Feb 1. 1904 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
can answer satisfactorily, as wherever you 
go you will find those who wish either that 
the rain would let up for a season. or those 
who are praying for its appearance. Next 
to irrigation, it is perhaps the most vexed 
question of the day, because while few un- 
derstand the former, we all know about the 
latter and can ‘discuss it. understandingly. 
There can be no doubt, however, that in 
many instances, the wet season has been 
responsible for a good deal of the damage 
which has overtaken many of the crops, 
and scab of the apple and black spot of the 
vines are undoubtedly flourishing under 
the existing wet conditions, yet I fancy 
there are not many of the stock-owners who 
are complaining of the over Juxuriance of 
the growth this season. 
The season has not only been wet, but it 
has been cool, and while those engaged in 
strawberry culture have little to find fault 
with, those engaged in growing apples, 
grapes, oranges, and peaches are compelled 
to fight the various fungus diseases with 
unceasing energy. As above stated, there 
is considerable black spot or apple scab on 
some varieties of apples. The Granny 
Smith appears to have suffered the most, 
while we find the 5-Crown Pippin fairly 
immune from it. I have visited orchards 
where, owing to the presence of this 
disease, the crop will only amount to about, 
a quarter of what is usually harvested, and 
it is found that those trees growing in the 
lower levels are the worst sufferers. If 
the advice given in these notes from month 
to month had been followed and the trees 
sprayed in the spring and again after the 
fruit was well set, the loss from this disease 
would not have been anything like so great. 
In our Bathurst orchard, where we have a 
good many apples growing, we haye not 
lost any fruit through scab, not even the 
Granny Smith, but the trees had all been 
well sprayed, which accounts for their good 
condition. 
IT regret to say that in most of the cooler 
districts the peach crop will be a failure, 
owing, I fancy, to the very cool nights in 
the early part of the season . 
In many places the oranges did not 
bloom well, more particularly the seedling 
varieties, and in consequence the crops will 
be light in these places, while in other dis- 
tricts the crops of this fruit are the heaviest 
for years. 
It is well’ to keep the orchards tho- 
roughly cultivated and free from’ weeds; 
this, of course, doés not apply to those’ on 
steep hillsides in districts where ‘the rain- 
fall is heavy throughout the summer. 
Where apples are growing see that the’ 
bandages are looked at regularly, and all 
moth-infested fruit picked up and boiled or 
fed to pigs; and it is not too late to give 
the tree a spraying with arsenite of soda. 
‘or Paris Green to help keep the codlin. 
moth in check, as at this season of the year. 
it will be found very active, and. the 
orchard must receiye every care if. the .. 
‘grower expects to harvest much clean fruit. 
In every apple-growing district which I 
_visit five out of every six growers are 
praying for a Pests Bill, and say they will 
never do well until they get it: 
At time of writing tuese notes it is too 
early to say whether we will be troubled 
with the fruit-fly, but should it make its 
appearance see that all fly-infested fruit is 
picked up and boiled, so as to keep this 
pest under as much as possible. 
Wherever a tree is found growing too 
thick it might with advantage be thinned 
out, cutting back the superfluous growth 
to within three inches of the main 
branches, so as to encourage it to develop 
fruit spurs in the proper. place. Trees 
found going to wood and not bearing may 
be headed in, thus lessening the winter’s 
pruning to a certain extent, and at the 
same time helping the tree to throw out 
fruit buds. j 
Some of our best drying varieties of 
peaches will ripen towards the latter part 
of this month, and I advise those who in- 
tend drying any to see that they are thor- 
oughly ripe before they are picked, then 
cut in halves and placed in the fumigator 
for two or three hours. If dried in the 
sun see that they are kept free from dust, 
as nothing damages the newly-cut fruit so 
much as a coating of dust. 
ford and Elberta peaches make excellent 
bottled fruits, and for those who intend to 
process them in this way I would recom- 
mend the use of these varieties. A good 
syrup is made by mixing 4 lb. of best 
brewers crystals to the gallon of water. 
After boiling for twenty minutes, strain 
and allow to cool, then, having peeled, 
halved, and packed the jars tightly with 
the fruit, fill up the boftles with the cold 
syrup; place the tops on the bottles, but 
not the rubbers, then place them in a cop- 
per, arranging them so that they can 
neither touch the bottom, sides, nor each 
other, using either strips of wood or cloths 
for the purpose. - Fill the copper with 
cold water to a depth of thrée-quarters the 
height of the jars, and light the fire under 
the copper. After the water comes to a 
boil, cook for from 20 to 30 minutes, ac- 
cording to ripeness of the fruit, then re- 
move from the copper and fill each jar to 
_ overflowing with boiling syrup kept on one 
side for the purpose. Put on the rubber 
rings and screw on the tops, and allow to 
cool slowly before storing in a cool place. 
See that all fruit intended for market is 
well-graded and packed so as to present a 
good appearance when opened up. If the 
variety is inclined to be soft and easily 
bruised, pick a little on the green side so 
that it will not be over-ripe and bruised 
when it reaches the consumer. 
American fruits have landed in Sydney 
_ in. good condition during the last few 
months, the plums and peaches being 
packed similarly to eggs, and in such a man- 
ner that it was almost impossible for them 
to become bruised in transit. _ The prin- 
cipal fruits imported were apples, peaches, 
plums, pears, and grapes. ~ ee 
; N.+.W. A rricul!ural Gazette. 
Farm-yard or Stable Manure.—This isa 
general manure, and contains all the ele- 
-ments requisite for the tree’s growth; as 
a general rule, it is very much. neglected 
in these colonies, and in no case have ! 
seen 1t taken anything like the care of that 
it deserves. 
‘Early Craw-~ 
11 
Ji kept at all, it is usually” 
thrown into the heap anyhow, and exposed 
to all weathers, so that when used’ its 
manurial properties have often been 
washed clean out of it. Farm-yard manure 
to be properly made should be thrown 
into a heap, which should be protected 
from the weather, and no soakage should 
be allowed to run from the heap. ‘The 
heap should be turned, so as to prevent 
the manure from burning, and to mix it, 
so that it will rot properly and evenly, as 
a well-made heap of farm-yard manure will 
cut out like cheese, even when there is 
a large amount of litter mixed with the 
urine and dung of the animals producing 
the manure. When farm-yard manure is; 
well made and thoroughly rotted there is 
no fear of any weeds growing from it, but 
when thrown into a heap anywhere, or used 
fresh, stable or farm-yard manure is a fre- 
quent source of weeds. If, when turning ” 
the manure heap, it is found to be at all 
dry or musty, then it is necessary to damp 
it, either with water or, better still, with 
liquid manure, when a proper rot will take 
place. Where the soil is at all heavy, 
farm-yard manure has a very beneficiaf 
effect when ploughed in well or only par- 
tially rotten, as the manure tends te 
lighten the soil and keep it more open 
Farm-yard manure should be applied to the 
soil by being spread on the surface and 
then ploughed in. For orchard purposes 
it should be applied at the time of the win- 
ter ploughing. 
Instead of destroying all waste materials 
about a place, such as weeds, leaves, clean- 
ingsup of road ditches, &c., it is a good 
plan to compost thenr with lime, when, if 
well turned. and rotted, they will form a 
valuable manure for spreading round trees. 
In soils deficient in nitrogen and or- 
ganic matter the cheapest way to make 
good these deficiencies is by green-crop 
manuring, and for this purpose the best 
crops to grow are—cow peas, field-peas, 
vetches, red clover, and Trifolium in- 
carnatum, which should be ploughed in — 
when thie pods are forming; but before the 
seed is sufficiently advanced to germinate - 
All leguminous plants have the power of - 
obtaining nitrogen direct ficiu tie 
atmosphere, and of storing it up in their 
roots, and this is especially the case with 
the cow-pea; so that when these crops are 
ploughed in they add a large amount or 
nitrogen to the soil, and in the case of- 
heavy soils the organic matter tends to 
open up the soil and render it more friable. 
There are other sources of manure that 
should not be neglected, of which fowl- 
manure and nightsoil are especially worthy 
of conserving. Nightsoil should be mixed 
with dry soil, charcoal, or peat, and it can 
then be placed directly round the roots 7 
the trees, and will produce very beneficial 
results. 
MuuLcuHIne. 
This is an operation that is not giver 
the attention that it deserves, for though 
‘no doubt the mulch forms a harbor for 
various noxious insects, there is probably 
no better treatment for keeping the trees 
healthy and vigorous. Mulching tends to 
keep down weeds, to keep the roots cool, 
and to retain moisture in the soil for the 
