THE rLOHAL WOELD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 59 



placing a prop to each plant, -which, besides being liable to hurt the roots, is a some- 

 what tedious operation, iron rods are placed about nine inclies above each row of 

 pots the whole length of the greenhouse, and as the stems attain the requisite height 

 they are fastened to them. Their leaves and the flues are constantly wetted; they 

 are watered when they require it, and nioi-e and more air is admitted as the season 

 advances. Only a humidity agreeing with the elevation of tbe temperature must be 

 cai-efully kept up — this being most essential to the thorough well-doinjr of tbe plant. 



Towards the end of August the young plants will be about fmm one yard and a 

 half to two yards in height, their diameter varying according to the .species. Their 

 Tegetation now becomes slower, and the quantity of air is increased even during the 

 night; then, when the leaves begin to fall, all the plants are buried to a depth 

 covering the pots, in beds prepared for them. Latlis are fixed to stakes burieii in 

 the beds, to which the branches are attached, so that the wind can neither agitate 

 nor break them. On this plan the wood becomes completely ripened, and the plants 

 are then ready for sale. They are usually sold to persons who force them during 

 the following winter in such a manner that these slips bear fruit eighteen months 

 after having been planted. 



A few words upon the method most generally employed in forcing these young 

 plants will support what I advanced above— that the slips produce fruit at the period 

 mentioned. The greenhouses commonly used for the purpose are of such a slope — 

 the back wall so much higher than the front one— that the frame presents its incline 

 to the full power of the sun. These kinds of greeenhouses are so much beneath the 

 level of the ground that the higher wall does not rise above it more than from 

 twenty-four inches to about a yard. 



The flues circulate in front of these houses. A shelf placed about six inches 

 above the principal flue serves to support the pots. These preparations finished, the 

 place is gradually heated up to about 60' or 70' Fahrenheit. The pots and flues are 

 frequently wetted, and the upper flue is also often provided with a gutter kept con- 

 stantly full of water, so as to disengage a vapour which, applied to tiie tides of the 

 pots, excites vegetation. When the plants begin to bud, a little air is admitted in 

 suitable weather. Openings made in the back and front walls, and closed by 

 shutters, permit the entrance of air, while cold winds are excluded. When the 

 shoots become long enough, they are trained upon the iron rods running along the 

 sides of the frame. The remaining cares consist in nipping ofi" buds, if required, 

 and the necessary waterings, using water as much as possible of the temperature of 

 the forcing house, which must be kept some de;;rees higher iu the day than at night. 



After five or six months of this culture well carried out_, the grapes, according to 

 the variety and the period at which their forcing commenced, begin to ripen. The 

 wetting of the flues, etc., is then diminished, and more air given up to the time of 

 gathering the fruit. Once this :s over, many persons do not retain the vines, which, 

 to their ideas, are then entirely exhausted. 



Vines thus reared frequently produce, notwithstanding the smallness of the pots, 

 grapes of good size, bunches weighing a pound or moie being not uncommon. It is 

 true that liquid manures, which need so much care in their successful employment, 

 are much used in this culture. 



These facts explain why this mode of cultivation is in such great repute among 

 our neighbours, for it is not rare to meet in England with establi-hmeats that each 

 year obtain from two to three thousand plants for the purpose of forcing. 



Frl-it Trees on Pook Soils. — On a barren and sh'dlo^ soil, pears crack, and 

 come hard and rough ; apples the same, more especially in dry seasons. Where 

 such is the case, the trees should be treated liberally. Dg up with a fork the 

 ground above the roots, and give at intervals during the spring several dressings of 

 fowls,' pigeons,' or pigs' dung, so that it may be washed in by the rains; and as 

 soon as the sun becomes powerful in May or June, mulch over the ground so 

 manured with short stable litter, seaweed, or something of the kind, and in dry 

 weather see that the trees are well watered, not by a can or two of water, but by 

 bringing the water-cart under the tree and there emptying it. If this treatment 

 were applied to trees on the quince, paradise, and other dwarfing stocks, when they 

 happen to be planted on shallow and dry soils, there would be no room for the 

 complainis which we sometimes hear that " the fruit cracks." 



