July 11, 18>9. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
33 
tain the day temperature at 80° to 85° with sun, and close sufficiently 
early for a rise to 90° or 93°, and admit a little air before night. As the 
fruit approaches ripening ventilate more freely, and do not allow so 
great a range of temperature. Keep -water from the fruit, but damp the 
house, especially on hot days. Tie and regulate the growths, having the 
fruits well exposed to the sun. Stop laterals to one or two joints of 
growth, and avoid overcrowding. 
Late Houses .—Train the growths thinly, keep laterals closely pinched, 
and stop gross growths so as to cause an equal distribution of the sap over 
the trees. If not restrainable by pinching remove some growths 
altogether. Reduce the fruits to the number that will be required for 
the crop, and keep the temperature steady by liberal ventilation on all 
favourable occasions. Syringe to keep down red spider, water and 
mulch inside borders, also outside if the weather be dry. Be guided in 
the use of liquid manure by the condition of the trees. If not too 
vigorous and carrying heavy crops liquid manure will be necessary, yet 
not so much as for weakly trees, but keep it from trees that make strong 
wood and have a tendency to become over-luxuriant. 
Cucumbers. —A few seeds may now be sown for late summer and 
early autumn fruiting. The plants from this sowing will be ready to 
plant out in about a month. They grow well in frames, and come in 
useful where plants from having been in bearing some time are exhausted. 
Plante in full bearing must have attention in thinning exhausted 
growths, removing bad foliage, stopping, tying, and regulating so as to 
keep up a succession of bearing wood. Add a little fresh soil to the 
bed from time to time, and a light mulching of stimulating material. 
Syringe at closing time, and maintain a moist atmosphere all day ; it is 
infinitely better than shading. Avoid too much moisture in dull 
weather ; it only makes the growths soft and the foliage more susceptible 
of injury on a bright period ensuing, Afford liquid manure copiously 
once or twice a week, according to circumstances. Close early, or at 85°, 
and so as to gain 5° to 10°, and only employ fire heat to prevent the 
temperature falling below 60° at night. Avoid overcropping, especially 
with young plants, and do not al'ow the fruit to hang too long, as these 
exhaust the plants and prevent in a great measure a good and con¬ 
tinuous supply. 
Strawberries in Pots. —With young plants that were planted 
out last year there will be a good supply of vigorous runners. Some 
difference of opinion prevails as to the most serviceable plan of layer¬ 
ing the runners—viz., whether it is best to do so in small pots, and when 
they are well rooted detach and shift into the fruiting pots, or layer at 
once into the pots the plants are to be fruited in. Both plans are good. 
In either case it is essential that the first lunners, which give the best 
plantlets, should be selected, and that they be iuduced by attentive 
watering to fill the pots with roots, so that by after judicious attention 
they may develope into good plants and form well-developed crowns. 
If layered into the fruiting pots they need not be detached until they 
have become thoroughly established. Those layered in 3-inch pots 
should, so soon as they have filled the pots with roots, and before they 
become much matted around the sides, be detached and stood in a shady 
place for a few days preparatory to shifting them into the fruiting pots. 
These should be 5-inch for early forcing, and 6-inch for succession, 
whilst 7-inch may be employed for plants that may not be required for 
starting before February or March for affording late crops of larger 
fruit. For early forcing we find none surpass La Grosse Sucrde and 
Yicomtesse HAricart de Thury. The fruit of the latter is, however, 
small, but of excellent quality. Probably Noble will come to the front 
as a first early forcing variety. It was the best of any last year with 
us as a second early. In size it is all that could be desired. Other sorts 
that usually do well are Sir Joseph Paxton, Sir Charles Napier, Auguste 
Nieaise, and Dr. Hogg. The fruiting pots must be clean, have a large 
crock in each, about three or four of smaller size, and over these half-inch 
bones, the drainage altogether about an inch or a little more. Turfy 
loam, rather strong, should form the staple of the compost, laid up 
sufficiently to destroy the herbage, tearing or chopping up, adding a 
quart each of soot, dissolved bone, and wood ashes to every bushel of 
the loam, thoroughly incorporating. The compost should be moderately 
dry when used, for if wet it will shrink after potting, leaving the sides 
of the pot. Place the rougher parts at the bottom first, and ram it 
hard, potting firmly, and so that the base of the crown is about half an 
inch below the rim. Stand the pots on a hard base in an open sunny 
situation, with sufficient space between them to allow for the full ex¬ 
posure of the foliage. Give water as required, and sprinkle the foliage 
a few days after potting. When the roots are working freely in the 
fresh soil copious supplies of water will be needed, not allowing the 
foliage to flag. Remove all runners as they appear. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Peas. —The weather of late has been very hot and dry. Later and 
midseason Peas matured before they were due, nor are they juicy and as 
sweet as is desirable. We have done our best for them by mulching 
with manure and short grass, also by watering copiously every other 
day, which benefited them greatly. Those trying new Peas for the first 
time this year would do well to be careful in passing judgment on their 
merits, especially as to flavour, as they are deprived of this during a 
period of drought. 
Planting Winter Greens. —Many persons who have deficient 
space plant their winter crops between Potato rows. AVe adopt the 
plan, but not until the stems of the Potatoes are dying. In planting 
now moisten the roots in a puddle, and insert firmly in the hollows 
between the rows. Do not move the Potato stems more than is neces¬ 
sary, as by coming close up to the Greens they will afford them shade 
and assist their establishment. 
Globe Artichokes. —Should the heads of these be maturing more 
quickly than they can be used, do not allow the old ones to remain 
until they flower, as this will weaken the growths considerably, and 
may be the means of preventing another crop forming in the autumn. 
If they cannot be used when ready cut them off and throw them away, 
or ask the cook to preserve them for the winter before they have become 
too old. 
Spring Cabbages. —It ought now to be decided what is to be done 
with the stumps from which Cabbages have been cut. Sometimes we 
have allowed them to remain to form side heads in the autumn, and* 
they are very productive, but at present we have so many young plants- 
that we are clearing off the old and planting for late autumn and 
winter use. 
Dwarf Kidney Beans. —AVe gathered our first dish from Ne Plus 
Ultra in the open on June 29th, and the pods are forming freely, but 
we fear they, too, will mature too rapidly. AVhen the pods become so- 
old as to contain firm Beans the later pods will cease swelling, therefore 
all who wish to maintain a succession must gather the pods closely as 
soon as they are large enough for use. Early in the season or at pre¬ 
sent the markets are not overstocked with them, and surplus produce 
may be profitably disposed of. 
Spinach. —It is now difficult to get this to form large leaves, as the 
drought causes the plants to form seed stems prematurely. AVe find 
Spinach grows best at this season between Raspberry rows and fruit 
bushes, where the soil is cool and partially shaded. AVe also find the 
prickly or winter variety less influenced by the heat than the round- 
seeded or summer variety, and we advise those who have failed with 
the latter to try the former. 
Turnips for AVinter. —Turnips are in daily use in the kitchen, 
and it is very important that there be a continuous supply of them 
throughout the winter. AVe shall now make a large sowing. Drills 
will be opened 15 inches apart, and if dry each will be saturated, and 
the seed sown immediately afterwards, covering it at once. The 
moisture will thus be retained, and cause rapid germination with a 
free first growth, which is important in Turnips. The Swedish variety. 
Orange Jelly, and Chirk Castle are all excellent winter sorts. The- 
Swede may be regarded by some as being coarse, but it is very hardy, 
and if only grown to a garden size is extremely good. 
Onions. —So far these are free from maggots, and there is no in¬ 
dication of an attack. AVe have not attempted to thin more of oar 
spring Onions than have been required for use, and although rather- 
crowded they are bulbing well. AVe shall not thin in the regular 
way now, but allow all to remain. These may be smaller than if 
grown G inches apart, but small Onions are not objected to if sound, 
and they invariably keep better than the large ones. A\ r e are of 
opinion it is now dangerous to thin Onions, as two or three instances 
have come under our notice of late where thinning was not done until 
the plants were well advanced in growth, and immediately afterwards 
the grub destroyed the bulk of those that were left. 
iKJI 
HE) BEE-KEEPER 
NOTES ON BEES. 
SUPERING. 
Although the weather has been fine, and some of oar hives 
increased 14 lbs. in weight on several consecutive days, I con¬ 
sidered it injudicious to put on supers until the honey flow sets in 
in earnest. Had I supered a week or more since they would have 
been tolerably well filled with combs and honey, but in an un¬ 
finished state, and if kept on till they were finished, second-class 
quality, almost unsaleable, would have resulted. Supers can only 
be obtained of first quality when they are placed on the hives and! 
tenanted at once by the bees at the commencement of the honey 
flow. The bees then commence working in earnest if the weather 
is fine, and fill and finish supers of the very best kind. All our 
stock hives have sufficient honey collected to last the bees for a 
year, and all that is to be gathered now will be surplus, and of the 
finest quality, which cannot be said of those hives a half or a. 
third less in size. 
YOUNG QUEENS. 
From now until the end of July is the best time to raise- 
queens for the work of next season. The most reliable are those 
raised from a very populous stock, and as they creep out of their 
cell, or are about to do so, is the proper time to take them and' 
place at the head of queenless nuclei formed from another stock.. 
