210 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 3,1891.' 
with Doyenne d’Etd, Citron des Carmes, Beacon, and Jargonelle Pears 
are the first that require attention. 
Peaches. —Trees of the early varieties from which the crops have 
been gathered should be carefully looked over in order to remove all 
superfluous wood, and give the remainder every chance to mature well. 
If there is any trace of red spider or thrips syringe the trees thoroughly 
with softsoap at the rate of 2 ozs. to the gallon of water, working the 
syringe so as to reach the under side of the leaves. The best time for 
this operation is during the afternoon as soon as the greatest part of the 
sun heat is over. The solution should not be rinsed off, but allowed to 
remain on the trees for a day or two without any more syringing. 
Protecting Fruit from Wasps and Flies. —Although excep¬ 
tionally plentiful early in the season wasps have been very scarce lately, 
but if we have a few days of warm and dry weather they will soon 
increase. The damage done to all kinds of autumn fruit by these 
insects is often enormous, and every means must be used to lessen their 
numbers as soon as they put in an appearance. Their nests may often 
be found by quietly watching which way they fly towards evening, and 
carefully following in that direction until the exact spot is reached. 
Generally speaking, it will be in some dry, stony bank or near the roots 
of large trees. The place must be marked with a stick, so that it can 
be easily found at night, when the insects are at home. There are 
various ways of destroying the nest, one of the simplest and safest being 
to pour about half a pint of gas tar into the hole and lay a piece of turf 
on the top of it. This will suffocate the inhabitants, and two days after 
they should be dug out and the brood destroyed. Another way is to 
make squibs by mixing two parts of sulphur to one of gunpowder, and 
wrapping it up in brown paper in a cylindrical form, about half an inch 
in diameter and 9 inches long. The end of this should then be set fire 
to and inserted in the hole, and a piece of turf put over it when it gets 
well started. If a little gunpowder is arranged at the end by itself so 
as to go off at the finish it will tell when the mixture is burnt out, and 
drive the smoke home to the nest. A few minutes afterwards the nest 
may be dug out and the brood destroyed. A teaspoon r ul of cyanide of 
potassium placed in the entrances in the daytime destroys all the 
wasps. 
Those that cannot be caught at their homes may be trapped near the 
trees which they visit. There are several ways of doing this, and of 
catching flies, &c., at the same time. One of the best plans is to take an 
ordinary handlight and remove part of one of the panes of glass at the 
highest point of the cover, fit another handlight closely on the top of 
this, and be careful to see that there are no holes in it, packing it closely 
with moss or wadding where it touches the lower glass. The whole 
arrangement should then be put near to the place where the ripe fruit 
is, and must be raised a little distance from the ground by means of four 
bricks or something of the kind so as to give the insects plenty of room 
to creep under. A few pieces of damaged fruit or a saucer of beer and 
sugar placed underneath will entice them in. They afterwards fly 
through the aperture into the upper glass and then perish, as they are 
unable to find the way back again. Those who have no handlights 
should hang small-mouthed bottles about the trees, and place a little 
beer and sugar in them. Some very good glass traps are also made 
specially for this purpose. 
Figs and Grapes should be placed in small muslin bags before they 
get ripe enough to suffer damage. These will require careful watching 
in wet weather to see that the fruit does not decay from want of air. 
Other fruits, such as Peaches, Nectarines, Plums, Gooseberries, and 
choice Pears, may be protected by fastening hexagon netting or muslin 
over them, but there must be no holes at the floor or on the sides of the 
walls where the insects can obtain an entrance, or they will soon do so. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Cucumbers. —Shorter days necessitate closing the house earlier, 
also syringing sooner, so as to have the foliage fairly dry before dusk. 
Fire heat, in consequence of the cold wet weather, has become necessary 
to maintain a temperature of 70° to 75° by day and 65° to 70° at night. 
Keep the growths fairly thin, removing old shoots so as to make room 
for the young ones, and so provide a succession of bearing parts. Stop 
the shoots one joint beyond the fruit unless growth is wanted, then 
allow more extension, but avoid crowding. Encourage root action by a 
steady bottom heat of 80°, surface dressing with lumpy loam and 
sweetened horse droppings, and afford liquid manure in a tepid state 
whenever water is required. Do not allow the fruit to hang after it 
becomes fit for use, and avoid overcropping. 
Autumn Fruiters. —Afford every encouragement to these plants, 
stopping so as to insure an even spread of bearing growths. Remove 
the first fruits, also the male blossoms and tendrils. No shading will 
now be necessary. Avoid syringing in the morning, and only use the 
syringe on fine afternoons, and then early and lightly, keeping the house 
damped as oceasion requires. Admit air in moderation ; draughts must 
be avoided, as they chill and stunt the growths, and if no air is given 
the foliage becomes very thin and flabby when kept close, moist, and 
warm. Seek to encourage sturdy thoroughly solidified growth by early 
and judicious ventilation whilst opportunity offers, but without gentle 
fire heat this is hardly practicable at this season. 
Winter Fruiters. —Seed having been sown in August the plants will 
now be ready to plant out. The house must be a light one, and have 
means of securing a temperature of 70° to 75° in all weathers, also of 
maintaining a bottom heat of 80° to 90°. The first consideration is to 
thoroughly cleanse the house. All soil previously used must be cleared 
out, and the whole of the interior scalded, if possible, with boiling or 
very hot water; the woodwork washed with softsoap, water, and a 
brush ; the glass washed with water only, the walls limewashed, and 
everything put into proper repair. If rubble is used about and over 
the pipes for bottom heat see that the material is clean, and if not take 
it out and clean it by washing. Secure the drainage with a layer of 
turves, grass side downwards. Put in hillocks or ridges of soil 2 feet wide- 
at the base, 10 to 12 inches deep and 1 foot across at the top. Turfy 
loam laid up until the grass is killed, chopped up rather roughly, two- 
thirds. fibrous sandy peat one-third, chopped or torn up, rejecting any 
woody matter, old mortar rubbish freed of laths and other pieces of 
wood, the rough broken small, one-sixth, the whole thoroughly incor¬ 
porated, form a suitable compost. It should be neither wet nor dry, 
and only made moderately firm. This material is equally suited for 
plants in pots or boxes, which should be well drained, and only so far 
filled with soil that when the plants are introduced their seed leaves- 
will be about level with the rim of the pots, earthing the plants as they 
increase in growth. Very useful fruit can be had from plants in pots 
or boxes in houses with a stove temperature. A quart of soot, or any 
of the advertised fertilisers, may be added to every bushel of the loam. 
Plant when the soil is warmed through, press the soil gently, and secure 
the plants to stakes reaching to the trellis. Rub off the laterals to that 
height, and stop the leading shoot at about the second or third wire of 
the trellis. Shade from bright sun until established. Syringe lightly 
in the early afternoon, damp in the morning, noon, and afternoon. 
Keep a day temperature of 70° to 75°, raising 10° to 15° from sun heat, 
and a night temperature of 70°, falling 5° in the early morning. Plants- 
from seed sown early in August will fruit in late autumn, but they 
must not be cropped much if they are to give a plentiful supply from 
Christmas to spring. 
Cucumbers for Christmas. —For producing these sow early in this- 
month, September. Telegraph is one of the best, but it is much confused 
with other varieties by cross-breeding, so that a true stock of Rollisson’s- 
original variety is not always s°cured. Cardiff Castle is also an 
admirable winter fruiting variety. The seed is best sown singly in large- 
60-pots a little more than half filled with soil, and covered half an inch 
deep. Keep the plants near the glass, earth them up as they grow,, 
and transfer to 48’s when they need a shift, placing a stick to each, to 
which secure the growth as it advances. Rub off laterals as they show,, 
training with a single shoot. They will be fit to plant during the first 
fortnight of October. 
Cucumbers in Pits and Frames. —The growths of these will need to- 
be trained thinly as a safeguard against damp. Watering must be 
done early and judiciously, as damp and cold soon injuriously affect 
Cucumbers at this season. A light sprinkling may be given at closing 
time on fine afternoons, but water will not be much needed after this, or 
very little of it, the plants obtaining sufficient moisture through the 
decay of the fermenting beds. The beds must be lined with stable litter, 
and a little air given at the back to allow of any steam escaping. The 
temperature should be kept about 65° at night. Employ a covering of 
mats over the lights on cold nights. With care Cucumbers will be- 
obtained from these structures for many weeks to come. 
Melons. — Perfecting the Crops. —In order to enhance the flavour of 
the fruit, maintain a brisk heat by day with sufficient ventilation to 
insure a circulation of air constantly. Keep water from the house and 
the soil somewhat dry as soon as the fruit commences ripening, supply¬ 
ing moisture only to prevent flagging. The October fruiting plants are- 
swelling their crops, and must be assisted with weak tepid liquid 
manure whenever they become dry. Keep the laterals well in hand - r 
also a sharp look out for canker, and rub quicklime into the affected 
parts, repeating as the parts become moist by exudation or spread of 
the canker, for it is next to hopeless striving to avert the evil at this- 
late period of the season, except so far as tc secure the ripening of 
the fruits. If there is any fear of cracked fruits, cut the stems- 
about half way through a little below the fruit. It will check the flow 
of sap. But the chief cause of cracking is a close atmosphere, causing 
the deposition of moisture on the fruit during the night and in dull 
weather, especially after a prolonged period of fine bright weather.. 
Ventilate freely, and keep the air moderately dry by a little ventilation 
constantly, as a preventive of canker and cracking. 
Latest Plants. —These are now well up the trellis and showing fruit 
blossoms, which should be fertilised daily, the atmosphere ibeing kept 
dry, a little ventilation being given at night so as to insure a circulation 
of air and prevent the deposition of moisture upon the blossoms. Stop 
the shoots at the time of impregnation one joint beyond the fruit. As- 
soon as a sufficient number of fruits are set on a plant remove all the 
staminate and pistillate flowers, reducing the fruit to three or four on a. 
plant, or according to their vigour. Earth up the plants after the fruit 
is fairly swelling, and be careful in syringing the foliage, only using it 
on bright afternoons, but maintain a genial condition of the atmosphere 
by damping in the morning and afternoon. Be careful not to give too 
much water, but encourage healthy root action by moderate moisture in 
the soil. The temperature must be maintained at 70° to 75° by day 
artificially, and 80° to 90° by day from sun heat, with a night tempera¬ 
ture of 65° to 70°. 
Plants in Frames and Pits. —These will not require further damping; 
over the foliage, and should only have sufficient moisture in the soil to 
prevent the foliage flagging, which should be kept rather thin, and the 
fruits well elevated above it on flower pots, each fruit being placed on 
a piece of slate, applying good linings for affording the requisite heat) 
to finish the fruit satisfactorily, maintaining also a dry atmosphere with, 
free ventilation. 
