46 



THE GARDENER. 



[Jan. 



air. With the much earlier varieties 

 of Peaches and Nectarines now in 

 cultivation it is not necessary to start 

 forcinf;; so early, by a month at least, 

 to produce ripe fruit at a given time. 

 A tree of Hales's Early Peach and one 

 of Lord Napier Nectarine in the early 

 house, will give ripe fruit with a few 

 weeks' less forcing than the old sorts. 

 There are sorts earlier still, but none 

 that we know of combining so many 

 good qualities as those named. All 

 late Peaches not yet pruned should be 

 attended to at once. In pruning, 

 above everything, avoid leaving such 

 a number of young shoots as will 

 crowd the trees, but leave ample room 

 for tying in the summer shoots for 

 next year's bearing without crowd- 

 ing the foliage : as a rule, the bear- 

 ing wood should not be closer to- 

 gether than 4 inches. In shortening 

 back young growths on trees now 

 occupying all the space upwards, see 

 that the cut is made at a point where 

 there is certain to be a wood-bud. 

 Cutting, too, a triplet of buds, two 

 bloom-buds and one wood-bud should 

 be the rule. Get the planting of young 

 trees completed as soon as possible. 

 Use a rather heavy fresh loam, with 

 no manure added except about half 

 a bushel of ground bones to every 

 square yard of soil. 



Figs.— This fruit is gaining ground 

 rapidly in gardens, and deservedly so. 

 It is a very productive and wholesome 

 fruit. When well managed it is aston- 

 ishing how long one tree continues 

 to bear. We gathered fruit from three 

 trees last summer, from June till 

 November, with a very short inter- 

 mission, after the first crop was over. 

 AVe have tried a great many sorts, and 

 have found none with so many good 

 qualities as old Brown Turkey. The 

 great points in successful Fig-culture 

 are, to plant in restricted borders, and 

 mix no manure, except a few bones, 

 with the soil, when the trees are first 

 planted. A 6-feet wide border will 

 keep large trees in splendid bearing 

 order for many years, provided they 

 be well nourished with top-dressing 

 and liquid manure after they have at- 

 tained to a free - bearing condition ; 

 but we never find Brown Turkey in 

 anything but a free - bearing state. 

 We have struck it from eyes in Feb- 

 ruary, run it up 4 feet high, and 



ripened fruit 'off the young plants in 

 October. Some say the Fig should 

 never be pruned. This is a question- 

 able rule. Certainly the pruning 

 should be carried out when the trees 

 are making their young wood, and 

 very few growths should be retained 

 in summer that need to be cut out in 

 winter. But to allow trees to become 

 a thicket of wood is quite another and 

 erroneous practice. Every shoot and 

 leaf should have as much space as will 

 let light and air play freely about 

 them, and then next to no winter 

 pruning is called for. Trees started 

 last month should have 5° more heat 

 when they have fairly commenced to 

 grow. The night-temperature, when 

 very mild, may range to 60", and 5° 

 more by day. Keep the trees moist 

 at the root, and syringe twice daily 

 with tepid water. 



Melons. — A few may be sown for 

 an early crop. Half fill 4-inch pots 

 with loamy soil, and sow two seeds 

 in each. Plunge near the glass, in a 

 temperature of 70° and bottom-heat of 

 85", and when the young plants ap- 

 pear let them be |kept in as light a 

 position as can beafforded them. Do 

 not give more water than is sufficient 

 to keep them from flagging, and earth 

 up their stumps as they lengthen. 



Cucumbers. — A few seeds should 

 now be sown for planting out in Feb- 

 ruary. Sow in the same way and 

 temperature as recommended for 

 Melons. The soil should be more 

 light and friable than for Melons. 

 Plants that have been bearing more 

 or less all winter will now be benefit- 

 ed by a slight mulching of manure 

 over their roots. See that they are 

 kept free from insects, and remove 

 all deformed Cucumbers that may 

 appear. Keep the night-temperature 

 about 70° when the nights are mild, 

 and make the most of every blink 

 of sun in bright days by closing the 

 pit early. 



Strawberries in Pots. — Very early 

 started plants may be in bloom by 

 the end of the month. Until they 

 are set, do not let the night-tempera- 

 ture be more than 55°, and give a 

 little air every day, guarding against 

 cold currents coming in contact with 

 the blooms. Put more plants into 

 heat fortnightly, and let forcing be 

 commenced very gently. 



