244 



THE GARDENER. 



[May 



drier for a month, will start in June. 

 Any of them that show signs of 

 growth more than fruiting may be 

 kept very dry for a few weeks, which 

 will predispose them to start along 

 with the others. 



Vineries. — Keep ripe Grapes cool 

 with a dry atmosphere. If our for- 

 mer directions regarding mulching 

 and watering inside borders have been 

 carried out, there is not much fear 

 of the soil becoming dry and cracking 

 before the grasses are all cut. Keep 

 a sharp look-out for red-spider, and 

 should its presence be detected, attack 

 it with a sponge and soapy water. 

 As soon as the crop is all cut from 

 pot- Vines, turn them out, thoroughly 

 clean the house or pit, which can 

 either be devoted to Melons or young 

 growing Vines in course of preparation 

 for forcing next season. All vineries 

 where Grapes are swelling off should 

 now be shut up early, causing the 

 thermometer to run up to 85° or 90° 

 for a time, at the same time damping 

 the whole floor of the house. At 6 

 p.m. put an inch or two — according 

 to the weather — of air on the front. 

 Black Hamburgs should now have 

 no more fire applied than is sufficient 

 to prevent the temperature from fall- 

 ing below 65° at 6 a.m. : Muscats 

 should have 5° more. All advancing 

 will now require constant attention in 

 the way of stopping, tying down, and 

 pricking lateral growths as soon as 

 they appear. Admitting that all 

 Vines should not have their main 

 stems closer than 3h feet, in stopping 

 the fruit-bearing shoots leave them of 

 sufficient length to cover the whole 

 space without crowding. Indeed, we 

 prefer that the rods be 4 feet apart, 

 and the whole space taken up with 

 foliage. The close pinching system 

 has a debilitating effect on Vines, and 

 they cannot carry heavy well-swelled 

 crops without ample foliage. Thin 

 off superfluous bunches of all certain- 

 setting varieties when the Vines are 

 stopped. Less free setters should not 

 be finally thinned either in bunch or 

 berry until it be seen which bunches 

 have set the best. As a rule, however, 

 it is a waste of energy to allow the 

 berries to grow to the size of Peas 

 before they are thinned. Such va- 

 rieties as G-ros Colman and Duke of 

 Buccleuch should be freely thinned so 

 as to give room for their large berries 

 to swell without being jammed. 



Vines planted early in March will 

 now have got a good hold of the 

 border, and may be encouraged with 

 a higher temperature. In training 

 those that are intended for the 

 permanent Vines, and which will 

 be cut down next season, allow 

 them to produce all the foliage that 

 can be trained to the trellis with- 

 out crowding. Others, intended for 

 bearing next season, and afterwards 

 to be cut out, should have their lat- 

 erals stopped for the present at the 

 second leaf, and the main rod stopped 

 when half-way up the roof, and after- 

 wards allowed to grow on for a time. 

 All covering of litter and leaves that 

 have been applied to outside borders 

 should be removed, not all at once, 

 but partially about the middle, and 

 wholly at the end of the month ; and 

 then let the border be forked up, with- 

 out, however, disturbing the roots, 

 and put 2 or 3 inches of good manure 

 on. It is a great mistake to suppose 

 that Vines do not require feeding after 

 the fruit is cut in May. The next 

 crop depends much on the foliage 

 being kept healthy as long as possible, 

 and the Vines being fed properly, as 

 long as the foliage continues healthy. 

 Pot- Vines will now be ready to go into 

 their fruiting-pots. In potting them 

 use a good holding maiden loam, some 

 bone-meal, or Standen's manure ; place 

 them in a light house, and grow on 

 with a warm, genial atmosphere, giving 

 a good supply of air on all favourable 

 opportunities. 



Peaches. — Where Peaches are ripen- 

 ing look over the trees, and if any of 

 the fruits are shaded by the leaves 

 push the latter aside so that sun 

 and air can play freely about each 

 fruit to flavour and colour it properly. 

 Give them more air and less moisture, 

 but take good care that inside borders 

 do not become over dry. The better way 

 is to give a thorough soaking as soon 

 as first signs of the approach of the 

 ripening process appear. If crops that 

 have completed the stoning process 

 be considered too heavy a crop for the 

 the trees to properly swell and mature, 

 lose no time in thinning them off : the 

 night temperature for these should 

 now be 65°. Syringe freely every fine 

 day, and shut up early with sun -heat, 

 and pay particular attention to the 

 state of inside borders as regards 

 watering. Older and heavy - bearing 

 trees should be liberally supplied with 



