Evening star., 1934-04-07


~ fruit tree bearing % different
4 \ varieties Of fruit including
apricots, cherries, peach,
plums and nectarines. All these fruits
belong to a single family, prunus.
Such a cosmopolitan fruit tree would
have little value beyond horticul-
tural curiosity. but it is surprising
how many home gardeners develop an
interest in grating and budding OF
plants. There is a certain fascination
in taking a living twig or bud from
one plant and inserting it in another
plant and seeing it live and thrive.
The apple is one of the simplest OF all
plants to propagate in this manner,
and Of the various gratis the cleft
graft is the simplest. In this opera
ton a branch on a tree is cut OF
squarely and split through the center
of the remaining stub. Into this cleft
are inserted short pieces of twigs from
the new variety. To facilitate the
union the tWigs or cions, as they are
known, are first sharpened to a long
wedge at the butt end. In setting the
cions, care must be taken to have one
of the green bark edges contact that
of the stub. It is the cells in the
green underbarks or cambium that
unite first and form the ultimate
union. To prevent drying Of the cion
and exposed stub, all cut surfaces
should be covered with paraff1n or
with grating wax. If performed at
this season, before the buds have
burst, any careful worker can make
c1o &c hot will ctnpnaI
Practical uses of grating include
not only the propagation of young
trees but also the saving OF trees
girdled by rabbits or mice or by freez-
ing. In saving girdled trees. long
cions leveled at both ends are grated
into sound bark above and below the
wound. The ends are held in place
with small nails Or, if the roots have
been stripped of bark, young nursery
trees may be planted close to the old
trunk and their tops grated into the
bark above the wound.
Drainage.
@NE of the fundamentals Of horti-
culture, whether it is flowers,
fruits or vegetables, is that the
garden must not lie in an undrained
depression. Particularly is this true
of fruit trees, shrubs and all perennial
plants that live year after year. Some
times low area may become a choice
garden spot for few months Of a
dry Summer, but to count on such an
area as permanent garden is folly.
Fortunately much of the local terrain
is on slopes that afford natural drain
age to lower levels and too much of
the soil is underlaid with sandy gravel
that carries away seepage water
rapidly. The top layer of clayey loan
may require some time to dry to a
workable condition. This situation can
be remedied by additions of peat moss,
compost or even hard-coal ashes.
The gardener that is unfortunate
enough to have a basin n-shaped garden
with no natural outflow must resort
to growing plants that thrive in bogs
or he must secure an artificial out
let by tiling. Sometimes beneficial
results may be secured by digging a
hole several feet deep and filling it
with coarse stones. This permits sur
face water to reach more porous lower
levels.
A fertile soil is teeming with life.
These organisms break down complex
compounds into simple forms that the
plant can use. These organisms and
the plant roots require air. If the
soil does not drain readily both the
organisms and the plant directly are
injured. In such a situation, only
bog-type plants can thrive.
Gladiolus Culture.
TOR two or three years past gladi-
r olus growers in this locality have
been greatly discouraged by the
attack of the thrips insect. Many a
planting has been utterly ruined by
his Sap-sucking insect which is almost
invisible.
Capt. Merle Davis, in a recent talk
before the Takoma Horticultural Club,
told Of his success in overcoming this
pest by spraying with sugar-sweet-
ened poison liquid made up as fol-
lows: Three gallons of water, one
pound Of brown sugar and one table
, spoonful of paris green. Three treat
ments, 10 days apart, beginning when
the plants were 10 inches high suf-
feed to control the thrips.
Cultural requirements of the gladi
olus were said to be relatively simple.
An openly exposed area suitable for
vegetables offers a good beginning and
good fertilizer well provided with
phosphorus ingredients supplies the
| necessary plant food. Large sized
| bulbs are planted six inches deep,
with the depth diminishing as the
bulbs decrease in size.
n ONE meal is good fertilizer, but
II just why it is considered pana-
cea for all plant food require
mentS of the garden is uncertain. In