THE VEGETABLE-FRUITS 97 



and stem below the seed leaves. Place the single plant in 

 the centre, fill in gently with soil up to the seed leaves, and press 

 the soil down very carefully, taking pains not to bruise the root 

 stem. Give the bottom of the pot a sharp tap upon the bench 

 when all is finished. The newly-potted plants should be kept 

 somewhat close, and shaded from bright sunshine for a few days. 

 When they are established, return them without delay to shelves 

 as near the glass as consistent with allowance for growth. Do 

 not allow them to become dry at the roots, but avoid keeping 

 the soil constantly saturated. A good plan, where constant 

 attention is a difficulty, is to plunge the pots into a box filled 

 with cocoa fibre, or leaf -mould, which should be made moist. 

 This will keep the pots and their occupants in equable moisture. 

 Allow sufficient room for growth, crowding being fatal. 



GLASSHOUSE CULTURE. It is of the greatest importance to 

 obtain strong, sturdy plants to start with, and have these well 

 established in the fruiting-pots by the time the first fruits are 

 set, The plants are sometimes transferred from the three-inch 

 to the fruiting-pots, eleven- or twelve-inch, the potting being 

 such that about a quarter of the depth is left for top-dressings 

 of compost ; but it is better to shift the plants from the three- 

 inch into six-inch pots, and from this size to pot them finally 

 into twelve-inch pots, when the first trusses are forming. Each 

 time they are potted on the plant should be placed lower in 

 the pot, in order gradually to cover up the stem so far as an 

 inch below the first pair of leaves. This part of the stem is 

 most valuable to the plant ; for from it will start a mass of 

 surface roots, on the strength of which the crop will depend 

 for nourishment. In dealing with young plants which have 

 been neglected in this particular, place them almost horizontally 

 in the box at the last planting, and cover up the stem to the 

 first foliage. The plant will assume an upright attitude in a 

 few days. It may be necessary to fertilize the early flowers 

 with a camel's-hair brush, under glass. Boxes, one foot by 

 two feet, are in many cases to be preferred to pots, because 

 they give so much more room for cultivating a broad mass of 

 surface roots. Room should be allowed for repeated top- 

 dressings of old hotbed material, to which may be added lime, 

 soot, or a chemical fertilizer in small quantities when the plant 

 is swelling its fruits. More water may be given when this 

 happens, and then clear soot-water occasionally. Pinching 

 and pruning must be attended to regularly ; removing as soon 

 as it appears each leafy shoot on the stem, but preserving the 

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