492 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 27, 1884. 
when the turf is decayed, so that nutriment in the form of house sewage 
or other liquid manure may be poured upon it and the requisite degree of 
fertility to keep the trees healthy and fruitful be sustained. Regard soil 
as a medium for conveying food to the trees, and then you will remember 
to keep it stored with nutriment, which the greedy roots are constantly 
withdrawing from it during the season of growth, and which must be as 
constantly replaced by fresh supplies. 
General Worh. —Pruning, dressing, and training of trees must now 
be done. Thin crowded spurs and branches. Remember that light and 
air must enter freely among every part of the branch-growth to keep it 
healthy and fruitful. Retain no sickly or useless fruit trees, but on the 
other hand destroy none hastily. It is always worth while considering 
whether a healthy established tree of an inferior sort may not be turned 
to account by grafting god sorts upon it. So-called pyramids received 
from the nursery with a couple of feet of bare stem at the bottom should 
be headed back to induce branches to break freely from the bottom, which 
they invariably do when the planting is well done. Do not prune Nut or 
Filbert trees till the catkins or male flowers are fully developed and give 
out pollen freely. It is owing to premature pruning that barren Nut 
trees are so common. Pearson’s Prolific has again yielded a heavy crop of 
its fine nuts. For poor thin soils we know no more profitable crop than 
it affords. The tree is singu'arly robust and vigorous, requiring no 
manure or preparation of stations, thriving with surprising vigour where 
Red Filbert barely exists, coming early into bearing, and continuing 
fruitful under ordinary care. They should be planted 10 feet apart, or 
538 to an imperial acre. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Peaches and Nectarines. — Early House. —If ripe fruit is wanted 
in May and all cleansing has been brought to a close, it will be necessary 
to close the house, though it is preferably done about a fortnight 
before fire heat is applied. Old trees that have been carefully managed 
and forced for a number of years are more easily started than younger 
trees, but in either case it is better to bring on the trees slowly in the 
early stages, so as to insure a strong blossom, and on this account an early 
start is of great advantage, as it admits of gentle excitement until the 
buds show signs of swelling without having recourse to much fire heat, 
and when owing to unfavourable weather the heating of the pipes is 
thought advisable, they should be allowed to become cool before night. 
If the roots are confined, as is now generally the case, to inside borders 
where early forcing is practised, the borders should be examined and 
supplied with tepid water until every particle of the soil is properly 
moistened down to the drainage, when a good ridge of fermenting Oak 
leaves and short stable manure may be introduced with advantage to the 
trees, which, as a means of securing a moist genial temperature, will be in 
every way superior to that obtained from hot-water pipes. Syringe the 
trees twice a day with tepid water, and turn on a little heat in the morning 
so as to allow of ventilation on all favourable occasions to sweeten the 
atmosphere, as trees that are forced with open ventilators always break 
stronger than others that are brought on in a close house in which the 
buds never become dry. The temperature at starting should range at 40® 
to 45° at night, and 50° to 55° in the daytime, with a rise of 6° to 10° 
from sun heat until the buds are moving, when a slight increase on fine 
days will be advisable. Where the roots have the run of outside borders 
the latter should be protected with some kind of non-conducting material 
to throw off cold rain and snow and keep the surface roots in activity. 
Nothing is gained by starving the roofs while the branches are growing. 
Succession Houses. —Take advantage of all weather unfavourable for 
outdoor operations for getting pruning and cleansing brought to a close, 
and see that the roots of trees under fixed roofs do not suffer for want of 
water, otherwise the buds are likely to fall when the forcing time arrives, 
a season will be lost, and root-pruning need to be resorted to to bring the 
trees again into a bearing state. If the trees have been infeffed with 
brown scale they should be washed with softsoap and water, 8 ozs. of the 
former to a gallon of the latter, and with a brush, so as to dislodge the 
insects, being careful not to injure the buds ; and an application of this 
kind repeated is mostly effectual and is better than dressing with a com¬ 
position that leaves a thick deposit, which closes the pores and often 
disfigures the fruit when it is washed off by the syringe. Wren all is 
finished a free circulation of air should be allowed to pass through the 
houses until the time arrives for starting the trees, and where practicable 
they should be kept clear of plants that are subject to insects or liable to 
injury by a few degrees of frost. 
Yomig Trees. —Those that have become too strong should be lifted, 
relaying the roots in new loam free from animal manure, training the 
trees upon the extension principle, and allowing them to grow into a 
fruitful state, whilst old ones that lack vigour may be strengthened by 
the removal of the surface soil, and watering with diluted liquid manure 
prior to replacing it with new compost of rich calcareous loam, and having 
intermixed 20 per cent, each of burned refuse and bonemeal, making it 
firm over the roots. 
Cucumbers. —In consequence of the cold weather, sharp firing has 
been resorted to in order to maintain a moderately high temperature ; hut 
during cold weather, when there is any difficulty in producing and main¬ 
taining the desired temperature, covering the lights at night with mats 
will obviate the necessity for heating the pipes to an injuriously high 
temperature, saving a considerable amount of fuel, and at the same time 
obtaining a more genial and equable temperature. The plants whilst 
producing and swelling their fruits like liberal treatment, hence copious 
and frequent supplies of water or liquid manure in a tepid state should 
be given, for by this time the soil will be filled with active hungry roofs. 
In this case there is little danger of giving too much water, provided 
always that the drainage is perfect and the bottom heat kept at 75° to 
85°. When the needed set of fruit is effected remove all the male flowers 
from the plants, and be careful not to overcrop. The night temperature 
should range from C0° t® 65° during severe weather and on mild nights 
65° to 70°, and a day temperature of from 70° to 75°, advancing 5° to 10° 
from sun heat. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Tydceas. —Now that the days are dark and sunless these plants will 
need every attention, or their foliage will become injured and the plants 
much disfigured. To preserve the plants dwarf and compact they should 
be kept as close to the glass as possible. The temperature at night 
should be maintained as near 60° as possible, and the atmosphere of the 
house in which they are grown must be moderately dry. If kept in a 
close, moist atmosphere, the foliage is very likely to suffer from damp, 
or if much moisture is allowed to hang about them the foliage will be 
browned and unsightly. Theie plants should be watered carefully at 
their roots, at the same time being careful that they do not suffer by an 
insufficient supply. Weak stimulants should be supplied every time they 
need water. After the earliest plants have flowered, if they are varieties 
that form underground stems, they should be supplied with water and 
stimulants until the growth ripens naturally. 
Gesneras, —Plants intended for late flowering must be treated the same 
as recommended for Tydseas ; in fact, both can be grown from the present 
time under exactly the same conditions. Those in flower, or fast ap¬ 
proaching that stage, must, if they are arranged in the stove amongst a 
mixed collection of plants, have some position selected for them where 
they will not be syringed when this operation is done for the good of 
other plants. In no stage of growth should water be allowed to fall 
upcn their foliage or it will be injured. Select for them the driest posi¬ 
tion the house affords, for if arranged in too much moisture the foliage 
will damp, and the beauty of the plants will be destroyed. After flower¬ 
ing treat as advised for Tydseas until the tubers are developed and 
thoroughly matured. 
Ej)ij}hyllums. —It is the practice in many gardens to keep these plants 
from flowering as long as possible, until the autumn-flowering plants are 
getting past their best, and flowers begin to be somewhat scarce. They 
may still be safely kept in any cool house where frost can be excluded, if 
care and judgment is exercised in supplying them with water. The soil 
must not be saturated with water or the roots will perish ; on the other 
hand, the soil should never be allowed to become dust-dry. This is a 
common practice, and cannot be too strongly condemned, for sufficient 
water should always be given to keep their stems plump and fresh. 
When required to bloom, if introduced into a night temperature of 50° 
to 55°, with a rise of 5° by day, they will quickly unfold their bright 
gorgeous flowers. Plants grown on small stems have a very effective and 
beautiful appearance when arranged amongst Adiantum cuneatum, using 
the latter as a groundwork, while the Epiphyllums rise just above them. 
In staging these plants they should always be elevated abive surrounding 
plants, or they will fail to display their full beauty. These are grand basket 
plants, and when well flowered are very handsome if suspended from the 
roof of any house. 
Libonias. —The great secret in growing these beautiful dwarf flower¬ 
ing plants is the thorough maturation of the wood, otherwise the plants 
flower but poorly, and are of but little decorative value. This has been 
a capital season for them, and the wood is firm, and the plants are show¬ 
ing abundance of flower buds. Bushy plants in 5-inch pots well flowered 
are invaluable for the conservatory or any other structure kept gay with 
flowering plants. Our plants have been kept as cool as possible up to 
the present time, and will be retarded for some time longer in the green¬ 
house. A good place for them is a shelf close to the glass. If any of 
these plants are wanted in flower select the earliest, and they will come 
forward quickly if introduced into an intermediate temperature. Water 
carefully, and supply weak stimulants every alternate time they require 
water, or apply a little artificial manure to the surface of the soil. 
Sericographis Ghicsbreghtiana, —The wood of this favourite old 
greenhouse plant has been well ripened this year, and our plants are 
showing an unusual number of blooms. They are naturally early, as the 
result of the hot summer and very mild autumn we have had, and may be 
retarded for some weeks longer before they come into flower, when they 
will be found more useful than just now. These plants may be safely re¬ 
tarded in any structure where the temperature at night does not fall 
below 40°. Our plants occupy a vinery from which the foliage has been 
removed, where the ventilators have been kept open day and night when 
the weather would allow of this being done. They are in the most 
perfect health with fine dark glossy foliage, the result of supplying them 
with soot water when they needed water at their roots. There is no finer 
plant in cultivation for conservatory decoration when well grown than 
this one, and if the foliage is retained a good colour its light sprays of 
scarlet flowers are displayed to perfection. These plants should be very 
carefully watered while in a low temperature. 
DEONES. 
Many people are of the opinion that drones are simply created 
to he killed, and are of no use except to eat the honey, a notion that 
