April 8, 1911 



HORTlCULTURt: 



527 



Fruits and Vegetables Under Glass 



POT VINES 



Pot vines will now be swelling fast and will require 

 plenty of feeding. A change of manure is better than 

 using one continually. If surface roots are showing, add 

 another rim of loam around the top of the pot and light- 

 ly cover the roots in the center with finely disintegrated 

 loam, adding some approved manure. See the plants do 

 not suffer at any time for water. Keep the leaves in 

 which pots are plunged properly watered as roots are 

 sure to be running through them. Dampen the floors, 

 etc., continually or red spider and thrips will make 

 their presence known. Give all air possible in bright 

 weather and keep a temperature of 80 degrees to 85 

 degrees while sun is shining. Close down to one inch 

 as sun declines and endeaver to keep as much sun heat as 

 possible. Pinch at one leaf any sub laterals which may 

 appear beyond the bunch. 



WATEEING POT FRUIT TREES 



Pruit trees growing in pots require special attention 

 as any dryness at the roots may prove fatal, the other 

 extreme being also very detrimental. Later on when the 

 hot weather commences a whole lot of trees can be 

 watered at one time but, up to then, each pot is better 

 examined individually two or three times daily by using 

 a watering can. Other stimulants, etc., are better ap- 

 plied in tlie water, for if they are left on the surface of 

 the pot for any length of time before watering in they 

 are sure to deteriorate. Drop a little into the can each 

 time and allow the water to run on to it, wliich will help 

 dt to dissolve. See that enough water is given each time 

 to thoroughly saturate the whole ball. 



CUCUMBERS 



Cucumbers can be grown successfully in cold frames 

 through the summer months. These are usually left 

 vacant after the bedding stock has been removed. If not 

 in stock already, seed should be secured in readiness. 

 Improved Telegraph, Everyday, and Rochford's Market 

 fruit well in cold frames and are to be preferred to field- 

 grown varieties. The mounds of soil will necessarily have 

 to be larger than when planted on a bench as you cannot 

 top-dress them so easily. Continue to top-dress any 

 fruiting plants as soon as the roots show through the sur- 

 face. This keeps the roots continually moving as they 

 are ever ready to come to any fresh food. Cut away any 

 old and overcrowded foliage and fill in with young 

 gi'owths. Keep down fly by periodical fumigations and 

 syringe briskly to prevent red spider. 



TOMATOES 



Tomatoes which were planted out at the beginning of 

 the year to furnish a supply through the spring, will now 

 be in full crop. If grown to limit of stake or trellis it 

 will be necessary to stop them and get the last trusses 

 set. Plants showing any signs of weakness must be fed 

 but it is not advisable to get tomato plants too strong 

 until a good crop is set. A feeding once a week will be 

 beneficial to plants which have several trusses partly de- 

 veloped. Dampen the floors three or four times daily in 

 bright weather, but omit it should the weather he wet or 

 dull as this would only encourage black spot. White fly 

 is the most troublesome pest to rid tomatoes of. Cyanide 

 of potassium has proved to be the most sure death to this 

 winged enemy and has been used regularly without in- 

 jury to the plants. See that the house is not above 

 normal temperature; it is safer to drop it three or four 

 degrees for the occasion. 



EARLY VEGETABLES 



Early vegetables should now be hardened off ready to 



be transferred to the open ground as soon as the weather 

 is considered safe. Many plants receive a severe check 

 w'hen planted out through not being hardened off before- 

 hand, which may ruin them or put them back several 

 weeks. Provision .should be made to protect them for a 

 while after planting should the night turn cold. 

 Branches of evergreen if kept handy are easily laid on 

 them and will often break a cold wind or keep off a light 

 frost. Do not let stock become pot-bound. This is 

 especially applicable to cauliflowers, as they usually 

 "button" in after it, that is just turn in a very small 

 head instead of growing to their proper size. 



Cabbage, cauliflowers, artichokes, onions, peppers, 

 tomatoes, etc., should all be kept growing and if neces- 

 sary given another shift so as to keep the roots in good 

 action. Celery will be valuable for flavoring purposes 

 in the kitchen during the early summer, and will be bet- 

 ter transferred from flats to a frame and given more 

 room. Peas and beans should be grown with the lights 

 off them during the day. This will keep them hardy and 

 give plenty of root action. Lettuce gi'owing on hot beds 

 should have surface soil continually cultivated. Younger 

 stock in flats are better kept close to the glass. Make a 

 fowing of Brussels sprouts to come on in advance of the 

 main crop. 



db^uL^'x^ 



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-^i^rv., 



A Word of Thanks from British 

 Visitors 



New York, April 4, 1911. 

 Editor Horticulture : 



Sir: — Permit us to express through your columns a 

 word of thanks to the florists of the United States. We 

 arrived on the Lusitania March 17th— we depart to- 

 morrow on the Mauretania. Our tour of the United 

 States, embracing New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, 

 Washington, Puchmond (Ind.), Chicago, Niagara and 

 Boston has been one grand triumphal procession. All 

 along the line, florists and florists' clubs have enter- 

 tained ns with genial and generous hospitality, afford- 

 ing us the maximum of pleasure and instruction, with 

 the minimum of trouble and expense. 



We came to the United States with the desire to 

 obtain "amusement and instruction hand in hand." 

 American florists have provided both on a scale of mag- 

 nitude impossible to describe. We recognize that horti- 

 culture in America is a great commercial proposition, 

 run by men of grand brain power, and big hearts, full 

 to the" brim with the milk of human kindness. Before 

 we leave we wish to say, "Thank you, thank you, thank 

 you," to one and all. This is only a feebly worded ex- 

 pression, but it comes from the "depths of our hearts, 

 and within each recollections of American florists and 

 their hospitality will always find a place. 



Come over and see us at our International Horticul- 

 tural Exhibition in London in May, 1912. 

 Yours sincerely, 

 J. S. Brunton, J. Brown, 

 E. Barker, W. A. Cull, 



C. Engelmann, L. M. Grates, 

 J. S. GUNN, C. Pratley, 



J. Prickett, S. South, 



J. Simpson. 



