284 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 14, 1892. 
topmost buds or shoots, as these are seldom required, except one or two 
for drawing sap to the fruit. After another interval remove more 
superfluous shoots, always doing the operations by steady degrees, so as 
not to check the trees unduly. Finally disbud to two, which will be 
the most required—one at the base of the current fruiting shoot, and the 
other at the end—for encouraging the circulation of the sap to the 
swelling fruit. This applies to established trees. Ill-furnished trees 
and young specimens should be treated with a view to furnishing the 
required space or filling up vacancies. The young fruit will also need 
early attention where it has set thickly, thinning it out by degrees, but 
leaving the final thinning until after the stoning period. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Pines. —Young plants in course of preparation for fruiting often 
become soft, drawn, and weakly in growth through a close, moist atmo¬ 
sphere and high temperature ; this should be carefully avoided by 
dispensing with fire heat as much as possible, relying for robust growth 
and a sturdy habit on sun heat. Maintain the temperature at 60° to 
65° at night and 70° to 75° by day artificially. This is sufficient to 
sustain the plants in steady progress. Commence ventilating at 
75°, gradually increasing it with the temperature to 85°, keeping it 
through the day at 85°, 90° or 95° from sun heat, with abundance of 
air. Close at 85°, but not so as to greatly raise the temperature, for 
however beneficial this may be to plants swelling their fruits it causes 
attenuated growth in young plants. Sprinkle available surfaces at 
closing time, and syringe the plants lightly about twice a week. 
Examine each plant before water is given, and when needed supply 
sufficient to moisten the soil down to the drainage. 
Plants swelling their fruit are assisted by judicious applications of 
liquid manure, to be withheld when ripening commences. Stake the 
fruit to keep it in an erect position. When the suckers of fruiting 
plants become large enough screw out the hearts of those not required 
for stock ; one, or at the most two, should be retained on a plant. The 
temperature should range in fruiting houses from 70° to 75° at night 
and 80° to 95° by day. As the fruit ripens the plants may be removed 
to a cooler house, and the fruit will then keep sound for a lengthened 
period, longer, indeed, at this time of the year than any other. 
Figs. — Early Forced Trees in, Pots. —Ventilation must be increased 
when the fruit shows signs of ripening, and exposure to the sun greatly 
enhances the flavour. Many fruits, however, cannot have full exposure 
to the sun, but judicious pinching, thinning, and tying the branches 
admit of their receiving a fair amount; and light, with a circulation of 
air and freedom from water, is absolutely essential to well flavoured 
Figs. This dryness of the atmosphere greatly encourages the Fig tree’s 
worst enemy—red spider. It does not make much progress under 
good syringing, but when the atmospheric moisture is reduced its spread 
is something remarkable, therefore no effort should be spared to have 
the foliage clean up to the ripening time. Brown scale also spreads 
rapidly over the youhg shoots, and extends to the leaves and fruits. 
There is nothing like contesting the advance of these pests on their first 
attacks. A little soapy water applied with a sponge to the first specks of 
red spider on the leaves, and the young scale dislocated by a brush 
dipped in a softsoap solution, 3 ozs. to a gallon of water, saves mueh 
after trouble, but care must be taken not to injure the fruit, which is 
extremely tender. Supplies of water at the roots are needed through 
all stages, yet less when the fruit is ripening than during its swelling. 
Figs for home use should be ripe when taken from the trees, those for 
sending away must be gathered before they are fully ripe. Increase the 
ventilation at 70°, affording air constantly during the period of ripening. 
Day temperature 80° to 85° from sun heat, and night temperature 
60° to 65°. 
Siicce.ssion Houses. —Trees in inside borders will need abundant 
supplies of water, and those in narrow borders and carrying heavy erops 
of fruit require liquid manure, with rich surface dressings. Attend 
frequently to tying in, thinning, and stopping the shoots at about the 
fifth leaf of such as are required to form spurs, and avoid over¬ 
crowding the shoots. Maintain a night temperature, after the leaves 
become full sized, of 60° to 65°, and 70° by day, allowing a rise to 80° or 
85° from sun heat, ventilating from 70°, closing at 80° so as to rise-5° or 
10° afterwards. 
Late Houses. —The trees in these reqiiire syringing on fine days 
sufficiently early to allow of their becoming dry before night. Ventilate 
freely in the early part of the day ; strive to secure solidified growths, 
and close early in the afternoon with plenty of atmospheric moisture 
where there is means of excluding frost, but in unheated houses afford 
moderate moisture only. 
Vines. — Early Houses. —Red spider generally appears more or less 
on all early forced Vines. Thoroughly eleansing the house and removing 
the loose surface soil prevent a large amount of after troirble ; still it is 
hardly possible to force Vines without this pest appearing, and after 
trying almost everything we have found nothing eomparable with soft- 
soapy water applied with a sponge on the first appearance of the pest. 
Sulphur applied to the hot-water pipes heated to 170° gives out fumes 
that annihilate red spider, but sometimes injure the tender skins of 
Grapes, and therefore sulphur must be used with great care. Plenty of 
liquid support at the roots, with due supplies of atmospheric moisture 
arising from light mulchings of sweetened horse droppings, are inimical 
to red spider. 
Where the Grapes have commenced colouring give the border a 
thorough supply of water in a tepid state, and mulch with rather short 
but not close material. The water or liquid manure should be applied 
early in the day, so that surplus moisture may pass off before closing 
time. When the Grapes are fully ripe only afford sufficient heat to 
prevent the temperature falling below 60°, maintaining a moderate 
amount of moisture for the benefit of the foliage, and it will not injure 
the Grapes provided free ventilation is afforded. If the weather prove 
bright a light shading, as a double thickness of herring or single pilchard 
nets over the roof lights will assist Hamburghs in retaining colour, 
allowing moderate lateral extension. 
Succession Houses. —Thinning the bunches and berries requires early 
and elose attention, as every surplus bunch or berry left longer than is 
necessary to make a selection of the best takes from the ultimate size 
and finish of those left for the crop. Likewise in disbudding and 
stopping, every needless growth is only so much wasted energy, and 
allowing growth to be made for which there is not room seriously 
hinders assimilation and the storing of matter essential to the perfect¬ 
ing of the current crop as well as prejudices the future. It is not good 
practice to allow more foliage than can have full exposure to light, and 
some margin for extension must be left at stopping, so as to prevent 
ultimate overcrowding, for the Vines require steady supplies of nourish¬ 
ment, and that means root action to imbibe it and foliage to digest it 
properly. Borders require plenty of water, and weakly Vines improve 
wonderfully with tepid liquid manure. 
Vines swelling their crops should have a moist atmosphere, damping 
the house two or three times a day and at closing time with weak liquid 
manure. Syringing the Vines, except for a special purpose, is best 
avoided, as the water generally leaves a stain—a great blemish on ripe 
Grapes. Admit a little air early, increasing it with the advancing 
temperature, and maintain it at 80° to 85° through the day from sun 
heat ; close early so as to rise to 90° or a little more, and admit a little 
air at the top of the house before nightfall. This prevents moisture 
accumulating on the foliage, and is a safeguard against scorching. A 
temperature of 60° to 65° at night and 70° to 75° by day is sufficient 
from fire heat. 
Late Houses. —The thick-skinned varieties of Grapes are now making 
rapid progress, and require attention in disbudding. As soon as the best 
shows of fruit ean be distinguished, stop the shoots one or two joints 
beyond the fruit where the space is limited. This may be done when the 
leaf at the stopping point is about a quarter grown and able to take a 
fair amount of sap. Pinch the laterals at the first leaf above the bunch, 
and remove those below, except from the two lowest joints, which pinch 
at the first joint, and sub-laterals also stop to one joint of growth ; 
this treatment is best where the Vines are somewhat restricted to space. 
Where the bearing shoots are a good distance apart it is desirable to let 
the laterals above the bunch extend two or three joints, or until the 
spaee is covered with growths, then keep them well in hand afterward. 
Close the house early in the afternoon with sun heat, maintain plenty 
of atmospheric moisture by frequently damping the house, and syringe 
the Vines at closing time, but not after the bunches show. Bottled 
Grapes hanging in the fruit room should be examined twice a week for 
decayed berries, and the bottles must be duly supplied with water ; keep 
the room as cool as possible. 
Young Vines allowed to break naturally, and assisted with a little 
fire heat when the buds have grown about half an inch, make rapid 
progress, but they need not have a higher temperature than 50° to 55° 
at night, and 60° to 65° by day after the leaves appear, relying mainly 
on sun heat, with gentle warmth in the pipes on cold days. Remove 
all buds except one at each break, retaining the strongest, and leave the 
shoots about 18 inches apart on both sides of the cane. Crop permanent 
Vines lightly, but supernumeraries may carry full crops. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Gladioli. —If the corms are kept out of the ground mueh longer 
the probability is they will either fail to start strongly or the plants be 
too late to flower properly. Corms may be planted in the open ground 
now, and others for succession not later than the end of April. They 
pay well for liberal culture, and seeing how cheaply handsome varieties 
can be bought, there is little excuse for their not being grown in every 
flower garden. If wanted particularly good, they ought to be grown by 
themselves on well-manured, deeply dug ground, each corm surrounded 
with silver sand and a little fresh loam. They ought to be buried 
4 inches below the surface, and may be arranged 9 inches apart in rows 
1 foot asunder. In mixed ' orders plant either in groups of three or 
singly. Gladioli are very »ffective in beds dotted among Mignonette, 
Heliotrope, and other 1 > ^ lowing flowers. 
Herbaceous Lobeli — These till-growing species, of which 
Queen Victoria and c rdinalis ulgens are the best known, make the 
finest display if the sef d is sown in June and strong plants prepared and 
wintered in frames for turning out ; in May, but much may also be 
done by dividing old so ols now. I these have been kept in a cold 
frame, they may now be split up freely, every young shoot being 
furnished with roots at the b .oe. Either temporarily bed them out in 
frames or pot them singly, and strong, well-established plants may be 
had by bedding-out time. The crimson stalks and foliage are effective, 
and late in the summer the spikes of scarlet flowers highly attractive. 
The plants cannot well be too liberally treated at the roots. 
Hollyhocks. —Old stools wintered under glass should now be 
sufficiently advanced for dividing, every young growth furnished with 
roots being potted singly and kept in gentle heat till well established. 
Cuttings taken off with a heel, placed separately in 2i-inch pots, and 
set on a warm flue or the staging very close to hot-water pipes, will root 
in the course of three or four weeks, but will damp off if kept too close 
