Jan. 9, 1904 
in drier years, and care should be taken not to 
suffer weeds to grow during the summer months. 
Peaches, cherries, and apricots now find their 
way on to the markets. The grower should 
grade and pack these honestly in the most attrac- 
tive way, so that they not only command atten- 
tion but good prices when exposed to view on the 
market, 
Summer pruning may be continued this month, 
_and it is best to go over and regulate the growth 
in young trees. thinning and shortening back 
where required—thatis where the tree is growing 
too thick—and pruning or pinching back so as to 
keep the tree evenly balanced and symmetrical. 
This summer pruning is more for young trees, to 
aid in directing the growth to that part of the 
tree where it is most required. December and 
January are the months for summer pruning the 
-older trees in order to force out fruit-spurs and 
buds. 
In districts where the fruit-fly has been 
troublesome in previous seasons, I would recom- 
mend growers to be very careful in picking up 
and destroying all fallen and fly-infested fruits, 
cand boiling them in order to ensure the destruc- 
tion of any larve which may be contained 
therein, As this is the only sure way at present 
known of helping to keep down this pest, I would 
urge on growers the importance of doing their 
best to destroy these larvee. 
Where irrigation is practised a thorough water- 
ing should be given the trees during the month. 
Be most careful to keep the water confined to the 
furrows, as wherever the land is flooded it is apt 
to become hard. As soon as the furrows are dry 
-enough to work, cultivate the orchard twice, and 
loosen around any young trees with a fork-hoe. 
Every care should be taken to destroy the 
Codlin Moth, which makes its appearance about 
the time the apple-trees finish blooming, lays its 
-eggs on the young fruit and leaves, and after 
hatching works its way into the apple, and 
within a few weeks emerges and lowers itself 
-down to the ground by a silken thread, and imme- 
-diately seeks shelter by crawling up the tree and 
getting into any crack or underneath any loose 
bark, either on the tree, on props, or any rubbish 
which provides a hiding place. The orchard 
should therefore be kept free of such rubbish, and 
trees bandaged at a height of about 18 inches 
from the ground. The grubs harbour in the 
bandages, which should therefore: be removed 
every ten days, and the grubs destroyed. Pick 
up and destroy fallen fruit. 
Pruning of citrus trees may be continued 
wherever not completed 
Wherever Thorny Mandarins show signs of 
bearing too freely, prune them a little more, also 
removing some of the fruit from the tree, so that 
it may not overbear and exhaust itself this 
“season, 
—Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 
. DISCUSSION ON POTATO CROPS. 
SETS FROM 1 1s. OF SEED TUBERS. 
In his communication, Mr. Lockwood 
tries to be funny over the fact that the 
number of sets which gave the enormous 
yield of over 1,000 lb. of produce from 1 lb. 
of seeds tubers was not stated. I have no 
records to enlighten him further unon the 
subject. The facts, there is reason to 
believe, were verified by enquiries that 
were made at the time of first publication, 
twenty-seven years ago. 
I am glad, however, to be able to givera 
few particulars of a kindred nature which 
have not been published in “The Gar- 
dener,’ and they are not widely open to 
‘dispute. The results in the case to be 
named are far in advance of the “remark- 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
able yield of 65 lb. from 1 lb. of seed” cited 
by Mr. Lockwood. 
On April 3rd, 1875, Mr. James Pink 
planted 121 sets cut from 1 lb. of tubers of 
Eureka, and when the crop was taken up 
on August 6th its weight was found to be 
672 lb., or more than ten times greater 
than the crop just mentioned. Moreover, 
the sets obtained from the 1 lb. of tubers 
are far in excess of Mr. Lockwood's 
“astonishing number of eighty.’ He will 
agree that Eureka was fine—for eyes. It 
was, and that was the characteristic of 
some other of the American varieties in 
those days. They were veritable “eye 
openers” in more ways than one, and I can 
assure him that the judges, from. whom I 
was not many inches distant, had to open 
their eyes very widely to take in the 672 lb. 
pile, and others placed in competition with 
it. 
Now, as our friend appears to enjoy 
figures, let me set him a little sum. As 
the 121 plants which gave the yield of 672 
lb. of potatoes occupied exactly 4 rods, 
poles, or perches of land, what would be 
1. The yield per acre in weight? 
2. At 2/6 per Ib. (mine were 3/) what 
would be their value in money? 
3. For purposes of increase, how many 
eyes would the 672 lb. pile contain? 
4, How much land would they plant at 
the samie distances as the 121 sets were? 
And what would be the weight of the crop 
at the same rate of increase as before? 
I think it is all very easy, and the results 
would be interesting. Some persons like 
“figuring things out,’ others do not; and 
as L am one of the latter ilk, and Mr. Lock- 
wood of the former, his co-operation is cor- 
dially invited. 
We will say nothing about the value of 
the crop under No.4 head. It fell quickly 
and considerably after the sensational 
show, which the ‘“Gardeners’ Chronicle’’ 
well described as “one of the greatest horti- 
cultural farces ever put before the coun- 
try.” 
“AIL the same, I agree with Mr. Lockwood 
that the alliance of some of the American 
with British varieties has been advan- 
tageous, indeed, a few of the former are ex- 
cellent in themselves; and certainly it 
would be difficult to over estimate the 
enormous value of the Red Skin Flourball 
when the disease was stalking rampantly 
-through the land. It was the strongest 
of the strong and the bravest of the brave, 
and Mr. Lockwood has done well to keep 
its name in remembrance. 
I intended to describe the manures used 
by Mr. Pink in the production of the 
biggest crop of potatoes that has been pub- 
licly exhibited in England, but must not 
press farther on space.—PaTER. 
THE ONION PICKLING INDUSTRY 
IN ENGLAND. 
A. few pointed facts about this industry 
appear in a recent journal of the Board of 
Agriculture. Owing to the Dutch and 
Belgian competition, English growers of 
pickling onions have been having a hard 
time, and the following facts are gleaned 
from a report.furnished by a Board of 
Agriculture Commission. ..The Commis- 
sion found that the Dutch onion grower} 
~ 
13 
lived on 2 or 24 acre blocks, paying from: 
£3/7 to £5 per acre rent per year, and 2 
to 3/6 per week rent for their cottages 
Large families are the rule among these 
market gardeners, and the children go te 
work at 10 or 1l years ofage. Wages paid 
to hired hands are as follows :—Men, 2/6 te 
3/4; women, 2/; and children 1/ per day, 
and nothing found. The price of these 
“Silverskin” onions varies from 3/4 per bag 
of 110 lb. to 5/10, the factories bearing cost 
of bags and transport. At 3/4 per bag - 
growers have lost money. The growers 
are a sober, hardworking class, very poer, 
and living mainly on bread, milk, and pota- 
toes, and with a pig to fatten and kill and 
all vegetables required grown on their 
lands, they live a pretty hard life. After 
comparing costs of growing, handling, 
freight, &c., the Commission foun . that, al- 
though the Dutch growers worked cheaper 
their rents were higher than the English 
growers, and freights to London were about. 
equal. The real secret of Dutch success 
lay in the better organization of the in- 
dustry with regard to the brining factories 
and the better system of sorting and grad- 
ing the product, combined with the 
humbler standard of living of the growers. 
THE UNSPEAKABLE SLUG. 
Why do not gardeners introduce a few 
“blindworms” into their  slug-infested 
plots? These harmless English snakes 
(which are not snakes at all, says science, 
but legless lizards) are being constantly 
stamped out of existence by ignorant folk, 
who mistake them for adders. In reality 
blindworms are the gardener’s friends, for 
their principal food consists of small slugs ; 
and though they are easily satisfied in point 
of appetite, and devote a great deal of 
time to lying curled up in a hole in the 
garden wall or hedge, they may be relied 
upon to do some small amount of slug ex- 
termination. They make interesting pets, 
too, and quickly become used to handling- 
Knowing how ruthlessly they are 
slaughtered in many districts, I have some- 
times thought that if our horticulturak 
lecturers would provide themselves with a 
genuine adder skin and one of the harmless 
slowworn, and exhibit the same to their 
audiences, carefully pointing out which is 
the gardener’s friend and which the poison- 
ous reptile, they would be adding to the 
good work already done by them in an 
educational way. An adder is usually 
much larger than a slowworm ; the adder, 
too, has a distinct herring-bone pattern. 
marking down the back, which is not to be 
found on any blindworm—or s!owworm, as 
this harmless creature is sometimes called. 
He owes both these names to his habit of 
retaining his position on the patch of sunny 
road or hedge he has selected to bask in 
on the approach of a human being, and not 
to the fact that he has no eyes, or that 
those he has are of little use to him, for 
your blindworm can see very well... This 
is another point of difference between him 
and the adder, for the latter usually mak-s 
off, or more rarely attempts to show fighj. 
on being disturbed. Blindworms ate- 
plentiful, and a dozen or so let loose in a 
garden will,do nothing but good.—A. Wes- 
torn Woman. 
\ 
