Jvne  17,  )c97. 
539 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
FRUIT  FORCING. 
Peaches  and  Nectarines. — Early  Forced  Trees. — The  trees  must  now 
have  plenty  of  air,  ventilating  the  house  to  the  fullest  extent  after  the  fruit  is 
gathered,  removing  the  roof  lights;  in  addition  to  ventilating  fully,  the 
border  should  be  frequently  damped  and  duly  watered,  so  that  no  check  is  given 
likely  to  induce  the  premature  ripening  of  the  wood  and.  foliage.  Laterals 
encourage  root  action,  but  they  must  be  stopped  to  prevent  overcrowding, 
otherwise  some  lateral  extension  is  desirable  as  a  safeguard  against  the  wood 
and  foliage  maturing  too  early.  All  shoots  that  have  borne  fruit,  and  which 
are  no  longer  required,  should  be  cut  away  to  the  growths  originated  from  their 
base  for  next  year’s  bearing. 
Houses  with  the  Fruit  Ripening. — The  trees  started  early  in  February 
have  the  fruit  advanced  for  ripening,  and  this  must  be  kept  dry.  With  a 
view  to  prolonging  the  season  of  fruit,  fire  heat  may  be  discontinued,  unless 
the  weather  be  unusually  cold,  and  air  admitted  freely  by  day  and  night, 
maintaining  adequate  moisture  at  the  roots.  Where  it  is  not  wished  to  retard 
the  fruit,  maintain  a  night  temperature  of  GO0  to  65°,  and  70°  to  7 5°  by 
day ;  free  ventilation  will  enable  the  fruit  to  swell  freely,  and  develop  good 
flavoured  specimens,  allowing  a  rise  of  10°  to  15°  from  sun  heat.  Keep  water 
from  the  fruit,  but  the  floois  and  other  available  surfaces  should  be  damped,  so 
as  to  afford  a  certain  amount  of  atmospheric  moisture  for  the  benefit  of  the 
foliage.  Water  at  the  roots  must  be  given  both  to  the  inside  and  outside 
borders,  and  a  light  mulching  of  rather  short,  lumpy  material  will  lessen 
the  necessity  'for  it,  and  encourage'  surface  roots. 
Trees  Swelling  the  Fruit. — In  houses  that  were  started  in  March,  or 
where  the  fruit  is  taking  the  last  swelling  after  stoning,  syringe  vigorously 
to  keep  down  red  spider.  If  the  trees  need  support,  supply  liquid  manure 
or  water  through  a  good  mulching  of  short  manure,  sprinkling  a  handful  of 
some  approved  fertiliser  to  a  square  yard  before  watering.  Admit  air  early 
and  in  plenty  with  rising  temperature,  and  insure  the  fruit  swelling  to  a 
large  size ;  close  early  with  abundance  of  atmospheric  moisture,  allowing  the 
heat  to  rise  to  85°  to  90°  or  more  afterwards.  Turn  the  fruit  with  its  apex 
to  the  light,  and  draw  the  leaves  aside  or  shorten  them,  so  as  to  admit 
light  and  air  to  the  fruit,  and  thereby  secure  its  even  ripening.  Keep  the 
shoots  well  but  not  too  closely  tied  down,  pinch  the  laterals  back  to  the 
lowest  leaf,  thinning  out  the  growths  where  crowded,  and  remove  superfluous 
shoots. 
Gathering  Reaches.— Great  care  is  necessary  in  removing  the  fruit.  The 
least  pressure  makes  a  mark  and  spoils  its  appearance.  A  piece  of  wadding 
should  be  held  in  the  hand  and  the  fruit  removed  by  gentle  pressure,  then  laid 
arefully  in  a  padded  shallow  basket.  The  fruit  intended  for  packing  should  be 
gathered  before  it  is  dead  ripe.  Morning  is'the  best  time  to  gather  the  fruit, 
and  it  should  be  placed  in  a  cool  room  to  mature  before  being  sent  to  table. 
In  bright  weather  the  trees  should  be  looked  over  in  the  evening  as  well  as 
morning  for  the  removal  of  the  ripe  fruit. 
Fate  Houses. —  The  fruit  should  be  thinned  to  the  quantity  required  for 
tne  crop,  or  a  few  more  may  be  left  than  will  be  required,  to  allow  for 
casualties  in  stoning.  Syringe  morning  and  evening  in  fine  weather,  but 
avoid  syringing  on  dull  days  and  on  mornings  when  moisture  has  been 
condensed  and  hangs  on  the  margins  of  vigorous  trees  in  the  early  morning. 
Admit  air  early  and  freely.  Mulch  inside  and  outside  borders  with  short 
manure,  and  supply  water  abundantly.  Shoots  not  required  for  next  year's  crop, 
and  those  not  needed  for  furnishing  the  trees,  should  be  removed.  Keep 
laterals  closely  pinched,  and  cut  away  gross  shoots.  The  shoots  on  young 
•  trees  should  be  left  about  15  inches  apart  for  next  year’s  bearing,  and  if 
they  are  disposed  to  elongate  above  18  inches  they  may  be  pinched  to 
12  or  15  inches,  stopping  the  laterals  at  the  first  leaf,  but  extensions 
or  main  shoots  should  be  allowed  to  grow  their  full  length,  provided  thev  are 
evenly  balanced  and  there  is  room.  Avoid  laying-in  the  growths  too  thickly  ; 
the  branches  should  be  9  to  12  inches  apart,  and  these  should  be  as 
evenly  balanced  as  possible. 
Vines.  In  Pots. — Stop  the  canes  when  from  6  to  8  feet  long,  pinching  the 
laterals  and  sub-laterals  at  one  joint  as  produced.  This  applies  to  Vines 
intended  for  fruiting  next  season.  Those  intended  for  planting  may  be  allowed 
to  make  all  the  growth,  and  be  cut  back  to  two  or  three  eyes  or  the  length 
required  at  planting  time,  or  when  leafless. 
T  ines  Cleared  of  their  Crops. — Syringe  occasionally  to  keep  the  foliage 
clean,  afford  water  to  render  the  soil  moist.  A  mulching  of  short  manure 
will  prevent  the  soil  cracking,  and  the  moist  surface  will  keep  the  roots  from 
going  down.  .Allow  a  moderate  extension  of  the  laterals,  and  admit  air 
freely  above  60^.  There  is  no  fear  of  the  wood  not  ripening,  and  the  difficulty 
will  be  to  prevent  the  premature  ripening  and  fall  of  the  foliage. 
Houses  of  Ripe  Grapes. — These  will  be  the  better  for  slight  shade  from 
powerful  sun.  Some  pilchard  or  double  thickness  of  herring  nets  drawn  over 
the  roof-lights  will  mostly  be  sufficient  shade,  and  a  good  spread  of  foliage 
will  assist  Black  Hamburghs  in  keeping  their  colour.  Moderate  air  moisture 
will  not  injure  the  Grapes  if  accompanied  by  free  ventilation.  Keep  laterals 
fairly  under,  but  a  little  extension  will  assist  in  the  retention  of  the  principal 
leaves,  and  upon  their  continuance  in  health  depends  the  maturity  of  the 
buds  for  next  year’s  crop. 
Grapes  Ripening. — When  the  Grapes  begin  to  change  colour  admit  a  little 
air  constantly,  with  sufficient  heat  in  the  pipes  to  maintain  a  night  temperature 
of  65°,  70°  to  75°  by  day,  with  80°  to  85°  or  90°  through  the  day  from  sun 
heat.  Avoid  an  arid  atmosphere,  damping  occasionally,  and  do  not  allow 
the  border  to  become  dry.  Vines  ripening  heavy  crops  will  be  assisted  in 
perfecting  them  and  storing  food  for  the  future  by  an  occasional  application 
of  liquid  manure.  A  light  mulching  of  dry  spent  material  will  assist  the 
Vines  by  securing  uniform  moisture,  and  thus  keeping  the  roots  near  the 
surface,  whilst  avoiding  excess  of  moisture,  and  thus  preventing  cracking. 
It  is  a  confined  and  stagnant  atmosphere  that  does  most  of  the  mischief  in 
Grapes  cracking  and  spotting. 
Late  Grapes. — Thinning. — Thin  well  to  secure  large  and  highly  finished 
berries  ;  such  varieties  as  Gros  Colman  and  Gros  Guillaume  about  an  inch 
apart,  the  oval-berried  varieties  not  requiring  as  much  room  as  the  round  ones, 
but  all  should  be  so  thinned  that  they  will  have  room  for  swelling  fully 
without  wedging,  and  yet  be  so  close  that  when  dished  the  bunches  will 
retain  their  form.  Loose  bunches  that  show  the  footstalks  are  not  so 
pleasing,  however  fine  the  berries,  as  those  more  compact.  Shy  setting 
varieties  are  often  thin  of  berries  through  the  number  of  stoneless  ones  that 
must  be  removed,  to  guard  against  which  no  pains  should  be  spared  in 
getting  the  wood  ripe  and  in  fertilising  the  bunches  when  in  flower  with 
Black  Hamburghs.  A  pound  of  Grapes  per  foot  run  of  rod  is  usually  as 
many  as  Vines  ordinarily  finish  well,  therefore  reduce  the  bunches  so  as  to 
give  about  that  weight. 
Regulating,  the  Growths. — Avoid  large  reductions  of  foliage  at  a  time, 
it  only  tends  to  induce  shanking  through  the  check  given  to  the  roots. 
|  Keep  the  growths  tied  down  from  the  glass,  and  so  prevent  scorching, 
j  Allow  as  much  lateral  extension  as  can  have  exposure  to  light,  but  the  foliage 
should  be  rather  thinner  in  the  case  of  white  Grapes  than  iu  black;  this 
J  more  particularly  applies  to  Muscats.  Always  take  care  that  the  laterals 
|  do  not  encroach  on  the  principal  leaves.  • 
Temperature  and  Ventilation. — Maintain  a  night  temperature  of  65°>, 
and  70°  to  75°  by  day  in  dull  weather.  Admit  air  early,  providing  a 
little  at  the  top  of  the  house  constantly,  increasing  the  ventilation  with  the 
|  temperature,  allowing  an  advance  to  85°  or  90°,  at  which  keep  through  the 
day  from  sun  heat,  reducing  the  ventilation  with  the  declining  sun.  Close 
at  85°,  damping  the  paths  well  then,  and  again  before  nightfall.  Avoid 
cold  currents  or  sudden  depressions  of  temperature,  as  they  cause  rust  and 
favour  the  spread  of  mildew. 
^  i.  r-  i-ttt.  ,  -  i  -  .  -  i  -  ■  - i  -  ,  -i  -  l  ■  j  - n=3i 
IHE  BEE-KEEPER.  S 
D-Lm  - 1  i  -  i  -  l  -  1  -  >  *  i  -  <  -  :  -  i  -  »  -  i  -  !  -  l  -  t  -  i  -  r. A  -  1  -  1  -T~-  r  -  (fa 
Early  Swarms. 
“Bee  Notes  from  Devon”  (page  492)  are  interesting  to  bee¬ 
keepers  in  the  midland  and  northern  counties  as  showing  the 
forwardness  of  bees,  as  well  as  vegetation,  for  which  that  delightful 
county  is  noted.  At  the  date  bees  were  swarming  there  they  were 
clustered  in  their  hives  in  South  Yorkshire  owing  to  the  cold 
weather  and  high  winds  that  prevailed  at  that  time.  “  A.  Gr."  is  to 
be  congratulated  on  the  forward  condition  of  his  bees,  and  for  the 
promise  of  a  glorious  harvest  from  the  fruit  trees  and  white 
Clover. 
“  S.  T.,  Gloucestershire ,”  writing  on  June  5th,  says,  “On 
May  22nd  I  found  the  bees  from  one  of  my  hives  hanging  out  in  a 
cluster  at  the  entrance  ;  I  at  once  supered  them.  In  spite  of  that 
they  swarmed  yesterday,  and  to-day  I  took  off  fourteen  well- 
finished  sections.  I  left  in  the  others  that  were  not  quite  sealed 
over,  and  filled  the  crate  with  empty  sections.  Bees  are  now  doing 
well ;  80°  in  the  shade  to-day.”  Had  the  above  stock  been  supplied 
with  another  crate  of  sections  a  week  after  the  first  one  was  placed 
on  the  hive,  as  advised  in  previous  notes,  they  would  probably  not 
have  swarmed,  but  have  continued  storing  honey  during  the  spell 
of  hot  weather,  attention  beinerklso  given  to  shade  and  ventilation. 
The  first  swarm  in  this  district  came  off  at  6.30  on  the  morning 
of  22nd  May,  and  flew  nearly  a  mile  away,  and  was  clustered 
before  seven  o’clock.  It  is  not  often  bees  swarm  so  early  in  the 
morning,  but  the  old  stock  being  in  a  straw  skep,  in  a  warm  spot 
where  the  sun  shone  directly  on  the  hive,  caused  them  to  leave.  It 
is  not  usual  for  first  swarms  to  fly  so  far  before  alighting. 
The  above  were  hived  into  a  straw  skeo  of  medium  size,  and 
allowed  to  remain  where  they  alighted.  Ten  days  afterwards  I 
examined  them,  and  found  the  skep  full  of  beautiful  white  combs, 
and  crowded  with  bees  ;  these  were  placed  in  a  frame  hive,  and  the 
skep  placed  on  the  top  as  a  super,  an  1  as  the  bees  are  hatched  the 
cells  will  be  filled  with  honey,  which  will  be  in  good  condition 
owing  to  the  newness  of  the  combs. 
As  the  above  mentioned  swarm  was  so  much  in  advance  of 
others  in  the  district,  I  inquired  the  history  of  the  original  stock, 
and  found  they  were  in  a  straw  skep,  which  did  not  swarm  last 
season,  neither  was  there  any  honey  taken  from  it,  and  beiDg  in  a 
warm  dry  place  and  wintered  on  natural  stores  was  doubtless  the 
cause  of  them  being  extra  strong  in  bees  this  spring. 
