i88i.] 



CALENDAR. 



431 



CtaUntran 



FORCING DEPARTMENT. 



Pines.— Attention must this month 

 be more particularly directed towards 

 laying a good foundation for a supply 

 of strong young plants for next season. 

 Suckers yielded by early Queens, and 

 that were potted some time ago, will 

 now be well rooted and growing. If, 

 to economise space, they were plunged 

 thickly at first, they should now have 

 more room to prevent their drawing. 

 They can now be more freely aired, 

 and should never be allowed to get 

 very dry. Avoid syringing them 

 much overhead ; but on fine af cernoons 

 shut them up with a moist atmo- 

 sphere. The night - heat for these 

 should range from 65° to 70", accord- 

 ing to the state of the weather, and 

 the bottom-heat should not exceed 85°. 

 Another batch of suckers can now be 

 procured from plants ripening their 

 fruit, or from which fruit has recently 

 been cut. Suckers of Smooth Cayennes 

 and Charlotte Kothschilds, that are 

 very strong, may be potted into 8- 

 inch j»ots ; but Queens will do best in 

 6-inch pots. Plunge them in a bot- 

 tom-heat of 90°; shade them slightly 

 from the sun for a time, and keep 

 the atmosphere moist by frequently 

 sprinkling paths and walls, and dew 

 the plants lightly overhead on the 

 afternoons of warm days. Smooth 

 Cayennes, and other sorts most suit- 

 able for an autumn supply of ripe 

 fruit, will now be swelling rapidly, 

 and should be nourished with ordinary 

 manure- water, alternately with guano 

 and soot water. See that they have a 

 bottom-heat of about 90°, a moist atmo- 

 sphere, and a night temperature at 

 10 P.M. of 75°, allowing it to fall to 

 70° by 6 A.M. Syringe about the axils 

 of the leaves every bright afternoon 

 when the house is closed, and let the 

 heat rise for a time to 85° or 90° with 

 sun-heat. Do not syringe much over 

 the crowns, for if water stands in the 

 crowns they grow too large and become 

 unsightly. Any late Qaeens or other 

 sorts that are ripening now should 

 have a circulation of dry warm air 

 about them, and be exposed to full 

 sun, so that they may ripen a bright 

 colour and be of fine flavour. If any 

 strong suckers are clustering about 

 any of the fruits, either remove them 

 or tie them back off the fruit, so that 



they may ripen and colour equally all 

 round. To retard or keep any ripe 

 fruits not required for immediate use, 

 remove them to some cool vinery or 

 fruit-room as directed in former Cal- 

 endars. The stock of Queens required 

 to start into fruit at the beginning of 

 '82 will now require careful treat- 

 ment. Should the weather be dull 

 and sunless, apply water to these very 

 sj^aringly. Air them freely on fine 

 warm days, and by the end of the 

 month the night tem])erature should 

 not exceed 65°, so that they may 

 gradually be brought to a state of rest 

 by autumn. Plants intended to start 

 in succession — about March or April 

 — should still be encouraged to grow 

 freely. All syringing of plants in this 

 stage should be discontinued after the 

 middle of the month. 



Grapes. — Late Grapes that are 

 colouring this month in localities 

 where the rainfall may be small, 

 should not be allowed to suffer for 

 want of water; for, as the colouring 

 process goes on, the fruit increases 

 much in size, and a great demand is 

 made on the Yines. If old Vines, and 

 the border be at all dry, give them a 

 thorough soaking, and if with weak 

 manure-water, all the better. Assist 

 them in the colouring and ripening 

 process with a well-balanced amount 

 of fire-heat, according to the state of 

 the weather. The air should be kept 

 continually in motion, by having the 

 house constantly open more or less 

 at top and bottom; and whenever the 

 weather is sunless or cold, keep the 

 pipes always warm. Unless Grapes 

 are thoroughly ripened by the end of 

 this month, they do not keep well, 

 and are never well flavoured. Ex- 

 amine the foliage minutely, and see 

 that red-spider does not get a footing; 

 for in autumn, when fire-heat is neces- 

 sary, and less moisture is applied, the 

 pp-st thrives and injures the foliage. 

 The best way to deal with it now is 

 to syringe it off the leaves whenever 

 it is detected. The inside borders of 

 houses where Grapes are to haug late 

 should now be watered if dry, and 

 then be covered over either with clean 

 straw or dry mushroom-bed manure, 

 to prevent them drying quickly again, 

 and to keep the air dry. Look over 



