i8 7 9-] 



CALENDAR. 



245 



dung-water. In tying in the wood of 

 later trees, remove every shoot that 

 is not required to furnish the trees 

 with the requisite amount of young 

 wood for next year's crop. The crowd- 

 ing in of wood in summer, and the 

 cutting of it out at pruning - time, 

 ought to be an obsolete system. Keep 

 a sharp look out for greenfly and red- 

 spider, and get rid of it at once. 

 There is nothing more certain than 

 tobacco smoke for the former, and 

 vigorous syringings for the latter. 



Figs. — Early crops will be approach- 

 ing maturity, and if produced from 

 plants in pots, continue to give them 

 the most generous treatment. With 

 a large spread of foliage and a heavy 

 crop of fruit, the trees will require 

 liberal supplies of manure- water ; and 

 if the surface of the pots are occasion- 

 ally dusted with Standen's manure, it 

 will materially assist them. The 

 minimum night-temperature may range 

 about 65°. Syringe the trees freely 

 every day at shutting - up time until 

 the fruit approach the ripening point, 

 when a drier atmosphere and more air 

 should be given. As soon as the 

 second crop appears at the axils of the 

 leaves they should be thinned to three 

 or four on shoots a foot or 16 inches 

 long. Tie in the young growths on 

 later trees, and pinch the points out of 

 them when they have made seven or 

 eight joints. 



Melons. — Attend carefully to the 

 impregnation of female blossoms at 

 mid-day on fine days. Stop the fruit- 

 bearing growths one joint above the 

 fruit. So soon as a full crop is set 

 give the plants a good watering, and 

 when the fruit begins to swell freely 

 syringe the plants when the house or 

 pit is shut up on bright afternoons. 

 The earliest crops will be advancing 

 towards full size, and must not be over- 



watered in case the fruit splits, as 

 some varieties are apt to do. It is 

 best to mulch the surface of the bed, 

 and so prevent evaporation and the 

 necessity for frequent waterings. See 

 that the fruit is as much as possible 

 exposed to the sun. The night tem- 

 perature at 10 p.m. may range to 75° 

 when shut up with sun-heat, allowing 

 it to fall to 70° by morning. Attend 

 to the tying and stopping of succession 

 plants, and plant and sow for August 

 crops. 



Cucumbers. — Top-dress with loam 

 and rotten manure, in about equal 

 parts, plants that have been bearing 

 freely for several months. Remove 

 all small and dead fruits ; thin out 

 the growths, and keep them warm 

 and moist for some time, and they will 

 soon furnish themselves with young 

 bearing shoots again. Early spring- 

 planted oms will now be in full bear- 

 ing, and should have generous treat- 

 ment. Now is a good time to plant 

 more plants for autumn supply. The 

 syringe should be freely used every 

 fine afternoon, and the house shut up 

 so that the heat stands at 90° for a 

 short time. 



Strawberries in Pots. — Plants 

 swelling off heavy crops of fruit will 

 now require careful attention in water- 

 ing, and if standing on shelves will 

 require to be watered twice a - day. 

 But all Strawberries in pits should at 

 this season be set on a cool, damp 

 bottom, if not in pots or saucers filled 

 with rich soil. Red - spider is apt to 

 be troublesome now, and the syringe 

 should be freely used up to the time 

 the fruit begins to colour. Fruit 

 ripened now in airy houses are gen- 

 erally of excellent flavour. All plants 

 that have been forced should be well 

 hardened off and planted out in rich 

 soil for fruiting next year. 



Unices tor (tonspnnftmts. 



All business communications and all Advertisements should be addressed to 

 the Publishers, and communications for insertion in 'The Gardener' to David 

 Thomson, Drumlanrig Gardens, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. It will further 

 oblige if all matter intended for publication, and questions to be replied to, 

 be received by the 14th of the month, and written on one side of the paper 

 only. It is also requested that writers forward their name and address, not for 

 publication unless they wish it, but for the sake of that mutual confidence 



