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1 Work for the Month of July 
By Henry Gibson, New York 
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JULY, as far as the garden is concerned is sup- 
posed to be one of the least important months. 
Everyone has been busy planting and cultivating 
to keep down the weeds, and now one must start to 
cultivate to conserve the moisture in the soil. 
July is the turning point, either one grows lax, in 
the uninteresting fight against weeds and drought, or 
else strive our hardest to keep things growing with 
both hose and hoes. Weeds must be kept down at all 
costs. It is a fact that a crop of weeds will evaporate 
more moisture from the soil than would be lost from 
the bare surface provided the ground be kept cul- 
tivated. 
When watering do it thoroughly. The little and 
often plan is one to be deprecated insomuch as it 
only serves to bring the tiny feeding rootlets near 
the surface to be dried out and killed by subsequent 
drought. Let the water soak down far enough to make 
capillary attraction continuous, so that when the sur- 
face becomes dry from evaporation the water will 
rise from the lower levels, to supply the needs of the 
plants. 
Annuals that were sown out in the open ground 
early in the season will now need to have their final 
thinning for flowering purposes. The distance apart 
to thin the different species will depend on the habit 
of growth, of the plants, and whether dense masses 
of inferior flowers are preferred to a small quantity 
of first-class blooms. The fertility and nature of the 
soil has also to be considered. 
In good loamy soil rich in fertilizers more space 
can be given the plants than in sandy or heavy clay 
soils not so rich in plant food. For some of the very 
tall plants, such as Ricnus, Cosmos, African Marigold, 
and some of the branching annul sun-flowers, 18 
inches to 2 feet is not too much space to give. 
Asters Ten-Week stocks, Balsams, Zinnias, Celosia, 
Calendulas, Nasturtiums, and plants of a similar bushy 
habit should be thinned to 10 inches to 12 inches apart. 
Dahlias should be tied to the stakes as they ad- 
vance in growth. They are easily broken by the wind 
when allowed to go untied for any length of time. 
Do not make the ties so high that they will cut into 
the stems as they increase in thickness. The tarnish 
plant bug which so often gets in his fine work on the 
Asters and Chrysanthemums, is also very partial to 
the Dahlias, as soon as the hot weather sets in. It is 
good practice to anticipate the visits of this destructive 
pest by dusting the terminal points of all growth with 
Pyrethrum, or Persian powder. Dust them often and 
early when the plants are damp with dew, but not wet. 
SWEET-PEAS 
The cooler the roots of the sweet-peas can be kept 
during the hot weather the better will be the quality 
of the blooms. In order to do this the ground should 
be thoroughly soaked with water at least once in 
every two weeks, and a mulch of litter applied to the 
surface. As the heat increases look out for insect 
pests. Aphis and redspider are the most common ones. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 
As soon as some of the earliest crops are out of the 
way, fork up the ground, and lighten it with sand, and 
276 
leaf-mold if it is of a heavy nature, and sow seeds of 
such biennials and perennials as you want to grow for 
another season. 
Don't be tempted to lie back, in this department just 
because the planting is about all done. The weeds 
will thrive, and the drought may be a lengthy one. 
Be liberal with the water. Vegetables are succulent 
plants, and need lots of water to be fresh and green. 
Frequent hoeings form a dust mulch on the surface 
that prevents too rapid evaporation of water from 
the soil. 
If cut-worms are giving you trouble, try the pois- 
oned bran remedy. Mix five parts of bran to one 
Paris green, and put as much as you can hold between 
your fore-finger and thumb near each plant where 
these pests are doing the damage. Choose a dry eve- 
ning for this work when there is not any likelihood of 
there being rain. 
Vegetables, particularly cabbage, beans and cauli- 
flower, are subject to wilts and rots, causes by bac- 
teria. Care should be exercised when cultivating not 
to injure them as the bacteria gain entrance through 
wounds. 
By shading the lettuce with cheese cloth its use- 
fulness may be prolonged during the hot weather. 
SUMMER PRUNING OF FRUIT TREES 
The object of Summer pruning is to increase the 
number of fruit buds and fruit spurs. A fault not 
unfrequently to be found with many who practise 
Summer pruning is that all the suckers are removed 
from the young trees, leaving a long bare stem. 
This is bad practice for two reasons. First, there 
are no fruit buds or spurs on the lower parts of the 
branches, and consequently the area upon which the 
tree can bear fruit is limited to a small portion of the 
outer end of the branches. 
Second, the leverage produced by the fruit being at 
the end of the branches is so great, that they either 
lie on the ground and the fruit becomes soiled, or else 
they break with the load. 
It is, however, often possible to correct this error 
when the Winter pruning is being done. This causes 
the dormant, or adventitious buds to grow. When a 
good growth of these suckers, or sprouts as they are 
often called, has been made they can be pinched back, 
and fruit spurs will form, upon the limbs near the trunk 
which is the proper place for them. 
The time for Summer pruning depends a good deal 
upon the climate and period of growth. Pruning in 
June would not be effective if there is a period of 
growth after the Summer dry spell. Instead of fruit 
spur developing branches would be formed on the 
limbs. Under these circumstances pruning will have 
to be deferred until later in the season. The physiology 
i >f Summer pruning is largely a matter of food supply. 
The fond that is elaborated within the trees would 
naturally pass on to the leaves, but in the case of a 
Summer pruned tree it is arrested in its transit from 
stem to leaf, and the food is stored at the end of the 
stem. Thus at this point a strong food bud is usually 
secured. As a fruit bud is only a better fed leaf bud 
the reason is at once apparent. 
