350 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. t October 12 , im. 
previous to forcing will be astonished at its good results, likewise 
for Peach trees. Another point is its cleanliness in use—a great 
consideration where greenhouses are frequented by ladies inter¬ 
ested in plants, no disagreeable smell being caused by its use. 
This is my testimony regarding it as a manure, and I am stating 
my opinion simply as a duty towards the manufacturers.— 
Wm. Irvine, Gardener, Lord Howard's, Glossop Hall, Manchester'. 
WORK.foiitheWEEK,- 
HARDY FRDIT GARDEN. 
Gather Apples and Pears as they become ripe, and place them 
thinly upon the shelves of the fruit-room, which ought to be kept 
cool and dry. Avoid anything like rough handling in gathering and 
storing Apples and Pears, the latter being exceedingly susceptible of 
injury. Late Plums, such as Coe’s Golden Drop and Ickworth 
Imp6ratrice, though still hanging, will generally be quite ripe and 
likely to fall. They should, therefore, be gathered and placed singly 
upon the shelves of a light airy fruit-room, where they will keep good 
for a considerable time ; and although they may shrivel, many prefer 
them in that state to using them fresh from the trees. Filberts and 
Nuts of various sorts should be gathered now, and spread out very 
thinly upon shelves in any airy but not too dry room, or it is 
likely the kernels will shrink. The nuts must not be divested of their 
husks, as they are generally placed upon the table for some time to 
come in their natural covering. 
Wherever it may be intended to form plantations of young fruit 
trees, whether to be trained to walls, ifcc., or as standards, the ground 
should be prepared for their reception. The preparation needed will 
depend in a great measure upon the nature of the soil and the subsoil. 
All soils overlying a heavy and retentive subsoil will, in the first in¬ 
stance, require thorough and efficient drainage. Light sandy soils 
very frequently have water lodging in the subsoil, and this must also 
be removed by drains with a proper fall and outlet, whilst soils resting 
on a gravelly subsoil may not require drainage. In most instances 
trenching as deeply as possible without bringing any of the bad soil 
to the top is essential to the well-being of the trees, especially if sur¬ 
face-rooting be encouraged by keeping the surface mulched. In order 
to increase the depth of shallow soils, that immediately below the 
good top soil may be loosened to admit of the percolation of water 
through it freely. Heavy soils will be improved by a free ad¬ 
mixture of burned clay, ashes, old mortar or lime rubbish, and road 
scrapings. A good liming will materially improve the texture of 
heavy soils, and charred vegetable refuse is a good application to the 
soil for all fruit trees. Soils that have long been under vegetable 
culture will need little beyond liming and an addition of fresh loam. 
Soil of a light sandy nature should be improved by adding turfy loam 
and a liberal dressing of well-pulverised clay, applying some well- 
decayed manure to the surface. 
Intending planters must now select their trees, making choice of 
such as are clean and healthy, have short-jointed well-ripened wood, 
and are not unduly vigorous or weak. The trees should not be moved 
until most of the leaves have fallen ; then they should be lifted care¬ 
fully, the roots being protected by careful packing, and, all being in 
readiness, planting should be done as soon as they come to hand, 
spreading the roots carefully, and making the soil firm about them. 
Water must not be given unless the soil be dry, and to retain a genial 
condition of the soil a mulching of partially decayed manure may be 
given over the roots. 
FRUIT HOUSES. 
Peaches and Nectarines .—Planting trees from walls or houses against 
or in which they have been grown and trained for two or three years 
and have become well furnished must be attended to without further 
delay, especially if they are intended to be subjected to forcing from 
an early period of the coming season. If the trees be lifted carefully, 
even whilst the foliage be quite green, and well attended to in shad¬ 
ing and keeping the house rather close for a short time when the sun 
is powerful or the outside air dry, also having the soil in a moist con¬ 
dition, the roots will soon become active. They should not, however, 
be started so early as trees that have been subjected to the process in 
previous years. 
The border for Peach trees that are to be forced early should be for 
the most part inside the house, though there is no objection to the 
roots having some extent of run in an outside border. Fruit-tree 
borders, especially those for trees under glass, are made too wide, too 
deep, and too rich, being out of all proportion to the wants of the 
trees. If the root space of fruit trees were restricted half, and in 
many instances two-thirds, much would be accomplished towards in - 
creased fertility of the trees, and the need for summer pruning, to say 
nothing of root-pruning, considerably lessened. 
A Peach border in the first instance should not be wider than on e- 
third the height or breadth of the trellis; 30 inches is a sufficient 
depth, 6 or 9 inches being occupied by drainage, and the rest soil— 
strong loam of a calcareous or marly nature—placed together as 
firmly as possible, without any admixture whatever. If light, well- 
pulverised clay or marl may be added with advantage, and if the soil 
be devoid of calcareous matter one-sixth of old mortar rubbish or 
chalk may be thoroughly incorporated. The border must have proper 
drains to carry off superfluous water passing through it. In plant¬ 
ing make the soil firm about the roots, apply water thoroughly to 
settle the soil about them, and mulch over the surface with partially 
decayed manure about 3 inches in depth. For very early forcing 
Alexander, Hale’s Early, and Royal George afford a good succession, 
and are reliable sorts ; Lord Napier and Elruge Nectarines being suit¬ 
able for planting in the same house. To ripen by June and onwards 
in succession houses Royal George, Grosse Jlignonne, Noblesse, 
Dymond, Bellegarde, Barrington, Stirling Castle, and Late Admirable 
are the best, with Nectarines Elruge, Violette Hative, Pine Apple, and 
Victoria. 
Pines .—Young growing plants should be arranged so as to derive 
the fullest benefit from sun heat, and as this diminishes during the 
daytime a corresponding diminution of temperature should take place 
at night, and gradually until it reaches the ordinary winter minimum 
—viz., 55° to CO® at night and G5° by artificial means in the daytime. 
Ventilate freely whenever the weather is favourable, giving particular 
attention to watering, discriminating between those grown or plunged 
in fermenting beds, as such afford more moisture to the roots than 
plants have in shallow beds of plunging material heated by hot-water 
pipes ; hence no particular time can be given for watering, but under 
all conditions a weekly examination of the plants should be made, 
and whenever water is needed it should be given copiously at about 
the same temperature as that of the bed. 
Fruiting plants require a night temperature of 70°, or 5° more when 
the weather is mild, 75° artificially by day, and ranging between 80° 
and 90° from sun heat, closing at 85°, maintaining a genial condition 
of the atmosphere by sprinkling the pathways as they become dry, 
with an occasional syringing over the plants on fine afternoons. 
Keep the bottom heat steady at 85° to 90°. Do not overwater at the 
roots, as this, along with a low temperature, tends to cause a serious 
defect in the ripe fruit— i.e., their cutting black at the centre. 
FLANT HOUSES. 
Stove .—Allamandas intended for early flowering, and consequently 
required to be cut back and started early in the year, should not 
receive more water than will prevent them flagging excessively, 
withholding it to such an extent as to check growth and insure well- 
ripened wood. Keep the plants near the glass, with a warm dry 
atmosphere ; but the air of the house must not be so dry as to injuri¬ 
ously affect others, Ixoras especially being affected by a dry condition 
of the atmosphere. 
Large specimen Ixoras may now be cut well back into the old 
wood, and if infested with scale or mealy bug they should be cleansed 
with an insecticide, repeating the operation every third day for ten 
days to effectually eradicate the pests before the plants form fresh 
growth, which would be likely to be injured by an insecticide strong 
enough to kill the insects. An opinion prevails that when once mealy 
bug has seriously infested stove plants it cannot be exterminated ; 
but such is a mistake, as continuous perseverance and considerable 
