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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 1, 1878. 
be tied to supports, and as the growths are made they should be 
secured, or they are apt to snap at the joints. Specimen plants 
require to be tied out with small sticks, but plants grown for 
their quality of bloom are best secured by an improvised trellis, 
which prevents the wind from blowing the pots down. 
WORK FOR THE WEEK. 
KITCHEN GARDEN, 
THE recent hot weather has done much to forward many crops 
that from the cold state of the soil were backward, such as dwarf 
and runner Beans, Vegetable Marrows, ridge Cucumbers, and 
Tomatoes ; but Peas, Cauliflowers, &c., have been distressed by 
the drought where no waterings and mulchings have been resorted 
to. In hot weather vegetable crops can hardly have too much 
moisture at the roots. Celery especially should have an abundant 
supply of water and liquid manure, a good watering being afforded 
all crops that are liable to suffer from drought once or twice a 
week ; mulching afterwards with short manure cannot fail being 
beneficial. Peas and all pod-bearing esculents ought to have the 
pods gathered so soon as they become fit for use, as allowing them 
to remain upon the plants speedily checks the growth, preventing 
successional gatherings being had from the same plants. Ground 
should be at once made ready for the main crop of autumn-sown 
Onions, winter Spinach, Cabbage, and Lettuce. We prefer to sow 
them from the 8th to the 12th of this month, having the ground 
prepared previously by giving a good coating of thoroughly de- 
cayed manure and digging it deeply in. Continue planting out 
late Broccoli, Savoy and Winter Greens of all kinds as ground 
becomes vacant. Lettuces soon run to seed in hot weather ; keep 
them cool, therefore, by watering and mulching with short manure 
and watering the whole surface of the ground occasionally. 
FRUIT HOUSES. 
Pines.—Houses as they become vacant should be thoroughly 
cleansed before being again occupied with plants. The first thing 
to be seen to is the bed. If bottom heat be afforded by hot-water 
pipes, the material forming the bed, whether of tan or leaves, 
should be removed at least once a year, or insects, particularly 
woodlice, rapidly increase: the old material also harbours other 
predatory vermin. All brickwork should be brushed over with 
hot lime, the wood and ironwork thoroughly cleansed with soap 
and brush, keeping the soapy water as much as possible from the 
glass, which ought to be cleansed with water only. Ifneeded the 
wood and ironwork should be painted. Beds that are chambered 
—i.e., the hot-water pipes covered with slates or other material, 
are very much in advance of those surrounded or passing through 
beds of rubble. Those composed of the latter should be turned 
over, and any dirt or small parts removed to allow the heat given 
off by the pipes to penetrate through the whole and diffuse uniform 
_temperature to the bed. New material will be required for the 
bed. Fresh tan should be provided, of which 3 feet in depth is 
ample where pipes are placed beneath. If it be wet turn it over 
occasionally on fine sunny days. Suckers that were started in 
June will soon have filled the pots with roots, and should be 
shifted into larger pots before the roots become very closely 
matted together. Queens should have 9 and 10-inch pots, and 
those of stronger growth 11-inch pots. Water immediately after 
potting, and plunge in a bed having a temperature of 90° to 95°. 
‘There is no greater mistake in growing Pines than crowding young 
plants. The plants become drawn and weakly instead of having a 
sturdy base, a condition that should always be aimed at. Attend 
to the bottom heat of beds that have been recently upset by the 
removal and replacing of plants, not allowing the heat to exceed 
95° at the base of the pots without immediately raising them, as 
too much bottom heat will disastrously affect plants with fruit 
or those haying the pots filled with roots. Look over the plants 
for watering about twice a week, and maintain a moist, genial, 
well-ventilated atmosphere. The climatic influences are now so 
favourable that Pine plants grow luxuriantly ; therefore discon- 
tinue any shading such as may have been employed for an hour 
or two at midday when the sun was powerful through the months 
of May, June, and July ; the plants after this having the benefit 
of every ray of light, admitting air plentifully when the tempera- 
ture ranges from 85° to 95°, affording to fruiting plants a night 
temperature of 75° to 70°, and successions 70° to 65° at night. 
Reserve, if possible, another batch of suckers on the stools for 
_ Starting at the commencement of September. 
Melons.—The weather has been of late all that could be desired 
for Melons, especially late crops in frames, which have set and are 
setting remarkably well, it being a notable feature that late Melons 
on dung beds grow very luxuriantly, and unless the foliage be kept 
thin the fruit sets very indifferently, and after setting refuses to 
swell. Some growers object to the use of the knife about the 
plants whilst the fruit is setting, but we hesitate not to cut out 
superfluous growths whenever the necessity for it arises, and with 
the best results. A crowding of the foliage tends to nothing but 
disaster. The blossoms do not set well, the fruit swells badly, 
and, worse still, they have large seed cavities, are hollow, and haye 
neither weight nor quality. Copious supplies of water are neces- 
sary to plants swelling the fruit about twice a week, with a sprink- 
ling overhead at closing time, those in houses being well syringed 
both ways in the afternoon, and a good moisture maintained by 
sprinkling the floors, &c., two or three times aday. Do not 
neglect to impregnate the flowers daily of plants now in bloom, 
and to go over the plants frequently for the stopping or removal 
of superfluous growths. Keep the atmosphere dry when the fruit 
is ripening and setting, maintaining a bottom heat of 80° to 85°, 
top heat 70° at night, 75° by day, in dull weather admitting a little 
air at that if the day be likely to be fine, allowing the heat to rise 
to 80°, then admit more air, increasing the ventilation with the 
increased temperature up to 85° or 90°, closing at 80°. A free cir- 
culation of rather dry warm air greatly improves the finish and 
quality of Melons when near upon ripening. 
Cucumbers.—Any frames that are at liberty may yet be planted 
with Cucumbers upon a bed of fermenting materials, which will 
give a supply of fruit in September, and continue up to near 
Christmas if due regard be had to lining the bed and to protecting 
the plants by mats over the lights at night in cold weather. Let 
plants in frames or houses be cut over at least once a week, re- 
moving exhausted growths to make room for young bearing 
_shoots. Keep the shoots well stopped to one joint beyond the fruit, 
or at the fruit if the plants are vigorous and showing no ‘signs 
of exhaustion. Maintain a steady root-action by the necessary 
bottom heat and due attention to watering two or three times 
a week, affording the temperature top and bottom as given for 
Melons. Syringe both ways in the afternoons of bright days and 
close early, but avoid late syringing, for the foliage should be 
nearly dry by sunset, and commence ventilating early, it being 
important that the foliage be not powerfully acted on by the 
sun without ventilation accompanying, or the leaves will in all 
probability be scorched. The autumn fruiters should now soon 
be planted on ridges or raised hillocks moderately firm, main- 
taining a moist and genial atmosphere, and they will grow away 
freely and show fruit in plenty shortly. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
This is now expected to be at its best. Every possible atten- . 
tion should be given to have all the surroundings in the best 
order ; nothing tends so much to disfigure a place as weedy beds, 
borders, and walks. Weeds should be combated in the small or 
seedling state. Ragged edgings are equally objectionable, and 
should be frequently gone over with the shears, and the whole 
surface of beds and borders where available should be given a 
neat appearance. It is hardly necessary to point out the neces- 
sity of keeping walks well rolled, and the lawn smooth by cutting 
with the machine as frequently as occasion may arise, but avoid 
cutting very close in bright weather, as it will have a tendency to 
brown the grass. Let the machine be set high in hot dry weather 
so that any uneven growths of grass only may be cut. Border 
plants should be attended to in staking and tying as they advance 
in growth, removing at the same time dead flowers and seed pods 
from such plants as are going out of bloom, for want of which 
attention herbaceous borders often have a neglected appearance. 
Pipings of Pinks may still be inserted, and any that are rooted 
should be potted off in pairs in 3-inch pots placed on ashes in a 
cold frame. Until the potting is recovered from shade the plants 
from bright sun, and then admit air fully. If hardened off when 
well rooted they may be planted out where they are intended to 
bloom. Carnations and Picotees if not yet layered should be pro- 
ceeded with, and seed may be sown in pans placed in a cold frame. 
The summer bloom of Roses is now nearly over ; all straggling 
shoots should be cut back without delay, all faded blooms and 
seed pods be promptly removed, and every encouragement be 
given the plants by watering them overhead in dry weather and 
copiously at the roots, mulching the soil afterwards. Suckers 
from the roots and robbers upon the stems of standards must be 
removed as they appear. Continue inserting buds. Those in- 
serted early will soon be sufficiently forward to have the ties 
loosened or entirely removed. Dahlias, Hollyhocks, and other 
gross-feeding plants will require abundant supplies of water in 
dry weather and manure water, but mulching is preferable, as it 
insures surface-rooting. Tritomas, Pampas Grass, kc., are liable 
to suffer from drought, and should be assisted with copious water- 
ings. Nothing answers so well as mulching the surface of the 
beds and borders in which plants are grown that require abundant 
supplies of water, as all flowering plants do in a period of drought, 
the mulching saving watering, insures more regular moisture, 
attracts the roots to the surface, where they feed directly upon 
the matter supplied to them. More particularly is this the case 
with dwarf Dahlias, Asters, Stocks, Zinnias, and other descrip- 
tions of plants free in growth and affording large flowers in 
quantity. 
The subtropical plants should be attended to in staking and 
tying betimes, and be abundantly supplied with water, particu- 
larly gross feeders, such as Cannas, Castor-oil plants, and Wigan- 
dias. Carpet beds should be regularly trimmed, for which they 
well repay, being always bright; the heaviest rain does not take 
the colour out of them, and hot dry weather only heightens their 
beauty. The finest beds we have seen this year were carpet beds, 
which were kept in fine order by pinching and stopping twicea week. 
