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HORTICULTUEE 



August 31, 1912 



FRUIT AND VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTED BT 



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QnestloDi b7 oar readera In Une wltb any of the topics presented on this page will be cordially recelred and promptly answered 

 br Mr. Penson. Sncli communications should Invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTCRB. 



Christmas Melons 



Melons for Christmas are a delicacy within the reach 

 of all who have a small house in which to ^-ow them. 

 Sow the seeds at once and under ordinary conditions 

 they should be in nicely for Christmas. The season in 

 which they have to grow is the reverse to the earliest 

 spring crops and with good weather for the first two 

 months strong healthy plants will he built up and two 

 good fruits should be carried by each plant. Take them 

 along at a lively clip after setting, as it is easier to hold 

 them up a week near Christmas than it is to finish them. 

 Use a little extra lime rubble in the soil to help di7 it 

 out quicker than previous beds. As the crop is swelling 

 the tendency will be to lie wet, with a gradually dimin- 

 ishing sun power. Hero of Lockinge, His Eminence 

 and Superlative will be found reliable for this shift. 

 Melons can be grown the year round but with so much 

 excessive firing to consider, this is usually considered the 

 last house until spring crops commence, December 1st, to 

 furnish fruit for April. Wlien growing later sowings 

 than Christmas-ripe, pots are advisable to grow them in. 



Position of Pipes in a Vinery 



With some modem builders there seems to be a lack of 

 certainty as to the correct position in which to place the 

 heating pipes in a vinery. The general prevalent idea 

 seems to be to push them up against the outside wall, 

 without consideration of how and where the vine is to 

 grow. Apparently the house is built for the pipes and 

 not for the vines. When inquiries are made you are told 

 it is the usual way and, without wishing to be a dictator, 

 I think it is possible to prove the correct place for the 

 heating pipes is a little further away from the vine than 

 is generally thought. On theors' the heating pipes 



should be near the outside of the house combating the 

 cold air. The hot air (or heat) radiates, reaching the 

 top of the house, thus concentrating the heat on the out- 

 side glass, the center of the house readily warming itself. 

 This is all good theory, but here is one instance where 

 practise scores well over theory and it is the practical 

 part of it which counts. The three sketches below illus- 

 trate vines growing and the pipes in position. No. 1 with 

 the pipes at the side, the vine planted in the center of 

 the border. Some foliage must be very close to the 

 pipes and this spells trouble : the side of the border will 

 persistently dry out, too, with a consequent loss of 

 feeding roots, unless examined almost daily. No. 3 — 

 piping similar to No. 1, with the vine planted — no, 

 crowded — at the back of the pipes. This has all its 

 predecessor's disadvantages and more, inasmuch as it 

 has not sufficient room to swell at the base and often is 

 found hard against a pipe; many young feeding roots 

 are burnt away and an even greater watch has to be 

 kept on that strip of border immediately beneath the 

 pipes or it will become as dry as a bone. A border is 

 best kept evenly moist all over and when watering so 

 many feet today and the rest next week this is impossi- 

 ble. No. 3 sketch plan has proved itself satisfactory by 

 lesults obtained. The pipes are situated about the cen- 

 ter of the border away from the bottom foliage. Tliis 

 gives access to the border immediately beneath the pipes, 

 from both sides, making top dressing, etc., easy; the 

 border will dry out evenly and the house is heated 

 efficiently. Using tlie pii>es in this position the first por- 

 tion of the border made up will be inside the location of 

 pipes. With young vines tied down near the glass to 

 ■'break" in the cold weather, an allowance of two degrees 

 can lie made for them being in this position. 



