738 



HORTICULTURE 



May 20, 191t 



snowing, but a little adverse weather should not stop 

 the use of the hose altogether. Here is where the ad- 

 vantage of planting trees on trellises which run across 

 the house shows itself superior to having them up near 

 the glass. You can get at both sides of the tree and syr- 

 inge more thoroughly. If red spider has shown its pres- 

 ence the only way is to take more time and give the 

 affected parts an extra good doing on several consecu- 

 tive days. 



When the fruits commence to ripen and a dryer at- 

 mosphere has to be kept, we are sometimes unable to 

 avoid a slight attack. This can soon be remedied when 

 the fruits are cleared — resort to the water pressure twice 

 a day and if trees are very dirty from this or other 

 pests, it will be advisable to spray them over twice a 

 week with some approved insecticide. Do not neglect a 

 house as soon as the crop is off but continue to keep the 

 trees in a healthy state by proper watering and syring- 

 ing. 



PACKING MELONS 



This is a simple matter with suitable boxes and pack- 

 ing material at hand. A few specially made boxes will 

 last for years and will always be found handy. A 

 quantity can be packed in one large box, but it is bet- 

 ter to use smaller boxes and have a division in them, so 

 that each fruit can be packed by itself. A useful size 

 is 20 X 10 X 10 having a sliding lid which saves contin- 

 ual nailing. These can be made strong enough to stand 

 the strain of express work or enclosed in trunks or 

 rough boxes. The outer parts of boxes can be lined with 

 excelsior, using thick cotton wool near the fruit. See 

 that the fruit is held firm in position by the packing 

 and, like all other things, they are best on the hard side 

 when being shipped. 



KEEPING GRAPES 



Keeping grapes at this time of year is often a difficult 

 task. In the first place varieties which are ripening 

 now will not possess any great keeping merits. The 

 warm weather, too, is all against them. Later in the 

 fall, bottling can be resorted to but along now it is not 

 advisable to adopt this method. If the finest flavor is 

 to be retained, they are best left to hang on the rods. 

 Shade the house and keep as cool as possible; do not 

 spray any water about and keep the border in a moder- 

 ate condition. Should it be too wet, berries will be 

 liable to crack. It will be wise to look through bunches 

 occasionally and remove any useless berries. During 

 wet weather or should the air become very humid, a 

 little heat should be run in to dry up the atmosphere. 

 Moisture condensing on the berries is very harmful. 

 On the first signs of any shriveling they must be used at 

 onee. 



MIXED ORCHARD HOUSE 



The mixed orchard house will have plums, cherries, 

 peaches, nectarines, apples, pears, etc., all swelling fast 

 and any weak growths carrying heavy fruit should be 

 supported. After stoning is completed zinc rims should 

 be placed on the pots and a top dressing of half-decayed 

 cow manure applied. As this wears out quick-acting 

 manures can be given in the water. Syringe thoroughly 

 until signs of ripening are visible when water must be 

 withheld from the fruit and feeding must also cease. 

 Continue to give plenty of water at the roots and damp 

 the house around occasionally. Stop gi-o^\i;hs of trees 

 grown on the spur system at four leaves and peaches 

 and nectarines, etc., after making twelve or fourteen 

 inches growth. Wlien coloi'ing commences any leaves 

 which are covering a fruit can be tied back to allow some 

 sun to shine on it and bring out the "rosy cheeks." 



Green fly must' still be looked for and periodical fumi- 

 gations will be necessary to keep it down. Leave as 

 much air as possible on at night and maintain a tem- 

 perature of 60 degrees. 



SCORCHING, SCALDING AND MILDEW ON GRAPES 



These are all preventable evils and can generally be 

 traced to neglect in ventilation and irregular tempera- 

 tures. In each case where one has been visited by either 

 of these unwelcome guests the damage is usually irre- 

 parable. Scorching is more prevalent when the growths 

 are young and very tender than later on. A sudden 

 sunny day after a cloudy spell will sometimes scorch a 

 few young tips. On such a day ventilation must be 

 applied most Judiciously ; an extreme either way will 

 tax the tender foliage to its utmost. Not enough air 

 will cause the house to run up and a sudden high tem- 

 perature with the sun shining will cause a burn, while 

 too much air to cause a draught simply takes all the 

 life out of the tender foliage. 



Scalding is more prevalent on delicate skinned varie- 

 ties than on their coarser-skinned fellows and is usually 

 caused by the direct rays of the sun striking the berries. 

 It is natural for the bunches to be shaded by their foli- 

 age and if this is so scarce shade must be given them. 

 Muscat of Alexandria and other thin-skinned varieties 

 are better with a light shade put on the glass as soon 

 as the berries are thinned and the sun gets strong. 



Mildew is contracted very easily by irregular ventila- 

 tion and night temperatures. Guard against draughts 

 but do not "coddle." Air will strengthen the foliage 

 and make it better able to resist an attack. If coddled 

 up the first attack cannot be resisted and the chances 

 are that the disease spreads. Whenever the weather 

 permits leave a crack of air on all fruit houses every 

 night, taking care that it is to leeward, and is changed 

 by the night man should the wind change. If taken in 

 time mildew can be killed by putting moist sulphur on 

 the steam pipe or if hot water system is used the pipes 

 must be made hot previous to putting the sulphur on. 

 The fumes which arise from this are death to mildew 

 spores, without injury to the vines. If allowed to get 

 ahead on the berries it will mark them, causing the 

 affected spot to harden, which will probably crack later 

 on. Careful ventilation is the key to keeping these ene- 

 mies away. 



"Prevention is better than cure." 



^^ 



^^^^^V., 



Mr. Peuson's next uotes will be ou the following: Young 

 Vines; Shade for Vines; Finished Pe.ich Houses; Mealy Bug on 

 \'ines; Gr.ipes Shanking. 



Cattleya Mossiae 



Our cover illustration shows a magnificent specimen 

 of Cattleya Mossiae, well-grown and splendidly flowered 

 in a 12-inch basket, by Anton Bauer, gardener to Mr. 

 Henry Goldman at Deal Beach, N. J. The plant was 

 exhibited with sixty-six open flowers at the April meet- 

 ing of the Horticultural Society of New York and was 

 there awarded a silver medal. It came in an importa- 

 tion by Joseph Manda two years ago. 



