28 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
July  11,  1901. 
Fruit  GrowiDg  for  Exhibition. 
( Continued,  from  page  479.) 
Melons. 
A  large,  well  proportioned,  highly  coloured,  handsomely  netted 
Melon  alwayB  adds  greatly  to  the  merit  and  attractiveness  of  a 
collection  of  fruit.  To  secure  such  it  is  necessary  to  adopt  special 
methods,  because,  although  plants  grown  in  the  ordinary  way  are 
capable  of  carrying  five  or  six  fruits  of  a  suitable  size  for  the  dessert 
table,  it  is  seldom  under  such  conditions  that  examples  from  4  to  6  lbs. 
in  weight  can  be  obtained.  The  obvious  course  to  pursue,  therefore, 
is  to  reduce  the  number  of  fruits.  In  the  early  stages  of  growth 
remove  at  least  every  alternate  lateral,  so  as  to  allow  those  retained 
plenty  of  room  to  develop.  Fertilise  four  or  five  flowers,  and  then  as 
the  young  fruits  begin  to  swell  select  two  or  three  of  the  strongest 
and  best  shaped  ones,  and  remove  the  others.  Under  such  conditions 
extra  room  can  1  e  allowed  for  the  laterals  retained.  I  therefore 
prefer  to  stop  at  two  joints  beyond  the  fruit,  instead  of  following  the 
usual  practice  of  stopping  at  one.  From  this  stage  onward  the  great 
object  of  the  cultivator  should  to  get  the  fruit  to  swell  to  as  large  a 
size  as  possible  during  each  successive  stage  of  development.  With 
that  object  in  view  give  the  plants  their  final  top-dressing  as  soon  as 
the  fruits  are  swelling  freely.  A  suitable  compost  for  the  purpose  is 
one  formed  of  three  parts  rather  stiff  loam,  one  part  horse  droppings, 
with  a  little  soot  and  steamed  bonemeal  added.  Press  the  compost 
very  firmly,  and  leave  a  slight  elevation  round  the  stem  of  each  plant. 
Water  through  a  rose  at  each  watering  until  the  soil  is  thoroughly 
settled. 
Where  the  plants  have  been  sturdily  grown,  the  shoots  kept  thinly 
disposed,  and  the  hot-water  pipes  made  moderately  warm  each  night 
and  during  cull  days,  1  never  hesitate  to  water  close  up  to  the  stems, 
as  the  abundance  of  roots  there  suffer  when  the  soil  is  kept  dry. 
When,  however,  signs  of  canker  are  noticed,  it  is  wise  to  keep  the  soil 
ary  round  the  stem,  and  to  rub  into  the  affected  parts  powdered 
charcoal  and  lime.  The  chief  points  to  observe  in  regard  to  watering 
are  to  allow  the  soil  to  become  fairly  dry  through  the  whole  mass, 
then  water  copiously  ;  to  give  liquid  manuie  once  or  twice  a  week, 
and  top-dress  with  chemical  manures  every  ten  or  fourteen  days  while 
the  fruit  is  swelling.  I  like  to  syringe  the  plants  heavily,  and  close  the 
house,  with  abundance  of  moisture,  at  2  p.m.  during  the  hottest  of 
days,  and  when  the  weather  is  unsettled  an  hour  earlier,  as  I  find  this 
early  closing  brings  quick  results,  and  also  helps  to  give  size  to  the 
fruits.  During  bright  mornings  an  additional  syringing  is  given 
between  6  and  8  A.M.,  but  in  dull  weather  this  is  omitted.  When 
well  grown,  Melon  plants  seldom  require  shading,  but  if  any  plant  gets 
into  a  sluggish  condition  and  shows  signs  of  “  flagging,”  it  is  better 
to  shade  for  a  few  hours  than  to  allow  it  to  become  unduly  distressed 
through  bright  sunshine.  A  little  attention  to  such  matters  will 
often  save  a  plant  which  would  succumb  if  not  given  the  necessary 
‘  nursing.”  Throughout  the  growing  season  I  like  to  allow  a  sub¬ 
lateral  here  and  there  to  ramble  a  little,  as  the  practice  helps  to 
maintain  vigorous  root  action ;  and  especially  is  it  desirable  to  retain 
a  little  young  growth  near  the  point  of  each  shoot  carrying  a  fruit. 
When  the  fruits  begin  to  show  colour  it  is,  of  course,  necessary 
when  syringing  to  keep  the  water  from  the  foliage  immediately 
surrounding  them,  but  other  parts  of  the  plants  may  with  advantage 
be  syringed  occasionally  to  keep  the  foliage  healthy.  The  practice  of 
withholding  water  at  the  roots  during  the  ripening  period  is,  I 
consider,  neither  necessary  nor  desirable.  Cracking  of  the  fruits  is 
often  brought  about  by  withholding  water  too  long,  and  tken 
applying  it,  whereas  if  water  is  regularly  applied,  a  little  young 
growth  left  on  the  plants,  and  free  ventilation  given,  there  is  not 
much  danger  of  cracking.  When,  however,  it  is  teared,  cutting  the 
s  em  half  through  just  below  the  fruit  is  an  effectual  remedy.  By 
giving  due  attention  to  such  matters,  grand  highly  coloured  fruits 
without  a  crack  or  blemish  may  be  obtained,  An  exhibitor  may 
sometimes  have  a  few  fine  fruits  approaching  maturity,  and  feel 
doubtful  about  their  being  ripe  by  a  given  time.  The  best  thing  to 
do  under  such  circumstances  is  to  give  plenty  of  fire  heat  at  night  and 
leave  a  chink  of  air  on.  This  will  sometimes  necessitate  syringing 
during  the  evening,  and  always  keeping  the  floors  damp.  I  have 
sometimes  maintained  a  night  ttmperature  of  80°  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  fruits  ripe  by  a  given  time,  yet  the  plants  have  been  none 
the  worse  for  such  hard  driving.  The  vital  point  to  observe  and 
practise  is  to  allow  the  hot-water  pipes  to  cool  early  in  the  morning 
before  bright  sunshine  comes. 
Small  or  moderate  sized  Melons  are  usually  better  flavoured  than 
large  ones;  those  intended  for  exhibiting  in  classes  provided  for 
Melons  only  can  therefore  be  cut  from  plants  carrying  good  crops.  In 
such  classes  the  fruits  are  judged  principally  by  their  flavour  when 
cut,  and  1  have  invariably  lound  that  Melons  grown  on  plants  not 
subjected  to  the  drying  process  at  ripening  time  to  be  of  the  best 
flavour.  Such  varieties  as  Hero  of  Lockinge  and  Countes3  need  to 
remain  on  the  plants  till  fully  ripe  to  obtain  their  full  flavour.  When 
a  Melon  is  heavy  in  proportion  to  its  size,  appears  to  be  quite  ripe,  and 
yet  retains  an  agreeable  scent,  it  is  not  often  disappointing  in  flavour. 
Good  varieties  to  grow  lor  large  fruits  are  Ringleader,  Royal  Jubilee, 
Blenheim  Orange,  and  Sutton’s  A1  ;  for  exhibiting  in  classes  where 
they  are  cut,  Hero  of  Lockinge,  Countess,  Best  of  All,  and  Imperial 
Green  ;  scarlet-fleshed  kinds,  Invincible,  Empress,  and]  Scarlet 
Premier. — H.  D.  /rr  ,  .• 
(To  be  continued.) 
Legal  Notes. 
An  interesting  and  important  case  was  tried  before  Mr.  Justice 
Bruce,  in  the  High  Courts,  London,  during  last  week.  Mr.  John 
Rutherford,  M.P.  for  Darwen  Division  of  Lancashire,  purchased  a  plant, 
alleged  to  be  Odontoglossum  crispum  Triompbe  de  Bambouillet,  from 
L’Hcrticole  Coloniale  of  Belgium,  for  which  be  paid  £80.  This  was  in 
1897,  and  was  bought  under  a  warranty  that  it  would  flower  similar  to 
a  diagram  which  was  shown  to  him  at  the  time  of  the  purchase.  Had 
it  done  so,  he  estimated  that  it  would  have  now  been  worth  £120.  It 
produced,  however,  in  1900,  a  flower — the  first  it  had  while  in  his 
possession — of  “  a  muddy  yellow,  with  brown  spots,”  instead  of  the  rare 
colour  of  “  a  pinkish-blush  ground,  with  darker  red  marks,  and  a  pure 
white  lip,”  as  warranted,  and  he  estimated  that  at  the  most  it  would 
now  fetch  £6.  In  these  oircumstances  he  claimed  from  the  defendant 
company  £120  damages  for  breach  of  warranty. 
The  defence  was  that  the  plant  Droduced  and  complained  of  was  not 
the  one  sent  to  the  plaintiff.  Mr.  Rutherford  and  his  gardener  had  sworn 
that  the  plant  was  the  same,  and  had  never  been  removed  from  the 
Belgian  pot  in  whioh  it  was  sent.  The  defendant  company  said  they 
did  not  allege  that  the  plaintiff  had  acted  in  bad  faith,  but  submitted 
that  either  he  or  his  gardener  had  made  a  mistake,  the  original  plant 
having  either  been  mixed  amongst  the  1500  other  Orchids  possessed  by 
Mr.  Rutherford,  or  stolen  from  his  Orchid  house  by  some  of  the  very 
numerous  visitors  who  were  permitted  to  view  it.  The  reason  that  the 
defendant  company  offered  to  refund  the  money,  if  the  plant  proved 
untrue  to  the  diagram  after  being  seen  by  an  expert,  was  that  they  had 
not  then  inspected  it,  and  did  not  question  itB  identity.  The  real 
plant  was  somewhere  in  the  plaintiff’s  Orchid  house,  and  would  some 
day  bloom  a  true  flower.  As  to  damages,  if  it  was  necessary  to 
consider  them,  he  submitted  that  the  value  of  an  Orchid  was  purely 
imaginary. 
Cross-examined  :  The  defendant  company  had  50,000  Odontoglos- 
sums  in  their  eight  houses,  but  this  plant  was  in  an  apartment  with 
only  sixty  or  seventy  other  valuable  Orchids.  In  a  season  they  sent  out 
20,000  or  30,000  Orchids,  of  which  only  fifteen  or  twenty  would  be  equal 
in  value  to  Triomphe  de  Rambouillet.  Mr.  Henry  Schuster,  the  agent 
of  the  defendant  company,  through  whom  the  purchase  was  made,  said 
that  since  this  Orchid  was  sold  others  of  finer  variety  had  been  cultivated, 
consequently  its  value  had  decreased,  and  he  doubted  whether  it  was  now 
worth  £80. 
Mr.  W.  H.  Cannon,  solicitor,  estimated  the  present  value  of  the  plant 
originally  sold  at  £50.  Multiplication  of  variety  necessarily  lessened 
the  value. 
It  was  again  argued  that  it  was  within  the  bounds  of  possibility 
that  the  Orchid  originally  sold  had  been  stolen,  plaintiff  permitting  his 
constituents  to  visit  his  houses,  and  cited  the  fact  that  the  plaintiff  did 
not  put  on  the  labels  the  names  of  his  Orchids  as  evidence  that  he 
feared  theft.  His  lordship  did  not  regard  that  as  the  reason,  but  rather 
that  the  plaintiff  wished  to  keep  the  names  and  variety  private. 
Later,  it  was  shown  that  whereas  the  diagram  showed  that  it  had 
six  bulbs  upon  it,  the  superintendent  admitted  the  one  sent  had  only 
four  bulbs  and  a  growth.  He  further  observed  that  it  was  hardly 
credible  that  large  growers  like  the  defendant  company  should  send 
out  30,000  Orchids,  some  of  them  extremely  valuable,  in  a  season, 
and  not  keep  a  register  of  them,  as  the  plaintiff  had  done. 
His  lordship,  in  delivering  judgment,  said  the  defendant  company 
relied  almost  entirely  upon  the  memory  of  Mr.  Haumont  as  to  what 
happened  in  1897,  and  that  it  was  clear  that  a  plant  with  four  bulbs 
and  a  growth  did  not  answer  to  the  description  of  one  with  six  bulbs. 
There  would  be  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff  for  £114  with  costs.  Judgment 
was  entered  accordingly. — (“  Daily  Telegraph.*’) 
- ».#.* - 
Cheap  Fruit  and  Plenteous. — Last  year  there  was  a  pheno¬ 
menally  large  crop  of  fruit  in  the  Yale  of  Evesham.  This  season  there 
is  every  prospect  of  an  almost  equal  yield  of  fruit.  Blight  is  practically 
absent.  Pershore  Victorias  are  prolific,  and  Plums  will  be  abundant. 
Very  low  prices  are  probable  for  all  kinds  of  Plums.  Gooseberries, 
of  which  there  is  a  large  crop,  were  selling  at  3s.  per  pot  of  63  lbs. 
There  is  a  good  supply  of  Cherries.  Plums,  too,  are  being  Beriously 
affected  by  the  drought,  and  in  many  plantations  the  yield  will  be 
very  small.  Cherries,  however,  will  be  a  record  crop  in  spite  of  the 
dry  weather.  In  Hampshire  Strawberries  are  plentiful. 
