148 



THE GARDENER. 



[March 



show the slightest tendency to grow 

 instead of fruiting, give them no more 

 water until they start than is just 

 enough to prevent them from su tier- 

 ing. Late - started fruits of smooth 

 Cayennes or any other winter sorts will 

 now make rapid progress, and some 

 of them may begin to colour by the 

 eud of the month. And at this season 

 they should have very little water 

 after they begin to change colour— at 

 the same time do not let them become 

 dusty-dry. If early autumn succers 

 were not shifted into their fruiting- 

 pots last month, lose no time in 

 shifting them now. The soil should 

 be placed in some warm place for a 

 few days before it is used, and the 

 balls of the young plants should be in 

 a medium state of moisture at the time 

 they are shifted. Plunge them in a 

 bottom-heat of 85° ; range the night 

 temperature at 65° at 10 p.m., falling 

 to 60° by 6 a.m. If the weather be 

 sunny and the soil used rather dry — 

 as it should be — the plants should be 

 watered immediately they are plunged. 

 When the weather is bright, give 

 them a very light dewing overhead 

 three times weekly with tepid water, 

 when shut up early with a sun-heat of 

 80°, for an hour or two. Give more or 

 less air daily, according to the weather, 

 increasing it as the plants begin to 

 grow. Examine later succers by the 

 end of the month, and if well rooted 

 and healthy, shift them ; but if from 

 any cause these have the soil deranged 

 by such as worms or drip, it is best to 

 shake them entirely out, repotting 

 them into 7 or 8 inch pots, according 

 to their size. All plants intended for 

 starting about three months hence 

 should still be kept quiet, only see 

 that they do not become over dry at 

 the root. The soil should be moist 

 aud nothing more, and the tempera- 

 ture 5° lower than has been recom- 

 mended for fruiting-plants. Any por- 

 tion of the stock intended for later 

 fruiting, and that are now in 8-inch 

 pots, should be shifted into 10 and 11 

 inch pots, according to the state they 

 are in, and encouraged to grow as 

 directed for succession plants. 



Vines. — If all late Grapes have not 

 already been cut and used or bottled, 

 the sooner they are bottled the better 

 now, so as to get the Vines pruned and 

 kept as cool as possible for a time. 

 All wounds made in pruning should 

 be immediately seared with a hot 



I iron, and dressed thrice over with 

 styptic, to prevent any chance ot 

 bleeding. All cleaning necessary 

 should also be attended to, and all 

 the dusty -dry part of the surface of 

 the inside border removed, and re- 

 placed with a rich top-dressing, and 

 the border thoroughly well watered. 

 Early Grapes are later this spring 

 than usual, owing to the severe win- 

 ter. Owing to the amount of fire- 

 heat that has been required, the foli- 

 age should be carefully examined for 

 red-spider, and if any be found, let it 

 be sponged oil" at once. Every advan- 

 tage should now be taken of bright 

 sunny weather to shut up as early in 

 the afternoon as will run up the tem- 

 perature to 80° for a short time, allow- 

 ing it to drop to 65° by 10 p.m., un- 

 less when very mild, when it may be 

 a few degrees higher. But it is 

 better to do the forcing as much as 

 possible by day, and keep moderate 

 night temperatures. In changeable 

 days the fires should not be allowed 

 to become very low, so that sudden 

 changes can be more efficiently met. 

 If this early crop be in pots, they will 

 now require much more water than for 

 the last two months. Give each pot 

 a dessert spoonful of Standen's manure, 

 and if not already done, top-dress the 

 surface of the ball with some rich 

 manure. Permanent Vines now in 

 bloom should have a slightly drier 

 atmosphere for a few days, when the 

 pollen is being developed. Give each 

 bunch a gentle tap on its main stem ; 

 and where any shy-setting sorts are in 

 bloom, they will be benefited by the 

 application of pollen from freer sorts, 

 such as Black Hamburgs. All super- 

 fluous bunches should be removed be- 

 fore the blooming period, and the 

 berries thinned when of the size of 

 sparrow-shot; unless, of course, in the 

 case of shy setters, which should not 

 be finally thinned until the stoneless 

 berries can be detected. The night 

 temperature for these should be 65° in 

 mild, and 60° in cold weather. "When 

 the nights are cold and the pipes have 

 to be slightly hotter, a gentle sprink- 

 ling of the floor of the house early in 

 the morning may be necessary to 

 prevent aridity ; but, as a rule, we 

 do not advise much sprinkling, ex- 

 cept at shutting - up time on fine 

 afternoons. Disbud, stop, and tie 

 down the young growths in succession - 

 houses. In the case of young vigorous 



