570 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 31, 1891. 
places thoroughly with a solution composed of 4 ozs. softsoap and 1 oz. 
carbolic acid to a gallon of water, working it well in with a stiff brush, 
and if it can be appliel hot it is best to do so. This will effectually kill 
any insects that remain, and stop any others from coming for a time. 
As soon as the wounds are thoroughly dry they should be still further 
protected from fresh attacks. Where only a few have to be done this 
may be accomplished by covering them with cold grafting wax, called 
also Mastic Vliomme Lefort. If a large quantity require attention it is 
much cheaper to melt some pitch and cover the wounds with it. The 
new bark will grow underneath this, and the wounds will eventually 
heal completely. 
Protection from Rabbits. —During severe weather these vermin 
often attack young fruit trees in exposed places, and in a few hours will 
ruin a large quantity by gnawing the bark from the stems. All such 
trees should therefore be protected by rabbit-proof fencing or wire 
netting as soon as planted. The latter must be let into the ground to a 
distance of 6 inches, and should stand 3J feet above the surface, 
but not fit too closely to the tree, as the stem should have 
room to swell for a few years. Another good plan often practised in the 
Kent plantations, which also secures the trees from the attacks of all 
kinds of cattle, is to take some stakes (old Hop poles are used in Kent), 
cut them into 6-feet lengths, bore a hole through each at 1 foot from 
each end, and thread wires through them when placing them around the 
trees, leaving plenty of room for the trees to swell. A length of 3 feet is 
sufficient protection against sheep and ground game. This system also 
shades the stem of the trees from bright sunshine, preventing excessive 
evaporation, and is better for this purpose than liaybands and similar 
materials, as it is not so liable to harbour insects. 
The Fruit Room. —Look carefully over stored fruit regularly 
once a week and remove all that show signs of decay, but do 
not move the sound fruits if it can possibly be avoided, as every move¬ 
ment when the fruits are ripe tends to bruise them and starts decay. 
Cover well in frosty weather if the room cannot be warmed. News¬ 
papers are a great protection, and can be put on without any fear of 
damaging the fruit. Hay or straw may be placed over these in very 
severe frosts. One or two petroleum stoves will keep frost out better than 
any covering if no other means of heating are available. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Vines. — Early Forced. —Exercise great care in ventilating, avoiding 
chills, such as those resulting from cold currents of air, admitting it 
chiefly by the top ventilators, and only moderately when the air is cold 
and sharp. As the foliage is developing root action will be excited, and 
should be encouraged by supplying tepid water at a temperature not 
less than the mean of the house, nor exceeding 90°. If fermenting 
materials have been introduced into the house they should not be 
allowed to decline in warmth, but be added to from time to time, having 
a good heap of leaves and stable litter in reserve, from which the supply 
of sweetened material may be drawn as required. The outside borders 
must be well protected from frost. Disbud and tie down the shoots 
before they touch the glass. Do not be in too great a hurry in stopping 
nor restricting to a certain number of joints, being guided in this 
respect by the space at command and the vigour of the Vines. If 
weakly stop them at three or four joints beyond the bunch ; if strong 
they may be pinched at one joint beyond the fruit, and then pinch to 
one joint as regards the weak shoots, and leave two or three on strong 
growths after the flush of sap has been centred on the bunch, extending 
the growth so as to insure a supply of well-developed foliage all over the 
house, avoiding overcrowding in any part, not allowing any to be made 
for which there is not room, or that must afterwards be removed. 
Remove surplus bunches as soon a3 choice can be made of the best, 
reserving the most compact, and avoid overcropping. Maintain a night 
temperature of 65° until the flowers open, then keep the house at 75° by 
artificial means, with a rather drier condition of the atmosphere. 
Vines in pots should, as soon as the fruit is set, be copiously supplied 
with liquid manure, maintaining a moist atmosphere by damping the 
paths two or three times a day, and occasionally with liquid manure, 
keeping the evaporation troughs charged with the same, taking care not 
to use the liquid too strong, or the ammonia will injure the foliage. 
Houses to Afford Ripe Grapes in June. —The Vines for this purpose 
must be started at once, for, though they may be forced so as to afford 
fruit in May, they are best brought forward gently and a margin 
allowed for unfavourable weather. The outside border should be well 
protected from inclement weather. If fermenting materials are used 
they must be kept uniform in temperature, and if that cannot be effected 
it is better to dispense with them altogether. A good thickness, say 
G inches of dry leaves, dry fern, or litter, with shutters or glazed lights 
to throw off rain and snow, answer admirably. Inside borders will need 
thorough supplies of water ati90°, which will warm the soil and cause the 
roots to transmit sap freely. Fermenting materials introduced into the 
house, and formed into a ridge-like heap on the floor, and turned over 
frequently, adding fresh as necessary, will give out heat, moisture, and 
ammonia, highly conducive to a good brjak, and save fuel. The tem¬ 
perature should be maintained at 50° to 55° by artificial means, 
advancing to 65° from sun heat. Damp the house and Vines two or 
three times a day, but do not keep them constantly dripping with water, 
for that only encourages aerial roots, and in dull weather sprinkling 
once or twice a day is ample. Ventilate freely on all favourable 
occrsions, for a sweet atmosphere is felt by dormant Vines ; at least, 
those brought forward in a properly ventilated structure do better than 
those kept in a confined atmosphere. 
Houses from which the Grapes Have been Cut .—Delay in pruning 
Vines after the leaves fall is undesirable, because they are not given 
that complete rest which pruning and keeping them cool assures. Healthy 
Vines may be cut to one, or at most, two buds, but weakly Vines, and 
those with long-jointed wood, may be kept a little longer, cutting in all 
cases to a plump bud. This will cause the spurs to sooner become long 
than by close pruning, and necessitate a renewal of the rods, which it is 
easy to effect by training up young canes for the displacement of these, 
or by having a succession of rods from the main rod, and cutting out 
those that reach the extremity of the space to a cane nearer the base 
and well situated for displacing that cut away. Thoroughly cleanse 
the house, and remove all loose hark, but avoid close peeling and 
scraping the Vines, as is often done, down to the wood, and wash them 
with tepid softsoap and water, following with an insecticide if there 
have been any insect infestations. Remove the surface soil or mulching 
down to the roots, and supply fresh material, good fibrous loam being 
the most suitable, with an admixture of bone meal. The house should 
be kept cool, but vineries are frequently utilised for plants, and the 
temperature kept warm on their account, which is prejudicial to the 
Vines. The plants are not always clean, and the insects pass from them 
to the Vines, hence so many vineries are infested with mealy bug, red 
spider, and thrips. The temperature ought not to exceed 45° by 
artificial means, and plants only needing protection from frost should 
be placed in vineries when the Vines are at rest, and air should be 
admitted upon all favourable occasions, so as to keep the structures as 
cool as possible. 
Late Houses. —In some late houses the leaves are not all fallen, the 
Vines keeping the foliage a longer time than usual in consequence of 
the wet season and unusual moisture in outside borders. The leaves 
must be cleared away as they become ripe, and this should be effected 
without brushing the Grapes or raising dust by sweeping up the fallen 
leaves. Maintain a mean temperature of 45°, with a dry atmosphere in 
houses in which Grapes are hanging. Examine every bunch frequently, 
and remove all decayed berries. Ventilate the h :use on fine dry morn¬ 
ings, and keep it closed when the weather is damp, but there must be a 
gentle warmth in the pipes to prevent a stagnant atmosphere. In the 
case of late Grapes ripened comparatively early, and those are the best 
for keeping, the Grapes may he cut, the ends of the stems being inserted 
in bottles of rain water secured in an inclined position so as to admit of 
the fruit hanging clear of the bottles. Any dry room will be a suitable 
place where an equable temperature of 40° to 45° is maintained. This 
will admit of the Vines being pruned and the house cleaned, the Vines 
thus having a few weeks’ complete rest, and with that they start strongly 
when set to work, as they should be soon after the middle of February. 
PLANT HOUSES. 
Lilium Harrisi. — If these have been grown cool since they were 
potted the plants will be strong and about 18 inches high. Keep them 
near the glass in a temperature that does not fall below 45°. A little 
artificial manure may be applied to the surface. Later bulb3 that are 
only 5 inches high should be placed on a shelf near to the glass in a cool 
house, where plenty of air can be admitted daily when the weather is 
mild. Bulbs of L. eximium may now be potted, 5-inch pots are large 
enough for these. Use the soil in an intermediate state of moisture, and 
do not water the bulbs after potting. Place them in a frame or cool 
house where frost can be excluded, and cover with cocoa-nut fibre refuse 
until they grow through. 
French and Fancy Pelargoniums. —Plants raised from cuttiDgs 
and placed into 3-inch pots should be ready for 5-inch size. Pot these 
in loam, sand, and one-seventh of manure. After potting place them on 
a shelf in a cool house where they are safe from frost. Water these 
plants carefully ; in fact, the whole stock if overwatered at this stage is 
almost certain to be spotted. 
Cyclamen. —Pot seedlings singly into thumbs if not already done, and 
arrange them on a shelf close to the glass where the temperature ranges 
from 55° to 60°. Fill between the pots with sand, ashes, or cocoa-nut 
fibre refuse to prevent their drying. Seed sown at the present time will 
be capital for flowering next winter. Sow the seed in pans filled with 
leaf mould, loam, and sand. When sown just cover the seeds with fine 
soil, water them, and cover with a square of glass. In a temperature of 
60° to 65° they will soon germinate. 
Greenhouse Climbers. —These should be well thinned and pruned so 
as to admit full light to the plants beneath. The houses must be 
washed and cleaned at the same time, and the plants tied into their 
places again ready for growth in spring. Top-dressing these plants may 
also be attended to ; if left until the spring the pressure of more impor¬ 
tant work often prevents this being done until it’s too late in the season 
to benefit the plants much. 
Lapagerias. —Plants that have been kept close have practically 
ceased flowering. These may, if infested with insects, be loosed from 
the trellis. Some care is needed, as the foliage is easily broken. Thrips 
are the greatest enemy to the Lapagerias, and the best means of destroy¬ 
ing them is to dip the plants in a solution of tobacco water. The portion 
of house they occupy can be washed, and the plants retrained. In doings 
this portions that have flowered may be removed down to where a 
growth bud is observable. If not removed these ends only die back. If 
the plants are confined at their roots a top-dressing of rich material 
composed of cow manure and loam will assist them greatly. 
Roses. —These in cool houses may be thinned, and any pruning 
necessary must be done at once. If red spider has infested the plants, the 
whole of the old foliage may be removed with little or no injury. If the 
old leaves are left on the spider is certain to attack the young growths. 
Such varieties as Gloire de Dijon, Lamarque, Marechal Niel, and others 
