302 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND vOTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 6, 1887. 
Belgium and other continental countries to the value of £1,000,000, arid ! 
from Canada to the value of £91,000 ? ” 
That is a small matter, for enthusiasts are not careful as to figures ; 
hut what does Mr. Morgan mean by the statement that all the ills of 
the flesh can be cured or mitigated by the use of fruit ? The sick man 
does not care for what is called the Grape cure, the Tomato cure, the 
“<fcc. "cure. What he wants is prevention. There is sound common 
sense in the statement that it is best for each to decide for himself how 
fruit should be eaten, but it is news to learn that the skin of the Plum 
may be eaten with safety. To the healthy organism there is probably 
little risk in eating that, but it sounds strange when in the sarne tones 
we are told not to eat the skin of the Peach or of the Apple, and that all 
skins are insolublo. “ Fruit has its best effect when eaten with brown 
wholemeal bread, not as dessert, but food.” Why “brown?” Is there ' 
any other coloured wholemeal bread—is there, in fact, any wholemeal 
bread which is well baked and not brown ? “ Boasted Apples are 
slightly laxative,” we -are -told-;-but- when the system becomes accus¬ 
tomed to them, what,is the effect then? Pears are, it seems, more ‘ 
digestible than Apples, but Gooseberries should be cooked if eaten in 
any quantity. How does our kindly instiuctor know all these “ facts ?” 
Has he a monopoly of knowledge on such matters, or is he airing stale 
platitudes? Plums, we are told, “do not digest as well as Grapes,” 
and the “ same ” it appears is true of Cherries, though what the “ same ” 
is Mr. Sampson Morgan leaves to conjecture, though he does, say one 
should reject the stones of Grapes and Cherries, and discard the skins of 
Grapes. Why ? Surely no one swallows the stones of Cherries, but 
most people eat them “ skin and all.” 
As to Mr. Morgan’s remarks about preserving fruit, I wish he had 
been more explicit. If he knows of any method of doing that without 
using sugar or some other preservative, why does he not describe it ? for 
he may rest assured that the British people will eat as much fruit as can. 
be provided for them at a low price, and still even “ spring a point or 
two,” if sound fruit can be presented to them, without inquiring too 
■closely into its actual food value. “Sound, ripe fruit,” is, he tells us, 
■“very beneficial.” Just so, that is noL news. What we want is to get 
fruit at a low price, and that is the point at which Mr. Sampson 
Morgan leaves us. Possibly he is going to start as a “grower” himself, 
•and when he does so it is certain that he will modify some of his 
opinions, especially if he tri-sthe American system of drying or evaporat¬ 
ing “fruit for winter.” However, his remarks may set people thinking 
and that, after all, is the principal thing to aim at.— Common 
Sense. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Forcing Pits. —The forcing season is fast approaching, and atten¬ 
tion should now be given to making preparation for it. Where pits with 
flues are devoted to it clean the flues out thoroughly from end to end, 
and when the covers are removed to do this see that they are replaced 
without leaving any small holes about the edges, and whether the covers 
are moved or not repair all defects. In forcing roots they are frequently 
placed on a bed over the flue, and when once in they cannot be well 
removed until forcing is done, but if there is a flaw underneath it can¬ 
not be well repaired during forcing, and it may do much harm before 
this is over. We have known Asparagus roots placed on a flue which 
did well until cutting began, when there was a leakage of smoke and 
the crop was nearly lost. The same remarks apply to hot-water pipes, 
but they are not so liable to get out of order as the flues. A dirty flue 
never heats well, and they should all be cleaned out before the winter 
sets in. Limewashing pits at this season is also a good plan, and all 
frames should be washed and painted, and the glass lights made quite 
clean. Fallen tree leaves always play an important part in hotbed 
making, and they should be collected for the early beds. The Beech and 
the Oak L aves are not falling very much yet, but the Sycamores and some 
others are, and although these are not very lasting in a bed they do very 
well for a beginning. Handlights are also very useful, and if these re¬ 
quire repairing have th-m done before the day they are wanted. All 
such work should be done at once. 
Earthing Celery. —There are various times and ways of doing this- 
In some cases it is left until nearly fully grown, then one good earth¬ 
ing is given, and in others it is earthed little by little throughout the 
autumn months. Both ways may be practised, but the one earthing 
plan is not useful where the Celery is wanted immediately, as stems 
that have never been earthed will be very hard and tough, and must have 
the soil about them for several weeks before they become blanche! and 
tender. Of large and small Celery we prefer the latter as being the 
most compact and useful, as there are too many superfluous leaves on 
the large sticks ; in fact, half of them are generally thrown away, and 
•only the centre used. Large plants are also liable to grow very tall, 
and then the leaves and stems are sure to break and fall over. This is 
objectionable, and may be avoided by tying a piece of matting round 
each plant some distance above the sbil, and not too tight, and in all 
cases of earthing the greatest care should be taken that none of the 
soil falls into the centre of the plants. Earthing should only be done 
when the soil is dry, and break it fine with the spade along the sides of 
the rows, arid push it up to the plants with the hands. We always tie 
our plants to keep them close together before earthing, and untie them 
again when the operation is completed. 
Thinning Young Vegetables. — All vegetables are better in 
winter when well thinned before the days shorten too much. This 
applies particularly at the present time to Spinach, Radishes, Turnips, 
Lettuces, and Endive. When these are kept too close in the rows they 
draw each other up, and then when the frost comes they are killed. It 
is different, however, when they are well thinned in good time or before 
they become crowded, as then they grow dwarf and robust, and are in 
every way Capable of bearing much severe weather without being in¬ 
jured to an unprofitable extent. 
Weeds in Autumn-sown Onions. —The autumn-sown Onions are 
now growing freely, and so are the weeds amongst them. These very 
soon become a mat in the rows, and they act as injuriously-on the young 
plants as overcrowding. Some might think that they would protect the 
plants, and no doubt they would if they were only appearing in the 
time of frost, but it is before that comes that they do the mischief. AH 
who wish to have sturdy Onion plants throughout the winter and by 
next spring should keep'them quite free from weeds at the present 
time. 
More Cabbages. —The present is a good time to make a second 
plantation of Cabbages. Those planted before this time might, if the 
winter is mild, all bolt to flower prematurely, while the present planta¬ 
tion would all heartland in any case it is a good plan to have more 
than one lot to depend on. Vacant ground is now plentiful; plants, too, 
are grown up ready for planting, and it only requir s attention to have 
another fine quarter of young plants. At present we are filling a large 
piece with Ellam’s Early, and we are planting them at a distance of 
l(i inches apart each way. It is an excellent little early Cabbage. 
Turnips. —Where many were sown to come in at this time they may 
be too numerous, and some of them may give indication of decaying 
before they are required. To prevent this pull them up and store them 
in a cool not too dry shed. A little leaf soil may be thrown over them 
to prevent them from shrivelling. 
Herbs. —These are growing a second time, we have as much fresh 
new Mint now as we had in May, and other varieties are equally pro¬ 
ductive, which offers those who neglected to dry them some time ago a 
chance of doing so now.- Herbs of all kinds are very useful during the 
winter, in fact they are indispensable, and many of them will be 
required before they grow in spring, which makes it all the more neces¬ 
sary that they should bo stored in quantity. We like the plan of dry¬ 
ing them thoroughly and rubbing them down small so as to put them in 
bottles and cork them- 
Lettuce and Endive in Frames. —These may be grown in frames 
during the greater part of the winter. In some cases these are allowed 
to grow large and remain in the open until November, then they are 
lifted and stored in the frames. When treated in this way they seldom 
root anew, and they do not grow much more. Indeed they very often 
decline or decay, especially if the weather is damp ; but if the young 
plants are lifted when small, as many of them are now, and planted in 
frames in good soil, they soon begin to grow and make capital plants 
before the winter. These are not half so liable to decay as newly planted 
ones in November or December, and planting them smali and allowing 
them to grow is much the best way to secure a fine stock of winter 
Lettuces and Endive. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Melons. —Be careful in the application of water, but the latest 
plants with fruit swelling must not be allowed to become dry at the 
roots, Keep up moderate moisture by damping every morning and at 
closing time, earthing the plants as required. Remove all superfluous 
growths as they appear, and maintain a temperature of 65° to 70° at 
night, 70° to 75° by day, up to 85° or' 90° with sun. Keep the bottom 
heat at about 80°. Fruit ripening will be the better of a little extra 
fire heat and a little air constantly ; a dry state at the roots, but not so 
dry as to cause the leaves to flag, accelerates the ripening process. In 
dung-heated pits and frames no water will be required after this. Keep 
the frames well lined, admitting a little air constantly, which with the 
fruit raised well above the surface of the bed will do much to impart 
flavour. Any fruit it is wished to keep for a time should be cut when 
changing with a good portion of stem, and be kept in a dry airy room, 
or if wanted ripe at once they may be placed in a warm airy house in 
the full sun, and they ripen better than in frames or pits devoid of 
artificial warmth. 
Vines. — Early-forced Houses .—Vines that are to be forced to fur¬ 
nish ripe Grapes in March or early April should be started by the middle 
of November. It is not advisable to start permanently planted Vines so 
early where there is cqnvenience for growing some in pots, as it is a 
great strain on the energies of the plants through their having to make 
their growth at the dullest period of the year and to rest at the hottest. 
Retain some lateral growth as an outlet for any sap which the roots 
absorb, and which without the Laterals would probably force the buds 
that are intended to furnish the succeeding season’s crop of Grapes. The 
house after pruning should be kept cool and dry, and the outside border 
protected from autumn rains by covering them before the ground is 
chilled with continued wet and cold. A good covering of dry leaves, 
with a little litter to prevent the leaves blowing about, is an effective 
