March 8, 1913 



HORTICULTURE 



323 



FRUIT AND VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS 



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CONDUCTED BY 



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Questions by our readers in Hue with any of the topirs presented on tins page will be cordially received and promi.ly answered 

 by Mr. Penson. Such communications should Invariably be addressed to_the office of HORTICULTURE. 



Peach Trees Stoning 



The early peach and nectarine trees growing in j^ots 

 will now be forming the stone in the fruit, a process 

 usually referred to as "stoning." When trees are in good 

 health there will be no trouble experienced at this stage. 

 Frequently we see a tree drop a few fruits but these are 

 not needed with an average good set. Lime is a great 

 assistant to the trees while stoning and a little should 

 be mixed into the water daily. Avoid excessive heat for 

 a time; 55 to 58 ought not to be exceeded during the 

 night. After stoning is completed the trees can be 

 forced through the second swelling of the fruit without 

 taking any chances. A fruit can be taken off occasion- 

 ally to see how far the stone is advanced. Wait until 

 the fruits begin to swell again before making a final 

 thinning. 



Pot Vines 



After thinning is all through do not spare the feed ; 

 cramped in the comparatively small pots the roots will 

 take all that is coming, providing it is given them in a 

 proper manner. When the pot is thoroughly dried out 

 water first with clear water, after which the manure can 

 be applied. A quick eye must be kept on the pots from 

 now on as they will dry out very rapidly — two and three 

 times a day in good weather. Keep a sharp lookout for 

 mildew in any districts that are liable to contract it. 

 Close the house down early enough to give all inside a 

 good sweating. Do not shut it down entirely in fine 

 weather ; a crack of air is beneficial until the outside tem- 

 perature warrants closing down tight. Rub out all sub- 

 lateral growths as they appear ; four leaves beyond the 

 bunch is sufficient. 



Pests of the Vine 

 During the growing season of the vine one must be 

 continually on the lookout for pests of various kinds. 

 One or more seem to show up each year and a crop is 

 easily ruined. Locating them soon after their arrival 

 is a great thing. Often a thorough examination will 

 reveal the fact that they have more than a mere footing. 

 Whatever it is, act promptly after discovering their 

 presence. The chief of these undesirables are: Green 

 fly, red spider, thrips, mealy bug, mildew, the vine 

 weevil and rose bugs. A vine is a tender growth to handle 

 so when any of the enemies are met with in quantity the 

 following resting season should be taken full advantage 

 of. Do not be content with one or two washings of the 

 rods, but go over them at regular intervals with a prep- 

 aration likely to annihilate whatever pest was present. 



Green Fly 



Green fl.y will sometimes make its appearance during 

 the early stages of growth. This is easily subdued by 

 fumigating. Take care not to overdo it : rather fumigate 

 lightly on two consecutive nights. 



Red Spider and Thrips 



Red spider is usually accounted for by lack of moisture 

 in the house. When discovered give several good syr- 

 ingings using a force strong enough to dislodge them. 

 Pot vines are grown very early, necessitating a quantity 

 of fire heat, which makes them very susceptible to spider. 



Should it be gaining ground as the berries commence to 

 color and syringing has to cease, the foliage must be 

 sponged by hand, at the same time keeping the house 

 well damped down. It will be found a great advantage 

 to all established vines to give them a thorough syringing 

 with insecticide soon after the crop is cut and when the 

 winter cleaning comes on continue to war against them. 

 Thrips are found under similar conditions. Water is 

 inimical to them also where it is possilile to get at them. 



Mealy Bug 



Mealy bug is one of the hardest pests to exterminate 

 when once established. The vine is no exception, — the 

 loose bark, small crevices, and holes on the rods being 

 ideal places for them to hide in. Insecticides sufficiently 

 strong to kill this intruder without injuring the young 

 growths or berries have yet to be tried out. Winter 

 cleaning is the greatest assist, followed by a careful look- 

 out on the first few bright days after starting the house 

 in the spring. Should there be any left behind they will 

 generally be found moving around then. Here is the 

 advantage of taking off all the loose bark at cleaning 

 t^me ; their hiding places are reduced considerably. 

 Mildew 



Mildew is usually caused by bad ventilation ; some dis- 

 tricts, howe%'er are more liable to it than others. Noth- 

 ing likes air better than a vine, so whenever possible give 

 them all you can but avoid cold draughts. The most 

 critical time is immediately after the berries are set and 

 thinning is in process. When mildew is once on a 

 berry it will always leave a mark even though it dies in 

 a few hours, which is particularly annoying on white 

 grapes. Wherever there is steam heat on an establish- 

 ment and mildew has to be fought on the grape vines it 

 will pay to run a single steam pipe through the vineries 

 for fumigating purposes. A little sulphur paste can 

 then be put on once or twice a week as a preventive. 

 Where the steam heat is not possible use a larger quan- 

 tity on the hot water pipes or blow a little dry sulphur 

 through tlie house, iiartieularly in the affected parts. 

 The Vine Weevil 



The vine weevil fortunately is not often met with, yet 

 it is in the possibles. It is one of the many bugs that 

 feed on the tender roots in their larval state and when 

 come to maturity devour the tender foliage, the dam- 

 aging work often being done through the night time. 

 As day light approaches they make a speedy retreat to 

 any seclusion that is offered. In this way they can be 

 caught by laying loose pieces of cloth on the rods. They 

 will be found ta possess a hard, round, dark-colored 

 wingless body with six legs. 



Rose Bugs 



This may be a new one to some readers as it was to 

 me until some short time ago, but a crowd of these hun- 

 gry insects will soon make a lasting impression on the 

 vine as well as one's memory. It w-as assumed they 

 were brought into the house with the soil used for top 

 dressing. The plague lasted some three weeks and each 

 day a few more germinated. • We looked over the vines 

 twice each day and picked them off,— rather a slow job 

 hut there was not sufticient to use any other means. 



