384 



THE GARDENER. 



[Aug, 



crop is now swelling, should be liberally 

 supplied with manure- water until they 

 begin to ri])en, when less will be ne- 

 cessary. When ripening, keep the air , 

 dry, and give abundance of it. Early 

 pit-trees, from which their second crop ; 

 may be gathered by the end of this j 

 month, snould be kept as cool as pos- j 

 sible ; give them an occasional syr- 

 inging to keep the foliage clean, and 

 see that they are never allowed to 

 snller for waut of water at the root. 

 Any shoots not considered necessary 

 should be removed at once. 



Melons. — Attend to the impreg- 

 nation of late crops, and do not let 

 the shoots and foliage become crowded. 

 Expose ripening fruits to all the sun 

 possible, and do not let the soil become 

 very dry before they are quite ripe. 

 See that crops swelling oil' are well 

 supplied with water in bright weather. 

 An occasional good soaking is prefer- 

 able to more frequent light waterings. 

 It is a good practice to cover the sur- 

 face of the soil with manure as soon 

 as the crop is set. 



Cucumbers.— Those that have been 

 bearing all summer may now be par- 

 tially cut back, removing all fruit, and 

 leaving the young growth, and be to])- 

 dressed with some rich manure. If 

 kept at 75'' at night and moist, they 



will soon grow freel}'-, and begin to 

 bear, and give a supply of aiitumn 

 Cucumbers. Look over those in frames, 

 and remove all superfluous growths 

 and leaves, and give them a dewing 

 overhead on line bright afternoons. 

 About the middle of this month sow 

 seeds of Telegraph or some approved 

 sort for winter- bearing, or they may 

 be produced from healthy cuttings at 

 the end of the month. Either way 

 they should be early enough to be 

 well established while the days are 

 comparatively long, and not much 

 hre-heat is required. 



Strawberries in Pots.— If these 

 were shifted into their fruiting-pots 

 last month as we recommended, they 

 will now be making rapid growth. If 

 the weather be warm and dry they 

 will take liberal supplies of water, and 

 as the pots get well filled with roots, 

 give occasional waterings of manure- 

 water. See that they are not allowed 

 to become crowded, but give them 

 room enough to keep the foliage well 

 apart. They should be standing in 

 an open situation, and on a porous dry 

 bottom, into which the roots must not 

 be allowed to penetrate. On line 

 evenings sprinkle them overhead with 

 clean water, and keep them free from 

 weeds and runners. 



KITCHEN-GARDEN. 



If this month should be warm, gar- 

 dens, like fields, will reap advantage 

 from such agreeable weather. The 

 great advantage of having all things 

 well forward before the short and 

 colder days come round, are reasons 

 which make tine weather specially 

 desirable during the next two months. 

 The "push" of labour will be well 

 over — though seldom is there a scarcity'- 

 of work in a well - managed garden. 

 Thorough cleaning and surface - stir- 

 ring should take place during this 

 month, so that nothing in the way 

 of weeds may escape detection. Al- 

 lowing them to seed gives a store 

 of extra labour for the next season. 

 Where order cannot be maintained, 

 extent of ground should be circum- 

 scribed, and all unnecessary ornate 

 portions should be dispensed with ; 

 order and neatness should be special- 

 ities at the present time. No ground 

 should be vacant an hour longer than 

 is necessary to prepare it for crops. 



; Scarcity of labour-power is observ- 

 able in most gardens at the present 

 time; many which were conspicuous 

 for order and good keeping are now 

 notable for weeds and all that is objec- 

 tionable. This being in the power of 

 proprietors alone to avert, cultivators 

 of such gardens can only complain or 

 protest and struggle on — too often 

 sharing the discredit while they are un- 

 blamable. The highly cultivated and 

 fine crop - producing market - gardens 

 stand out in many cases prominently 

 as examples to be imitated, simply be- 

 cause it does not pay to attempt what 

 cannot be well done. A field clean, 

 orderly, and thoroughly cropped, is far 

 more creditable than the walk divided, 

 and prim - bordered kitchen - gardens 

 ill many cases clothed as much by 

 weeds as good esculents, — thus making 

 a burlesque of what was intended to 

 afford pleasure, as well as to give good 

 returns for labour expended. 



Arrears in planting must now have 



