54 
THE GARDENERS’ AND NATURALISTS’ CALENDAR FOR AUGUST 
ripe, or ripening, care must be taken to prevent tbe in¬ 
roads of the red spider, which, otherwise, will make sad 
havoc this dry weather. A washing of sulphur and 
lime over the walls and pipes is the only preventive 
that can he applied at this stage of the crop, hut directly 
the crop is cut, use the engine freely to clear them, and 
allow the leaves to keep their colour. Thin the last 
crop, which should he the St. Peter’s and Muscat. We 
question whether Grape-growers will not find in the 
Barbarossa an old and worthless acquaintance formerly 
called Prince Albert. So much for novelties. Tines 
in pots, having now completed their growth as to height, 
will require much attention in regular supplies of water ; 
remove all lateral shoots and expose the primary leaves 
to the light. Directly the wood shows indications of 
ripening, reduce the quantity of water. J. S. 
Figs .—The second crop of fruit will now he ap¬ 
proaching maturity, and if the directions given in pre¬ 
vious calendars have been fully attended to, the quality 
will he excellent, the fruit having grown and ripened 
under a great amount of solar light. Give all the air 
possible, use every means to keep clear of red spider, 
and water when necessary. 
Beaches .—The wood in the early forced houses will 
now be ripe, which is known by its assuming a reddish 
colour, and by the leaves falling off when slightly 
touched. Still, the directions previously given must be 
attended to unremittingly, in order to secure its 
thorough maturation. Ventilate freely both day and 
night, but during heavy rain close the lights to keep 
the borders dry; give all the air possible from the 
front. We strongly advise that the borders outside the 
houses be also kept tolerably dry. As soon as the fruit 
is all cleared out of the late houses, every attention 
must be paid to ripening the wood. 
Strawberries .—These should now be shifted into 
the sized pots they are intended to fruit in. We prefer 
eight inch pots, much of the success in forcing depends 
on the attention paid to the plants at this season, no 
pains should be spared to get strong, vigorous plants, 
with bold, well formed crowns—for then the principal 
end is gained. The best soil is good turfy loam with a 
fourth part of stable manure. When potting the plants 
put a little soot at the bottoms of the pots. When all 
the plants are potted set them in beds form or five feet 
wide, fully exposed to the sun, but do not on any 
account plunge the pots. I have invariably found them 
fill the pots with roots sooner when not, than when 
plunged, and this being the case the plants will perfect 
their crowns before the short days come on. M. S. 
Cucumber House .—If there is any appearance of 
mildew on any part of the plants, it must, on its first 
appearance, be dusted over with sulphur, and every leaf 
that can be spared must be removed. Should cold 
nights occur slight fires must be applied, more particu¬ 
larly to the roots, as that will prevent, in a great measure, 
the gum in the fruit. The green fly must be well 
looked after, and repeated smokings for two or three 
successive nights will be the most simple means of getting 
rid of them. Previous directions, as to shade, air, and 
water, must be attended to. 
Fung Bed .—Prepare one of these for a one-light 
frame, and towards the middle of the month sow for 
winter fruiting. Take care to keep the plants as 
clean as possible, and encourage them to make robust 
growth. 
Melons. —The young growing succession plants must 
have strict attention; see that they do not suffer for 
want of moisture at the roots; keep the linings made 
up, but see that they do not become burnt and dry, they 
will want frequent stirring and watering. Previous 
directions for the matured fruit must be attended to. 
W. T. 
FRUIT-GARDEN.—OUT-DOOR DEPART¬ 
MENT. 
A few words on packing ripe wall-fruit may be ser¬ 
viceable on the approach of .the season of its ripening. 
In the first place secure a quantity of well beaten moss, 
or dried short grass from the lawn. Have a box suffi¬ 
ciently large to hold the quantity required to be sent in 
it, and of a depth to hold two tier of fruit; each tier to 
be separated by a false bottom, which must be seemed 
when one layer of fruit is put in the box. Wap each 
fruit in a piece of silver, or other sort of thin paper, 
and then place them pretty closely in a thick layer of 
the moss, or grass ; fill up between the fruit with it, and 
place a layer over them of a sufficient thickness to allow 
the false bottom, or lid, when full, to gently press it 
down, so as to keep it tight, as this is one of the most 
important points in packing fruit. Cotton wool is some¬ 
times used for packing, but is one of the worst materials 
that can be used for the purpose; as, in the first place 
it is difficult to remove from Peaches ; and, in the next 
place, it has not that elasticity that short grass or moss 
have. I am in favour’ of short grass, having used nothing 
else for packing for several years. 
Apricot .—As the fruit progresses toward ripening, 
expose it to the sun as much as possible to give it 
colour. Keep the shoots closely laid in, and when ne¬ 
cessary a few leaves may be removed. When the fruit 
is ripe, suspend beneath the trees, on short stakes, nets 
or mats, to catch the fruit that falls. A little straw, 
or fern should be put in the nets or mats to prevent the 
fruit bruising. This is not intended to supersede gather¬ 
ing by hand, but to preserve those that fall from being 
bruised and spoiled ; as, with the most careful attention, 
some will fall. To protect wall-fruit from Wasps, I 
have found nothing equal to Haythorn’s Hexagon Net¬ 
ting, which admits a free circulation of air, and, at the 
same time, if properly put on the free, will keep away 
Wasps and Flies, 
Beach and Nectarine. —-The laterals of the strong 
shoots that have been stopped, must be thinned to the 
number required to fill the allotted space, so as to allow 
those left the full benefit of the sun and air to ripen 
them. Should mildew appear, dust the shoots with 
sulphur. An occasional washing with soap-suds will be 
very beneficial to £be trees if attacked by insects, but 
they should have intermediate washings or syringings 
with clear water. 
Cherry. —The Morello on north walls, must now be 
covered with nets. This is a most valuable sort for late 
use. I have kept it on the trees until the latter end of 
November. As the fruit is gathered from the early 
sorts, take off the nets and give the frees a good wash¬ 
ing with the engine. 
Apple and Bear .—It may be necessary to support 
some of the branches that are heavily laden with fruit, 
therefore, the trees should be immediatelv looked to. 
Those against walls and espaliers may now be pretty 
closely stopped, as there will be little danger of the 
buds at the base of the shoot breaking after this time. 
Fig .—Wasps are so exceedingly partial to this fruit 
that it is next to an impossibility to get a thoroughly 
ripe one, unless there is some means used to prevent 
their attacks. I have found nothing better for this 
purpose than common muslin bags, having strings to 
draw the mouth of the bag close. These should be put 
on the fruit just as they are ripening, and, as their 
period of doing so extends over several weeks, the bags 
will serve for several fruit in succession. Continue to 
stop the foreright shoots, and to lay in the main ones. 
Gooseberry and Currant .—Those required for late 
use, must be protected by mats or some other material. 
The trees against walls may be protected with the 
greatest facility; and I know of no Gooseberry better 
