.142 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



March, 1914 



bv themselves. When well water- 

 ed they seed freely. 



Collect it as soon as ripe, and 

 either sow at once or kept it tUl 

 wanted in an air-ti^ht tin. 



F'ill a box with j^ood sandy 

 loam ; sow the seed thinly and 

 press it vnth the back of a spade 

 or a piece of wood ; give a^ gentle 

 watering with line rose can, and 

 cover with sifted manure to no 

 more than the thicknei^s of a shill- 

 ing. Never let the surface of the 

 box become dry. 



The seedlings will probably make 

 leaves eight to ten inches long 

 the first }ear. When these die off 

 the small bulbs should be taken qut 

 of the seed box (running the soil 

 a line sieve is the best way) and 

 replanted in a finely prepared bed, 

 where they will bloom. In the 

 blooming season harden your heart 

 and discard all roots that are not 

 up to a certain mental standard in 

 form, color, and size. 



— The Freezia. — 



This popular favorite can be pro- 

 pagated quickly by seed which they 

 l>ear in large quantities. They may 

 be raised in the bed where they 

 are to remain. IMix with the loam 

 of the bed a quantity of sand, dig 

 finely, and rake all lumps out. 

 Sow the seed thinly and cover 

 lightly with either soil or sifted 

 horse manure. A sHght shade 

 plajced over the bed during the hot- 

 test part of the day will prevent 

 the too rapid evaporation of mois- 

 ture from the surface of the bed. 

 These bulbs may be left in the 

 same Ijorder year after year with- 

 out detrim.ent. 



♦ 



Watering. 



If you ha\e a well established 

 tree suflering for want of water 

 give it all the water it wants, but 

 pi'.'t it economically by loosening 

 the soil well with a fork as deeply 

 as possible without liurting the 

 roots all round the tree from, say, 

 2 ft. from the trunk of four-year- 

 old trees to well out, say, 2 It. 

 bevond the sjiread of the Ijranches, 

 or even further. Now, with a good 

 hoe, make a series of gutters or a 

 circular trench round the tree 

 outside the spread of the foliage, 

 or even rake out a few inches of 

 soil over the whole area loosened 

 so as to make a bank outside 

 the spread of the foliagv. The tree 

 will then stand in a basin with a 

 loose, oj)en bottom. Over this 

 .•sprinkle a little superphosphate and 



sulphate of ammonia, and then run 

 in the water imtil the soil will 

 drink in no more, and return the 

 top soil. Tliis may take anything 

 from loo to i,ooo gallons, depend- 

 ing on the size of the tree and the 

 condition of the soil. 



If \-ou cannot find time lor the 

 thorough work indicated, i.e., to 

 loosen the soil all round and un- 

 der, then dig a trench round the 

 tree just outside the spread of the 

 branches. Dig it with the fork 

 and do not cut the roots, and run 

 the water round in tins trench 

 until the root area gets a good 

 soaking. 



♦ 



Hyacinths. 



— Their Culture in Glasses. — 



In chaosing Hyacmth bulbs see 

 that these are healthy-looking, 

 heavy, and firm to touch. A "re- 

 gulation " type of glass for grow- 

 ing the bulbs in water is supplied. 

 Procure dark-coloured glasses by 

 preference, as these more closely 

 imitate a dark-rooting medium 

 when brought into the Jight. 



Before " setting " the bulbs 

 remove any bulbils from the sides, 

 as these will not flower satisfac- 

 torily the first year, but will im- 

 poverish the food stores of the 

 parent bulb. Fill the glasses with 

 tepid water — rain water for choice 

 — place in each a little charcoal 

 for keeping sweet, and set the 

 bulbs. The water should just clear 

 them at the base ; root formation 

 v^'ill thus be encouraged, and rot- 

 ting-off prevented. Stand in a dry, 

 cool, and quite dark place, free 

 from mice and other pests. 



Examine occasionally, and add 

 water if needed, tilting the bvilb 

 gently to do so. If a convenient 

 hot-water cistern cupboard is avail- 

 able the bulbs may be mUdly 

 forced bv placing in this after the 

 third week. It is undesirable to 

 start them in an over-warm tem- 

 perature. 



Bv the sixth week at latest long 

 sturdy roots should have formed. 

 Remove the glas.ses to a favour- 

 able position in the light, such as 

 a s mny window ledge. The almost 

 undeveloped shoot will now grow 

 rapidly, owing to the light which 

 jiroduces in its tissues the medium 

 of nutrition known as chlorphyll 

 (plant green). Give plenty of air, 

 as the plants will otherwise l>e- 

 come lanky, and change the water 

 at discretion, being careful to take 

 the chill off the fresh supi)ly. When 

 the truss appears a daily sprink- 

 ing of rain-water before the flow- 



ers show colour vvill improve their 

 quality. Turn the glasses gradual- 

 ly to secure equal conditions for all 

 sides,. Stake with the appliances 

 sold for the purpose, or with 

 home-made snb&titutes of copper 

 wire. 



The foregoing suggestions are in- 

 tended for those wishing to grow 

 their Hyacinths in ah ordinary 

 dwelling house. Culture in a cool 

 greenhouse differs little from this 

 method, be careful to cover the 

 glasses completely with thick 

 matting, or with inverted flower- 

 pots, ha\ ing their holes plugged ; 

 or the glasses may be covered four 

 inches above, and banked at sides 

 in dry cocoanut filjre. When roots 

 have formed place the Hyacinths 

 near tlie glass to prevent drawn 

 shoots. 



When the flowering season is 

 over remove the dead blooms, al- 

 lowing the leaves to remain and 

 continue their work of nourish- 

 ment. Plant out the bulbs in a 

 spare plot of groimd, here they 

 will recuperate, and form fresh 

 stock for use in succeeding years. 



. . — ^ 



Superiority of Tin Cans over 

 Pot for Seedling Plants. 



An ingenious investigation into 

 the ciricumstance, observed in Ha- 

 waii, that some seedling plants 

 grow bettef in tin cans than in 

 earthenware pots, is described by 

 the Honolulu - Kxperiment Station. 



For the practical propagator the 

 results of the investigation are of 

 \ery considerable importance, and 

 of a character highly suggestive. 



As a \\'orking basis it was sup- 

 posed that the two factors in- 

 vol\"ed were differences in evapora- 

 tion and stimulation due to tin 

 and solder in the cans. In the 

 course of the experiments it was 

 found that the average evapora- 

 tion from pots was exactly two 

 and a half times greater than that 

 from the tin cans, though as might 

 lie expected, in sunshine, the rela- 

 tive increase was greater for the 

 tins owinu" to the more rapid pene- 

 tration of heat. The soil in a 

 pot was found to be more exposed 

 to evai)oration than even the 

 greater surface area would indi- 

 cate. A more interesting result 

 was the discovery that with the 

 ordinary pot 5'2.3 per cent, of the 

 evaporation takes place through 

 the top, and .17.7 per cent through 

 the side. Further determinations 

 showed that the eyaporation from 

 a gi\en area is 3.5 times as fast 



