262 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



off a little of the vapour, a quantity oast up with, a 

 hand-fork round the sides and over the tops of the 

 pots will keep them quite safe until early in Uhe new- 

 year, when they will he transferred to other quarters 

 as " Fruiting Plants." 



Fruiting Plants. — Assuming that the set of 

 plants under treatment occupy the hip-roofed house 

 (Fig. 2), and that the lean-to (Fig. 1) is the struc- 

 ture into which they are to he taken for the comple- 

 tion of their course, in order to have the hed ready 

 for them hy the first week in January, it wiU be ne- 

 cessary to go back to the beginning of December to 

 commence operations with the plunging material for 

 giving a retaining bottom heat. If leaves' can be 

 obtained, well harvested and well worked, there is 

 something about them which .places them before tan 

 in the estimation of many for swelling and finishing 

 off the fruit of the Pine. But this part of the subject 

 having been touched upon in a previous chapter, it is 

 only necessary to say the material, be it leaves or tan, 

 should be placed in the pit in time for the heat, 

 which invariably revives after disturbance, to settle 

 down to a temperature averaging from 85° to 90°, 

 when plunging may be commenced without further 

 delay. As the plants, which have been some, ten or 

 twelve weeks at rest, will now be di^•ided into two 

 sections, the first to start into fruit without making 

 a growth, and the second to make a growth before 

 they start, and so form a succession, some discrimina- 

 tion and judgment wiU have to be brought to bear 

 upon the selection of the first set of plants. 



First Section. — As a, rule, plants having the 

 thickest stems, which have shown the greatest dis- 

 position to throw out suckers, and with a number of 

 narrow, sharply-pointed leaves in their centres, wUl 

 be found the most certain starters. All of them, 

 even when selected by an experienced person, may 

 not throw up their fruit at once ; but the majority 

 will do so, and any that miss can be taken out, and 

 replaced with others from the second set, which, 

 contrary to expectations, may afterwards start with- 

 out making a growth. For very early work, and to 

 give a supply of ripe fruit in May and June, the time 

 when Pines are in the greatest demand, and as a 

 natural consequence of most value, imported fruit 

 being out of the market. Queens will be the least 

 likely to disappoint, as they are most sensitive, and 

 swell and ripen off their fruit quickly. A few plants 

 of other good summer kinds, as Rothschilds, Fairy 

 Queens, and the always excellent Smooth-leaved 

 Cayenne, may also be taken in for growing fruit, 

 which will form a link between the first and second 

 hatches, but Queens should form the majority. 



Formerly it was the custom to tie up the leaves as 



often as the plants were moved ; but this barbarous 

 treatment has been given up by aU good Pine-growers, 

 and very wisely too, as plants of any age, when 

 allowed to take their natural form of growth, cannot 

 be so treated without receiving considerable injury, 

 and when they arrive at the age of fruiters, with 

 short, stiff, inflexible leaves radiating from the 

 centre, the trouble of tying up is a considerable 

 addition to the labour of removal. When a sufficient 

 number of plants have been marked for removal, a 

 few of the lower leaves must be stripped from the , 

 stems, and all loose inert soil removed as they are 

 taken out of the bed, preparatory to top-dressing with 

 pieces of rough fibrous loam, which must be firmly 

 rammed round the collars to keep the plants steady, 

 and to prevent water from hanging in suspension, 

 about the surface roots. 



Plunging.^Having determined on the distance 

 the plants are to be placed apart — ^two feet to twa 

 feet four inches will not be too much — ^let each plant 

 he plunged vrith the side which formerly grew to the 

 light again facing the sun. The depth in the bed 

 must be regulated by circumstances, created by the 

 quantity and condition of the plunging material : 

 for instance, if the heat is obtained from a heated 

 chamber entirely under control and there is no 

 danger of its rising much above 8.5", the rims of the 

 pots at the back may be on a level with the tan, 

 as there will be no fear of burning ; but if all the 

 heat is derived from tan or leaves, then loose or 

 shallow plunging will be the safest plan, until such 

 time as the heat is a little below 90°, when the 

 plunging material may be pressed closely about the 

 pots. When it is borne in mind that all the valuble 

 roots are coiling round the insides of the pots, and 

 through the drainage, and that the most important, 

 in fact the most vital point wUl be their preservation 

 in a fresh, healthy, and very shortly a most active 

 state, too much care and watchful attention cannot 

 be devoted to the regulation of bottom heat. 



When all the plants have been plunged, they must 

 be supplied with water of a stimulating nature at a 

 temperature of 80°, and in sufficient quantity to 

 moisten every particle of the soil. Atmospheric . 

 moistm-e in moderation at first (as too much wiU start 

 some of the plants into growth) nuist be provided by 

 damping the paths and walls, but not the surface of 

 the bed. Later on this may be done; but for the 

 present the excitement must be due to bottom heat, 

 and a moderate quantity of water about the house. 



Monthly Treatment The temperature dur- 

 ing this first month may range from 60° at the 

 hegitming to 65° at the end by night, and 65° to 70° 

 by day, when fire-heat is the only moving power- 



