SEPTEMBER. 



695 



SEPTEMBER. 



produces sulphurous acid, and would 

 destroy every leaf. 



Vinery : Ventilation of. Air should be 

 admitted to all vineries by night as well as 

 day. Except in wet weather, in houses 

 the air is admitted by the roof-lights ; but 

 where the ventilation is given by openings 

 in the wall, a little air should be constantly 

 admitted to the house, and fire used in 

 rainy weather to maintain the requisite 

 temperature. For all ripe grapes 60 is 

 high enough ; but late Muscats, now ripen- 

 ing, should enjoy a minimum of 70, rising 

 to 85 or 90 with sun heat. Grapes in- 

 tended to keep till January, February, or 

 March should be well thinned. 



September. Greenhouse, Work 

 in. 



Calceolarias. Calceolarias require the 

 same general treatment as cinerarias. 



Carnations ) Tree. Tree carnations are 

 very useful for the winter decoration of 

 greenhouses and conservatories. They 

 should be kept from flowering during the 

 summer months, and may be treated out of 

 doors, or in a very cool shady house, until 

 well covered with blossom buds for winter. 

 Under glass, in a warm situation, the plants 

 are soon drawn up and the buds are spoiled. 



Chrysanthemums. Shift chrysanthe- 

 mums, liberally water top for late blooms, 

 and stake. 



Cinerarias. Pot off suckers from old 

 shoots ; prick off, pot, and shift seed- 

 ling plants, and push forward the first 

 batch for flowering from November to 

 February. 



Heaths. Heaths must be carefully 

 watched for the first speck of mildew, 

 and immediately dusted with sulphur. As 

 this malady often proves fatal among heaths, 

 it should be carefully guarded against. It 

 is generally induced by an excess of stag- 

 nant water at the roots, or excessive syring- 

 ing, heavy rains, or continuous fogs over 



the tops. Some of the woolly-leaved 

 varieties seem to have a constitutional 

 tendency to it, arising, it is thought, 

 from their peculiar structure, causing 

 them to retain so much moisture on the 

 surface of the leaves. The later the 

 plants are potted, the more they are 

 predisposed to the attacks of mildew. 



Pelargoniums. The grand secret of 

 profuse bloom in pelargoniums is early, 

 strong, autumnal growth. The moment 

 pelargonfums begin to fade, they should 

 be placed out of doors in the full sun to 

 ripen their growth. When the wood 

 becomes slightly browned, cut them down 

 to within, two, three, or four eyes of the 

 old wood. Leave them in the same posi- 

 tion, or place them in a house or pit to 

 break. When the young shoots have 

 advanced from \\ to 2 inches, shake 

 them entirely out of the pots, slightly 

 pruning the roots ; pot them in any light 

 soil in as small pots as the roots can be got 

 into ; return them to a close house or pit, 

 and the reduction, repotting, and restarting 

 are finished. All plants intended to flower 

 next May or June should now be ready for 

 removal to their blooming pots. Harden 

 off, cut down, and start afresh, plants for 

 late summer and autumn blooming as soon 

 as they are ripe enough. 



Painting House. The house should at 

 once be got ready for its winter occupants. 

 Many of these, such as ericas, epacrises, 

 azaleas, camellias, have probably been in 

 the cold pit or sheltered situations out of 

 doors for the last four months. In ordinary 

 seasons they will be safe enough there 

 until the end of September. Meantime, 

 however, if the house requires painting 

 or cleaning, the sooner it is done the 

 better. Probably the fumes of paint do 

 not injure plants, but they are very un- 

 pleasant to plant owners ; and the paint 

 stands much better if it has time to become 

 quite hard before the house is used. Green- 



