124 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. { August 6 , iseo. 
weather, rubbing out the canker with fresh-slaked lime. Cracked 
fruits result from excessive vigour and too much atmospheric 
moisture. Cut the stem about half way through a joint or two 
below the fruit, and ventilate freely, reducing the supply of water 
to the roots without allowing severe flagging. 
Cucumbers. —The plants for autumn fruiting should be placed out 
at once, observing the same conditions as for late Melons, except that 
the temperature need not be so high by 5°. In pits and frames keep 
the foliage well thinned, the old growths constantly removed, and in 
laying-in young growth be careful to add a few handfuls of fresh 
soil where convenient. Close the lights as early as is consistent with 
the well-being of the plants, maintaining a free and fruitful growth. 
Figs. —The second crop of fruit on early-forced trees will now be 
ripening, and the supply of water at the roots must be carefully 
regulated so that the flavour of the fruit be not deteriorated. Syring¬ 
ing the foliage must also cease, and a free circulation of warm dry 
air afforded, which should be continued to the trees after the fruit 
is gathered, as it is of the utmost importance that the wood be 
thoroughly matured. The early-forced trees in pots should when the 
crop is gathered be continued under glass until their growth is 
mature, similar remarks applying to trees in pots intended for early 
forcing for the first time. The young trees obtained from cuttings in 
spring, and intended for forcing in the second or third year of growth, 
must be attended to in pinching off the tops of all the strongest 
shoots to form a symmetrical head in the first year of training. The 
latest-forced trees which ripened their first crop in June will now be 
swelling a second crop, and must be thinned where too crowded, the 
swelling being encouraged by syringing the trees twice daily, keeping 
the roots well supplied with liquid manure and the mulching con¬ 
stantly moist. Maintain a brisk temperature by closing early, and 
after the fruits commence ripening a circulation of dry warm air 
constantly will be needful. Steady attention must be given to stop¬ 
ping and tying, avoiding overcrowding the young shoots, as they will, 
especially vigorous shoots, need all the light that can be secured to 
them. 
Cherry House. —Trees subjected to forcing for several years suc¬ 
cessively are liable to premature growth, which is best arrested by 
fully exposing them to the air and light. Ked spider is not very 
partial to the leaves at this stage, but the foliage should if necessary 
be washed occasionally, and black fly must be eradicated by the 
application of tobacco watex - . The border must not be allowed to 
become excessively dry, but receive copious supplies of water when 
necessary, and an application of liquid manure will assist in plumping 
the buds. Trees in pots will require frequent attention with water, 
and the foliage must be kept clean, so as to maintain it in a healthy 
condition as long as possible. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Orchids. —The temperature of the East India house may range from 
75° to 85° by day, and average 65° at night; the temperature of the 
Cattleya house may be 5° less. Continue the same general treatment 
of plants in the East India house. The shading in the Cattleya 
house may be almost dispensed with, except when the sun is very 
bright. Cattleyas making their growth should receive every possible 
encouragement. Calanthe vestita, C. Yeitchi, and C. Warneri should 
not be any longer shaded, but be watered liberally at the roots for 
some weeks to come, and occasionally with weak liquid manure. 
Dendrobium nobile, D. Cambridgeanum, and many other Dendrobes 
will have completed their growth, and should be placed in a light 
position, where they can ripen their new growths. Odontoglossum 
vexillaarium will now be breaking again, and may be repotted, and 
water afforded according to its requirements. Plants of 0. Phalae- 
nopsis requiring more root room should be attended to at once, avoid¬ 
ing overpotting, and affording extra drainage, watering freely. Thunias 
should be moved to a light airy house, where they will ripen off ; but 
they must still be watered. Thrips are often troublesome at this 
season ; fumigate frequently, and wash the foliage with a solution of 
soft soap, and afterwards sponge with clean rain water. 
Stove. —Gardenias that were struck during the spring for winter 
flowering should be well attended to, not allowing them to become 
root-bound, but shift into pots 7 or 8 inches in diameter, according 
to the vigour of the plants, and keep them near to the glass in a 
moderately high temperature to secure well-matured growth before 
autumn. Few flowers are so acceptable as Gardenias, and no plants 
more easily grown ; the chief point is to keep them free from mealy 
bug, the plants being frequently scrutinised for them, and given 
when needful a thorough cleaning. The fragrant Toxicophloea 
spectabilis is also useful, the flowers being produced freely in 
corymbs. It requires a cool stove or intermediate house, succeeding 
well in sandy peat. 
Hoya bella as a bouquet flower when mounted is one of the most 
beautiful, and as a basket plant is unrivalled. It may be grown in 
pots plunged in baskets lined with moss, and does not require much 
root space, succeeding in sandy peat or light fibrous loam. In late 
summer ^Escliynanthuses are very effective suspended in conser¬ 
vatories ; they also may be grown in pots and plunged in baskets 
lined with moss. Flowering as they do when flowers are scarce— 
viz., in late summer and autumn—it is remarkable they are so seldom 
seen, especially as they are of easy culture. Tillandsia Lindeni, with 
its intense blue flowers, is very effective, and small plants are very 
useful. It is increased by suckers, which are produced after flower¬ 
ing ; these when large enough should be taken off, and placed singly 
in small pots. Sandy peat, well drained, and a light position suits it. 
Allamandas will continue flowering until a late period, providing 
they be regularly supplied with liquid manure. Bougainvillea glabra, 
whether in pots or planted out, should be similarly treated. Early- 
flowered Gloxinias should be gradually dried off by withholding 
water and keeping the plants in a light airy position until their 
growth is matured, when they may be stored away either in the pots 
or in boxes in slightly damp sand in a temperature of 45° to 50°. 
Later-blooming plants should receive liquid manure occasionally. 
Achimenes likewise should be afforded weak liquid manure occasion¬ 
ally ; and the bright scarlet A. coccinea and A. ignea, if kept near to 
the glass and in not too high a temperature, will flower until an 
advanced period in autumn. Gesnera exoniensis and G. zebrina 
splendens should have weak liquid manure afforded them to secure 
sturdy growth and fine spikes of bloom. 
Stove plants that have been placed in the conservatory will suc¬ 
ceed so long as the weather is warm, and the precaution is taken not 
to supply too much water nor to ventilate too freely in dull weather. 
When the nights become cold valuable specimens should be returned 
to the stove, or they will receive a check likely to interfere with their 
future welfare. 
NOTES ON VILLA AND SUBURBAN GARDENING. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Lifting Potatoes. —It is to be hoped that many have profited by the 
advice frequently given in the pages of this Journal, to the effect that 
all early and second early Potatoes that have perfected their crop of 
tubers should either be lifted or have their haulm drawn from them 
before becoming diseased. Probably there are some who have been 
deterred from adopting this sensible practice, as the growth this 
season is unusually vigorous, and giving the appearance of still being 
growing, when in reality the tubers are fully grown, or at all events 
sufficiently so to admit of being lifted. By destroying the haulm 
the channel by which the disease is conveyed to the tubers is also 
removed, and as a consequence those unaffected will remain so. They 
will mature in the ground, or they may be lifted on the morning of a 
dry day and allowed to remain exposed till the evening, by which 
time their skins will be set. Any of the American varieties, also the 
Dalmahoys, Schoolmasters, Shaws, Dons, and other quick-growing 
varieties, and even the Magnum Bonum, may now in many districts 
be lifted, but the Scotch Champion and similarly late-maturing varie¬ 
ties must not yet be touched. The Potatoes have caused the winter 
greens and Broccoli where planted between the rows to be much 
drawn. When lifting the Potatoes in this instance first clear off the 
haulm, then fork out straight ahead, throwing the tubers behind, and 
working the soil up to the rows of plants on both sides. 
Successional Crops. —The ground previously occupied by Potatoes 
if forked over as the process of lifting proceeds, cleared of all rubbish 
and levelled with a rake, will be ready for a sowing of Turnips ; or 
