SEPTEMBER. 
197 
space for all the fruit; but if not the common sorts may at first be laid two 
or three more layers deep, and as the earlier sorts are used they can then be 
laid thinner. After the fruit is got into the fruit-room no light should be 
admitted, as it would cause the fruit to lose weight, and would accelerate 
maturity. Air should be admitted night and day until about the 1st of 
November; by that time the sweating of the fruit will to a great extent be 
over, and the house can be closed. The choicer kinds of Pears and Apples, 
after sweating, should be put, when quite dry, very carefully into the drawers. 
All the sorts should be properly labelled with the date when gathered, and the 
time they generally ripen at. The whole of the fruit should be carefully 
looked over every other day, and every fruit, the moment the slightest spot or 
sign of decay is perceived, should be removed, as, if allowed to remain to 
decay, the spawn of the fungus will spread in all directions, and settle on 
every fruit that has the smallest speck of injury. During the whole of the 
winter months ventilation should only be had recourse to when absolutely 
necessary to carry off any exhalations or impurities that may be in the 
atmosphere. A uniform, steady, low temperature, with a dry atmosphere, 
should at all times be maintained, and the fruit should be handled or touched 
as little as possible. By attending carefully to these matters I have never 
experienced the least difficulty in keeping Pears and Apples a long time, in the 
best possible condition. 
Gathering the fruit carefully at the proper time; handling it as little as 
possible, and with gentleness ; keeping the atmosphere dry, and maintaining a 
low, steady, uniform temperature of about from 40° to 45 Q ; looking over the 
fruit frequently, and picking out any that show the slightest symptom of decay 
the moment it is perceived—these are the great points to be attended to; and, 
when properly attended to, they never fail to give the most satisfactory results. 
Stourton. M. Saul. 
THE DAHLIA AND ITS ENEMIES. 
Years ago, when the cultivation of the king of autumn flowers w T as at its 
zenith, and when silver cups of considerable value were offered as prizes in nearly 
every town of importance in the kingdom, it was considered only necessary 
that the blooms should be in some way shaded when they were partly expanded, 
and that small flower-pots should be placed at the top of the sticks for the pur¬ 
pose of entrapping earwigs ; but, now-a-days, the earwig is quite a secondary 
consideration—the thrips, both black and brown, demands almost entirely the 
attention of the cultivator. He has also closely to look after the black and 
green aphis, and grubs of every form and hue ; but the thrips, in this neigh¬ 
bourhood, and in many other parts, has for the last few years quite baffled the 
ingenuity and perseverance of the most industrious grower. I will now men¬ 
tion the only remedy I have ever known for this pest, and must thank Mr. 
Turner, of Slough, for giving me the hint. Cold water is the dread of the 
thrips; but this must be applied before the buds show colour, or the damage 
will be done. Two men, a syringe, and a bucket of clean cold water are the 
requisites; immediately a bud is well syringed, a bag made of tiffany, or some 
muslin-like material, must be put on, and when the bloom is nearly full blown 
the bag should be taken off and replaced by a cover. One or two days before 
the show will be sufficient for this. At the time of writing I have fifteen 
hundred bags on the Dahlia buds, and if this expedient had not been resorted 
to, I should not have been able to cut a bloom fit to exhibit. Amateur Dahlia 
growers will, perhaps, be thankful for another hint. Botten manure is gener- 
