September 20, 1888. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
275 
tlie old wood with its knotted spurs. Stop all foreright shoots and 
those not required for furnishing wall space to a length of about 
5 inches. 
Peaches and Nectarines— It is very doubtful if the later varieties 
will ripen their fruit properly, these appearing to be very much farther 
out of their average period of ripening than were the earliest varieties. 
Hales’ Early has stood out conspicuously, handsome dishes being 
available by the third week in August. Waterloo, Early Alexander, and 
Early York have also given good crops of well-coloured and fairly 
richly flavoured fruit, but Bellegarde, Barrington, and Grosse Mignonne 
are quite hard as yet. Nectarines generally are late and much disfigured 
by rains. Hunt's Tawny, Stanwick Elruge, and Balgowan are the best 
for open walls. Owing to the injury done to the young foliage by cold 
winds in the early part of the season the growth was much checked, 
and much of it cannot possibly ripen properly. It ought to be freely 
thinned, a few well-ripened shoots being much preferable to a greater 
number not well ripened in consequence of being crowded. The reserved 
shoots should be laid in to their full length, and in addition to getting 
the full benefit of the heat from the walls will also admit all the sun¬ 
shine we may be favoured with to the ripening fruit. 
Raspberries.-— These have made very strong canes this season, and 
many mors than are needed. Ail the old canes ought to be cut out and 
the young ones freely thinned, and this will enable those retained for 
fruiting next season to ripen properly. Autumn-fruiting varieties are 
very late, and unless the bearing wood is kept well thinned the fruit 
will be unusually sour and watery. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Vines. —Midseason Houses. —Vines from which the Grapes have 
been cleared should now be divested of their laterals down to the prin¬ 
cipal buds, which are to be retained for next year’s fruiting, doing so, 
however, without injury to the old leaves, as upon their preservation 
depends the maturation of the buds, which should be plump and well 
ripened. Vines that have not as yet borne fruit may be treated in a 
similar manner, so as to secure by full exposure to light the hardening 
of the wood. A free circulation of air is necessary, and in the case of 
young Vines, or where there is the least doubt about the thorough 
ripening of the canes, fire heat should be employed. When the laterals 
have been removed the old mulching, if any, should be cleared oil the 
borders, and a top-dressing given of turfy loam, with about a fifth of 
horse droppings and a sprinkling of half-inch bones, or preferably 
steamed crushed bones. If the roots have not penetrated the mu’ching 
remove the soil down to them, and add fresh compost. In the case of 
inside borders afford a moderate mulching, and allow those outside to 
have the benefit of October rains, and instead of adding manure to the 
loam mulch the surface with 3 or 4 inches of fresh horse droppings, 
covering with dry litter or bracken by the end of October or early 
November. In the case of borders only partly made a breadth of 
2 feet may be added to the front, cnoosing a dry day for the operation, 
mulching with horse manure and covering as before advised. E very 
attention must be given to young Vines planted this spring or early 
summer, keeping the foliage clean, removing all laterals, and maintaining 
a warm well ventilated atmosphere until the canes are thoroughly 
ripe. , 
Late Houses. —The Grapes in these ought now to be fully ripe, but 
if not continue sharp firing, accompanied with a rather free circulation 
of air where there are Muscats and other late Grapes until the latter are 
ripe and thoroughly finished, when a gradual reduction of temperature 
must take place, otherwise the fruit will shrivel, a state of things that 
must be guarded against by not allowing the borders, especially inside, 
to become too dry. Outside borders will in most instances be quite 
moist enough, and should be covered with lights preferably, or some 
other means employed to throw off heavy rains. 
Ripe Grapes .—Hamburghs and other descriptions of thin-skinned 
Grapes require frequent examination for the removal of decayed berries, 
damp being their greatest enemy. It should be prevented as much as 
possible by fire heat in the daytime, accompanied by free ventilation, 
allowing the apparatus to cool down before nightfall, as brisk night 
firing is not advisable. 
Vines for Early Forcing .—There must not be any further delay in 
the pruning of Vines intended to ripen their fruit by the end of April 
or early in May. Vines in pots intended for early forcing must be 
pruned forthwith. Shorten them to 6 to 8 feet, and prune the side 
shoots closely. To prevent bleeding, dress the cuts with Thomson’s 
styptic or patent knotting. 
Figs. —Fig trees in pots which arc subjected to early forcing should 
have the roots examined, and if it is not advisable to increase the pot 
room, remove a few inches of soil from the base of the ball, cutting 
back the roots, and give fresh fibrous loam, adding about a sixth of old 
mortar rubbish and a sprinkling of crushed bones, good drainage being 
provided. Remove the loose surface soil, and use the above compost in 
! its stead, adding a fourth of well decomposed manure. Afford a good 
watering, and place the trees where they can have plenty of air, with 
shelter from heavy rains and frost. 
Fig trees planted out should be kept drier at the roots, but avoid 
extreme dryness, a drier condition of the atmosphere also tending to pro¬ 
mote the perfecting of the growths. As soon as the second crop in the 
latest house is all gathered the trees should be kept drier at the roots, 
and the house well ventilated in favourable weather. Any root-pruning 
or partial lifting should be done when the leaves show indications of 
falling. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Vegetables and the Weather. —There is now every prospect of 
winter vegetables being in good condition, and growers ought to take- 
advantage of the fine weather to see that their crops are in no way 
shaded by being grown too close or infested with weeds. Last winter 
vegetables suffered greatly ; they were very scarce long before the spring- 
crops were ready, and the failure of many crops may no doubt be-, 
attributed to shading and crowding in late autumn, when they should 
be fully exposed to the sun and air. 
Harvesting Onions, —All Onions should now be harvested. As a 
rule they are much smaller than usual this season, but this is no great 
fault, as small or medium-sized Onions usually keep better during the 
winter and into next summer than large ones. We have often divided 
our bulbs, storing the smaller for keeping and putting the large ones- 
aside for immediate use. Dry the bulbs thoroughly; placing them 
under cover and sorting them afterwards will give employment on wet 
days. James’s Keeping is still the best Onion for late use, and Bedford¬ 
shire Champion comes next to it, and care should be taken that these 
are not used before some of the earlier sorts. 
Planting Cabbage. —The July sown seed has produced plants that 
are ready for planting in permanent quarters. It is best to do this 
before they become crowded. We have planted some hundreds that are 
about 4 inches high. They appear small, but will grow very sturdy,, 
and this is what is wanted for standing the winter 'and heading early in 
spring without bolting. Our spring Cabbages follow the summer Onions, 
for which the ground is well manured, and we do not manure again for 
the Cabbages. When the Onions are cleared off the surface is hoed and 
raked and the Cabbages planted without any further preparation. Drills 
about 3 inches deep are opened and the plants inserted in them at a 
distance of about 18 inches apart each way. The soil being very firm, 
the plants make much more robust growth than if planted in recently 
manured loose ground. We draw the largest of the plants from the seed 
beds and plant them while the smaller ones arc allowed to remain for 
successional planting. 
Earthing up Celery. —The main winter crop requires earthing- 
up about this time. Celery takes upwards of a month to blanch, and 
sometimes more. Remove all small superfluous side leaves, tie the others- 
together near the top, then apply the earth. Soil falling into, the 
centre of the plants is ruinous to them. Break the soil or. the ridges 
well, push it towards the plants with the spade, then place it close round 
each plant with the hands. This takes a little longer than pushing it 
in with the spade, but is all the better for the plants. 
Young Cauliflower Plants. —Those iutended to keep through 
the winter for planting out in spring for the first crop are nearly as 
large as the Cabbages. They are too close to remain in the seed bed, and 
the sooner they are transplanted the better. They must have a little 
protection in favourable localities, and a good deal in cold districts. It 
is, therefore, best to plant them in a frame or in a position where a 
frame can be put over them when severe weather comes. The soil in 
which they are planted should be moderately rich and very firm, and 
if the plants are inserted 3 or 4 inches apart they will have space 
to grovv. If in frames keep them as close to the glass as possible, as if 
deep down they will be drawn, and many of them fail to produce proper- 
heads in spring. We have wintered plants very successfully under 
handlights. They were transplanted in the squares about this time, 
but not covered until much later, as it is very important that the 
plants be kept hardy in autumn to bear the winter well. 
Lifting and Storing Potatoes. —The fine weather has induced 
us to dig many Potatoes during the last week. We have lifted and 
stored several tons, and although below the average in size, they are 
not so badly diseased as we expected to find them. In light and 
medium soil they are remarkably free from disease, but in heavy soil 
at least half the crop is lost. The"soil, however, is now very dry, and it 
falls away from the tubers so freely that there is no difficulty in seeing 
which are diseased and which are sound, and great care should be taken 
that the two are separated before storing. They must be quite dry, but 
if left in the sun too long they will be green and bitter. We store them 
in a dark place to which a little air is admitted. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Medinilla magnifica.— Where this plant has been grown in the stove 
up to the present time, it should be removed to an intermediate 
temperature at once. The object is to prevent it starting again into 
growth. It should be fully exposed to the sun, and if possible a drier 
atmosphere maintained for it. Careful watering is necessary. This 
plant is very subject to thrips, which must be destroyed by a solution 
of tobacco water. 
Soft wooded Ericas. —With the present favourable change in the 
weather every attention must be paid to the watering of these plants. 
Be careful that they do not suffer by an insufficient supply of water at 
their roots, or early kinds, such as autumnalis, hyemalis, and others are 
certain to be blind. From the time the flowers are first formed until 
they show colour is the most critical period in the growth of Ericas. A 
check to the plants, whether by becoming dry or from any other cause, 
will bring about failure. The syringe may be freely used early in the 
afternoon of bright days. It will not be needed in the morning, for the 
lower night temperature to which they will be subjected while outside 
this month will insure them being heavily laden with dew in the 
morning. Water Epacrises with the same care, and fully expose them 
to full sunshine, for upon the ripened condition of their wood de¬ 
pends their flowering well. 
