JANUARY 18, 905 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
5 
Chrysanthemums. 
Chrysanthemums may be mulched with fresh 
manure, Pinch out all the lateral shoots and 
keep the single stem straight upwards. They 
may be watered freely while they are growing, it 
is when the wood is ripening that they should 
be put on short commons for about a fortnight. 
Mulch freely, stake up, keep laterals down, and 
your chrysanthemums will thrive. 
If the plants are on a: single stem, and you 
desire to keep them down a little, pinch an inch: 
or so off the top.. This will force a break, and 
you will secure side shoote to fc rm the basis of 
the future flowering stems. Let these grow 8 or 
10 inches and you can pinch their tops off in 
in the same manner, getting a couple of fresh 
shoots for every one you had before. These 
stopping operations are very necessary when 
you have specimens in pots. 
Liquid manuring. chrysanthemums is a 
business that must be watched very carefully in 
ease it is overdone. Weak and often or not at all 
is the correct plan. The plants need more assist- 
ance in hot dry seasons than during a wet one. 
Strong plants require more manure than feeble 
ones. Change the liquid manure every seven 
days if you can manage it, as too much of the 
one thing begins to pall, even on the chrysan- 
_themum. Give manure one week, soot liquid 
the next, a little sulphate of ammonin for a day 
or two, and superphosphate at the rate of 4 oz 
per gallon for the fourth change. If you can 
afford to mulch your plants with good live 
manure, very little liquid manure is necessary. 
- When the buds begin to appear it is best 
to hold off feeding for about a fortnight until 
they increase in size. When they have grown 
nicely, feed again, and carry it on until the color 
of the bud is appearing. Some continue feeding 
until the flowers are right out. We are rather 
inclined to think it best to be on the safe side 
by leaving off the feeding as soon as the color is 
showing. 
Treat the plants rationally, and neither 
overdo the liquid: or manure, and you will not 
be far out. 
Chrysanthemum diseases are many. Here are 
a few simple remedies that may be of some ser- 
vice to our friends. 
Black and green fly can be banished by 
prompt use of tubacco powder. Nikotine wash 
has the same effect. Soapy liquid also improves. 
Aphis and fly are not very partial to either of 
these dressings. A use of the powder leaves no 
room for complaint. 
. Rust is the bane of the Australian chrysan- 
themums, It is found on the undersides of the 
leaves, and appears in brown rusty spots that 
disfigure as well as sap the life of the foliage. 
A very simple remedy is methylated spirit, 
finely sprayed or brushed on the rnsted leaves, 
This brushing is best done in the early stages 
before the rust has got much of a footing, or the 
spores have had time ty distribute themselves. 
Sulphide of potassium, } oz per gallon of 
water, or a tablespoonful of kerosene to a gal - 
lon of luke warm water are other remedies 
which ought to be held in view. — 
Permit no suckers to make themselves at 
home at the base of the plants. These must be 
cut. 
————— 
Orchard Notes. 
BY J. W. ALLEN, 
As the spring has been so dry throughout the 
coastal districts, the very best cultivation will 
be required in order to keep the fruit trees and 
vines in good growing condition, If rain should 
fall then no time must be lost in working the 
ground as soon as the land is dry enough to 
work. 
The marketing of apricots, early peaches, 
cherries and late loquats, early dessert pears and 
cooking ‘apples will be the principal work for 
this month. 
Such fruits as are intended for dessert pur- 
poses are best handled a little on the green 
side, else when they reach the town or city 
where they are to be offered for sale they will 
be over ripe, in which state the dealers will not 
buy them, as they will not stand the repeated 
handlings necessary before reaching the con- 
sumer. The grower must not forget to grade all 
fruits and pack them neitly. ; 
Apricot drying will be in full. swing this 
month wherever this fruit is grown for the pur- 
pose. 
The earliest cherry to ripen in Victoria this 
year has been the Guigné Tres Precoce, which 
is growing at-the Wagga Experimental Orchard 
and specimens of which were ripe enough to eat 
on November 6th. It is a medium sized red 
cherry with pink flesh, rather tender for carry- 
ing well, but owing to its being the earliest on 
the market it usually commands a high price. 
All orchard land should be kept free from 
weeds, and to accomplish this the horses and 
cultivators will have but little rest this month, 
as an orchard neglected for a few days will soon 
be covered with a coating of summer grass 
which will take many a hard day’s work to era~ 
dicate, and couch grass spreads rapidly when 
left undisturbed. Where there are bad patches 
of conch grass, these should be ploughed up and 
harrowed: on a very hot day, as the roots soon 
die when exposed to the sun. 
Passion vines which have been properly 
pruned and manured during November will now 
be putting on good growth and blooming freely. 
This fruit will be ready to meet the demand at 
Easter, when it usually finds a ready sale at 
good prices, 
Keep a strict outlook for pésts, and if trees 
have not been fumigated or sprayed, as the case. 
may be, the grower should lose no time before 
beginning to fight them. ; 
- For scales on citrus trees Decembor, January 
and February are good months for either spray- 
ing or fumigating: but for fungus diseases it is 
generally best to spray once before the trees 
bloom, again as soon as the fruit has set, rather 
than leaving it until now. In many cases, how- 
ever, later sprayings are both beneficial and 
necessary. 
The grower should not neglect to oither 
fumigate or spray all citrus trees, so as to ensure 
clean fruit and healthy trees. 
Keep a strict watch over all bandages placed 
on apple, pear and quince trees. They should 
be overhauled and all larvz destroyed at least 
eueey ten days, also pick up and destroy fallen 
ruit. ; 
If fruit fly should make its appearance, in- 
fested fruit should be destroyed, so as to assist 
as far as possible in keeping this pest in check 
+. P Pideuds 
(Late of E. P. Rush) 
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Cycles Built to order 
£8 8s to £17 
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Tyres and all accessories. 
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Country customers premptly attended to. 
Private Address—Porter Street, PARKSIDE 
Repairs a speciality. 
Cycles on hire. 
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W holesale 
AND 
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Nos. 9 and 151 Rundle Street 
And 82 KING WILLIAM STREET, 
' ADELAIDE. 
Sole Agents for— 4 
FLOR DE CRETA CIGARS 
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Waste Tobacco for Spraying and Funig bing. 
i 
