iSyi.] 



CALENDAR. 



93 



according to the state of the weather, 

 and by day with sun-heat to 80° before 

 giving air. Shut up early in the after- 

 noon ; and where all are out of bloom, 

 moisture should be increased in the 

 same ratio as heat. The bottom-heat 

 for these should be at a maximum, 

 namely 85° to 90°. The state of the 

 soil must be carefully watched, and 

 water given to keep it in a medium 

 state of moisture, avoiding mealy dry- 

 ness on the one hand and wetness on 

 the other. Do not exceed a tempera- 

 ture of 70° at night in the case of those 

 intended to start in the course of this 

 month, unless it be in very mild 

 weather, when a few degrees moi-e is 

 safe enough without hard firing. And 

 do not be over-liberal with water till 

 the fruit shows itself. There is a 

 danger, especially in the case of plants 

 that have not well filled their pots nor 

 matured their growth sufficiently in 

 autumn, of their starting into growth 

 instead of fruiting, if they are too freely 

 supplied with water and moisture in 

 the air. Look over them occasionally 

 and examine their centres ; and when 

 the fruit can be discerned emerging 

 from amongst the leaves, see that the 

 plants so started have sufficient weak 

 guano-water given to moisten the soil 

 through and through. Supposing the 

 early batch to have shown fruit by the 

 end of the month, increase the heat a 

 few degrees. Let it range to 75° on 

 mild nights. Do not much increase the 

 air moisture till they are out of flower, 

 and give air a few hours a-day as weather 

 will permit. Examine succession plants 

 in small pots, and see that they do not 

 become too dry, and give water enough 

 to prevent their suffering without in- 

 ducing much growth yet. The night 

 temperature still continue to range at 

 60°. If it so happens that they are 

 strong and well rooted, or if any portion 

 of them are such, it will be better to 

 shift them into their frixiting-pots by 

 the end of the month than to run the 

 risk of their becoming pot-bound, and 

 consequently more likely to fruit pre- 

 maturely. Later plants are best not 

 shifted till March. Take oflf and pot 

 any suckers that may be on plants of 

 winter-fruiting sorts from which the 

 fruit is cut ; pot firmly, and do not 

 water till the roots appear at the sides 

 of the pot. We will treat of soil next 

 month in time for general potting. 



Vines. — Attend to Grapes still hang- 

 ing as directed last month. Prune all 



Vines as soon as the fruit is cut from 

 them, and dress all cuts made after this 

 season with styptic to prevent any 

 chance of their being weakened by 

 bleeding in spring. Wash and other- 

 wise clean and dress vineries and Vines 

 as described in Calendar for January. 

 Thin the bunches and berries of ad- 

 vancing crops as soon as they are ready. 

 This is an operation often deferred 

 too late, and the crop and Vines suf- 

 fer in consequence. The superfluous 

 bunches should be removed from all 

 free-setting sorts as soon as ever it is 

 apparent which are best to leave ; shy- 

 setting sorts are best left till it is easily 

 seen which are set most perfectly. In 

 leaving bunches to come to maturity 

 select the most compact and symmetri- 

 cal, with short strong stalks, in prefer- 

 ence to long straggling bunches, which 

 are not so likely to swell such fine 

 berries, and are more likely to shank 

 than the smaller and more compact 

 ones. Should the weather be cold, 

 avoid hard forcing, which in dull sun- 

 less weather only debilitates and defeats 

 the end in view. Vines in bloom should 

 be kept steadily about 65^ at night, with 

 a rather dry atmosphere. Shy-setting 

 sorts may be impregnated by drawing a 

 dry clean hand over the bunches and 

 tapping the Vine stems at mid-day, or 

 a bunch of some free pollen-making 

 variety may be rubbed or shaken among 

 the blooms of shy sorts. Take advan- 

 tage of forcing on bright sunny days 

 if time is important, shvitting up with 

 sun-heat at 80°. Where the early crop 

 is from pot Vines, and now swelling off 

 freely, water regularly with manure- 

 water, and the heat for such may be a 

 few degrees more than is desirable for 

 permanent Vines. Air-giving should 

 be carefully attended to wherever 

 Vines are started, and in all progressive 

 stages a close stagnant atmosphere is 

 ruinous to Vines : the growths become 

 weak, the leaves thin and warty, when 

 kept too close and moist. Stop the 

 growths as directed last month, leaving 

 only one leaf to each lateral, and not 

 allowing them to make long growths, 

 and then remove them. While we thus 

 direct in the case of laterals in fruit- 

 bearing shoots, we are opposed to the 

 close stopping of these shoots them- 

 selves. In our opinion, whether Vines 

 are grown on the one rod or the three 

 or four rod system to one Vine, the rods 

 should never be closer than 3^ to 4 feet 

 apart ; and the lateral shoots should be 



