December 1, 1909 
About Vegetables. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Se 
Operatious for the Month. 
Seeds of any of the following may be 
‘sown during this month :— 
Beans (French and Runner) 
Beet (Silver) 
Celery (Red and White) 
Cress 
Cucnmbers 
Mustard 
Radish 
Rape 
Spinach (New Zealand and Round) 
And for Early Planting : — 
Cabbage 
Cauliflower 
— Hoeing and Weeding, — 
Young growing crops should be hoed 
and kept free from weeds. If this is not 
attended to they will soon be smothered, 
‘and time, sced, and labor wasted. 
— Sowing. — 
One is reluctant to sow seeds of any 
kind in hot, dry weather, but as one does 
not know when the next good downpour 
will occur it will be necessary to sow 
‘some kinds of seeds in order to keep up a 
The seed beds will need 
attention in watering aud, perhaps, in 
“succession, 
‘shading, and if a little fine rotted stable - 
manure be sprinkled over the beds good 
will result. 
-— Transplanting. — 
Advantage should be taken of showery 
weather to plant out from previous 
‘sowings cabbage, celery, &e. Carefully 
‘examine young cabbage plants for signs 
of club root, black leg, and other fungus 
Any so affected should be 
burned at once. 
‘diseases. 
— Watering and Mulching. — 
Indiscriminate watering is not recom- 
mended, for when once the hose or 
watering-can is started their continuance 
's necessary, unless rain falls. Surface 
‘watering helps the formation of surface 
roots, and these quickly suffer under the 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
influence of hot suns, unless the watering 
is continued or a mulch is ‘applied. The 
yalne of mulching growing crops, especi- 
ally lettuces, peas, French beans, and all 
cucurbitaceous craps, 
estimated. 
abundance of moisture, or the produce 
Bat 
do not apply water hitle and often; give 
will not be tender aud succulent. 
a good soaking when you do water, and 
apply in the evening if possible. 
— The Tomatoes. — 
Lateral shoots should be pinched from 
tomato plants, and each plant securely 
staked, Should any insect or fungus 
then attack the plants they can easily be 
sprayed. 
invariably attacked by the larve of the 
The plants 
should be sprayed on the first appearance 
of the grub with Paris green, using one 
tomato moth (Heliothis). 
ounce of Paris green to 10 yallons of 
water. 
(about two gallons) poured over it. It 
should be thoroughly mixed, and strained 
into the spray pump or other vessel 
The Paris 
green should be mixed in a saucer or 
making up to 10 gallons. 
such vessel, in a small quantity of lime 
water, and when thoroughly mixed, added 
to the 10 gallons of lime water. This 
should be thoroughly agitated while being 
Do not use if the fruit is 
applied. 
ripening. 
Garden Seeds. 
The vitality of seeds diminishes rapidly 
with age, and it is, therefore, well to 
determine their vitality before sowing 
A cheap and convenient way of doing so 
is the following :—Take two earthenware 
plates of the same size; cut out two 
circular layers of flannel, somewhat 
smaller than the plates. 
The two layers of flannel are placed in 
_one plate and covered with the other, and 
set ina warm place. lf the flannel is 
cannot be over- 
All salad plants need an 
Early tomatoes are almost 
One pound of new lump lime ~ 
must be slaked, and a quantity of water 
How to Test the Vitality of 
Between the 
two layers of flannel place 100 seeds of 
the variety to be tested. Moisten the 
flannel with all the water it will absorb. 
17 
thin, several pieces should be used, in 
ovder to absorb sufficient water. Other 
‘kinds of absorbent cloth or blotting- 
paper ean be used, but thick flannel is 
more satisfactory. Damp sand may also 
be used as a seed bed with success, The 
dishes should be kept in a room which is 
warm at night. Keep the flannel con- 
stantly moist. Some seeds will com- 
mence to germinate by the third day. 
Examine the seeds each day, and remove 
those which have germinated. Two 
weeks will suffice for the test. The 
results obtained may be considered as 
representing the per cent. of vitality 
under favorable conditions. The per 
cent, germinating in the ground is likely 
to be less. Grass seeds require as much 
as three weeks, and seeds of some trees a 
Beet balls contain 
from three to seven seeds. 
still longer time, 
With very 
small seeds it may be necessary to pro- 
vide for the circulation of the air by 
placing small pieces of wood between the 
layers of cloth among the seeds. With 
most varieties of garden plants the 
majority of seeds should germinate 
within a few days after the first sprout 
appears. If the period of germination 
extends over a longer period, it shows 
that the vitality of the seed is low. 
Seeds of the carrot family and some 
melon seeds may not show as high results 
in the germinating dishes as they do in © 
the ground, 
‘The following list of common seeds, 
with the sverage number of years that 
they will retain their vitality, is culled 
from Frof, Bailey’s Horticulturists’ Rule 
Bouk :— 
Bean, 3 years 
Beet, 6 years 
Cabbage, 5 years 
Carrot, 5 years 
Celery, 8 years 
Cucumber, 10 years 
Maize, 2 years 
Lettuce, 5 years 
Rock Melon, 5 years 
Onion, 2 years 
Parsnip, 2 years 
Pea, 2 years 
Pumpkin, 4 years 
Radish, 5 years 
Squash, 6 years 
Tomato, 4 years 
Turnip, 5 yeara . 
Water Melon, 6 years. 
