44 FRUIT CULTURE UNDER GLASS. 



rarely ever fail in starting them all in June and July. 

 Care must be taken that they never get too dry at the 

 root, particularly in spriug, as that would be likely to 

 start them before they are required. This applies with the 

 sameforce to Jamaicas and Charlotte Eothschilds. These 

 wUl keep up the supply of fruit till the end of the year. 



It is necessary to have a later lot of these varieties 

 to come in for spring, and this I iind rather difficult in 

 the case of the Smooth Cayenne. It makes suckers still 

 more tardily from late plants. The method I generally 

 adopt is to save the old stems of those that ripen their 

 fruit through the winter, and place them in strong bot- 

 tom-heat to spring the latent buds. These grow into 

 nice plants, ready to shift into 8-inch pots in September, 

 and I shift these into their fruiting-pots in March, and 

 by pushing them on they start in September and Octo- 

 ber, and succeed those started in June and July. For 

 this purpose I most decidedly give the preference to the 

 Cayenne ; and from plants of it so managed, I have had 

 very fine fruit in the spring months. They are kept on 

 at a temperature of from 60° to 65° all winter, with a 

 steady bottom-heat of 80°. I have this winter a quantity 

 of ripe fruit from 4 to 6 lb. in 9-inch pots from last 

 year's suckers. 



There is nothing peculiar in the management of these 

 winter fruiting sorts, except it be that I never keep 

 them so dry and so completely at rest in winter as those 

 intended to start early. This is with the view of their 

 not resting and maturing themselves so thoroughly in 

 autumn and winter as would cause them to start when 

 excited in spring. The Smooth Cayenne requires more 

 moisture at the root when growing than is good for 

 most other sorts. It is also more impatient of bright 



