JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  19,  1901. 
278 
GALANTHUS  WH1TTALLI.  (See  page  207.) 
Peaches  and  Nectarines. — Early  Forced  Trees. — We  would  again 
urge  the  necessity  of  attention  to  these  trees  as  soon  as  the  leaves 
are  all  down,  following  the  instructions  given  in  a  former  calendar, 
as  the  procedure  strikes  at  the  root  of  pests  passing  over  from  year 
to  year,  especially  red  spider  and  soale,  and  gives  the  trees  the 
advantage  of  thorough  rest,  with  opportunity  of  pushing  fresh  roots, 
thus  being  well  prepared  for  a  fresh  start  when  the  proper  time 
arrives. 
Early  Forced  Trees  in  Pots. — Where  new  trees  have  to  be  bought, 
the  earliest  placed  orders  generally  secure  the  best  trees,  and  they 
oan  have  their  requirements  attended  to  in  respect  of  top-dressing 
without  delay.  This  is  very  important,  as  those  disturbed  late  at  the 
roots  do  not  carry  the  buds  well,  nor  is  the  start  and  setting  of  the 
fruit  nearly  so  satisfactory  as  when  this  has  been  anticipated  by 
timely  attention  to  secure  it  in  the  late  summer. 
Second  Early  Forced  Trees. — These  are  the  first  in  many  places, 
being  started  at  the  new  year.  They  will  have  shed  their  leaves,  or  will 
be  shedding  shortly,  and  should  be  attended  to  in  pruning,  cleansing 
the  house,  dressing  the  trees,  and  top-dressing  the  border  according  to 
instructions  already  referred  to.  This  gives  them  better  advantages 
than  putting  off  everything  until  the  last  moment,  when  neither  house 
nor  trees  can  be  properly  cleansed,  and  muoh  after  trouble  in  respect  of 
pests  is  the  consequenoe. 
Hardy  Fruit  Garden. 
Strawberries. — Preparing  Orouni. — The  main  crop  of  well-established 
runners  may  be  planted  during  the  course  of  the  following  weeks,  if 
they  have  not  already  been  inserted.  Should  the  ground,  however,  not 
be  sufficiently  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  plants,  it  ought  at  once 
to  be  deeply  dug  or  trenched,  adding  manure  according  to  the  quality 
of  the  soil.  Fertile  soil  should  not  require  the  addition  of  manure,  but 
deep  digging  or  bastard  trenching  will  improve  this  or  any  soil.  In 
trenching,  take  care  to  keep  the  good  soil  on  the  surface  wherever  the 
subsoil  is  of  an  indifferent  character.  Break  up  the  latter  to  a  good 
depth.  If  strong  and  heavy  this  will  to  some  extent  ameliorate  it,  and 
drainage  water  will  more  readily  pass  through  it.  The  broken-up 
subsoil  in  light  ground  has  a  tendency  to  retain  moisture  better  than 
when  lying  dry  and  hard,  and  during  dry  periods  the  plants  derive 
muoh  assistance  from  the  moisture  lying  below  them  in  a  well  prepared 
subsoil.  Ground 
that  has  been 
thoroughly  ma¬ 
nured  and 
broken  up  for  a 
preceding  crop 
is  often  requi- 
s  i  t  i  on ed  for 
autumn  planting 
Strawberries. 
With  such 
ground  less  pre¬ 
paration  i  s 
needed  now,  be. 
cause,  being  in 
good  heart,  it 
only  requires  to 
be  cleaned  and 
levelled,  when  it 
is  ready  for  the 
insertion  of  the 
S  t  r  a  w  b  e  rries, 
which  should 
now  be  planted. 
Planting.  — 
Plants  rooted  in 
pots,  or  those 
well  rooted  in 
the  open  ground, 
can  be  em¬ 
ployed.  These, 
of  course,  are 
the  best,  owing 
to  their  abun¬ 
dance  of  roots 
and  the  ease  with 
which  they  will  be  established,  but  plants  obtained  from  a  distance  will 
not  have  roots  so  numerous,  nor  soil  attached  to  them.  These  require 
more  care  in  planting,  and  it  will  be  neoessary  to  spread  them  out, 
covering  carefully  and  firmly  with  good  soil.  Should  the  weather  be  dry, 
water  them  well  in.  The  distance  between  the  rows  may  be  2  feet ;  very 
strong  growers  will  require  the  rows  wider  apart,  but  30  inches  will  be 
ample.  In  the  former  case  the  distance  between  the  plants  may  be 
15  inches,  in  the  latter  give  18  inches,  nothing  being  gained  by  undue 
•crowding. 
Cleaning  and  Mulching. —  If  the  clearing  away  of  weeds  and  runners 
has  been  deferred,  the  work  ought  now  to  be  carried  out.  Cut  the 
runner  wires  close  to  the  crown,  and  also  sever  large  old  leaves.  Strong 
and  deep  rooting  weeds  must  be  forked  up,  clearing  them  away  with 
the  other  material ;  the  smaller  and  annual  weeds  may  be  hoed  down. 
Following  closely  on  this  removal  a  liberal  mulching  of  decayed  manure 
may  be  spread  between  the  rows.  It  will  especially  benefit  old 
established  plants,  and  those  younger  which  have  borne  a  heavy  crop 
of  fruit. 
Small  Runners. — It  might  be  desirable  to  preserve  a  quantity  of  the 
small  runners,  which  are  not  quite  sufficiently  well  rooted  to  finally 
plant  now  in  rows.  If,  however,  a  small  bed  is  well  dug  over  a  batch 
may  be  planted  6  inches  apart.  The  plants  will,  in  the  course  of  the 
autumn,  become  thoroughly  established,  and  in  the  spring  can  be  lifted 
and  planted  permanently.  Very  little  fruit,  if  any,  should  be  carried  by 
these  the  first  season  ;  they  ought,  however,  to  show  a  flower  truss  on 
each,  which  may  be  early  removed. 
Raspberries. — The  work  of  cutting  out  the  old  bearing  canes  is  very 
frequently  left  until  winter,  but  it  should  be  done  as  soon  as  practicable 
after  the  crop  has  been  gathered.  The  early  removal  of  the  useless 
canes  gives  the  new  rods  a  better  chance  of  receiving  plenty  of  light 
and  air,  and  becoming  well  ripened.  After  cleansing  away  weeds  and 
rubbish,  the  surface  may  be  lightly  prioked  over  and  a  thorough  good 
mulching  of  manure  applied.  Raspberries,  being  strong  feeders  and 
producing  abundance  of  fibrous  roots  close  to  the  surface  of  soil,  are 
always  benefited  by  Burface  manuring.  Liquid  manure  can  also  be 
given  with  advantage.  Where  it  is  contemplated  forming  new  plantations 
of  Raspberries  the  ground  may  be  prepared  as  opportunity  permits.  In 
the  case  of  these  the  ground  can  scarcely  be  too  deeply  dug  or  over¬ 
manured.  Success  mainly  depends  on  encouraging  vigorous  growth  the 
first  season.  This  is  accomplished  if  the  inserted  plants  are  closely 
pruned  the  first  season,  allowing  strong  growths  but  no  fruit. 
Plums. — Nets  should  l  e  hung  over  bush  trees,  and  also  in  front  of 
wall  trees  where  the  fruit  is  ripening,  to  protect  them  from  birds.  If 
wasps  are  troublesome,  wide  mouthed  bottles  half-filled  with  beer  and 
sugar  will  attraot  a  number.  Gather  the  for  ward  est  fruits  as  they  ripen. 
Some  may  be  preserved  in  good  condition  in  a  cool  dry  room  for  a  short 
time,  but  if  desired  to  preserve  them  longer,  wrap  each  fruit  in  tissue 
paper  and  place  in  a  box.  Some  of  the  later  ripening  Plums  will  keep 
excellently  in  this  way. 
Gathering  and  Storing  Apples  and  Pears. — Immediately  the  fruits 
are  ready  to  gather  from  any  special  trees  it  is  desirable  to  remove 
them  to  the  safe  storage  of  the  fruit  room.  The  greatest  care  must 
be  given  in  storing  the  choicest  fruits  of  the  best  varieties  so  that 
they  do  not  be- 
come  bruised, 
this  impairing 
their  keeping 
qualities.  Some 
trees  do  notripen 
all  their  fruits  at 
the  same  time, 
and  it  is  special¬ 
ly  necessary  to 
go  over  the  trees 
at  intervals,  re¬ 
moving  those 
that  are  ready. 
When  they  part 
readily  from  the 
spurs  on  lifting 
carefully,  this  is 
a  true  test  of 
their  fitness  to 
be  gathered.  In 
storing  Apples 
and  Pears  place 
them  apart  if 
possible.  As  a 
rule  Pears  may 
have  more 
warmth  than 
Apples.  The 
ripening  of  Pears 
may  be  accel¬ 
erated  by  a  little 
extra  warmth 
after  they  have 
been  stored  for 
a  short  time  in 
cooler  quarters.  If  room  is  available  store  all  fruit  in  single  layers. — 
Lymington,  Hants. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
H 
WORK  mu™*1  WEEK . 
M 
