FRUITS AND VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS 



Nectarine Spencer 

 One of the largest, highly colored Nectarines; late in ripening 



young trees before the turn of the season, or the first of February, for they are 

 not in a condition to withstand early forcing. And it is not worth while to 

 injure them for the small amount of fruit that may be gathered from them 

 the first season. 



There is an old saying that " cleanliness is next to godliness." A fruithouse 

 thoroughly cleaned before starting will save much worry and annoyance during 

 the growing season, for it is then impossible to use insecticides or fumigations 

 strong enough to eradicate evils like the San Jose scale or mealy bug. But 

 if the work is done while the trees are dormant, it may be easily accomplished 

 either by washing the trees or by fumigatiom. If there are any indications 

 of San Jose scale, fumigate with hydrocyanic acid gas, which is the only sure 

 means of eradicating them. This gas will also clear out all other insect pests. 

 The method of using this gas will be described in the chapter on insect pests. 



When you are sure that the house is clean, remove all the loose soil and 

 give the border a light fork-over, being careful not to destroy any roots. Then 

 apply a top dressing of a couple of inches of rich soil, or half soil and half rich 

 farmyard manure, with a good sprinkling of bone. The richness of the top 

 dressing will depend on the condition of the trees. If they have a tendency 

 to weakness, let the dressing be light. As a general rule, however, when the 

 trees are well established and are carrying heavy crops of fruit, and depend 

 wholly on the inside border, considerable feeding is necessary through the season. 

 Thomson's manure can be used a couple of times during the season to good 

 advantage, at the rate of half a bag (56 pounds) to a house or border 45 x 25 

 feet. The first application may be made soon after the house is started. Mix 

 the manure with four or five parts of soil and distribute evenly over the border. 

 In every case after applying Thomson's manure, water in lightly. A good time 



