October 21, 1911 



HORTICULTURE 



557 



Fruit and Vegetables under Glass 



MADRESFIELD COURT AS A LATE GBAPE 



Madresiield Court i- a grape of many peculiarities 



all its own. The sha] E bunch and berries, flavor, 



growth, and its fruiting properties, are all very notice- 

 able. The nature of its origin has been given in vary- 

 ing ways, but Barron's Book on Vines gives it as, "A 

 hybrid raised by the late Mr. Cox. gardener to the Earl 

 of Beauchamp, Madresfield Court, Worcester, England, 

 by crossing Muscat of Alexandria with Black Morocco," 

 and this parentage can be traced in the offspring. It 

 has decidedly a Muscal Savor and shape of berry and is 

 very fruitful, nearly every lateral showing a flower 

 truss. The color of the berry and the way the foliage 

 dies off seem to be the chief identifications of the other 

 pa lent — Black Morocco. This latter is a late grape 

 and when Madresfield Court was first sent out, it, too, 

 was included as a late variety and grown as such for 

 a time. Sonic gardeners todav include it in a late 



advantage of being in danger of getting bruised when 

 watering and syringing. No. 2 is pear Conference, 

 carrying twelve fruits, a big crop for a twelve-inch pot. 

 No. 3 is apple Cox's Orange Pippin, with twelve fruits; 

 never a large apple, but splendid for dessert. 



'KING ONIONS 



The keeping properties of onions are great U de- 

 creased by improper storing. Having been grown and 

 housed the] should receive enough attention to ensure 

 a minimum loss until used. Onions are best laid thinly 

 on shelves made of laths or narrow boards with a divi- 

 sion between each • ibai (he air has a chance to get all 

 around, or tied on to i rings — "traced," as some term it 

 — and suspended from the roof or ceiling, a job which 



will often gi\e employment mi s e wet day. Onions 



like a nice dry atmosphere where all frost IS excluded. 

 ENDIVE 



Endive is ver] similar to lettuce to cultivate, the 

 blanching only hem- different. Treat as lettuce until 

 plants are grown, when it will be necessary to darken 



No. 1— Pear Pitmaston Duchess. 



No 2 — Pear Conference. 



No. 3— Apple Cos's Orange Pippin. 



house, but it is a mistake to grow it as a "keeper;" in 

 fact it is an early grape and it is more profitable to 

 grow it as such. ' The chief points which are against 

 it for late work are a great liability to crack if not 

 properly handled, if given too much fire heat the ber- 

 ries will soon shrivel, and after retaining its color for 

 a we,k or so it will often go back to a reddish black 

 instead of having the deep bloom it should. It has 

 man] points in its favor for early work, viz., very easy 

 to -row. always fruitful, I i set and splendid flavor. 



When all is considered and the points weighed ^\'. the 

 balance will be in its favor for early instead of (as 

 some still think) for late work, ["his variety is always 

 very partial to air and where possible should 1" 



than other vines, esp' tally so when being grown 

 as a Late variety, thi mi at helping to prevent 



cracking. 



POT 1 El IT 



The pictures abovi three pot trees as grown 



this season. No. 1 shows Pitmaston Duchess pear 

 carrying seven fine fruits. The crop here is rather low 

 down, owing to a scarcity of flowers, and has the dis- 



them for blanching. An inverted pot can be placed 

 over each, or part of the bench or frame? covered over. 

 It is better to do a portion at a time as the plants will 

 keep longer when the leaves contain their usual quan- 

 tity of chlorophyl. 



RHUBARB 



Rhubarb intended for forcing can be lifted as soon 

 as the early frosts have cut down the top growth and 

 placed in some i t] ised position with a little straw 



around them to ays from the roots. By 



so doing the 1 ts will take more effect and the 



roots will be in a better condition for early forcing. 

 See that they do not suffer for want of water: when 

 applying it do so early in I when the sun 



tning so that i drj before night . 



CTO^^ft 



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^<hr\^ 



Somerville, N. J. 



