September 28, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
59 
FRUIT UNDER GLASS. 
Vines. —In the earliest houses the wood should 
be assuming that brown colouring that is a sure sign 
of well matured and well ripened growth, and upon 
pressure between finger and thumb should feel hard 
and firm—another sign that things are progressing 
favourably. Air will be given here ad lib., and thus 
the ripening process will be accelerated. 
Berries Cracking. —This state of things is often 
very prevalent in some vineries, and many a gar¬ 
dener has to deplore the fact that his best bunches 
are sadly disfigured by the cracking of the berries, 
which is often first observed upon the shoulders or at 
the point of the bunch where, of course, it is 
especially conspicuous. Some sorts, it is true, are 
more liable to crack than others. Madresfield 
Court for instance, although a grand Grape in the 
majority of respects, is yet given to the cracking of 
the berries. Still, if we look for a moment for the 
probable causes of splitting of the skin in this 
much-to-be-regretted manner we shall see that the 
remedy is in our own hands. The real cause of 
cracking, apart from the recognised fact that it is to 
some extent a varietal defect, is due to the presence 
of undue moisture in the berries, the result being 
that the pressure from within being too much for the 
containing skin, the latter, stretched above what it is 
able to bear, breaks. Thus, naturally enough, thin- 
skinned varieties must be carefully watched. 
This, of course, leads us to enquire how we can 
prevent the accumulation of too much moisture 
within the berry and the consequent collapse. The 
answer is, by guarding against too high temperatures 
heavily laden with moisture, and the natural way to 
do this is to air well and judiciously. A constant 
current of warm, dry air must be kept up. In order 
to obtain this during damp autumn days, when the 
outside air is nearly at saturation point, a brisk heat 
must be kept in the pipes, airing, of course, suffi¬ 
ciently to keep the temperature within proper 
limits. The bunches must be looked over fre¬ 
quently in order to keep bad berries cut out, for 
these, if left, soon spread decay around them, and 
ruin the appearance of the bunch. 
Grapes Finishing.— The bright, sunny weather 
we have had of late has been of inestimable service 
in assisting the ripening and colouring of late 
Grapes, and in the south of England, at all events, 
we ought not to hear many complaints of badly- 
finished bunches. In the north of England and 
Scotland another couple of weeks of favourable 
weather should also result in well-coloured crops of 
late Grapes. The utmost care must be taken in 
respect to the watering. A fine day should be 
chosen for it, and a little heat should be turned into 
the pipes. Commence watering as soon in the 
morning as possible—say about 10.30a.m.—and finish 
before noon. By giving plenty of air the greater 
portion of the moisture will thus be dissipated by 
nightfall, although more air than usual and an in¬ 
creased amount of fire heat should be kept up all 
night. Of course, at this stage all manurial stimu¬ 
lants must be knocked off, and clear water alone 
given. Of course, the watering of the borders will 
not be an operation requising to be conducted fre¬ 
quently, but we certainly do not agree with allowing 
them to become dust dry for lack of water after keep¬ 
ing them well soaked up to the time when the Grapes 
began to turn colour. Such a method of procedure 
can scarcely fail to be fraught with the most dis¬ 
astrous results to the young and fibrous roots so 
necessary to the welfare of the plant, the result 
being the vine itself loses vitality in exact propor¬ 
tion to the injury done to its roots. 
HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 
The harvesting of fruit, as it becomes fit for gather¬ 
ing, must be seen to, following out the instructions 
given in previous calendars. Pears and Apples are 
much improved in flavour if they are laid for a few 
days, in a warm, dry room previous to their being 
sent in to the dessert table. 
Protection from Birds. —Some protection of 
some kind is necessary, otherwise these feathered 
visitants, which become very bold and numerous at 
this time of year, will do a great deal of damage, 
selecting as they do the finest fruit with all the 
certainty of a connoisseur, the wasps, flies, and ear¬ 
wigs following in their tracks, and completing the 
work of destruction. Wasps and earwigs must be 
trapped, the former by placing bottles or other 
vessels containing sugar and water amongst the 
trees ; the latter by laying small flower pots 
filled with hay or pieces of dry stalks of Broad 
Beans here and there amongst the branches. For the 
birds the best plan is to net the trees completely 
over. If sufficient nets are not procurable a few 
strips of red flannel hung up amongst the trees will 
be of great service, for the birds seem to shun the 
red light. 
Peaches and Nectarines. —This late fruit will 
need all the sun possible in order that they may 
finish properly. The trees should be gone over, and 
any leaves that are observed to be shading the fruit 
should be pushed aside. As soon as the fruit is 
gathered the succession shoots will require atten¬ 
tion. Should they be too crowded some of the 
growths from which this year’s crop of fruit has 
been obtained may be cut out so as to give the 
others more room to iipen properly, as well as to 
throw all the strength of the tree into the work of 
developing flower buds. The garden engine may 
still be employed on bright days, and the trees given 
a good syringing, although this should be done 
early enough in the day to allow of the leaves drying 
before night. 
---- 
TNI FLOWER GARDEN. 
Despite the fact that we are now at the close of 
September, there is yet a multitude of subjects that 
with proper manipulation may be confidently ex¬ 
pected to keep us supplied with flowers for a while 
yet, of course, supposing that very severe frost is 
kind enough to keep out of the way. Dahlias 
necessarily occupy a very prominent position, for not 
only do they look well in the garden, but they are 
exceedingly useful as cut flowers, particularly the 
pompon, single and Cactus sections. The show and 
decorative varieties stand well enough when cut it is 
true, but they are of far too massive and heavy a 
character to be of the service that the others are. 
The Perennial Asters, or Michaelmas Daisies as they 
are familiarly called, are a host in themselves, and 
not only afford a welcome touch of colour in the 
flower garden but come in splendidly for cutting in 
long sprays for the filling of vases. The Heli- 
anthuses, too, must not be overlooked. The best 
plan to see these at their best is to plant them in 
large masses, which, when full of flower, form a truly 
gorgeous picture in the ever-shortening autumn days, 
gleaming as they do with a richness of colouring 
surpassed by none and equalled by but few of our 
late-flowering subjects. 
Lawns.— At this time of the year worms cause a 
good deal of trouble, their casts not only giving the 
grass an unsightly and untidy looking appearance, 
but clogging up the knives of the mowing machine, 
thereby making it difficult to work it properly. An 
iron rake having rather short and extra strong teeth 
should be drawn over the lawns on dry days so as 
to scatter the casts and allow the mowing machine 
free play. Attend to the straightening of grass edges 
that have been trodden down. In order to do this 
neatly it will be necessary to see that the edging iron 
is clean and sharp and that the handle is held quite 
perpendicular whilst it is being used. 
Walks. —The damp, dewy nights that we get at 
this time of the year are exceptionally favourable to 
the growth of weeds, which seem to spring up with 
surprising quickness. Where new gravel has been 
laid down, which, has been obtained from pits in close 
proximity to portions of waste ground, it usually 
contains large quantities of seeds of all kinds of weeds 
which only await favourable conditions to start into 
growth. If they come up very thickly a dose of the 
"Acme Weed-killer” will be of great service, as this 
\4rill soon make short work of them, and besides is 
far preferable to disturbing the gravel by picking 
them out by hand. The latter method may, how¬ 
ever, be employed where only a few stragglers are 
observed. The rolling of the paths will need to be 
practised frequently now, for if the gravel is allowed 
to get loose the sweeping up of the fallen leaves, 
which will soon be plaguing us, will be a matter of 
increased difficulty. 
Drains and Water Courses.— As autumn usually 
brings with it heavy falls of rain a sharp eye should 
be kept upon the drains and water courses to see 
that they are not choked up with sand and rubbish. 
By just a little care being taken in this matter much 
washing of walks and consequent labour to put 
things straight again may be spared. 
Carnations.— In some establishments the trans¬ 
ferring of the layers to their flowering quarters in 
autumn instead of spring is preferred. As a practice 
it has something to recommend it on dry, warm soils, 
but where the land is cold, wet and heavy it is 
advisable to wait until spring. But if to plant now 
is the method it is desired to follow, now is the time 
to see about it. The layers should now have made 
sufficient roots to warrant their safe removal, and as 
soon as they have done this just so soon should they 
be planted in the position in which they are to bloom. 
The ground should have been manured and dug 
deeply some weeks previously. Now a good dressing 
of soot should be given and forked well in before 
planting is commenced. Choose a warm day for the 
operation, when the soil is dry and works easily. 
Lift the layers with as good balls as possible, severing 
the connection between them and the parent plant 
with a sharp knife, and plant immediately. The one 
great thing to avoid is planting too deeply, for this is 
responsible far a great deal of the mortality com¬ 
plained of among the ranks of the Carnations. A 
watering-in after planting will serve to settle the soil 
about the roots of the layers.— A. S. G. 
-- 
WE ORCHID HOUSES. 
Cattleya House. —There are a great many Orchids 
in this division that will now require all the light 
and air chat it is possible to give them, so that the 
newly-made-up growths may become thoroughly 
ripened ; whilst others will still require shading 
during the present bright weather. Take Cattleya 
gigas tor instance ; plants of this beautiful Cattleya 
that were re-potted early in August have made 
splendid root action, and are consequently in a con¬ 
dition to stand almost any amount of exposure to 
the sun. The same will apply to Laelia anceps, 
especially the white forms, which with us are just 
pushing up spikes, but the dark varieties are much 
more advanced, and are in a fit state to receive the 
periodical doses of weak manure water which we 
find so beneficial to them at this stage of their 
growth. 
Of course, in places where each genus has a house 
set apart for it, the work of giving each individual 
plant what it requires is much easier than when a 
whole host of things are grown together, but in the 
latter case, with a little trouble, the plants belonging 
to the same genus may be so placed that they all get 
as nearly as possible what they like. We have 
Vandas, Angraeceums, Dendrobiums, and Cymbi- 
diums growing with the Cattleyas. These we 
arrange during the summer months on the north 
side of the house, where they get extra shading by 
having tiffany tacked up on the inside. They do 
wonderfully well like this. Vanda suavis has been 
in bloom since May, and the second batch of spikes 
are not over yet, but then the plants are large, and 
I think the variety is a free-flowering one. 
Cattleya Labiata autumnalis.— The forward 
plants are pushing up spikes, and shsuld be afforded 
a place close to the glass, or the flowers will be thin. 
It will not be wise, though, to expose them too 
much all at once, as the leaves as yet are very 
tender, and the sun has still plenty of power. 
The shading, however, should not be done later than 
two o'clock after this month. 
Oncidium ornithorhyuchum. —This graceful free- 
flowering species is now in bloom, and helps to 
make the house cheery at a time when there is not 
too much in flower, and though the individual 
blooms are small, the inflorescence is wonderfully 
telling when seen with a score of its drooping side 
panicles. It grows equally well in pots, pans, or 
baskets, in a compost of lumpy peat, live sphagnum 
moss, and bits of crock. The roots being rather 
fine, the potting should be firm. 
Cool House. —All potting of the Odontoglossums 
should be finished this month, as with the cold 
nights comes the need for fire heat, and that means 
of necessity a drier atmosphere, which for newly- 
potted plants is, of course, not so well. Here, the 
past few nights, the thermometer has been down to 
freezing point early in the morning, outside, causing us 
to have recourse to a little fire heat to keep up the 
temperature.—C. 
