144 



THE GARDENER. 



[March 



will be enough. Tvhubail) may be plant- 

 ed in rich ground, well trenched. Keep 

 the crowns from frost, if they have 

 been under protection before being 

 planted, llhubarb may be blanched, 

 if necessary, by })lacing boxes or deep 

 pots over the crowns. Cauliflower in 

 pots should be ])lanted out before the 

 roots become ])ot-bound ; protect with 

 branches, earth up those iinder hand- 

 lights : a layer of litter or old IMush- 

 room dung ])laced over the roots will 

 do much to protect them and keep out 

 drought. Sow Basil, Sweet Marjoram, 



Tomatoes, Celery, and Tee Plant, in 

 heat. Pot Tomatoes which were sown 

 last month. Plant French lieans for 

 succession as demand requires. Capsi- 

 cums may be sown, and earlier sowings 

 potted on, giving light, heat, and a 

 little air when it is safe to open the 

 lights. Every jiart of the Kitchen- 

 Garden should have an orderly ap- 

 pearance at this season of the year, 

 and all crops should have the hoe or 

 prong freely used among them. 



M. T. 



FORCING DEPARTMENT. 



Pines. — If the suckers most in need 

 of shifting have not been shifted in the 

 course of last month, no time should 

 now be lost in attending to them. Do 

 not force these into rapid growth until 

 it can be done with less tire-heat and 

 more light, otherwise they will pro- 

 duce attenuated weakly leaves which 

 no after-treatment can thoroughly rec- 

 tify. Do not let the bottom-heat ex- 

 ceed 85°, nor the night temperature 

 be higher than 60° when the weather 

 is cold, and 65° when mild. Under 

 this treatment they will, for the pre- 

 sent, make slow but compact sturdy 

 growth, and will be taking to the 

 fresh soil, and be in a fit state to push 

 on as the season advances. Let them 

 be aired more or less daily, according 

 to the state of the weather, and on 

 sunny days shut them up early, so that 

 the heat can be inaiutained with a 

 minimum of fire-heat. See to late 

 autumn and midwinter potted suckers, 

 and if they are dry, give them as much 

 water as will thoroughly moisten the 

 ball. By the end of the month soil 

 and pots should be got ready for shift- 

 ing these early in April. In cases 

 where any of them have been subject 

 to drip the last very wet winter, let 

 them be singled out at once, and all 

 the soil shaken from them, and potted 

 into the same sized pot, using turfy 

 rather light loam to encourage them to 

 make fresh roots, and be ready to shift 

 along with the others. The tempera- 

 ture for these may now be inci-eased 5° 

 — to 65°— on mild nights. Any por- 

 tion of the winter fruiting stock that 

 may have been wintered in 8-iuch pots 

 should now be examined, and if well 

 rooted, shifted into their fruiting-pots. 

 Where it is an object to have a supply 



of ripe fruit by the end of ilay, the 

 earliest Queens should be bloomed off 

 by this time, and can be pushed for- 

 ward with increased heat and moisture, 

 especially on bright days when sun- 

 heat can be husbanded. Sprinkle the 

 paths morning and afternoon when 

 the weather is bright, and the plants 

 can have a very light dewing overhead 

 on the afternoons of sunny days when 

 the house or pit is shut up, when the 

 heat may run to 85° for a time, allow- 

 ing it to fall to 70° at night. The bot- 

 tom-heat should range from 85° to 90°; 

 and where the heat is derived from hot- 

 air chambers, be careful, now that the 

 plants are all in fruit and excited into 

 growth, that the soil does not become 

 too dry. When water is required, 

 colour it with guano, or give them 

 sheep or deer manure water. The suc- 

 cession fruiting Queens intended to 

 succeed those now started, may now 

 be excited with a few degrees more 

 heat and more moisture at the root and 

 in the air, and if all is right, they 

 should start by the end of this or begin- 

 ning of next month. Late autumn 

 started fruit will begin to colour by the 

 end of the month. Give them more 

 air, and keep them drier when colour- 

 ing commences. Smooth Cayennes, 

 and other late sorts intended for 

 autumn fruiting, should still be kept 

 quiet. Only they must not, now that 

 the sun has more power, and more air 

 is required, be allowed to be very dry 

 at the root. Just keep them steadily 

 on the move to prevent anything like 

 a stunted condition. 



Vines. — Now is a good time to start 

 Muscat and other late varieties requir- 

 ing high temperature to rij^en them to 

 perfection, and fit them for keeping 



