19G 



THE GARDENER. 



[April 



early iiart of the night. C4ive the i)lants 

 a gentle dewing overhead two or three 

 times a-week at shutting-u}) time in 

 fine weather. As soon as the heat 

 touches 75° in the morning, give a little 

 air, increasing as the day advances. 

 Early - started Queens will novy be 

 swelling their fruit more rapidly : 

 shut them up every fine afternoon, with 

 sun -heat at 85% for an hour or two, 

 allowing it to decline to 70° by 10 r. M. 

 Dew them overhead through a line 

 rose at shutting-up time — avoiding the 

 crowns as much as possible — and 

 sprinkle the paths, and occasionally 

 the surface of the plunging material. 

 When these are wanted as early as it 

 is possible, let the forcing be chiefly 

 done by day with sun -heat and light, 

 and unless in exceptionally mild nights, 

 70° is high enough for the present. A 

 careful eye must be kept on the soil to 

 keep it moderately and regularly moist. 

 Water ^vhen necessary with weak 

 guano, or sheep or deer's dung water. 

 Maintain a steady bottom -heat of from 

 85° to 90° : as soon as the young suckers 

 on these are large enough to be re- | 

 moved, let them be thinned to two on | 

 a plant, and remove all gills that may [ 

 appear on fruit-stems immediately 

 they are noticed. Winter -fruiting 

 varieties that started in early winter 

 will be approaching maturity. Until 

 these begin to change colour, treat 

 them as directed for the early Queens ; 

 l)ut as soon as they change colour, keep 

 them drier at the root, and give less air 

 moisture and more air. Any of the 

 young stock not found ready for shift- 

 ing last month should now be attend- 

 ed to. 



Vines. — Early crops will now be 

 colouring. Where these are on Vines 

 having "their roots mostly in inside 

 borders, let the soil be examined im- 

 mediately the first signs of colouring are 

 noticed ; and if in need of water, apply 

 it in sufficient quantity to moisten the 

 whole border, and afterwards mulch 

 with such as old Mushroom-bed dung, 

 so that no more water be required for 

 a considerable time. Where the early 

 crop is from pot- Vines, give them water 

 in quantity, and sufficiently often to 

 keep the system of the Vines healthy 

 and fresh ; but as hardened and matured 

 foliage and wood cannot make use of 

 so much moistiire, it may be slightly 

 decreased both at the root and in the 

 air— not suddenly, but by degrees— with 

 the progress of the Grapes to maturity. 



Increase slightly and gradually the 

 amount of air, being more particular 

 than ever to leave a little on all night. 

 Let the foliage be carefully examined, 

 and if there is the least a[)pearance of 

 red-.spider, attack it at once with a 

 sponge and clean tepid water; and 

 afterwards, if dean water is at com- 

 mand, give the Vines a vigorous syring- 

 ing, and more than likely the pest will 

 be entirely defeated till the crop is 

 used. Now that less iire-heat is needed 

 to keep up night temperatures, and 

 with longer days and more sun-heat, 

 keep the heat at 70° at night in succes- 

 sion-houses where the Grapes are 

 thinned. vShut up early with sun-heat, 

 starting the fires just in time to 

 prevent the heat falling below the 

 desired point at 10 p.m. The air 

 moisture should be increased in pro- 

 portion to the sun-heat, but avoid a 

 stagnant over-moist atmosphere with a 

 minimum temperatiu-e, or mildew may 

 be the result; while over- much moisture 

 with heat and too little air produces 

 excrescences on the leaves which check 

 their growth. Look over all growing 

 Vines several times weekly, and stop 

 superfluous lateral growths. Such 

 growths are produced rapidly in the 

 early stages when the Vines are vigor- 

 ous and not over- cropped. It is bad 

 practice to allow a rambling growth of 

 these, and then to remove them in bulk 

 at once. Thin advancing crops as 

 soon as the berries of free-setting sorts 

 are well formed, and thin them suffi- 

 ciently at once ; more shy-setting sorts, 

 such as Muscats, should not be thinned 

 so early nor so freely at first. In most 

 cases all late Grapes will now be cut 

 from the Vines. Any pruning yet to 

 be done should not be delayed an hour. 

 The wounds should be dressed twice 

 over with styptic the day after they 

 are pruned, to prevent any chance of 

 their bleeding. The Vines and every- 

 thing about the vinery should be put 

 in readiness for starting again. Now 

 is a good time to plant young Vines that 

 were raised from eyes last year. Spring- 

 ])ut - in eyes should be shifted if in 

 8-inch pots into 6-inch pots, but not 

 before they are well rooted : use turfy 

 loam and a little bone-meal, but avoid 

 fatty mixtures of animal manure. 



Peaches and Nectarines. — Raise 

 the temperature in early houses where 

 the fruit have passed the stoning stage 

 to 60° in cold weather, and to 65° when 

 mild at night. Take every opportunity 



