20G 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, June 30, 1857. 
taste. You might have had the soil much lower, and then 
used a trellis for your Melons. You might have had an 
open rubble chamber, and thus dispensed with a platform. 
(See articles and discussions on this matter lately.) As it 
is we have no doubt you will succeed. Many roads may be 
safely taken to one desired point, and whatever path a man 
likes best, that he should stick to. 
3. Shading Melons will sometimes be necessary when the 
plants are one foot from the glass, especially when a very 
hot, sunny day succeeds a series of dull, cold days. The 
Dictionary only warns against 'permanent shade. If the 
plants were eighteen to twenty inches from the glass shading 
would seldom be necessary. Even then, however, we should 
consider it necessary to guard against sudden extremes. 
This will be more requisite if you have kept up a good heat 
at the Melons in dull weather. If you have allowed the 
temperature to fall from 5° to 10° in cold, dull weather, 
then, as the foliage will be more robust, you will require 
less shading when bright, sunny weather suddenly comes. 
These extremes guarded against—and the shading may 
only be necessary for an hour or two until the plants get 
used to the change—there can be no doubt that, to have 
fine-flavoured, good Melons, the less shading they have the 
better. Had we continuous sunshine during the day, and 
the plants not too near the glass, and well grown, they 
would want none. It is sudden extremes that must be 
guarded against. 
4. The general treatment of the Melons seems to have 
been right. We believe we were the first to recommend 
such a simple mode of cultivating the Melon, and we have 
never found any more successful, and that involved less 
trouble. After the plants are stopped first in the usual 
manner, we then select the number of lateral shoots we 
require—two, four, or more—removing all else as soon as 
they appear. Those left are encouraged to grow on to the 
sides of the frame, or rather, to within eight or ten inches 
of it, when the point is picked out. As they grow, every 
bud at the axils of the leaves, what you call eyes, is removed, 
so as to save cutting and pruning afterwards. From four to 
six buds or so are left at the end of the shoot, just behind 
where it was stopped. Mind, these buds must be left there, 
or you may whistle for a crop. A clever young fellow once 
picked out every bud, and left me nothing but good shoots 
and fine leaves. The lateral shoots that come from these 
buds so left will generally show fruit at the first or second 
joint, and must be stopped at the joint above it, or at it, 
and if they do not show must be stopped all the same. 
The great thing is to get as many of these fruits as thus 
show to set at the same time, for whenever one Melon on a 
plant begins to swell it is next to impossible to get any 
more fruit to set. When, therefore, we have required five 
or six fruits on one plant, we have frequently removed an 
early fruit to get the requisite number. This setting simul¬ 
taneously is greatly promoted by the mode of disbudding 
referred to. The buds left near the point of the shoot start 
more regularly, and there is more strength in the vine than 
if the shoots had been stopped irregularly or much earlier. 
A dry atmosphere is of importance when the fruit is in 
bloom, and whilst fecundation, artificially or otherwise, is 
taking place. We prefer, then, that the surface of the lied 
should be dry, even should means be taken to keep moisture 
at the roots by making holes, or, as in your case, supplying 
moisture to the chamber beneath them. When the fruit is 
set the plants should have several waterings; but keep a 
| dry atmosphere again as the fruit approaches maturity, or 
you may find some fine ones rotten and splitting from excess 
of moisture. 
5. The fungus of which you complain was, no doubt, 
either in the dung above the platform or in the soil. You 
I did right in using lime. No fungus that we have met with 
likes it. Some time ago we saw a Mushroom bed infested 
I with snails rendered useless by a heavy watering of lime 
water. Sulphur fumes, by rubbing a paint made of flowers 
of sulphur on your pipes, would also have been useful. 
0. Vines in Pots. —You will no doubt succeed in fruiting 
I them well, with fair management, in the spring of 1859; but 
as the season is pretty well before you we would advise trying 
some at least, to get them in in May or June, 1858. 
Whether you resolve on this or not, adopt the following 
process, and the strength and ripeness of your wood must 
decide upon your future plans. Supposing your plants are 
well rooted, turn them at once into nine-inch pots, just push¬ 
ing off a little of the outside of the ball, that the roots may 
have free entrance into the new soil. Place the plants in a 
sweet bottom heat if possible, and give them every ray 
of sunshine they can get. In six weeks or two months 
shift again into twelve or fifteen-inch pots. Give bottom 
heat, and treat as before. For the whole matter of stop¬ 
ping and removing laterals, study a late article on that 
subject. Fine plants may be obtained by growing them 
on shelves with plenty of heat, moisture, and light; but we 
prefer sweet bottom heat when we can get it. By Sep¬ 
tember get the plants out of their plunging medium, give 
less watering, encourage ripening of the wood rather than 
making more, and by the first week in October get the i 
plants out in front of a south wall, mulching the pots if the 
weather is very hot and dry, preferring this to much watering, 
and even adopting means for throwing off from them the 
autumn rains, giving no more moisture than will just keep 
the leaves from flagging when the sun is hot. By November 
remove them for two or three months to a cool north 
aspect, where they will be protected from heavy rains and 
the severest frosts. When taken in force them very gradu¬ 
ally, and give a start to the roots first. 
In potting use fresh, coarse, fibry loam, with some bits of , 
lime rubbish, charcoal, and dried cowdung or leaf mould, 
chiefly for keeping the compost open. Drain well, and pack 
such rough material (from which the dusty matter is ex¬ 
cluded, except for throwing a little over the surface) rather 
firmly with the hand, and depend chiefly for vigour on 
manure waterings. You will find many minute details in 
previous volumes. 
Kinds for Rot Culture. —Sweetwaters, Muscadines, Ham- 
burghs, and Frontignans are best for pot culture. For I 
early work, in pots or otherwise, we prefer the Sweetwater. 
We certainly should never think of fruiting West’s St. Pe¬ 
ter’s, Barbarossa, or even Muscats in pots, where, as in your 
case, there are vineries. 
We like to encourage growing Grapes in pots, though we 
have never recommended it for its economy, unless under 
peculiar circumstances before Vines come into bearing in 
regular houses. You can only succeed by giving the plants 
plenty of light and space one year to fruit early the next. 
The same space, supplied with established ones, would give 
fruit every year at a tithe of the expense. In order to get 
some early fruit easily I planted some weak young Vines 
in the spring of i.856 in a pit heated by hot water. These 
pleased me so badly that, emboldened by what Mr. Thom¬ 
son did at Dalkeith, I cut them right back in July, and re¬ 
moved the soil, and put fresh soil to the roots. They matured 
rather small, but very short-jointed new wood before the | 
autumn, and bore a very heavy crop, from which I have 
been cutting these three weeks. They are Sweetwaters. 
The fruit was so valuable and good that I did not like 
removing much of it, so that I fear the Vines will not do 
much the next year, as they are making little wood; but a 
good part of the year is yet before them, and if they succeed, 
which I do not altogether despair of, they will cost little 
trouble in comparison of Vines in pots.—R. Fish.] 
PINCUSHION BEDS. 
“ I want to have six beds on my lawn, with Roses in the j 
centre, as described by Mr. Beaton in his article on Pin¬ 
cushion Beds. The beds will be three feet in diameter. 
Can I get Roses with large heads, as I do not want to bud, 
but to make a show next summer ? I want the heads to 
train over hoops. Will you tell me of six good showy 
Roses ? I am not at all particular as to their being new 
kinds. I should like good full foliage, as I do not think the 
finest Rose looks well with scanty leaves.”— Kate. 
[The pincushion beds are altered to four feet in diameter, 
and the Roses have improved in a most extraordinary i 
manner. It is most certainly the best hit we have ever ! 
made. We would not, on any account, train the heads of ! 
standard Roses as you propose; it is unnatural, and the , 
Roses will have an upright growth or none. Make use of i 
Paul Terras and Paul Ricaut, with Baronne Prevost, Au¬ 
guste Alic, and Gcant des Batailles .] 
