i8 79 - 



CALENDAR. 



579 



plants in a good few different stages 

 of growth. 



Grapes. — Look over ripe Grapes at 

 least twice weekly and remove all 

 berries that are showing signs of 

 decay, and let such bunches as exhibit 

 a tendency to decay or shrivelling be 

 sent to table first. Keep the night 

 temperature at from 45° to 50°, accord- 

 ing to the external temperature, and 

 everything about the vinery dry. 

 When a bright day occurs, put a little 

 extra heat into the pipes and give air 

 at front and top ; but when it is wet or 

 foggy, keep the house almost closed, 

 with a little heat in the pipes to keep 

 the air in motion. Where it is neces- 

 sary to put plants in the vinery, it is 

 much better to bottle the Grapes, 

 placing them in a dry room with an 

 equable temperature of about 45°. 

 Cut the shoot off, as is common in the 

 case of spur-pruning, leaving all be- 

 yond the bunch also, and place the 

 bottom part in bottles of water with 

 a few pieces of charcoal in each. Look 

 to the bottles occasionally and make 

 up the water, at the same time re- 

 moving all signs of decaying berries. 

 After the fruit are bottled, the Vines 

 can be pruned, &c; and plants re- 

 quiring a cool airy place can be 

 placed in the vinery, where such is a 

 necessity. But vineries should never 

 have plants in them that are very 

 subject to insects, especially thrip or 

 white -bug. Pot -Vines that are re- 

 quired to supply the earliest Grapes 

 next season should now be started. 

 If the weather is mild, they may be 

 subjected to a temperature of about 

 55°, with a rise of 5° by day, till the 

 buds begin to swell. Some forcers 

 advocate starting pot- Vines at a much 

 higher temperature till the buds burst 

 into growth — by which means a step in 

 earliness is gained, no doubt, but at 

 the expense of an even and strong 

 start. If a little bottom-heat can be 

 applied, it will hasten their breaking ; 

 but this must not be too freely ap- 

 plied, or a root - growth at the ex- 

 pense of top-growth will be the result. 

 Syringe the Vines with tepid water 

 several times daily till the start, and 

 keep them steadily moist at the root. 

 All Vines from which the fruit are cut 

 should now be pruned and put in 

 order for starting in due course. Those 

 who contemplate planting young Vines 

 in new borders in spring, should have 

 their Vines ordered or selected before 



the best of them are all sold. Well- 

 ripened Vines raised from eyes struck 

 last spring we consider best for plant- 

 ing, and thorough ripeness and fine 

 fibry roots are of much more import- 

 ance than merely thick canes— which 

 thickness often represents weakness. 

 Soil, too, should be collected, weather 

 permitting, for the borders — a moder- 

 ately heavy loam, the top five or six 

 inches of old pasture-land, being pref- 

 erable. The site of the border should 

 be thoroughly bottomed and drained, 

 so that it be impossible for water to 

 stagnate on it. 



Peaches. — Peach-houses and trees 

 being got in readiness for starting, as 

 directed last month, may now have 

 fire-heat regularly applied to them, 

 if ripe Peaches are wanted by the 1st 

 of May. If the weather be mild, begin 

 with a night temperature of 50° ; if 

 cold, be content with a few degrees 

 less. Allow a rise of 8° or 10° by day, 

 when there is any sun, before giving 

 air. Still, let hard forcing be avoided, 

 or the wood-buds will get too much 

 the start of the bloom-buds. Syringe 

 the trees several times daily, and keep 

 the air otherwise moist. See that the 

 border is thoroughly moist before fire- 

 heat is applied. Indeed, Peach borders 

 should never be allowed to become very 

 dry. Prune and tie succession trees. 

 Where young trees are yet to plant, 

 no time should now be lost in planting 

 them. In making new borders, put 

 no animal excrement nor leaf-mould 

 in them, — h cwt. of bone - meal and 

 4 cwt. of half -inch bones to every 

 6 cubic yards of soil is all that should 

 be mixed with it. The Peach likes 

 a holding, firm, loamy soil, not over 

 2 feet deep, with the most thorough 

 drainage. 



Figs.— Where early Figs are pro- 

 duced from pots, a place should now 

 be got in readiness to start them about 

 the middle of the month. A light pit, 

 with a bed of fermenting leaves, into 

 which the pots can be plunged, with a 

 bottom-heat of 80° and a night tem- 

 perature of 50° to begin with, is the 

 best place for an early start. Top- 

 dress the pots with horse-droppings 

 and bone-meal. Keep the soil moist, 

 and syringe the trees three or four 

 times daily. AH trees not yet pruned 

 and top-dressed should not be left any 

 longer. When the summer's pruning 

 has been judicious, little cutting is 

 needed at this season. 



