5 50 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF GARDENING. 



following summer be a diy one. Encouragement of root 

 action is the all-important point to study the first season. 



Pruning the trees alter they are planted is an 

 important detail. If they are not pruned at all, the future 

 furnishing with suitable branches is much hindered. When 

 the shoots are not cut pretty hard back to the base the 

 basal eyes lie dormant and do not push into growth ; 

 consequently gaps at the base of the tree are visible and 

 detrimental. 



The month of February is a good time to prune newly- 

 planted Peach trees. Cut all the shoots back to within 

 oin. of their base, always choosing a growth bud on the 

 upper side of the shoot to prune to. Growth buds are 

 easily discerned from blossom buds. The latter are 

 useless °f course, to form shoots. As growth proceeds 

 there may be too man)' shoots push from the eyes, so that 

 overcrowding may Lie the result, as in some instances two 

 shoots spring from one base bud. Select the most pro- 

 mising, that is. generally the one on the upper side ol the 

 branch ; rub off the other when iin. or so long to avoid 

 overcrowding. 



Early in May, or even later if the weather is bright and 

 warm, remove the mulching of manure during the daytime 

 to admit the sun to shine upon and warm the soil, 

 replacing it at night for the first two or three days, and 

 finally altogether should a drought set in. If the mulching 

 material is allowed to remain Imm the time it is placed 

 there at planting time until it decays, the soil is kept 

 in a cold and wel condition all the summer. Fibrous 

 toots are not then made in the same way as when the 

 surroundings are made more congenial by warming the soil. 

 A little attention to such an apparently trifling detail is of 

 the utmost importance. 



The pruning of established Peach trees i^ but indistinctly 

 understood bv the amateur. The wrong lime is often chosen. 

 The majority ol gardeners err in litis detail ; they prune their 

 trees in March when the blossom buds are pushing. All 

 the pruning a Peach tree requires should be done in 

 September or October after the fruit is gathered. W hy wait 

 until the spring when the work ran be so much belter done 

 when the leaves are on the trees? T he latter are a guide to 

 the primer. The main point is to allow sufficient space 

 between the branches. Overcrowding ol the shoots is a 

 mistake; maturity is the point to aim at. Never allow the 

 leaves of one shoot to overlap those of its neighbour. Cut 

 away all superfluous growth, selecting for removal those 

 shoots that are weak, and also those that are extra strong, as 

 these do not mature so readily, and never show as mail}' 

 bloom buds as the medium-sized shoots do. Those of llie 

 thickness of an ordinary cedar pencil are preferable. Shoots 

 ol Ibis size and 2ft. long may be shortened hack to bin.: 

 those I Sin. long may simply have their point removed ; ihose 

 less may be left intact. When shortening a shoot always 

 cut to a wood bud (not a flower bud) on the upper side 

 of the shoot, as then the shape of the tree is so much 

 letler preserved than when the shoots come from the 

 under side. 



Disbudding" is important, and, if properly done, lessens 

 the necessity ol much pruning in the autumn. In dis- 

 budding or thinning the shoots, the aim should be to leave 

 all that is necessary to fill up gaps consequent upon the 

 removal of useless growths in the autumn. It is better to 

 err on the side of thinness than overcrowding. Directly 

 the shoots can be handled the trees should be gone over, 

 as then the shoots rub oil easily by bending them in the 

 opposite way. Go over them several times, removing a 

 few shoots at a time rather ihan taking all off at once, as 

 then no check is given. 



The summer treatment consists in supplying the trees 

 with water at the roots when required, and keeping down 

 insect pests. " Seldom do the trees require water before 

 fuly : it they do, (hey mil t nol be neglected. It is surprising 

 how quickly ihe leaves are infested with red spider if the 

 roots are allowed to become dry. When the fruit is 

 swelling, abundance of water is a distinct gain, as finer 

 fruit is obtained and the trees make belter growth. It is 

 upon the current season's grow th that next year's crop is 

 obtained ; therefore il this is unsatisfactory, the fruit 



crop cannot he otherwise. Afler the fruit is gathered, 

 should the weather be dry, a good soaking of the roofs 

 weekly will much assist Ihe swelling of the buds in the 

 embryo state. If the trees are not making satisfactory 

 growth, apply liquid manure freely, or, failing litis, sprinkle 

 ihe surface with bone meal or some other artificial manure, 

 washing il down to the roots with clear water. 



The soil for fully lyd. from ihe wall on which the trees 

 are growing should not be dug. much less cropped with 

 anything else. Peaches prefer a firm soil. The surface may 

 be pricked up 2in. deep with a fork in the spring to admit 

 of the stimulative food being washed more readily to the 

 roots, but these must not be seriously interfered with. 



Insect pests are a source of annoyance to the cultivator ; 

 none is worse than black fly, which infests the tender, half- 

 developed leaves, causing them to curl inwards. These 

 check the growth and entirely spoil the trees if means are 

 not taken to prevent them from spreading. The remedy is 

 to thoroughly syringe the affected parts with an insecticide 

 in the afternoon, and lo well wash the trees the next 

 morning with clean water. Berkley's quassia extract is 

 perhaps the best insecticide for the purpose. This is a good 

 remedy also for green fly and red spider, none of which 

 should be allowed to spread. 



THE MELON. 



Without doubt the Melon is one of the most delicious of 

 our tender summer dessert fruits. It is only during the 

 warmer months that the Melon is fully appreciated, as later 

 in the year its flavour is not so fully developed. Originally a 

 native of Persia, the Melon has for a long time been 

 cultivated in many warm countries throughout the world. 

 Several forms of il have been introduced into this country at 

 different periods. The earliest of which we have any record 

 is the Musk Melon, said by Phillips, in his " Pomarium 

 Britannicum," to have been brought here in 1520, probably 

 from Italy, though lor some time its cultivation was con- 

 fined to the Royal Gardens at St. James's. Another account 

 gives the dale of its introduction as 1570, and Jamaica as the 

 country from which we received it. 



The ( antaleupe Melons, so called from their having been 

 grown lor a very long time at Cantaluppi, near Rome 

 (though coming in the first place from Armenia), and the 

 Romanos, also from Italy, were introduced from the 

 Continent at a later period. 



By Ihe intermingling and frequent intercrossing of these 

 various forms, innumerable varieties were raised, which, 

 though popular for a time, have since been superseded by 

 countless others. 



The general character of the Cantaleupe is a roundish 

 form, w ith a rough, irregularly netted surface ; that of the 

 Romanos, an oval shape with regularly netted skin, and a 

 prolific bearer. 



The Persian and Water Melons are not now cultivated in 

 our glass houses, although the latter are still imported in 

 considerable quantities from the Continent for sale in our 

 markets. The Water Melon is a distinct species. 



Though cultivated with us as a luxury, in the East the 

 Melon forms one of the necessaries of life ; in both Persia 

 and Caboal il is, perhaps, most extensively grown in the 

 open air. The minimum temperature in which the Melon 

 can be successfully grown may be put down at 65<leg. Fahr. , 

 but to properly ripen its fruit greater heat is necessary. To 

 be aide to furnish a supply of Melons from May until 

 October the cultivator will have little time unoccupied 

 between those months, for the first sowing of seed should be 

 made earlv in fanuary if the seedlings are to produce ripe 

 fruit by May. 



Nothing is gained by sowing the seeds earlier than the 

 above date, for if they germinate during the dark sunless 

 days of December the young plants will become weak and 

 spindly, and most probably will be overtaken by those 

 liom the later sown seeds; the latter would also have the 

 advantage of having made a quick growth under more 

 favourable conditions, resulting in the production of better 

 plants. Different cultivators usually have their own 

 particular methods of sowing the seeds and growing on the 

 plants before finally planting them out. 



