68 



JOITRNAL OP HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEK, [ January 24, 186s. 



obtaining Melons. Tho cuttings to be selected are t^e 

 moderately strong shoots ; tbose having tho joints the 

 closest together are the most desirable, and they should be 

 the growing points. Such taken oil" with ii-om four to six 

 joints, the lowest two leaves removed, and the base of the 

 shoot cut transvei-sely below the lowest joint, will root in a 

 few days if put in a compost of sandy loam. Insert them 

 down to halt way between the second and third joint, plunge 

 the pot in a hotbed of 85"', with a moist, close atmosjihere, 

 and shade from strong light and sun. 



When rooted they may be gradually inured to light, and 

 the shoot must be stopped when it has made eiofht joints, 

 the two buds or shoots from the two lowest joints being 

 tubbed off. Prior to stopping the plants should be potted 

 in 12-inch pots in rough, strong loam, as described for pot 

 Melons, and the shoots trained upright to s'tout stakes, if it 

 is intended to grow the plants in pots ; otherwise when well 

 rooted they should be planted out of the pots in which they 

 were raised, or 24' s, into beds prepared for them. These are 

 not dilferent from those in which Melons raised from seed 

 are planted, only they are made all at once, and there is no 

 after-earthing. The soil .should be raised a little in the 

 centre of the bed, forming a ridge its entire length, so that 

 in wateiing the water may drain from the necks of the 

 plants, or from the centre to the sides of the bed. The 

 Melons are then planted along the centre of the bed at 

 1 foot apart, every other jjlant being taken to the front, 

 ■whilst the others are trained towards the back. If the bed 

 is not in proper order, it is useless to plant Melons from 

 cuttings in it, for they are not, like those riiised from seed, to 

 be burned or roasted the first fortnight with a strong bottom 

 heat, and afterwards starved for weeks into fruiting. Plants 

 from cuttings must be planted in a bed in every way suit- 

 able for their growth — that is, afl'ording a steady bottom 

 heat of from SO" to 85°, and a sweet top heat of G5° or 70° 

 bv night. Slight shade should be given for a few days after 

 planting. 



The shoot from each cuUing should be taken to the front 

 or back of the frame without stopping, but if it lose the 

 leading point all the shoots except that coming from the 

 third joint should be removed, the part above cut down to 

 it, and this shoot trained to the back or front. When the 

 shoots have grown to within G inches of the sides of the 

 frames, or have made six to eight joints, the point of each 

 should bo pinched out. This will encourage side shoots or 

 laterals, which will to a certainty show fruit at tho first or 

 second joint, and they being stopped at the joint above the 

 fruit this wUl set freely, and swell rapidly. The plants if 

 watered occasionally with weak liquid manure, will produce 

 from two to four Melons, each of about a pound weight, and 

 of the most delicious flavour, by the time that those raised 

 from seed will be about setting their fruit, presuming them 

 to have been sown at the time the cuttings were inserted. 

 I have known plants from cuttings transferred with the 

 flov/ers set from six-inch or eight-inch pot?, into beds such 

 as are usually prepared for pl.antirig Melons, and in ten 

 days they had fruit on tliem tlie size of a goose egg, which 

 fully swelled in thirty days after planting, and in twenty 

 more they have fui-nished ripe fruit. 



An important point in this mode of gi-owing Melons, is to 

 plant out the cuttings immediately they are well rooted, 

 •which they will be in about a week, for if they receive a 

 check, or are allowed to remain in the pots until the roots 

 mat round tho sides they will do no good. Whether grown 

 in pots or planted out they should not receive any clieck, 

 but be kept growing, potted immediately when rooted into 

 their blooming-pots, or planted out in the fruiting-bed, and 

 kept in a growing state until the fruit is ripe. The cuttings 

 are best planted or potted when five d.ays or a week old, and 

 if they have female blossoms on the point of expanding, 

 these are the plants to produce ripe fruit in seven or eight 

 weeks. 



There is no difficulty in getting the flowers of plants from 

 cuttings to set, for they do so most freely, and though the 

 plants may be but a few weeks old oven from the seed, they 

 Bccm to have arrived at that stage when their wholo vital 

 forces are concentrated on the production and perfection of 

 the fruit, or, in other words, the propagation of tlio kind. 

 Experience has taught us that tho fruitful laterals are sent 

 forth after the main shoots have been cut back. In a cutting 



the effects ai-e most mai-ked and striking in Melons. The 

 shoots are less gross, the joints closer and more compact, 

 the leaves are smaller, the flowers much more profuse and 

 free-setting, the fi'uit is earlier and smaller, and tho flavour 

 higher though less juicy. The duration of such plants is 

 short, for the principle of growth is paralysed by the sever- 

 ance of the plant from its original root, new parts are called 

 into action, resulting in precocious matiu'ity, closely followed 

 by early dobOity and death. — G. Abbey. 

 (To be ccntinucd.) 



THE ASSISTANT SECEETAJJY OF THE EOYAL 



HOETICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 



I THINK there is great cause for complaint against the As- 

 sistant Secretary of the Horticultural Society, in not sending 

 out the Numbers of its "Proceedings" earlier. I received 

 mine on Monday last, and in them it was announced that a 

 ballot for Orchids would take place on Friday next, but that 

 it was necessary to apply for a written i'orm on Tuesday the 

 17th. Now, to any governor living at a distance, this was 

 impossible, as it was in my own case. — K. H., Poles, Ware. 



[This i3 only one of many complaints, showing gross 

 neglect on the part of the Assistant Secretary.] 



POTATO CULTUEE. 



Last year I had the pleasure of taking several prizes 

 for Potatoes. The way I grew them is simply this : — 



My first lot I plant (weather permitting) as early in 

 February as I can make it convenient, doing so on a south 

 border richly manured. I cut all the eyes out of each set, 

 with the exception of one or two, and bury the sets about 

 3 inches. I plant them 3 feet between each row, and 

 IS inches between the sets ; and to protect them from the 

 frost I shake a little ofl'al hay over them. 



That is howl gi-ow my exhibition Potatoes ; but in setting 

 an ordinary crop the distance between each row is not more 

 than 2 feet, and 1 foot between tho sets. This is for gi-ow- 

 ing what we call the " Farmer's Glory," or any other 

 common variety of Potatoes. I water them now and then 

 witli a little salt and manure water. I should be very much 

 obliged to any of your readers if they could give mo any 

 information as to the sort called the " Early King." It is a 

 round Potato. — E. W. 



LIFTING THE EGOTS OF VINES. 



In The Jouenal of Horticulture of November 29th, page 

 430, I read an account of very successful Vine-improving. 

 I mean th.at of the friend of "W. C," who lifted the roots 

 in September, and only lost one Vine, a Muscat. Ho has 

 had better success than myself; but before I jirocced further 

 let me begin at the beginning of my story. I came here 

 rather more than two years ago. There is a good extent of 

 glass under my charge — viz., two vineries, a greenhouse, a 

 plant stove, and a range of Melon and Cucumber-i)its. When 

 I fii'st cauie, I was told that in one of the houses there was 

 no fruit that year, in tho other there was a sprinkling, but 

 the bunches were very much shanked. I meant to lift tho 

 roots at once, but having some improvements on hand, and 

 my time being fuUy occupied, I saw plainly I could not do 

 tliem justice. My employer was very anxious to liavo them 

 improved; but seeing I could not manage everything, wo 

 agreed to let them remain lor another year, and 1 would see 

 what they did; the result was the same as in tho former year, 

 only still less fruit, and every bunch shanking. I knew well 

 enough that the roots were at fault. 



In September. ln(i:j, I lifted tho roots, and renewed the 

 border, proceeding as follows : — I had two assistants, appren- 

 tices ; we took oil' nearly two spits of soil before wo came to 

 a root. I had previously examined the border, and found no 

 roots within 2 feet of the surface ; we then took out a trench 

 in front, and began in tho usual way to work back with a 

 stei-1 fork, and as each ^'ine was taken up, the roots were 

 wrapped up in mats wet enough, as it rained more or less 



