292 



THE GARDENER. 



[June 



plants will "run" and become use- 

 less. When sown between such crops 

 as Cauliflowers and Cabbage, the plants 

 are used before their room is required. 

 New Zealand Spinach is useful when 

 grown on rich land and plenty of 

 room afforded. Tomatoes may now 

 be planted against walls, on back 

 walls of pits, and in frames. There 

 are not many places in the south even 

 where they plant in the open fields. 

 Those fruited in pots in rich soil and 

 allowed to root through the bottoms 

 are fine fruit-bearing plants. When 



plenty of fruit are set, give abundance 

 of liquid-manure, and have all useless 

 growths taken off before they get to 

 any size. Cucumbers, Gherkins, and 

 Vegetable Marrows may now be planted 

 — first under protection of glass, and 

 afterwards allowed to run over the 

 open ground ; always watering them 

 with tepid soft water, stopping the 

 shoots above the fruit, thinning in 

 time, and not over-cropping the plants. 

 Chillies may be planted in frames. 

 Keep all surfaces clean and well hoed. 

 M. T. 



FORCING DEPARTMENT. 



Pines. — Plants intended to supply 

 ripe fruit in autumn should start by 

 the end of this month. If they have 

 been kept cool and dry, as directed last 

 month, and are in moderate-sized pots, 

 there is generally not much difficulty 

 in getting them to show fruit by sub- 

 jecting them to increased top and bot- 

 tom heat. Give them sufficient water 

 to well moisten the whole soil, and raise 

 the bottom-heat to about 90° and the air 

 temperature to 75° at 10 p.m., allowing 

 it to sink to 70° by 6 a.m. Any of the 

 plants that show a tendency to grow 

 instead of fruiting after the first good 

 watering, should be kept dry for a 

 time. The set of Smooth Cayennes 

 intended to start in July, and that 

 have been growing freely, should be 

 kept cooler and drier all through this 

 month. Keep a moist atmosphere 

 with a high temperature from sun- 

 heat where Pines are now swelling off. 

 Keep them steadily moist at the root, 

 and give clear, weak manure-w r ater or 

 guano every time they are watered. 

 Syringe the plants every hot day 

 when the house is shut up, allowing 

 the heat to run up to 90° or 95° for a 

 time. Early Queens will be ripe in the 

 course of this month ; and as soon as 

 they begin to colour, gradually decrease 

 the moisture in the air and lower the 

 temperature a few degrees, and give 

 air more freely on all fine days, in 

 order to bring up the flavour to the high- 

 est point. Give them as much water 

 at the root as will keep the plants 

 fresh and active. The drying-off sys- 

 tem in the case of Pines ripening in 

 the heat of summer is a mistake. If 

 more fruits ripen at once than are re- 

 quired, remove a portion of them, 

 plants and all, to a cool, airy, and 

 partially shaded place— such as a vinery 



where the Grapes are just ripe. Under 

 such conditions the fruits keep fresh 

 a few weeks. Give every attention to 

 plants that were shifted into their 

 fruiting - pots in spring. These are 

 now growing rapidly. Shut up with 

 sun - heat so that the temperature 

 stands for a time at 85°, and start the 

 fires in time to prevent it falling below 

 75° at 9 p.m. and 70° in the morning. 

 Give a little air in the morning when 

 the heat rises above 75°, gradually in- 

 creasing it till noon, after which de- 

 crease it in the same way. They may 

 be lightly syringed overhead every 

 hot day when shut up. Attend care- 

 fully to the watering, and keep the 

 soil moist but not wet, and give weak 

 guano-water every time they require 

 watering. The use of fire-heat will 

 now be at its minimum, and the less 

 that is necessary to keep up the tem- 

 perature for Pines in all stages the 

 better. 



Vines. — Keep all Vines from which 

 the crop has been gathered as cool as 

 possible. Syringe the foliage occa- 

 sionally to keep it clean and healthy, 

 until it has done its work sufficiently 

 to leave the Vines in a good state for 

 another season's crop. Leave a mulch- 

 ing on both outside and inside borders, 

 to prevent them from becoming too 

 dry and cracking. All ripe Grapes 

 should be kept cool and dry by leav- 

 ing top and bottom air on all night. 

 Eemove all fresh lateral growths im- 

 mediately they appear from all early 

 Vines, so as to concentrate the energies 

 of the Vines in perfecting the fruit-bear- 

 ing buds for next season. Give more 

 air to Grapes that have just begun to 

 colour, and lessen the air-moisture by 

 degrees. Examine the borders as soon 

 as colouring begins, and if at all dry, 



