i8 79 . 



CALENDAR. 



341 



colouring, give inside borders a good 

 soaking ; and the same applies to out 

 side borders if the weather be dry 

 "With a good mulching, a good soak 

 ing will carry them safely to ma 

 turity. Black Hamburgs should be 

 coloured as slowly as possible at this 

 hot season, and the vinery should 

 never be closely shut up. Look 

 over all Vines twice weekly, and re- 

 move all lateral growths as they 

 present themselves. Young Vines 

 intended to bear next year should 

 be stopped when they reach to near 

 the top of the house, and their lateral 

 growths be limited to one leaf. Should 

 they, however, be very vigorous, and 

 there be any chance of their starting 

 the buds on the main stem, let the lat- 

 erals make two or more leaves for a 

 time. Permanent Vines intended to 

 be cut back will be all the better and 

 stronger for being allowed to cover 

 all the roof with side growths ; for 

 in proportion to the top growth will 

 be the extent of roots produced. If 

 pot - Vines for fruiting early next 

 year have done well, they will now 

 be strong canes with well-developed 

 buds, and the bottom parts of them 

 changing to a brownish hue. Give 

 them an increased circulation of air, 

 and do not let them make any fresh 

 lateral growth. See that, now the 

 pots are full of roots, they never get 

 too dry, and expose them as much as 

 possible to sunshine, so that the wood 

 gets thoroughly ripened as early as 

 possible. 



Peaches. — Let crops that are colour- 

 ing have abundance of air, and see that 

 every fruit is fully exposed to light. 

 Look over ripe crops every day, and 

 gather those that are ready for table. 

 Lay them on some soft material, such 

 as sheets of cotton-wadding covered 

 with tissue-paper. Give crops that 

 are swelling off copious watering with 

 liquid manure if the weather be dry. 

 Syringe the trees freely every after- 

 noon until the first signs of ripening. 

 To keep the foliage of trees from which 

 the crop is all gathered healthy and 

 clean, syringe them frequently with a 

 weak solution of soft soap. Keep them 

 as cool and well aired as possible, and 

 if the weather be dry and hot see 

 that the borders do not become too 

 dry. Tie in at intervals the shoots of 

 young growing trees, and stop such as 

 may be getting much in advance of 



the others. Avoid crowding the trees 

 with more shoots than are necessary 

 to furnish them well. 



Figs.— Keep a free circulation of 

 dry warm air among ripening crops. 

 Where the first crop is all gathered, 

 thin out the second if there is more 

 than the trees are likely to swell and 

 ripen properly. Give the trees — if 

 placed in restricted borders — good 

 waterings of guano and dung water, 

 never allowing the soil to become dry. 

 Syringe frequently to keep red-spider 

 at bay. 



Melons. — Melons swelling off heavy 

 crops require much more water and 

 nourishment now than earlier in the 

 season. The beds of those growing in 

 Melon -houses should be top-dressed 

 w T ith rotten manure. Red-spider is 

 apt to be troublesome, and the foliage 

 should be freely syringed at shutting- 

 up time. Very little fire-heat will now 

 be necessary, except during a period 

 of sunless weather. Expose ripening 

 fruit as much as possible to the sun, 

 and air freely, but do not allow the 

 soil to become too dry. Impregnate 

 succession crops as soon as they are in 

 fit condition. Plant out, and sow for 

 succession crops. 



Cucumbers. — Plants in full bearing 

 require liberal treatment at this time 

 of year. Water them frequently with 

 liquid manure, and put fresh mulch- 

 ings of manure on the bed. Examine 

 the plants occasionally, and stop youug 

 growths. Thin out a portion of the 

 old shoots, to be replaced with young 

 fruit-bearing ones. Syringe freely at 

 shutting-up time, and let the tempera- 

 ture run up to 85° or 90° for a time. 

 Cut the Cucumbers as soon as fit for 

 use, and thin off all malformed ones, 

 so as to prevent the exhaustion of the 

 plants. 



Strawberries in Pots. — See la*t 

 month's Calendar. All plants should 

 be in their fruiting-pots by the middle 

 of July at the latest. In potting them, 

 let it be done firmly, using a rather 

 strong fresh loam with about a third of 

 well -decomposed dry cow or horse 

 manure and a little fine bone-meal. 

 In placing them to make their growth, 

 choose an open warm position, placing 

 them on something that will prevent 

 worms from getting into the pots. 

 Give them plenty of room, and never 

 allow them to suffer for want of 

 water. 



