i88i.] 



CALENDAR 



193 



erals; but when the joints are longer, 

 r.hey are stopped ac the tirst leaf. 

 Black Hamburg especially colour best 

 in shade. Muscats, Gros Colmar, and 

 some others, colour best with more 

 light. 



Peaches and Nectarines. — In early 

 houses where the stoning stage is past, 

 the temperature may be 60° in cold 

 and 65° in mild weather, if it be 

 wished to have the fruit ripe as soon 

 as possible. Take every opportunity 

 of shutting up early with sun-heat, at 

 the same time syringing the trees 

 with tepid water. If the inside 

 border be dry, and the trees be old, 

 give a good soaking with manure- 

 water. Examine the trees carefully, 

 and see that the crop is not too heavj', 

 and that too many young growths 

 have not been tied in, and remove 

 some fruit and shoots rather than 

 have too many to injure the tree. 

 Disbud the growths and thin the fruit 

 by degrees in succession- houses. Keep 

 a sharp look-out for green-fly, and if 

 it appears, fumigate with tobacco in 

 two successive nights, and syringe the 

 trees with clean water the following 

 day. Give abundance of air to crops 

 that are wanted for ripening late. 



Figs. — Old'- established trees with 

 their roots in narrow inside borders, 

 that are bearing heavy crops, will 

 require copious waterings of manure- 

 water to keep the border moist. 

 Syringe the trees every fine afternoon 

 until the fruit begins to ripen, when 



the house must be kept drier. Let 

 the night-temperature range about 60° 

 unless it be very mild, when it may be 

 65°. Tie the young growths to the 

 trellis, and avoid crowding them. In 

 fact, no more young wood should be left 

 than is enough for next year's crop. 



Melons. — Sow and plant out suc- 

 cession crops. Increase the moisture 

 in both the air and soil in the case of 

 plants that have set full croj^s of fruit. 

 Keep the heat at 70°, with 10° or 15° 

 more by day with sun. Look over 

 those in bloom at mid-day, and im- 

 pregnate them. Stop the laterals one 

 leaf beyond the fruit. Support the 

 j fruits when they begin to swell and 

 i become a strain upon the shoots. 

 I Cucumbers. — Mulch the borders of 

 j those in full bearing with some horse- 

 i droppings and fresh loam in equal 

 j proportions. Shut up early in the 

 j afternoon with sun-heat, rising to 85° 

 j for a time, and syringe the leaves with 

 tepid water several times weekly. 

 Look over the plants every few days, 

 and stop young growths at every 

 joint. The night-temperature should 

 be from 72° to 75° at 10 p.m., dropping 

 a few degrees lower by morning. 



Strawberries in Pots.— See former 

 calendars. Introduce more plants into 

 heat. Keep red-spider in check by 

 syringing all plants not in bloom, and 

 that are not colouring fruits. Place 

 plants from which the crop is gathered 

 in cold frames, to be hardened off 

 before being planted out. 



KITCHEN-GAEDEN. 



All soil to receive seeds and plants 

 should now be finely broken, and 

 otherwise ready for seeds. Sow in 

 drills lightly drawn, and cover with 

 fine light soil should the natural soil 

 be heavy and tenacious. Treading in 

 the seed should only be done when 

 soil is dry, and not likely to become 

 battered after the operation. 



Successions should be kept up by 

 frequent sowings. This applies to 

 Peas, Beans, Cauliflowers, Cabbage 

 (if always wanted young). Spinach, 

 Turnips, Onions for Salads, Rad- 

 ishes, Carrots for drawing, young 

 French Beans every fortnight (on 

 warm borders, first and last sowings). 

 Scarlet Runners may be sown as edg- 

 ings to be kept dwarf, or in rows wide 

 apart to be staked. These Beans do 



well to shut out manure - heaps or 

 other unsightly objects which cannot 

 be dispensed with. Examine early 

 sowings of any seeds, and if they are 

 not vegetating, sow again. Any kind 

 may be sown this month with every 

 expectation of success. Prepare for 

 and sow Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, 

 Savoys, Kales of sort.«», and any others 

 of the Brassica tribe. Red - lead 

 among the seed may keep olF birds 

 and slugs. Transplant all young 

 plants before they become too thick. 

 Lettuce are especially easily injured 

 by being too long in the seed-rows. 

 (We say rows, as we take it for grant- 

 ed that broadcast sowing has long 

 ceased as a practice.) Asparagus seed 

 may be sown, and young plants may 

 be plaeed carefully in the ground 



