PAPERS ANI) PROCEEDINGS OF THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
187 
throwing out the mould one foot deep and 
four feet wide, filling up the trench to half its 
depth with the stems and leaves of any vege- 
tables that require clearing off from the 
quarters of the kitchen garden. The remain- 
ing half is made up with the exhausted linings 
of cucumber frames or pits, which I consider 
better for the roots of the plants to run in, 
than fresh dung from the stable-yard. The 
bed, when the materials are put in, has an 
elevation of one foot towards the back or wall 
side, and is firmly trodden down with the feet. 
The mould that was taken out is returned 
upon the bed to the depth of nine inches, and 
has a similar treatment, as regards treading. 
When the preparation is finished I set on 
hand-lights, four feet apart, along the centre 
of the bed, and plant a pot of plants under 
each light. Two or three plants will be suffi- 
cient for each light. When they are planted 
I give a good watering, and shut the lights 
close down, and let them remain so till the 
plants have nearly filled them, when they 
should be tilted up about two inches in front 
every fine day for a week or ten days. If 
the weather is dry and warm, I give gentle 
watering, but if dull or cold the plants 
are better without it. If the hand-lights hap- 
pen to have ventilators at top, they will be 
better calculated for the purpose ; these may 
be opened to give air, instead of lifting the 
light ; this will let the damp air escape, and 
prevent the sun's heat from scorching the tops 
of the vines and leaves, which is apt to be 
the case if they are suffered to remain in con- 
tact with damp air, when so exposed. When 
the plants have nearly reached the top of the 
lights, or appear to get crowded with vines, 
the lights should be raised up and the plants 
let to grow out, in the same manner as is prac- 
tised with Ridge Cucumbers. If the vines 
are very thick, a few of the weakest may be 
pinched off, and the top of each leading shoot 
or vine removed. No more pruning will be 
necessary for the season. Previously to the 
lights being raised, the bed should be covered 
over with a layer of short grass, or any dry 
litter that may be most convenient, to keep 
the vines and fruit clean. Setting the fruit 
at this season of the year is quite unnecessary. 
If the weather is hot and dry, frequent water- 
ings will be required ; but it will be better to 
give water in tolerable quantities once or 
twice a week, than oftener and in less quan- 
tity, for Melon plants are impatient of much 
moisture on their vines or leaves, being very 
apt to canker from it. To have handsome 
fruit, it will be necessary to thin them when 
they get to the size of walnuts, as they set 
very freely, often several dozens on a hill. 
The fruit will begin to ripen about the first 
week in August, and continue to be produced 
through that month and part of September. 
All waterings should terminate when the fruit 
begins to ripen, since the roots of the plants 
running amongst the decomposed vegetables 
will afford sufficient nourishment to the later 
fruits. To prolong the season, seeds may be 
sown three weeks later, and planted out by 
the same rule, and treated in every respect as 
above, till there is an appearance of frosty 
nights, when they may be protected by com- 
mon cucumber or melon-lights, as is done 
with the early crops. By this means tolerably 
good Melons may be had till the end of Octo- 
ber. The sorts grown by the above treatment 
were the Black Rocks, Scarlet Rocks, Green 
fleshed, Netted, and Early Cantaloup Me- 
lons. — Letter by Mr. W. Greemkields. 
[Much of the success of growing Melons 
out of doors must depend on the season, and 
the situation. In a fine sunny season, with 
the beds situated in a warm sheltered spot, 
very tolerable fruit will be obtained of the 
hardier sorts, by the method here described.] 
The Glycine or Wistaria sinensis. — 
The Glycine sinensis was first introduced to 
this country from China in 1816. In May of 
that year Captain Robert Welbank, then 
commanding the Cuffnells, East Indiaman, 
brought a plant of it with him from China, 
and gave it to Charles Hampden Turner, Esq., 
of Rooksnest, in Surrey, who kept it in the 
pot in which it arrived until 1819, when it 
first flowered. The blossoms show themselves 
before the leaves ; their first appearance is 
that of thick short pale green tufts, in which 
the buds of the flowers are enveloped by long 
pale hairy bracts, which fall off as the racemes 
advance. These when full-grown, are from 
eight to fifteen inches long, each bearing from 
eighty to a hundred flowers on an average ; 
they are pendent, and have much resemblance 
to those of a Laburnum, except that they are 
of a very delicate bluish lilac colour, with a 
very agreeable fragrance. In a conservatory, 
the blossoms expand in March, more or less 
early, according to the heat of the house. 
Against a south wall in the open air they first 
appear in the middle of April, and last nearly 
a month. Without the protection of a wall 
the opening of the flowers is in May, and their 
beauty continues till June. The plants fre- 
quently put out a small second crop of flowers 
on the young shoots of the year, immediately 
after the spring blossoming is past, but these 
are not so fine as the first crop of flowers, 
though they are darker in colour ; they are 
subject to drop off prematurely. In the 
autumn, another crop of blossoms is produced ; 
these come in August, and though not so abun- 
dant as the spring flowers, have an advantage 
in being mixed with the foliage. This autum- 
nal flowering does not appear in perfection on 
