8Si.] 



CALENDAR. 



383 



of flavour. Any portion of the stock 

 that are well - rooted in 8-inch pots, 

 should now be shifted into 10- and 11- 

 inch pots, according to their strength, I 

 and be encouraged to grow freely for the j 

 next three months. Pot suckers from 

 l)lants that have ripened or are ripen- 

 ing their fruit. Put strong -growing 

 varieties into 7- and 8-inch, and Queens 

 into 6-inch pots : drain the pots well, 

 and use a rather light loam. Plunge in 

 a bottom-heat of 90^ ; shade for a few 

 days, and keep the air close and moist 

 until they root and begin to grow, 

 when they must be aired freely to keep 

 them stocky. 



Vines. — If early vineries in which 

 the wood is thoroughly ripened re- 

 quire painting or repairing, or any al- 

 terations in the way of heating, now is 

 a good time to attend to such matters. 

 Should the weather be dry, late Grapes 

 that are swelling off and just begin- 

 iug to colour should have their bor- 

 ders well watered with manure-water, 

 and mulching of some sort, if it has 

 not been already ai)plied. Put a 

 little extra heat into the pipes should 

 the weather be dull and damp ; and 

 never neglect having a circulation of 

 fresh air about them night and day. 

 Remember that nearly all black sorts 

 colour best in a dense shade, and 

 do not pinch the lateral growth too 

 rigidly. Muscats and other white 

 sorts, on the other hand, colour best 

 with a free play of light about them. 

 Keep ripe Grapes as cool as possible, 

 and protect them from wasps and flies, 

 by fixing hexagon netting over the 

 ventilation openings. Keep a vigilant 

 eye on Vines in all stages, and see 

 that red-spider is never allowed to 

 damage the foliage. No doubt some 

 localities are more favourable to this 

 pest than others ; but the chief encour- 

 agers of spider are too dry borders 

 and too much flre-heat. We have a 

 Black Hamburg house that ripens its 

 crop in August, on the cool and airy 

 system of treatment ; and for seven 

 years it has never been syringed once, 

 nor has there ever been a red-spider in 

 it to our knowledge. Syringing Vines 

 and the surrounding of them with a 

 damp close atmosphere, we regard as 

 one of the most fertile causes of unsat- 

 isfactory results in Vine-growing. And, 

 unless to check red-s[)ider, we would 

 never practise syringing. It thea be- 

 comes the lesser of two evils. Should 



any of the Vines from which the fruit 

 is now all cut have their roots down 

 deep, and are inconsequence not matur- 

 ing satisfactory crops, now is a good 

 time to take out a trench in front of 

 the borders. Lift the roots 4 or 5 feet 

 back, and lay them in good soil, at the 

 same time taking all inert soil off the 

 surface of the border down to the roots, 

 and laying about 8 inches of fresh loam, 

 horse - droppings, and crushed bones 

 over them. It is astonishing how 

 Vine -roots can be attracted to and 

 multiplied near the surface by fi-esh 

 loam and manure. Pot-Vines intended 

 to fruit early next year, should by this 

 time have their wood brown and well 

 ripened. Expose them to as much sun 

 and as free a circulation of air as pos- 

 sible, and never let them get too dry 

 at the root. Remove all young lateral 

 growth that they may attempt to pro- 

 duce after the first of this month, but 

 preserve the main leaves in health 

 to the last : avoid the practice of plac- 

 ing them outdoors, in positions where 

 high winds may destroy their foliage 

 prematurely. 



Peaches.— Look carefully over all 

 trees from which the crop has been 

 gathered; and if there are more shoots 

 than are necessary for properly furnish- 

 ing the trees for another year's crop, 

 remove them, so that all the air and 

 light possible may get at every leaf 

 and shoot. See that these do not 

 suffer from dryness at the root if the 

 weather be droughty ; and if the foli- 

 age is infested with red-spider, syringe 

 or engine them freely — putting a hand- 

 ful of sulphur in the water — till the 

 enemy disappears. It is of the utmost 

 importance that the foliage be kept 

 healthy to the last, or the buds will 

 not be matured as they should be. 

 Let sun and air play freely about rip- 

 ening crops. If any of the fruits be 

 shaded with leaves, fix them aside. 

 Examine the fruits every day, and 

 gather them before they drop. Fruit 

 to be sent direct to table for dessert, 

 should not be gathered until a very 

 gentle -pressure removes it from the 

 tree ; but when to be sent to a distance 

 — especially if to market — they should 

 be gathered earlier, or the chances are 

 that they do not travel well. Late 

 crops in cool houses should have lib- 

 eral waterings, until they begin to 

 ripen. 

 Figs. — Early trees, on which a second 



