July 6, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
19 
of growth, the vigour will be concentrated on the cane and principal 
buds without starting the latter into growth, and they may be pruned 
80 as to bear a moderate crop of fruit the following year. 
Vines in Pots for Early Forcing .—Those intended for this purpose 
should by this time have completed their growths. Supply water only 
to prevent the foliage becoming limp, exposing the Vines to all the 
light and sun possible, so as to thoroughly ripen the wood and the buds. 
Keep them free from insects, as it is important that the leaves perform 
their functions to the last. After the wood becomes brown and hard 
the Vines may be stood on slates or boards in front of a wall with a 
south aspect, securing the canes to the wall to prevent the foliage being 
damaged by wind. 
Melons. —Plants Swelling their Crops .—Ventilate early, or at 75°, 
keep through the day at 80° to 90°, as sun avails, and close so as to run 
up to 95°, or even 100°, with plenty of atmospheric moisture. A little 
ventilation about 6 p.m. will allow the vitiated air to escape and the 
temperature to fall gradually, but this is only necessary in closely glazed 
frames, pits, or houses, and when the weather is warm at night. Add 
fresh soil to the ridges or hillocks as the roots protrude, and press firmly. 
Syringe the plants in houses at closing time, and damp well in the 
morning and in the evening of hot days. Plants in frames should 
be sprinkled at closing for the day, keeping the water from the 
collar. Afford liquid manure copiously, always weak and tepid, and 
keep it from the foliage of frame plants, which in exceptional cases only 
need manurial applications, as they root into the fermenting material 
and grow quite vigorous enough without manure water. 
Afford support to the fruit in good time, placing slates under those 
in pits or frames. Keep the foliage fairly thin, avoiding removing a 
large quantity of growths at one time, as this induces gumming. As the 
fruit approaches ripening reduce the supply of water at the roots, but 
not to cause flagging, and admit a little air constantly, withholding 
water from the fruit. Cracked fruits are mostly caused by a moist 
atmosphere at night, but any plants that become stunted while the 
fruit is swelling, and then given more generous treatment, are more 
subject to this defect than those encouraged in the early stages of the 
fruit swelling, and afterwards kept rather dry for ripening. This is 
essential to secure high quality in the fruit. 
Cucumbers. —A few seeds may now be sown for late summer and 
early autumn fruiting. The plants from this sowing will be fit to plant 
out in about a month ; they do well in frames, and the fruit is finer 
than that of old plants. Plants in full bearing must have attention in 
thinning exhausted growths, removing tad foliage, stopping, tying, and 
regulating the young so as to keep up a succession of bearing wood. 
Add a little fresh loam to the surface from time to time, and if sprinkled 
with some bone superphosphate occasionally roots will multiply at the 
surface, where they can be fed by light mulchings, as advised for Mel ns. 
Supply liquid manure in other cases copiously once or twice a week, 
according to circumstances. Syringe at closing time, and maintain a 
good moisture all day by damping surfaces. Flagging must be prevented 
by employing a shade lightly for a few hours in the forenoon and mid¬ 
day when the sun is powerful. Avoid too much moisture in dull 
weather ; it only tends to promote soft growths, and renders the foliage 
more susceptible to injury on a bright period ensuing. Close early or 
before the temperature has receded to 80°, and so as to gain 5° to 10°, 
only employing fire heat to maintain it at 60° to 65° at night, and 70° 
to 75° on dull days. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Tomatoes Under Class. —If the stems of those late planted are 
abnormally thick, more especially towards the points, the young leaves 
also curling badly, this is a sure sign that the treatment has been too 
liberal. Tomatoes should never be planted in very rich soil, the other 
extreme also being avoided, what assistance they require in the shape of 
fertilisers being best applied from the surface. If, therefore, they are 
growing too rankly give less water at the roots, and keep up a good 
circulation of warm dry air. Should there be plenty of head room, 
allowing some of the side shoots to spread, laying these in not less than 
12 inches apart, and pinching out all secondary growth is a good pre¬ 
ventive of grossness, and the same plan may be followed in the case of 
plants trained or staked uprightly, a shoot being reserved on each side, 
always provided this can be done without any undue crowding. If the 
fruit fails to set well at this time of year this is almost a sure sign of 
either grossness, or the other extreme poverty at the roots. Those swell¬ 
ing off extra heavy lower clusters of fruit soon give signs of exhaustion 
of the soil unless well fed, the haulm becoming thin and hardening 
prematurely, and the bunches of flower puny, also failing to give fruit. 
Anticipate this by surfacing over the soil with a fairly rich compost, 
liquid manure also being freely applied. In the case of market growers 
top-dressing with compost would be a too expensive proceeding, but 
where the soil is at all poor and non-retentive a mulching of short 
manure ought to have been applied some time since to the plants 
cropping, and to those later planted before they had made much 
progress. Where the soil is either non-retentive of moisture or naturally 
poor, water ought to be supplied to the borders very freely during hot 
dry weather, twice and sometimes thrice in a week. 
Tomato Diseases. —Complaints of disease attacks were rife even 
during the exceptionally hot and dry weather so long experienced, and 
now that a change to weather of a somewhat opposite character has 
taken place the chances are that diseases of a fungoid nature will spread 
rapidly unless timely preventive measure are taken. Wholly dispensing 
with fire heat was a great mistake, and many will have good cause to 
regret this false economy. The circulation of warm dry air is one of the 
best preventives of disease, and also promotes a hard, productive habit 
of growth in the plants. Watering ought always to be done as much as 
possible in the morning of clear days, and the foliage wetted but little 
if at all. Creating a soft moist atmosphere such as suits Cucumbers 
well is just the condition that favours a spread of disease. Where the 
Cladosporium, which is quickly recognisable by the broad yellow spots 
on the upper surface of the leaves, is rapidly spreading, something 
drastic must be attempted to stop its progress, or the whole of the fully 
formed leaves will be quickly ruined by it. “ Killmright,” frequently 
advertised in these pages, where given a fair trial, has been found an 
effective preventive. It is the under side of the leaves that should be 
reached principally, that being where the disease germs lodge and 
spread. 
Mushrooms. —Manure ought now to be collected and prepared for 
making into Mushroom beds, more especially in the open or other 
quarters than the Mushroom house proper, the latter teing largely 
reserved for the later or cold weather crops. Open air beds have of 
necessity to be ridge shaped, and the materials used should differ some¬ 
what from those required for flat beds. Do not wholly separate the 
litter from the droppings, the correct course being to reserve about one- 
third of the short stained straw with the manure, and to take good care 
of the longer portions for the purpose of well covering the beds after 
they are made. The beds may be of any length, about three loads of 
prepared manure being required to make a bed 3 yards long. Do 
not leave the stable manure for weeks together in a heap or pit to over¬ 
heat and b3comBdryand musty, but keep it well opened out till enough 
has been savel for a bed, then fork away the long strawy portion, and 
throw the rest into a heap to ferment. In the course of three or four 
days, or before it is violently hot in the centre, turn the heap inside out, 
gently watering it if at all dry. Continue this treatment about every 
second day for the next ten days or fortnight, and by that time there 
should be a good heap of well sweetened steadily decaying manure 
ready for making into a bed. If the first bed is to be a flat one and 
formed under cover of some kind, more of the stained straw should be 
forked away from it ; but in other respects the method of preparation 
ought to be much the same as that just detailed. Good fresh spawn is 
always to be preferred to any that is either cheap and stale, therefore 
order the requisite supply from a reliable source in readiness for use 
when wanted. Any bads formed and spawned early in July with a view 
to having Mushrooms from the middle of August onwards require 
particularly good attention. Unless the manure has been very well 
prepared it will heat very violently, the centres of the beds attaining a 
white heat, and the manure generally spoilt for the growth of Mush¬ 
rooms accordingly, while if it is too dry decay will cease, and an in¬ 
sufficient moisture be the cause of the Mushrooms failing to appear in 
due course. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Begonias. —Plants of various kinds intended for autumn and 
winter flowering should be placed into the pots in which they are 
intended to flower. After potting, put the plants in cold frames, and 
keep moderately close until established, when give more air. Shade 
lightly during the brightest part of the day. Insert cuttings of B. Ingram! 
in thumb pots. These will be useful early in the year as plants in 
5-inch pots. This variety, if placed in baskets of moderate size and 
the plants pinched for a time, will yield abundance of flowers in the 
autumn. Cuttings of B. nitida and its variety rosea may be inserted 
at once. These are useful for flowering in the stove early in spring. 
Euphorbia jacqulnlaeflora. —Place all the earliest-rooted plants 
in the pots in which they are to flower, and when established gradually 
harden them to cool frame treatment. Turn these plants to the sun, 
so that the wood ripens as it is made. Insert cuttings either singly 
or a number together. If the latter the cuttings should be placed 
round the side of 5-inch pots, and if properly grown will not attain 
more than 1 foot in height; they will prove useful for various decorative 
purposes. The old plants may be cut back and placed in warmth until 
they break into growth, when repot. Do not overwater these plants. 
Panlcum varlegatum. —When decorations have to be carried out 
on a large scale well furnished plants in 5-inch pots are very useful. 
Cuttings should be inserted thickly into such pots. They will root 
freely in any moist shady house. They can be stood on the floor if no 
more suitable position can be found them. Well developed plants in 
baskets are very effective, especially when grown in warm houses and 
suspended from the roof amongst Palms and other green foliaged plants. 
Fittonias are also very useful, and should be extensively grown. 
Polnsettlas. —These ought to be in cold frames aud grown fully 
exposed to the sun. Those still in small pots repot from time to time as 
they need more root room, using good loam, sand, and one-seventh of 
decayed manure. Established plants may have a little artificial manure 
applied to the surface or given clear soot water occasionally. Water 
carefully, and syringe the foliage twice daily. 
Tustlcla flavlcoma. —Few plants are more worthy of extended 
cultivation in gardens than this old Justicia, especially for warm con¬ 
servatories and intermediate structures. Its cultivation is easy when 
plants are raised annually from cuttings. The cuttings should be rooted 
and grown for a time in heat, and when well established gradually 
hardened and grown with Euphorbias and Poinsettias until September. 
Caladlum argry rites. —Plants that have been used for decoration 
and have become shabby should be rested and then again started into 
growth, when they will be found useful. A supply of this useful foliage 
plant in good condition for furnishing in occasional batches will be 
found very useful. 
