JULY. 



668 



JULY. 



pletely eaten up by them. A little practice 

 in gathering them will enable the operator 

 to destroy thousands in a very short time. 



Currants, Gooseberries, and Rasp- 

 berries. Where the fruit is left to ripen, 

 it is often necessary to give it some pro- 

 tection from birds. Nothing i-s better for 

 the purpose than tanned netting or an old 

 herring net, spread over and round the 

 tree, completely covering it in ; if any 

 opening is left, the birds will get in. 

 Blackbirds are very bold and eager after 

 these fruits, and are sometimes entrapped 

 by this means. 



Espaliers, Summer Training, &*c., of. 

 Espaliers and dwarf fruit-trees should 

 receive attention with regard to summer 

 training and pruning. This is of the 

 greatest importance, since, when a bud 

 or small shoot is taken off now, the wound 

 is soon cicatrised, and no harm need be 

 apprehended, while this is not always the 

 case as regards the cuts produced in winter 

 pruning. 



Peaches and Nectarines. These should 

 receive their final thinning this month, if 

 not done before. Some prefer allowing 

 them to get large enough to use for pies, 

 &c., before doing so ; but the sooner the 

 surplus fruit is taken off, the better for the 

 crop. Nail in neatly all the young wood, 

 and give the fruit the slightest shelter of 

 the leaves, and no more ; too much shade 

 deteriorates the flavour of the fruit, while 

 none at all is apt to produce a premature 

 ripening of it. 



Standards, Pruning. Standard trees 

 are usually left to take care of themselves 

 and their fruit during the summer time ; 

 but good gardeners attend well to them, 

 as to wall trees ; nor is there any reason 

 why this should not be done. Judicious 

 pruning or stopping, and removing super- 

 fluous wood in July, would prevent, in a 

 great measure, gumming, canker, and 

 immature decay in standard trees. To- 



wards the middle of this month apples 

 are well washed by the showers which 

 usually take place now ; still it is worth 

 while to do this artificially with the barrow 

 engine, and endeavour to keep the foliage 

 and bark clean, and wash away insects, 

 which are sure to swarm about them, 

 although invisible. Time will also be 

 well spent in thinning out the fruit, if 

 too thickly set. It is a grievous sight to 

 a good fruit grower to see the limbs of a 

 tree borne down with the weight, which 

 forebodes several unproductive seasons to 

 come. 



Strawberries. This is by far the best 

 month in the year for making new planta- 

 tions. There are various methods of doing 

 this, but, perhaps, the best is as follows : 

 The earliest runners are laid in 3-inch pots ; 

 they are fixed in their place by means of 

 small pegs ; in three weeks they have 

 rooted into the soil with which the pots 

 are filled. During that time they require 

 an occasional watering, but may be planted 

 out permanently as soon as rooted, placing 

 them 1 8 inches apart, in rows 3 feet apart. 

 This is a clean and expeditious mode, and 



1 find they bear the following year better 

 than old plants. This is also the best 

 mode of obtaining potted plants for forcing 

 the following winter or spring. If for this 

 purpose, they should not be dissevered 

 from the old plants till they are well 

 rooted. They should then receive good 

 culture till the autumn, when they may 

 be stored in frames. 



Strawberries, Modes of Growing. Straw- 

 berries are sometimes grown on permanent 

 beds 4 feet wide, and I have known them 

 bear well for several successive years on 

 heavy soils in this manner. Another 

 method is to have them in narrow beds, 



2 feet wide, with 2-foot alleys between. 

 When they have ceased bearing, the run- 

 ners are allowed to trail over the alleys, 

 and when they are well covered, the old 



