very pretty and efiective wav 

 of planting that general favorite, 

 the ivy-leaved geranium, is over a 

 mound of stones. A number of 



large stones are built to a height 

 of 2ft. to form a hollow siiuare. 

 The hollow filled up with some 

 good loam, well jjreJised •down, and 

 then i)lantcd with four or five 

 varieties of the geranium. When 

 kept well watered they qnicvly 

 hide the un.sightly stones, and form 

 a charming object when in bloom, 

 which is most of the year, and a 

 jirettv green mound at other 

 times. 



Many gardens contain specimens 

 of roses, usually hybrid per[)etiials, 

 that are comparatively useless, 

 blooming, as a rule, for only a few 

 weeks in the spring. These may be 

 chanired into the ever-blooming tea 

 rose bv means of budding, a sim- 

 ple and interesting operation, often 

 explained in the " Garden and 

 Field," which all amateurs would 

 do well to practice. They may, 

 of course, expect a few failures at 

 first, but when once the method 

 is mastered there are few things 

 that will give more pleasure to the 

 operator. It is late, but not too 

 late to do it now, in fact, any 

 time, provided the sap is running 

 freelv, which can be ascertained by 

 cutting the bark and seeing if the 

 bark separates easily from the 

 wood. 



Peonies only do well in icool dis- 

 tricts. Prepare a special bed by 

 deep trenching, and incorporate 

 plenty of old cow manure is soil is 

 sandy add some marly clay or 

 loam. Secure only strong crowns, 

 and plant during the winter 

 months. As summer approaches 

 mulch with stable manure, and 

 keep them well watered. To ensure 

 successive blooming the weak side- 

 growths should be cut away so 

 that strensfth be imparted to the 

 main crowns. They need not be 

 lifted every year. 



Where it is desired to save good 

 varieties of petunias the best plan 

 is to strike from cuttings, and 

 protect during the winter, and 

 plant out early in spring. Petu- 

 nias are best treated as annuals. 

 Sow seed during March or begin- 

 ning of April. As soon as seed- 

 line's are fit to handle prick out 

 into 3-in. pots ; then plant out 

 early in September. 



Plants want various things to 

 keep them healthy, and one is air, 

 and for this purpose " work " the 

 beds with hoe, and fork until the 

 top is almost as fine as the soil 

 in a seed-'box. Weeds, and with 

 them slufrs and snails, and other 

 pests, will disappear almosit alto- 

 gether, and at the sa>me time it is 

 one of the most important me- 

 thods of increasing the fertility of 

 the soil. 



