Si 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



{ JnJy 15, 1875. 



can be weeded out, and the process of gathering and otherwise 

 attending to the plants and fruit can be done much more con- 

 veniently. 



Those who contemplate making new beds shonld raise the 

 plants at once. There are several ways of doing this ; but if for 

 forcing purposes a capital plan is to select the best young plants, 

 and fasten them into small OU-pots, full of a good mixture of 

 soil, without detaching them from the parent plant; here the 

 pots are soon filled with roots, and the young plants may then 

 be cut off, and be placed together on a bed ot ashes or soil, for 

 say a fortnight; they will here make a lot of roots in that time, 

 and ehould then be potted into larger pots, in which they are 

 to fruit. 



Some nse 24's or 8-inch pots, but for my part I consider them 

 too large. Those called 32'8, or 6-inch pots, are plenty large 

 enough, and even in pots a size smaller the Strawberry plant 

 fruits well. Why large pots are not so suitable is because 

 the plants have little time to do their work before winter 

 sets in, and at that time the pots ought to be full of roots; 

 but if the pots are too large they cannot be so, and moreover 

 for forcing in a small way witi little room to spare, large pots 

 would not do. 



A very suitable soil for them is a strong loam, say two-thirds 

 to one-third of rotten dung. They should be potted rather 

 firmly, and let the pots have a broad piece of broken pot at the 

 bottom, with rough turf or rotten dung over it. 



Now there is not a doubt that the above method is as good 

 as any for raising plants for outdoor plantations also, because 

 the object should be to have the plants well established and 

 strong before winter sets in, and besides, if well grown now, 

 they will produce a fair crop of fruit next year ; and although 

 there are other ways when many are required to be raised, such 

 as cutting the little plants off and pricking them out thickly 

 on a bed of nicely-prepared soil, or by letting the plants root 

 in the place where they grow, and taking them up carefully 

 with a trowel, and finally planting them out; but they require 

 much extra care that way, and do not do so well the first year, 

 neither would they be so likely to withstand the severity of the 

 weather. By the pot system almost, if not quite, a season is 

 gained, because the plants raised in a less substantial manner 

 would not be much more forward at the end of nest season than 

 these will be at the end of this present one. Always take runners 

 from the most healthy and fruitful plants. 



A word as to sorts, of which there are now many in cultiva- 

 tion ; and I am of opinion that few, if any, excel the Keen's 

 Seedling for either early forcing or for general plantations. 

 There are many larger sorts. Sir Joseph Paxton is a large 

 good-flavoured Strawberry, so is President, La Constante, British 

 Queen, and Dr. Hogg. The last-named is more uncertain than 

 the others, for it does not do well in all places. For forcing 

 they may be carried into the forcing pit in the order they are 

 named; and for outdoor plantations Keen's Seedling will come 

 in first. Sir J. Paxton and President nearly together, but the 

 latter keeps in bearing the longest, then comes La Constante, 

 and next British Queen, and last of all is Dr. Hogg. When 

 this variety does well it is good in all qualities either for pot 

 culture or garden cultivation. — Thos. Record. 



DOINGS OF THE LAST AND WORK FOR THE 

 PRESENT WEEK. 



HiBDY FRniT GABDEN. 



We have finished layering the Strawberries except in the case 

 of one or two scarce varieties of which the runners were not 

 ready. It may be as well to mention that all our plants are 

 layered as soon as we can obtain runners, both for planting out 

 and for pot culture. It is best to use small pegs to keep the 

 runners in their places ; some growers recommend a stone 

 placed on the bine to hold it in position, but the stone does not 

 hold the runner firmly if careless feet are treading amongst the 

 plants to gather fruit or to apply water to the pots. The runners 

 are generally established in two weeks, and ought to be cut 

 away from the parent plant, as the pots are generally crowded 

 together on the beds and the leaves become drawn. In another 

 fortnight from the time of cutting away the runners from the 

 parents they may either be planted out or potted, for if they 

 remain too long in the small pots these become too much 

 crowded with roots, and the growth of the plants is checked. 

 Our ground is not prepared as yet, but it will be deeply trenched 

 immediately, working some good manure into the bottom of the 

 trenches and some nearer the surface. The Strawberry beds 

 will be made on the ground which has just been cleared of early 

 Peas and early Cauliflowers. 



White or Sprouting Broccoli may be grown on the ground 

 occupied by the Strawberry beds, and for this crop it is not 

 necessary to do more to the ground than to hoe off the Straw- 

 berry plants and to put out the Broccoli plants at once. Digging 

 or trenching the ground sometimes does harm, and applying 

 manure to the ground enriched the previous year causes a gross 

 succulent growth, with which the frost plays sad havoc during 



the winter months; whereas the firm stocky growth made on 

 the solid ground gives compact firm heads, and there is not 

 half the risk of winter frosts doing damage to the plants. 

 Planted out Coleworts for use late in autumn and early in winter ; 

 it is desirable to plant again a month hence. Sprouting Broc- 

 coli has also been planted out. 



Having finished summer-pruning all dwarf and pyramid- 

 trained fruit trees, nothing remains now to be done but to keep 

 the ground clear of weeds by occasional hoeing, and if time 

 permits, to look over the trees, removing all fruit attacked by 

 the Apple-boring maggot. Now is the best time to destroy this 

 pest, which often becomes a serious hindrance to fruit-culture, 

 when, as was the case once with us, quite three parts of our 

 choicest Apples were destroyed and a large proportion of the 

 Pears. Nothing is better than hand-picking, and all the fruit 

 should be taken away and be destroyed. Ixi fact, it was once 

 taken into serious consideration to destroy all our fruit for one 

 season as soon as it was set ; the entire crop would have been 

 lost for one year, but the maggot would not have been able to 

 breed, and we might have got rid of it entirely. Certainly this 

 plan wonld have been the best one if no other fruit trees had 

 been in the immediate neighbourhood. 



Many persons will not thin their wall fruits until after the 

 stoning period : this will now have been effected. Peaches and 

 Nectarines ought to be thinned out to the required number at 

 once. It is a great mistake to allow wall trees to bear too much 

 fruit. One Peach to a square foot is quite thick enough. Nec- 

 tarines may be a little closer, but it has been proved again and 

 again that not only the finest fruit but the heaviest crop has 

 been produced when the fruit has been judiciously thinned out. 

 The finer varieties of Pears on the walls must also be weU re- 

 duced in numbers according to the size of the fruit. It has not 

 been necessary to water the wall trees as yet, but this ought not 

 to be neglected if a dry period sets in. 

 vineries. 



We have cleared off the fruit from the Vines in the earliest 

 houses ; and the leaves, though considerably damaged by the 

 attacks of red spider, have not suffered so much that the Vines 

 will be injured. One gardener we heard of, who had some very 

 well-ripened Muscats, stated that he had not a leaf left on his 

 Vines. The fruit would no doubt colour well under such cir- 

 cumstances, but it would be wanting in flavour, and the Vines 

 will certainly start into growth, which will weaken their chances 

 of producing good fruit next year. Our aim now is to keep the 

 leaves on the plants as long as we can, and it is possible to do 

 this by washing the leaves well with a good garden engine ; the 

 houses are also aired freely night and day. The old gardeners 

 advocated taking off the lights from the roof altogether. This 

 is not necessary, unless they are required to place in the front 

 of walls to ripen the crops of Peaches or the finer Pears. We 

 have never taken the lights off during the summer and autumn 

 months, but all the air is admitted that it is possible to give the 

 Vines, and all the attention required now is to see that they are 

 kept clean, and have all decaying leaves removed. The Grapes 

 are commencing to colour in the late houses, consequently the 

 supply of atmospheric moisture is diminished, and a circulation 

 of air kept up night and day. At this season a high night tem- 

 perature is to be avoided, but the weather has been so dull and 

 cold during the past week that it has been necessary to have 

 fires in all the forcing houses. 



OKCHAED HOVSE. 



The fruit has received a final thinning on all the trees, and 

 both Plums and Pears have required to be thinned out this year. 

 The trees are making rapid growth, and it has been necessary 

 to stop the growths, and where these are too thickly placed fo 

 thin them out. At frequent intervals a portion of the surface- 

 dressing is applied, and this is better than putting too much on 

 at one time. A high temperature is kept up by keeping the 

 house moderately close by day and shutting up early in the 

 afternoon. 



OKEENHOnSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



Pelargoniums that have done flowering are removed out of 

 doors. Some persons lay the pots on their sides to "dry the 

 plants off." It is a serious mistake this system of drying every- 

 thing off as soon as the flowering period is over, and it is most 

 unreasonable. The wood is not always ripe, and if this is not 

 matured drying-off will not do it. When the wood appears 

 ripe we water only moderately, but always giving sufficient to 

 prevent the young rootlets from being destroyed. If a heavy 

 fall of rain should take place, or continuous wet, the pots are 

 laid on their sides, but are placed upright iu dry weather. Of 

 course some will say this is a deal of trouble ; well, it is so to 

 those who have little heart in their work, but success in garden- 

 ing is only attained by taking great pains with even the minutest 

 details of the work. When it is time to cut the plants over, the 

 mould in the pots ought then to be quite dry, which will prevent 

 bleeding. In a very few days after cutting the plants over the 

 buds will start into growth, and then water may be applied to 

 the roots. 



We have removed the A/saleas from the greenhouse to a honse 



