A-aj 3D 
211 
JOIlRl^AL OF HOHTICULTIJHE AND COTTAGF GARDENER. 
•Clear all this away at once with some of the old foliage, but do not 
■denude the plants too freely of leaves. Previously trimmed beds will 
also need some attention in cutting away the fresh growth of runners, 
and hoeing up weeds both among old plants and those recently planted. 
Concentration of growth is essential in securing well-matured, plump 
crowns. 
FRUIT FORCINO-. 
Peaches. — Late Houses. —Though the season has been normal, the 
crops of Peaches are not by any means large in many places, and they are 
somewhat backward in late districts. In these artificial heat may be 
necessary, affording a night temperature of C0° to 65° and 70° to 75° by 
day, and 80° to 85° or 90° from sun heat. Admit air freely, increasing 
it with the advancing temperature from 75°, keeping through the day 
at 80° to 85°, and closing sufficiently early to continue the temperature 
at a good heat until late in the afternoon, when a little air should be 
admitted to allow the pent-up moisture to escape, and no more heat 
need be employed than necessary to prevent the temperature falling 
below 60° to 65°. In favourable localities fire heat will not be necessary. 
Syringe the trees as expedient to keep the foliage clean, and always so 
as to have the leaves dry or nearly so before night. This will allow 
evaporation to go on, ensuring the assimilation and the solidification in a 
better manner than when the trees are wet or the atmosphere humid. 
Stop laterals ; this is better than removing many shoots, which induces 
stagnation of the sap, causing other and soft growths to be made, and is 
prolific of gumming. 
Unheated Houses. —Keep the inside borders, also outside where 
necessary, duly watered, but avoid a superabundance of either water or 
liquid manure, and syringe no more than is necessary to keep the foliage 
clean. Cut out any gross growths, so as to equalise the flow of the 
sap, having the growths sufficiently thin to admit the full action of 
light and air. Let the fruit be exposed with its apex to the light. 
Leave a little air on at night, and by moderate and judicious early open¬ 
ing of the ventilators, careful ventilation in the daytime, husbanding the 
sun heat in the afternoon, and otherwise good managment, fruit may 
be had of large size and excellent quality in most districts up to early 
October. Indeed, the late Peaches are so noble in appearance as to 
bring better prices than the fruits of early and midseason varieties, 
which ripen at a time when other outdoor fresh, soft fruits are abundant. 
Pines. — Suckers from Shimmer Fruiting Plants. —These will soon 
be ready to be repotted, which should be done when they are well rooted. 
It is well to divide the plants in two sections, the strongest and best 
rooted being shifted into larger pots as soon as ready, employing 10 or 
11 -inch pots according to kind, affording them a position near the glass 
in a light airy house, keeping them gradually growing during the 
winter. The plants so treated will be readily excited into fruit next 
May or June, and will afford a good supply of ripe fruit in late summer 
or early autumn. The other plants, suckers from the summer fruiters, 
not large enough to shift into full-sized pots, winter in the 7 or 8-inch 
pots, transferring them to the fruiting pots as soon as ready in the 
spring, which, with suckers of Smooth-leaved Cayenne and Black 
Jamaica that were started last March, will provide a successional supply 
of fruit during the winter months. 
Re-arranging Plants. —This should be done in order to separate the 
fruiting from the non-fruiting plants, as many of those that were 
started from suckers of the preceding summer fruiters will have fruit 
•swelling off. Those plants not fruiting will have completed the growth, 
and should have air liberally for the next six weeks when the tempera¬ 
ture exceeds 80°, maintaining the bottom heat steadily at 80°, and all 
plants well rooted should have a bottom heat of 80° to 85°; but recently 
potted plants, or those not having roots well established in the fresh 
compost, maintain at 90°. 
Plants Swelling their Fruit. —Moderate atmospheric moisture is 
required for these, admitting a little air at the top of the house early 
in the morning, so as to allow of any superfluous moisture escaping 
before the sun’s rays act powerfully upon the fruit. Any fruit it is 
desired to retard should be moved to a rather cool and airy, also some¬ 
what shady house. 
rigs.— Earliest Fig House. —Where it is desired to have Figs very 
early, trees in pots and a house with means of affording bottom heat by 
fermenting material, also plenty of top heat and abundance of light 
and air, is imperative. The trees must be well established, have stout 
and well-ripened wood, fruit not having been borne on the extremity 
growths or a very moderate crop of second Figs taken on the base of 
the current growths. The small fruited varieties, Early Violet and 
St. John’s, may be grown for a few early dishes ; but such sorts as 
White Marseilles and Brown Turkey are best for affording full supplies 
of fruit. The trees may be placed outdoors if the wood be ripe, other¬ 
wise they must be kept under glass, and be given all the light and air 
possible, so as to insure its thorough maturation. 
Planted-out trees started at the new year, which is quite soon 
enough to start such trees, wi'l now be ripening their wood, and water¬ 
ing may be discontinued, air being admitted liberally. If, however, the 
second crop is not yet ripened, moderate moisture in the soil will be 
necessary, with a rather free circulation of warm air to insure high 
quality in the fruit. When the crop is gathered, the worn-out extension 
growths should be cut away in favour of the successional shoots ; this 
will give them more light, and admit of the trees being readily cleansed 
of red spider and scale by means of forcible syringings, and the applica¬ 
tion of a softsoapy solution with a brush for the scale. The growths 
should be kept with their points as much to the light as practicable. 
Unsatisfactory Fig Trees. —Planted-out trees in Fig houses not 
unfrequently grow rampantly, and consequently produce none or thin 
crops of fruit. In that case root-pruning may be resorted to, and the 
roo's be confined to a border from .3 to 4 feet in width. If the drainage 
be defective it will be necessary to lift the trees in autumn as soon as 
the wood is mature and the leaves commence falling, replanting In fresh 
soil. Providing a drain with 'proper faU and outlet to carry off super¬ 
fluous water, place in 9 to 12 inches of rough stones or brickbats, and 
over them a covering of rather rough lime rubbish, using the finer parts 
for mixing with the soil in the proportion of one-sixth to the bulk of 
turfy loam, and a twentieth of wood ashes or charred refuse. In replant¬ 
ing ram the soil well about the roots, for short-jointed fruitful wood 
cannot be so well secured by other means than by a solidifiedi,rooting 
medium. The border need not exceed 24 inches in depth. Should the 
drainage be good it will only be necessary to confine the roots to the 
narrow border, removing some of the old soil from amongst them, and 
supplying fresh loam, with an admixture of lime rubbish and charred 
refuse, as above stated. If the loam be light add a sixth of clayey 
marl, dried and pounded, or in as finely divided portions as possible ; if 
heavy, a sixth of road scrapings. The proper time to operate in the 
manner indicated is as soon in late summer or autumn as the foliage 
gives indications of maturing. 
Cucumbers. —Where there is but one house it is usual to make a 
sowing in August for raising plants to place out early in September to 
yield a supply of fruits by December and onwards through the winter. 
Where there is convenience it is preferable to rely on the autumn 
fruiters for a supply up to and over Christmas, when plants from a 
sowing made at the beginning of September will be in good bearing, 
and continue the supply from the early part of the year and through the 
spring months. One of the best Cucumbers for fruiting all through the 
year is a true stock of the old Telegraph. It is of a fine deep green 
colour; so also is Cardiff Castle, which, though smaller, has a shorter 
neck, and is one of the heaviest fruits. This is a point of some 
consequence when Cucumbers are sold by the stone—a better plan for 
everybody than by the fruit. Every grower has a sort of his own 
which is appreciated, but there is very little difference in many 
Cucumbers except for sale, when they must be good in appearance and 
colour, straight, heavy, and crisp. 
The work of clearing out the house intended for the plants, the seeds 
of which have been or are about to be sown, should be pushed forward, 
and attend to any repairs that may be necessary or painting of the 
house, otherwise thoroughly cleanse the woodwork with soap and water, 
limewash the walls, adding a handful of flowers of sulphur to a pailful 
of limewash. Clear out the old soil and manure, this portion being 
disinfected by employing one of the advertised disinfectants, avoiding 
those of a vegetable-poisonous nature. If fermenting materials are 
used for bottom heat they must be well prepared, throwing the stable 
litter into a heap, moistening and turning over two or three times. 
This effectually works destruction on any micro-organisms present. 
Tan should be treated similarly, but not wetted, and it is a good 
material, as it retains its heat for a long time. Hot-water pipes in 
addition to the fermenting bed will be necessary in or beneath it to 
maintain the required bottom heat after that of the materials is spent. 
Late Summer and Autumn Fruiting Plants. —Assist these to make 
strong growth, cutting out exhausted woo i from the late summer fruiters, 
training in young growths and stopping them one or two joints beyond 
the show of fruit as space admits, avoiding overcrowding and over¬ 
cropping. Young growth is the best preventive of knobby-ended fruits, 
with the removal of the staminate flowers and tendrils. Autumn fruiters 
must neither be overcropped nor overcrowded. Less moisture will now 
be necessary unless the weather is very bright, but lightly syringe the 
plants at closing time, not later than 3 p.m,, and sprinkle the walls and 
paths in the evening. The night temperature should be maintained at 
65°, 70° to 75° by day artificially, 80° to 35° or 90° from sun heat, venti¬ 
lating moderately in the early part ot the day so as to secure thoroughly 
solidmed growth, and close sufficiently early to run up to 90° or more. 
In pits and frames linings of sweetened fermenting materials will be 
necessary to maintain the plants in a free bearing state ; keep the foliage 
thinly disposed, and stop the growths one or two joints beyond the show 
for fruit. Discontinue sprinkling the plants except on sunny afternoons. 
Admit a little air early in the day, and close early in the afternoon so as 
to husband the sun’s heat. It is also advisable to admit a little air on 
dull days for an hour or two, so as to insure a change of air, as pent-up 
moisture is the forerunner of mouldiness and of gumming and canker in 
the stems. With linings, and the protection of mats over the lights. 
Cucumbers will be produced for a lengthened period. 
APIARIAN NOTES. 
At the Mooks. 
Up till August 21st the weather was very unpropitious. On 
the morning of the 20th the cold was intense, more so than has 
ever been experienced by old shepherds during the month of 
August. The 2l8t brought a welcome change, however, and the 
bees had a good beginning. I never heard a sound so loud nor a 
sight like it, so busy were they. The full strength hives were 
grand, and with ten days fine weather will be weighty. 
