394 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 14,1991. 
prospect of frost at night. If water be necessarj' apply it sufficiently 
early in the day to allow of the surface becoming fairly dry before 
closing time. 
Cherry House. —Cherries are ripening rapidly, and the fruit must be 
kept dry, but keep the surface of the borders moist by damping with the 
syringe, air being admitted constantly, or condensation will seriously 
affect the fruit. Damping the border is calculated to mislead as regards 
its condition, which at this stage must be quite moist, therefore if 
necessary a thorough supply of water must be afforded without delay. 
Tie in the shoots as they lengthen, and stop those not required for 
training, at the fifth leaf. Black aphides can be kept under by dipping 
and rubbing the leaves or shoots in tobacco water. Ventilate freely on 
all favourable occasions, and when the external conditions are unfavour¬ 
able recourse must be had to the heating apparatus to ensure a circula¬ 
tion of warm dry air. Netting will be necessary over the ventilators to 
prevent birds attacking the Cherries. 
Strawberries in Pots. —Moisture must not be lacking at the roots 
of these plants, as when the sun is powerful the fruits are apt to have the 
skin dried, and they do not swell well afterwards. After the fruit com¬ 
mences swelling a brisk moist atmosphere is essential to ensure good 
fruit, supplying liquid manure liberally until the fruit changes colour, 
when it must be discontinued, and watering lessened at the roots. 
Admit air freely whenever the weather is favourable, avoiding drying 
currents. Nothing is so advantageous as well thinning the fruits, especially 
of the large varieties such as Auguste Nicaise, Noble, President, James 
Veitch, Unser Fritz, Dr. Hogg, and British Queen, also those very hand¬ 
some varieties Sir Joseph Paxton and Sir Charles Napier. La Grosse 
Sucrie also attains to a good size when well thinned, and it with Sir 
Harry are amongst the finest of Strawberries for forcing. A dish of 
Strawberries composed of a dozen to the pound of about even size is very 
much more taking in appearance than when the number is double for 
the weight. Fumigate if there be the least trace of aphides, but avoid 
doing so whilst the plants are in fiower. Clear the plants from shelves 
in fruit houses directly the Strawberries are all gathered, as it is 
hardly possible to force them without their being infested with red 
spider. Water the plants twice a day, and in bright weather three 
times. 
Cucumbers. —If aphides appear fumigate on a calm evening, and 
repeat early the following morning, having the foliage dry, but the 
floors well damped. On an attack of red spider remove the worst 
i nfested leaves, sponge the rest carefully with a weak solution (2 ozs. to 
the gallon) of softsoap, and keep the atmosphere charged with ammonia 
vapour by damping the floor in the evening with guano water, supplying 
the roots with the same about twice a week. The hot-water pipes may 
also be moderately coated with sulphur. If mildew appear dust with 
sulphur, but its fumes are more fatal to the fungus. Take care that the 
plants do not suffer through insufficient supplies of water, applying it at 
the same temperature as the bed. Plants that have been in bearing all 
the winter will now be showing signs of exhaustion. Eemove them, 
and after thoroughly cleansing the house put in fresh soil and 
young plants without delay. Assist young plants which show signs of 
weakness by removing the staminato blossoms and the first fruits, 
stopping at every third or fourth joint, removing all weakly and surplus 
growths. Shading will be necessary for an hour or two in the middle of 
the day when the sun is hot, especially houses facing south, but shade 
early to prevent flagging. Houses with the roof lights facing east and 
west will not require shading. Little or no fire heat will be required by 
day, shutting the valves at about 8 A.M. and opening them again at 
about 5 P.M. Syringe the plants moderately between 3 and 4 P.M., 
keeping a good moisture all day by damping the floors. 
Seed may be sown for raising plants to occupy pits and frames. A 
fair bottom heat should be secured by using the less decomposed material 
from Seakale, Vine borders, or exhausted hotbeds, which, with about a 
fourth of fresh material, will afford all the bottom heat now required. 
The nights lately have been cold, in which case close pits and frames as 
early in the afternoon as is safe, not allowing the temperature to exceed 
90° to 95°, and afford good night coverings. See that a good bottom 
heat is maintained by duly renewing the linings. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Tomatoes under Glass. —These have set better than might have 
been expected in such a cold sunless winter and spring, the earliest fruits 
ripening fast. Both young plants in pots and old ones planted out 
ought to be fed well at the roots, occasional top-dressings of turfy loam 
and good manure and frequent supplies of liquid manure being very 
beneficial to them. Pot plants that have produced a good crop of fruit 
are not worth retaining afterwards, young plants brought on to succeed 
them being much more profitable. "Those planted out and allowed to 
spread either over roofs or sunny back -walls can be kept in a fairly 
vigorous fruitful state for some time longer by simply cutting away old 
growths and bad foliage so as to let the young shoots have good room, 
the soil in the borders or beds being also renewed occasionally so as to 
sustain a brisk root action. The fruits obtained from old plants are 
rarely large and coarse, and suit the cooks all the better accordingly. 
Young plants put out in ridges or borders of any kind—and they succeed 
well in newly planted or partially furnished vineries and Peach houses— 
should have the soil made extra firm about the roots, and when once 
well established be kept somewhat on the dry side till a good crop of 
fniit is set, otherwise they are liable to grow too luxuriantly to be 
fr'uitfal. If they flower moderately well and yet fail to set a crop, keep 
th-^m still drier, flagging in sunshine doing more good than harm. As a 
rule all that is necessary to insure a heavy set is to go over the plants 
every morning towards mid-day when the pollen is dry, and give them 
a smart tap to distribute it. Pinch out the strong central flower in 
each bunch, as this would inevitably be followed by a coarse fruit, 
and a timely removal of the flower greatly improves the size of the rest. 
Tomato Disease and Insect Pests. —Tomatoes under glass are 
liable to be overrun by several diseases of a fungoid nature, the most 
destructive being the Cladisporiums. No cure has yet been found for 
the latter, but preventive measures meet with partial success, the plants 
affected producing a fairly heavy crop of fruit. Rank crowded growth 
and a moist heated atmosphere invite attacks; or at any rate, this treat¬ 
ment is most likely to be accompanied by disease, and by way of pre¬ 
vention give the plants good room and an extra firm root run. This, 
coupled with the maintenance of a dry atmosphere—a good circulation 
of dry -w'arm air being kept up by means of the hot-water pipes when¬ 
ever necessary, and the judicious admittance of both bottom and top 
air—will do much towards staving off the disease; and dressing the 
hot-water pipes with sulphur, mixed with milk or linseed oil to make it 
stick, will also have a beneficial effect. Applications of flowers of 
sulphur or mildew compositions to the foliage are of no avail. Occa¬ 
sionally the spread of disease has been stopped by closely and early 
removing all affected leaves or portions of leaves, and much may be 
done towards keeping up a supply of healthful foliage by leaving more 
young shoots on the plants than formerly. It is the usual practice to 
closely disbud all the main growths and single stems ; but if, instead of 
pinching out all the side shoots as fast as they form, these were merely 
stopped at the first or second leaf, young‘leaves will be constantly 
coming on to take the place of the diseased old ones. The small white 
fly or Aleyrodes is the worst insect pest Tomato growers have to contend 
with ; but this can be easily got rid of by sulphuring the pipes as 
advised for the disease. Whenever the house or the pipes become 
moderately hot the fumes from the sulphur bring down the flies, and a 
thorough clearance can be effected in that way without detriment to 
the crops. 
Vegetable Marro-ws.— It is a mistake to raise plants of these 
long before they can be planted, as they are certain to become weak 
and hard, and from which unsatisfactory state they are slow to recover. 
If the seed is sown now singly in 4-inch pots and placed in very gentle 
heat strong healthy plants will be available by the time wanted, or say 
the first week in June, and such will grow away rapidly. If early 
crops are required form a moderately large heap with partially exhausted 
heating material, such as leaves and manure, and rubbish of any kind, 
the whole slowly decaying and generating a gentle heat. On this place 
either frames or handlights, with a mound of light loamy soil under or 
in them, and plant the Vegetable Marrows as soon as they have well 
filled their pots with roots. Long White is the most generally popular 
variety, the small round fruited Pen-y-byd being a good companion for it. 
Growing Vegetable Marrows in Market Gardens. —The 
market growers’ method is more simple than the foregoing, and is 
usually attended with better results. When the roots have access to a 
great mass of decaying material the plants are apt to grow very rankly 
and to be shy bearing accordingly, a much-sheltered spot for the beds 
also tending in the same direction. Select a sunny, open position, mark 
out a bed 4 feet wide and of any length, throw out the best of the top 
soil on either side, fill the trench thus formed with moderately hot 
manure to a height of 2 feet, or rather less, and on this return the 
top soil. This being done now the seed may be sown in patches 3 feet 
apart through the centre, the seedlings being eventually thinned to 
three in each group, and allowed to spread unrestricted. If preferred 
plants can be raised under glass and turned out, needful protection 
from frosts being afforded by handlights, inverted flower pots, baskets, 
benders, and mats, or even branches of evergreens. This plan never 
fails in the more southern parts of the country. 
Gourds and Squashes. —These are more ornamental than useful, 
but distributed about the kitchen garden, and either trained up pillars, 
over archways, or alongside the principal pathways, they attract a con¬ 
siderable amount of attention owing to the bright colours and the many 
quaint and curious forms of the fruit. The plants should be raised 
under glass as advised in the case of Vegetable Marrows, and ought to 
have two or three good spits of good manure under them when put out. 
Ridge Cucumbers. —These are a somewhat uncertain crop, and are 
not in great demand in most private places, the principal exceptions 
being where the small Gherkins are required for pickling purposes. 
Raise the plants now singly in 3-inch pots, and plant out during the 
first week in June either on beds or ridges prepared as for Vegetable 
Marrows. They are most liable to fail in cold sunless summers, and if 
exposed to strong winds they rarely do much good. Good protection 
from frosts ought also to be afforded at the outset. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
The Weather. 
We are now enjoying more genial weather, although the day 
temperature has never reached higher than 60°. With the 
exception of two nights, when there was 2° of frost, the night 
temperature has been 12° higher than any time in April, but the 
