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JOURNAL OF HOllTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ Doc«iaber 16, UW. 



o( climate, are tlieee : that the Parisian growers bare an ad- 

 Tkntagc, but by no means a ^eat one in this respect^ and tbat 

 it eogbt to teli in the superior quality of tbeir fruit — whether 

 it does 30 ie another matter — and that were I growing for pro6t, 

 2 think I ehoulo, taking all things into consideration, be as 

 ready to engage in the business in the neighbourhood of 

 London as in Paris. 



Haring thus touched on these preliminary qnestions, I shall 

 k« ready now to enter on the subject of the cultivation of those 

 Iraits which especially claim our attention.— D., Deal. 



FORCING PEACHES AND GRAPES IN POTS. 

 ■VfaiT a subject to approach — ripe Grapes and Peaches in 

 April and LCsy, by a self-taught amateur, and a mere dabbler 

 in gardening ; why, I can scarcely believe that I have done such 

 things, but I have, and as the matter is so simple, and the 

 operation incredibly easy, I must try and make it so in print. 



I most acknowledge to being a young gardener, for when be- 

 tween forty and fifty I rarely turned my attention to the art. and 

 atarcely knew when to sow Peas or Onions. At seventy I am 

 IgeooiuinA' an acccmplished gardener, and by consulting my 

 "Eeano" once a- week all the summer, I know when to sow 

 Ijettnces and Leeks, and early and late Peas. I had a fine 

 Drop of Eingleaders the whole of last October, so that for the 

 second time we were tired of green Peas. 



To commence my subject in order, I must describe my 

 forcing house. It is a lean-to, 70 feet long, and 10 feet wide, 

 from ",> to 10 feet high at back, and from ! to 5 feet in front. 

 liB walls are of 0-inch brickwork; in the front wall there 

 »ro sliding shutters, 3 feet by 1, placed 6 feet apart; in the 

 biA wall, quite at the top, and close to the upper ends of the 

 Ug^tE, are sliding shutters of the same dimensions, and the 

 m>e distance apart. These shutters, front and back, are quite 

 laeeeesary, aa the lights are all fixed. They were formerly 

 gliding sashes belonging to a Ican-to greenhouse built by my 

 father just seventy-two years ago, and the sash-bars are now 

 like iron. Those old builders used rare timber. 



Inside, a path '2! feet wido is in the centre, und on each side 

 IB a raised bed, with 4-inch brickwork, the back one 3 feet high, 

 that in front 'it feet high. The latter is filled with earth up to 

 the under surface of the 4inch hot- water pipes, of which there 

 »r« three resting on the mould. The border at the back of the 

 house ie also filled with earth, in which are planted diagonal 

 cordon Peach trees trained to the back wall ; in front of them, at 

 interrals of .3 to 4 feet, are placed soma low bush Pt ach trees 

 !■ pots. On the hot-water pipes in front are placed Vines ; 

 these are shortened to 4 feet, and have eighteen fruiting buds 

 »n each. These Vines, l\ke all here, have been trained close 

 nnder the glass roofs of the houses, so that they are " short- 

 jointed" and crowded with fruit buds. They will be allowed to 

 bear from ten to twelve bunches each. Tbeir treatment is as 

 follows — they are placed on the pipes in the 11 and 12-inch pots 

 thoy have grown in during the season, the soil is stirred to the 

 iepth of half an inch, and levelled so as to admit the water 

 properly, and a slight dressing of chopped decomposed manure 

 »bout half an inch in depth is placed on the surface. This is 

 all the preparation required. As soon as the young shoots are 

 3»me G inches long, the usual surface-dressing of horse drop- 

 pings two-thirds, and of kiln dust one-third, saturated with 

 liquid manure, will be given to 1 inch in depth. This will be 

 npeated — say once amonth, till the fruit commences to swell, 

 and then as more food is required, pieces of slate will be stuck 

 in round the inside cf the pot to support fresh surface-dress- 

 ings. I may mention, that in default of kiln dust, one of 

 tha safest and best of stimulants, decomposed manure only, 

 thoppod, and saturated withliqnidmanure, may beused. I may 

 here remark that I have so many inquiries made for kiln duaf. 

 M abundant in this malt-making village, that I have suggested 

 to onr chemist and druggist, Mr. Truswell, to have it ready in 

 lemr-bushtl bags for sale at a moderate rate. He will, I hope, 

 tdverliEe it in your columns. 



This is now the fifth year of my Grape cnltnre on 4-inch hot- 

 water pipes, without any plunsing material whatever, and with 

 anvarying success. The pipes are generally at a temperature 

 of 120° to 125". The vigour given by this powerful dry heat is 

 »itraordinary. A Vine of the Madresfield Court Muscat in an 



II inch pot, with from 4 to 5 inches of surface-dressing, and 

 standing on a single 4-inoh pipe, made last summer fonr 

 iheots of the aggregate length of 60 feet, stout, and full of 

 troit-bada. Ou examining the roots at the bottom of the 



pot in contact with the pipe, they were found to be large, 

 succulent, and full of life; the fibres seem forced up by Uie 

 heat or drawn up by the rich surface-dressing. I shoald 

 mention that the shoots of this Vine, being required for pro- 

 pagation, were not shortened till each had attained the length 

 of 15 feet. 



Peach trees in pots for forcing are treated exactly as re- 

 commended for Vines, but they must not be )daoed on the 

 hot-water pipes, but on the front border some 2 feet distant, 

 and on the back border. In this inartificial house and by 

 such simple treatment, I had last spring Early Beatrice and 

 Barly Louise Peaches ripe in May, closely followed by some 

 other kinds. As I did not commence till .lanuary, and have 

 this season commenced forcing December 5th, I hope to have 

 them earlier, and the same with Grapes. 



I have described accurately my house and my doings, and now 

 suggest some improvement in the building of an early forcing 

 house. It may with advantage be 12 feet wide, with four 4 inch 

 pipes resting on the front border, and by making the border 

 at back 3 feet wide only, two or more pipes may be placed 

 against the wall supporting this border at the back of the 

 house, not flatwise as in the front border, but in the usual way ; 

 they would not then interfere with the trees trained against the 

 back wall. A house 12 feet wide could thus be arranged: — 

 Front border feet wide, path 3 feet wide, and border at back 

 3 feet wide. This would give room for many articles to be 

 forced, particularly Roses and Strawberries. The latter I now 

 place in front of my Peach trees on the back border, and have 

 two or three crops during the spring. The treatment of forced 

 Vines and Peaches as to syringing. Sec, is so often given in yooi 

 columns, that I need not mention it here. 



I have but little to add, but that little may be of use to some 

 of your readers. My house is heated by a 24-inch Amott 

 stove boiler, its cost 45s., set inside, with a feeding cistern over 

 it. Its setting is very simple, and after the manner of a waah- 

 ing-copper. The Vines are placed from 3 to 4 feet apart, and 

 as they are only 4 feet high, and will be pinched-in closely, 

 they will not shade the Peach trees injuriously. The bush 

 Peach trees are from 2! to 3 feet apart ; the diagonal Peach 

 trees on the back wall are 2 feet apart. An 18-inch Amott 

 stove boiler, costing Zof., would heat a house 25 or 30 feet by 

 12, and what an amount of interest and luxury in forced fntit 

 could be gained from such a house ! 



■WTien a youth I looked upon the gardener who produced 

 ripe Peaches and Grapes in May as a sort of demi-god, go 

 mysterious seemed the science of forcing ; now I am old I am 

 surprised at its simplicity. 



There are a few rules to be observed worthy of a thooght, 

 and even worthy of recapitulation. 



1. Peaches and Vines to be forced should not be repotted. I 

 have known them to bear fruit in spite of their roots being 

 disturbed, but they are better left alone. The additional food 

 wanted by the tree I prefer to give on the Furface. 



2. While Peach trees are in bloom abundance of air should 

 be admitted, a little even by night. The Vines do not require 

 this, but they do not mind it. 



3. The Vines on the hot-water pipes will require abundance 

 of water, which will run through the mould hke a sieve. It is 

 good practice to make the surface quite firm with a blunt stick, 

 using it as a rammer. 



4. Peaches will not require so great an abundance of water, 

 but it is well, say in March and April, to make the suifac«- 

 die3Eing firm. 



5. A lean-to house may be economically employed to foroe 

 Vines and Peach trees in pots without placing the farmer on 

 hot-water pipes. A house 12 feet wide, heated by three 4-inoh 

 pipes in front, and three at back, placed over each other in the 

 usual way, would do very well. 



6. The boilers I have mentioned are made by Mr. Hughes, 

 Bishop's Stortford. They are the best and cheapest of boilers 

 for small houses. Tbeir sizes are 14, IG, 18, 24, and 28 inches. 

 The former will do for a very small housc?. 



And now for my apology. I should not have troubled you 

 with this had I not been much importuned by friends to give 

 them some safe directions how to force Vines and Peaches, and 

 so if you kindly admit this I shall be much relieved, for I shall 

 refer inquirers to your columns. — Tnos. Bivebs, Bonks Hill, 

 Sau-bridgcworth. 



OxALis TEOPAioLoiDBS. — I have grown this for years; it is 

 perfectly hardy. At first I kept a large snppl>- of cuttings, and 

 still keep a few for early planting ; bat I never fail, in spring. 



