FORCING 



FORCING 



1263 



reach the top of the house the first season. When 

 pruning time comes, this cane must be shortened back, 

 allowing only about 5 feet of the season's growth to 

 remain. The same method should be adopted the fol- 

 lowing year and so on till the full height of vine is 

 secured. Before beginning to prune a grape-vine, one 

 should be absolutely sure the wood is thoroughly ripe. 

 This may easily be ascertained from well-ripened wood, 

 for after pruning the cut will remain perfectly dry 

 and in a few days have the appearance of an old cut. 

 On the other hand, if the wood cuts soft with a fluid 

 on the cut, then the wood is not ripe enough. To pro- 

 duce well-ripened wood from the time the crop is 

 gathered till pruning time, an abundance of air should 

 be allowed in the house and when the foliage has com- 

 pleted its functions a dry atmosphere should be main- 

 tained and the vines kept fairly dry at the roots. In 

 the long-rod spur system, it is necessary to prune hard 

 back, otherwise in a few years long ungainly spurs will 

 result. One or two eyes to each spur is sufficient and, 

 with thoroughly ripened wood, there is no danger but 

 that a bountiful crop 'will follow. 



Varieties. 



There are many varieties for forcing purposes, 

 although only a selection of the best varieties, early and 

 late, is given here. The Muscat grapes are the finest 

 of all u the hothouse kinds. Unfortunately they require 

 a longer season to ripen. Consequently one must rely 

 on earlier-maturing varieties for early forcing. A few 

 canes of Muscats may be planted in an early house and 

 they will be useful after the early kinds are exhausted. 

 It is not wise to depend on thin-skinned Muscats for 

 late use, as there would be difficulty in keeping them in 

 condition any length of time. The following varieties 

 are recommended for early, midseason and late: 



Early. Black Hamburg, Appley Towers, Madres- 

 field Court, White Buckland Sweetwater, Foster Seed- 

 ling, Royton Muscat. 



Midseason house should be devoted wholly to Mus- 

 cat of Alexandria, which is one of the finest of all 

 indoor grapes. It thrives better in a compartment 

 by itself, requiring a trifle more heat. 



Late house. Gros Colmar, Gros Maroc, Barbarossa 

 or Gros Guillaume, Alicante, Diamond Jubilee, Prince 

 of Wales, White Lady Hutt. 



Many others may be added to the list, but these 

 will be found to cover the season and varieties suffi- 

 ciently for all purposes. 



Forcing of peaches and nectarines. 



These fruits come next in popularity to the grape 

 and considerable space is devoted to their culture 

 under glass. Great improvements have been brought 

 about in recent years with both peaches and nectarines 

 and a large number of new varieties are constantly 

 appearing for forcing. One of the handsomest forcing 

 peaches is Peregrine. The color is magnificent and 

 flavor all that could be desired, with size sufficient to 

 please the most exacting. Others might be mentioned 

 to show the progress of time. 



Cultural methods. 



The same style of house that has been recommended 

 for grape-culture will be found ideal for peaches and 

 nectarines, although instead of having the walk down 

 the center of the house, it is better along each side. 

 This will allow planting the trees crosswise of the house 

 on trellises about 6 feet apart, which affords ample 

 space for a well-balanced tree. Also the same arrange- 

 ments in regard to borders, drainage and so on should 

 be carried out, although a slightly shallower border 

 would be satisfactory. From 2 to 2^ feet of soil would 

 be sufficient; nor is it necessary to make the border 

 quite so rich for peaches and nectarines as for grapes, 

 as the trees would have a tendency to rank growth, a 



condition that should be guarded against. Peach trees 

 budded on plum stock are superior for forcing purposes. 

 Choose the best trees obtainable for this work. In our 

 climate, if everything goes well, the trees will grow 

 into large proportions in three or four years. There- 

 fore, space should be considered with this in view. A 

 tree that is planted in such a way that the branches 

 are evenly balanced on both sides, causing an equaliza- 

 tion of the sap, will insure better results. Assuming 

 the peach-house to be 25 feet in width with the trellis 

 crosswise the house, allowing a walk on each side, each 

 tree would have a spread of about 18 feet. One tree in 

 the center of each trellis is sufficient, which allows 

 ample room for development. If desired, a tree may be 

 planted on each side of the permanent one for two or 

 three years, but must be cut away as the space is needed 

 for the permanent tree. Still another method may be 

 adopted and probably the best, which is placing trees 

 in tubs on each side, then as space is needed they may 

 be moved away, whereas when planted in the border 

 one is likely to leave them too long and crowd the 

 main tree out of shape. 



It would not be wise to force newly planted trees to 

 any extent, but rather to bring them along gradually 

 for the first season, when they will be in condition for 

 forcing. If ripe fruit is in demand about the first week 

 in May, the house must be started about the middle 

 of December. The peach tree will come on and develop 

 its blossoms in a comparatively moderate temperature 

 and it would not be wise to submit it to extreme heat 

 artificially. Peach trees delight in fresh air, and will 

 resent a too close humid atmosphere. A temperature 

 of 40 to 45 at night and 50 to 55 by day will suit 

 their requirements at the start. Gradually increase 

 this so that the temperature will range from 50 to 55 

 at night and 60 to 65 by day or 70 with sun heat 

 when in bloom. After the fruit is set, another 5 may 

 be added. Give plenty of air without lowering the 

 temperature, particularly in cold weather. Give the 

 house a light spraying two or three times a day when 

 the weather is clear until they come into bloom. Do 

 not spray while they are in blossom. After the fruit is 

 set, spraying may be resorted to again once or twice 

 a day according to weather conditions. 



Peaches are subject to greenfly. As a precaution 

 after the fruit is thoroughly set, syringe every ten 

 days or so with a solution of whale-oil soap, enough 

 just to color the water. This is an excellent remedy for 

 both greenfly and red spider, both deadly enemies to 

 peach foliage. 



The peach tree will produce many more shoots than 

 are needed to furnish the trellis, therefore the surplus 

 will have to be removed. This is best done by degrees 

 rather than removing them all at once, which would 

 be likely to cause a check. A number of shoots may be 

 pinched at the third leaf, which in all probability would 

 form spurs or fruit-buds for the following season. The 

 aim is to allow enough wood to remain to cover the 

 trellis, but to avoid crowding. As the crop advances 

 or before the fruit becomes of much size, thinning of 

 the fruit would be in order. It is a serious mistake to 

 overcrop. If a tree has a tendency to rank growth, a 

 fairly heavy crop would be of advantage. The grower 

 must be governed according to conditions. 



Watering and feeding are important. Potash is neces- 

 sary for all stone-fruits and should be applied in some 

 form, or a complete fruit-fertilizer may be recommended. 

 It is better to feed light and often rather than too much 

 at once. Enough water must be supplied to give the 

 border a thorough watering from top to bottom. Then 

 no more should be given until necessary, for if the soil 

 is not allowed to sweeten up it would be impossible to 

 keep the trees healthy. It is not a good policy to have 

 the trees or borders saturated just as the fruit is ripen- 

 ing. It is better to give them a watering a week or so 

 in advance, which will usually last until the fruit is 



