430 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



seedlings appear place the pots on a shelf near the glass 

 to encourage sturdy growth. It is beneficial to syringe 

 the plants with tepid water on bright days, and to support 

 the growths with neat stakes as soon as necessary. Do 

 not allow the temperature of the house to fall below 

 65 degrees at night, and see that the floor and vacant 

 spaces are damped down regularly. 



The border in house or pit should be prepared in good 

 time, so that the soil may be warmed through before the 

 time for planting arrives. 



The best material in which to grow melons is good 

 medium loam. A border eighteen inches in width, com- 

 posed of two la}'ers of four-inch-thick turf, answers ad- 

 mirably. These turves need not be chopped, but mounds 

 of loam, with a little old mushroom-bed material added, 

 should be placed in position in which to plant the young 

 melons. Given a rooting medium of this description 

 melons grow well, and mature a full crop of fruits. 



Plant the melons in due course, and water in with 

 tepid water. Conduct the plants to the trellis by means 

 of light stakes, and keep them tied as growth advances. 

 It is preferable to grow each one to a single stem, there- 

 fore do not stop the growth until the leader reaches the 

 top of the trellis. Very little air is needed early in the 

 year. l)Ut on fine mornings a little ma\' lie admitted 

 through the top ventilators when the temperature of the 

 house nears 80 degrees. Close the house early enough 

 to permit the temperature to rise to 'JO degrees by sun 

 h.eat, and if it reaches 100 degrees no harm will be done, 

 provided the atmosphere is charged with moisture. 



When the plants are in flower it is advisable to main- 

 tain a light, buoyant atmosphere in the morning to facili- 

 tate fertilization, but the afternoon syringing may still 

 be continued. Polinate the female lilooms at midday, 

 and endeavor to "set" three fruits on a plant at the same 

 time. Keep the laterals pinched at the first leaf beyond 

 the fruit, and laterals that do not bear fruit should not 

 be allowed to proceed beyond the second leaf. 



When the fruits commence to swell feed the iilants 

 with a good concentrated fertilizer and weak liquid 

 manure uku' lie given with advantage. Never allow the 

 plants to sufter from lack of water. 



Su]>port the fruits with nets when necessary, and guard 

 against insect pests. As the melons near maturity less 

 water is needed, for if given freely some of the fruits 

 may split ; also allow rather more ventilation, so that the 

 best flavor may be jiroduced. 



If the weather should be dull and wet at the time the 

 crop is ri|3ening. maintain a genial warmth in the ])i|)es. 



GROWING CUCUMBERS UNDER GLASS. 



Heat and moisture are the chief points in cultiu'e. 

 One wants atmospheric moisture in all parts of the 

 house or frame, not merely at the roots. Our large 

 growers, who 'get such large quantities of these fruit'^., 

 grow the plants in very high temperatures. They 

 give scarcely any ventilation, and, of course, shade 

 the i^lants from strong sun. By this mode of culture 

 there are rapid growth and no disease. Cold draughts 

 are avoided and heat used freely; indeed, if a house 

 runs up to 100 degrees they trouble little, but give 

 more moisture and shade. One cannot expect Cucum- 

 bers to do so well in frames as in houses. There must 

 be warmth to be successful. It often happens that 

 the plants in frames get none too much attention 

 after a certain point, and if allowed to run wild there 

 will be poor fruit. 



Stopping and feeding must be done regularly — at 

 least once a week — and plants given new surface soil 

 — sav, monthlv at least — to encourage surface-roots. 



If new wood be not made there are no fruits. It 

 is a safe plan to cut away — say, about every ten days 

 — a portion of the old wood, and lay in the young 

 shoots to take its place. When these are stopped — 

 that is, the points pinched out — embryo fruits appear, 

 and these soon inature. 



Over-cropping is a fatal fault. The plants in a 

 young state make so much growth that each joint 

 shows two fruits. These are often left, and the culti- 

 vator points with pride to the crop of grand fruit. 

 What is the result? The plants, not having had time 

 to form many roots, are overstrained and unable to 

 perfect the crop. The remedy is to remove a large 

 number of the young fruits as soon as they show, 

 only allowing one fruit to remain to at least 6 inches 

 of growth, and cut when young, as if left they impov- 

 erish the plant. Few ])lants need more food than the 

 Cucumber in a healthy state. The plant does not like 

 great masses of soil at the roots. When starting it 

 is far better to add soil, say, every three weeks, and if 

 at all heavy make it light and porous. The plants 

 like a light free soil, adding such aids as bone-meal 

 freely when top-dressing, and to lighten heavy soils 

 old spent Mushroom-manure is excellent ; indeed, tor 

 heavy manures are bad. Give food liberally in the 

 way of liquid-manures, and there is none better than 

 cow or sheep-manure with soot added. It is useless 

 to advise fertilizers, there are so many, but use them 

 with care. — Gardciiijig. 



AFRICAN TAMARIX. 



Of all exotics introduced into the United States, the 

 one here named lends itself to cultivation in greater va- 

 riety of soil and climate than any other of which we have 

 any knowledge. It is equally at home whether it be in 

 the Atlantic Coast States, the desert sections of the great 

 Southwest, or the more salubrious regions of the Pacific 

 Coast. It is found growing at altitudes of 6,000 feet, 

 and in the depression on the face of the earth 200 feet 

 below sea level. The hot blasts of air from the desert 

 does not affect the foliage, nor does a zero temperature 

 injure the branches. It is usually grown as a shrub, often 

 used for a hedge, yet it is a fact that if grown to a single 

 stem, it will attain to the dimensions of a good-sized tree. 

 The light green, feathery foliage is decidious, and that 

 too at a season of the year when sunshine is desired, even 

 in California. The flowers are light pink, very small, 

 borne in spikelets an inch or two long in early spring, and 

 in such profusion that they give to the plant or tree the 

 appearance of a large bouquet. 



It is propagated from cuttings, which root more read- 

 ily than those of the willow, wliich accounts for its wide 

 dissemination, over hill and plain, on the mountain and 

 in the valley, w^herever a man or woman is found who 

 has a love for trees and plants. If it is intended for a 

 shrub, it should be severely cut back every season immed- 

 iately after the flowers begin to fade, since it is on the 

 growth of the ])revious season that the blossoms appear. 



There are several species of Tamarix, one of which is 

 so densely umbpcigeous that the branches, when in full 

 foliage, look like huge, green colored ostrich plumes, an- 

 other blooms during the summer months, but all of them, 

 regardless of their name or nativity, are drouth resistant, 

 and if the owners of the sandy wind-swept plains east of 

 Ontario were to use this subject for a wind break instead 

 of Eucalypts, nnich of the damage done to the vineyards 

 by sand storms would be prevented, and the landscape 

 w'ear a more beautiful appearance than it does at present. 



There is some confusion in nomenclature of species, 

 which is to be corrected by the Bureau of Plant Industry, 

 and bv Bailev in his new work. — Pacific Garden. 



