278 FRUIT CULTURE UNDER GLASS. 



should be taken advantage of for pushing them rapidly on. 

 Colour the water with Peruvian guano for every watering, 

 and pour a little of it into the steaming-troughs. Later-fruit- 

 ing stock, that are intended first to make a growth and then 

 start, should now be kept moderately and steadily moist at 

 the root, and air- moisture increased in proportion with a 

 temperature of 65° at night. Generally speaking, this is the 

 month when the majority of autumn-potted suckers require 

 to be shifted into their fruiting-pots. If the suckers show 

 plenty of young healthy roots round the sides of the balls, 

 they are ready to shift. If they are not in this condition, 

 and the soil is lq a proper state, leave them till they are. 

 My own practice is to shift any time — into pots a size larger 

 — in October, November, December, or January, rather than 

 run the risk of a matted ball and stunted plant that is 

 worthless after being wintered. For Queens I consider 11- 

 inch pots sufficiently large. For Cayennes, Charlotte Eoths- 

 child, and other large-growing sorts, I would not exceed a 

 1 2-inch pot. 1 1 and 1 2 inch pots give better returns than 

 larger sizes. These sizes will produce Queens from 5 to 6 

 lb., and Cayennes from 8 to 11 lb. — weights sufficient to 

 satisfy any requirements. Crock with |-inch crocks to the 

 depth of 1|^ inch, and cover the crocks with a thin even layer 

 of the fibre from the loam, and then dust with a little fresh 

 soot to keep worms at bay. In plunging them in then- 

 growing quarters, avoid crowding. Queens should not be 

 closer than 22 inches each way, and larger sorts 24 inches. 

 The bottom-heat should range from 80" to 85°, not higher. 

 Avoid shading much after shifting, unless the weather be 

 very bright, and then only shade for two hours in the middle 

 of the day. During cold March weather, 60° is heat suffi- 

 cient for a maximum at night ; when mild it may range to 

 65° till 10 P.M., but allow it to sink 5° before daylight. 

 Give air in moderate quantity for the first fourteen days 

 after shifting ; afterwards increase it, as the plants begin to 



