366 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  17,  1901. 
'branches,  together  with  growths  that  have  borne  the  crop,  filling 
up  the  vacant  spaces  with  the  successional  shoots.  The  trees 
have  a  better  chance  of  becoming  thoroughly  ripened  when  super¬ 
fluous  material  is  removed  now. 
MORELLO  CHERRIES. — As  these  trees  on  walls  require  a 
considerable  quantity  of  old  bearing  shoots  and  other  growths 
removing,  it  is  essential  to  commence  early,  and  make  room  for 
laying  in  the  reserved  growths.  Although  these  may  be  laid  in 
somewhat  more  thickly  than  in  other  wall  trees,  it  is  requisite 
in  doing  so  not  to  overcrowd.  This  can  best  be  judged  by 
carrying  out  the  work  at  once  while  foliage  still  remains.  A 
good  supply  of  young  growths  produces  the  best  crops.  Spur 
growths  may,  however,  be  encouraged  where  there  is  room  to 
accommodate  them.  Surplus  growths  situated  in  convenient 
positions  may,  therefore,  instead  of  being  cut  out  entirely,  be 
shortened  to  a  few  buds. 
PREPARING  SOIL  FOR  PLANTING.— The  great  advantage 
of  having  the  ground  ready  when  new  trees  are  received  is 
obvious.  All  stations,  quarters,  or  borders  should,  therefore,  be 
now  thoroughly  well  prepared.  This  consists  mainly,  if  not 
entirely,  of  deep  digging.  For  the  larger  fruits,  consisting 
chiefly  of  Apples,  Pears,  Plums,  and  Cherries,  the  soil  must  not 
be  over-enriched,  as,  if  so,  strong  growth  ensues,  which  is  not 
fruitful.  Well  broken  up  ground,  both  as  regards  the  surface 
and  subsoil,  will  give  the  trees  a  good  start.  The  soil  may  after¬ 
wards  be  enriched  when  necessary  by  surface  mulchings  and 
other  means.  Tbe  addition  of  good  loam  will  improve  poor  soil, 
and  when  the  trees  are  planted  give  them  some  special  material 
to  root  in.- — Lymington,  Hants. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
EARLIEST  FORCED  Pit  ACHES. — Whether  the  house  is 
planted  with,  the  varieties  Hale’s  Early,  Stirling  Castle,  Royal 
George,  Dymond,  and  similar  second  early  and  midseason 
Peaches,  along  with  Lord  Napier,  Stanwick  Elruge,  and  Dryden 
Nectarines,  or  the  sorts  consist  of  Alexander  or  Waterloo  and 
Early  Louise  Peaches,  with  Cardinal  and  Early  Rivers  Nec¬ 
tarines,  the  trees  will  have  been  at  rest-  for  some  time,  and 
having  been  dressed  and  everything  put  into  proper  order,  but 
little  beyond  keeping  as  cool  as  possible  will  be  required  until 
starting  them.  If  these  matters,  referred  to  in  former  calendars, 
have  not  been  attended  to,  we  urge  their  being  clone  without 
further  delay,  as  the  trees  of  the  first-named  varieties  must  be 
started  at  the  beginning  of  December  to  have  ripe  fruit  at  the 
end  of  April  or  beginning  of  May  ;  but  if  of  the  last-mentioned 
varieties  the  house  need  not  be  closed  until  the  close  of  December 
and  the  forcing  commenced  at  the  new  year.  This  is  a  clear  gain 
of  one  month’s  time  and  expense  in  forcing  Peaches  and  Nec¬ 
tarines. 
SUCCESSION  HOUSES. — The  trees  will  be  in  various  stages 
of  maturing  the  foliage,  according  to  time  of  starting,  but  this 
must  not  be  hurried  by  removing  the  leaves  forcibly.  If  ripen¬ 
ing  tardily,  admit  air  freely  at  night,  keeping  the  houses  rather 
close  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  and  maintaining  a  dry  atmo¬ 
sphere.  Seek  gradual  maturation,  when  the  leaves  will  part 
freely  from  the  trees.  When  the  leaves  are  all  down  unfasten 
"the  trees  from  the  trellis,  perform  any  pruning  required,  cleanse 
the  house  thoroughly,  paint  the  woodwork  and  trellis  if  necessary, 
and  dress  the  trees  with  an  insecticide.  Secure  the  trees  to  the 
trellis,  leaving  room  in  the  ligatures  for  the  branches  to  swrell, 
as  tight  tying  is  one  of  the  most  prevalent  causes  of  gumming. 
Remove  the  surface  sod  down  to  the  roots,  and  supply  fresh 
loam  rather  stiff,  sprinkling  a  handful  of  a  mixture  of  steamed 
bonemeal  and  wood  ashes  in  equal  parts  on  each  square  yard, 
scratching  in  lightly  with  a  fork.  If  wood  ashes  are  not  forth¬ 
coming,  use  two  parts  sulphate  of  potash,  one  part  sulphate  of 
magnesia,  and  half  a  •  part  sulphate  of  iron  to  three  parts  of 
steamed  bonemeal,  mixed,  and  4oz  of  the  mixture  per  square 
yard.  Give  a  thorough  supply  of  water  to  inside  borders  of 
houses  with  fixed  roofs,  but  it  is  better  to  remove  the  roof-lights 
and  allow  the  borders  to  become  thoroughly  soaked  by  the 
autumn  rains. 
Any  lifting  and  root-pruning  of  trees  in  an  unsatisfactory  state 
should  be  attended  to  whilst  the  leaves  are  upon  the  trees,  not, 
however,  until  the  foliage  becomes  mature,  and  then  acting  with 
despatch.  If  fresh  trees  have  to  be  introduced,  it  should  be 
performed  when  they  are  safe  for  removal,  namely,  when  the 
leaves  part  readily  from  them,  or  as  soon  as  they  are  nearly  off 
the  trees.  The  best  description  of  trees  for  planting  in  houses 
are  those  three  »r  four  years  trained  to  walls  or  to  trellises  under 
glass,  and  prepared  for  safe  removal  by  annual  or  biennial  lifting. 
Such  trees  transplant  safely  with  abundance  of  fibrous  roots. 
Carefully  planted,  they  can  be  forced  the  first  year  with  every 
confidence  of  a  crop  if  not  started  before  the  new  year,  not 
brought  on  too  rapidly,  and  not  overcropped.  It  is  always  de¬ 
sirable  to  select  trained  trees  in  bearing  in  preference  to  planting 
young  trees  that  are  not  furnished  with  some  bearing  wood ;  but 
if  young  trees  must  be  planted,  choose  such  as  have  a  well- 
furnished  base,  free  from  gumming,  not  very  strong  in  the  wood, 
and  that  well  matured.- —  St.  Albans. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “  The  Editor,”  12,  rout  re  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.c.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
CCELOGYNE  CRISTATA  (W.  H.  Pain).— As  a  rule,  water 
is  partially  withheld  from  Coelogyne  eristata  and  its  varieties 
from  the  time  the  growths  are  completed  until  the  flower  sprays 
begin  to  push  up  in  early  spring.  Enough  water  should  be  given 
at  all  times  to  prevent  the  pseudo-bulbs  from  shrivelling. 
RUST  ON  CHRYSANTHEMUMS  (C.  W.).— The  remedy  to 
which  you  probably  refer  is  Veltha  Emulsion,  a  preparation 
advertised  and  referred  to  by  correspondents  in  our  columns. 
It  is  prepared  and  sold  by  Messrs.  William  Wood  and  Son,  Wood 
Green,  London,  N.  Potassium  sulphide  solution,  loz  to  three 
gallons  of  water,  will  destroy  the  spores  of  the  fungus,  but  not 
the  mycelial  hyplise  in  the  tissues  of  the  leaves,  hence  it  is 
necessary  to  repeat  the  application  at  intervals  of  a  few  days 
to  successfully  combat  the  fungus.  The  potassium  sulphide  solu¬ 
tion,  however,  cannot  well  be  used  under  glass,  as  it  discolours 
paint ;  but  there  is  no  objection  to  its  use  outside,  or  even  in¬ 
doors,  only  keep  from  paint.  It  is  necessary  to  reach  the  under 
side  of  the  leaves,  laying  the  plants  on  their  sides  and  turning 
over,  so  as  to  wet  every  part  with  the  solution.  The  sulphide 
should  be  dissolved  in  a  quart  of  hot  water,  then  make  up  to 
three  gallons  with  cold  water.  It  is  desirable  to  add  6oz  of  soft- 
soap  to  the  solution,  dissolving  this  in  hot  water  and  allowing 
to  become  cool  before  adding  to  the  dissolved  sulphide,  and 
then  mixing  thoroughly. 
SPREADING  EARTH  ON  LAWN  TENNIS  GROUND 
(Kittie). — Much  may  be  done  in  the  way  you  propose,  placing 
sifted  earth  or  compost  in  the  hollow  places  and  spreading  evenly, 
then  levelling  by  means  of  a  wooden  rake  and  afterwards  making 
quite  even  in  surface  with  the  back  of  rake.  It  is  not  advisable 
to  cover  the  grass  more  deeply  than  -Jin  at  a  time,  and  allow  the 
mould  to  lie  rather  loosely  for  a  time,  so  that  the  blades  of  grass 
may  come  through,  when  it  may  be  rolled  well  down.  In  a 
similar  case  we  gave  the  lawn  a  top-dressing  of  compost  all  over 
in  the  autumn  at  the  rate  of  twenty  tons  per  acre,  2-J-cwts  per 
rod,  spreading  evenlv,  and  leaving  until  February,  or  the  first 
mild  and  fair  weather  afterwards— the  material  not  sticking  to 
the  feet — then  raked  over  with  a  wooden  rake,  and  making  as 
even  in  surface  as  possible.  In  doing  this  the  top-dressing  w  as 
drawn  from  the  higher  parts  into  the  hollows,  there  being  a  very 
slight  dressing,  or  scarcely  any,  left  on  the  former,  and  thus  the 
inequalities  of  surface  were  made  correspondingly  even.  After 
clearing  off  the  rubbish  and  picking  off  any  stones,  the  lawn  was 
well  rolled  when  the  grass  had  sprung  through  the  top-dresing, 
and  it  was  greatly  improved  in  evenness  of  surface  and  in  quality 
of  grass,  the  lawn  being  kept  duly  mown  and  well  rolled. 
VINE  ROOTS  SWOLLEN  (Grape  Grower).— The  thickest 
oofs  are  much  enlarged,  probably  from  the  attacks  of  root-mites, 
hough  such  enlargements  frequently  arise  from  a  bad  state  or 
he  border,  which  occasions  an  undue  formation  of  bark  and  its 
ecurring  annual  accumulation.  The  Vines,  or  rather  Nature, 
iave  shown  an  aptitude  transcending  that  of  the  border-maker, 
s  “  the  roots  have  gone  through  a  4ft  path  into  a  flower  border 
mite  3yds  away  from  the  border.”  The  border  for  the  V  mes 
ieing  quite  4ft  deep  with  soil,  and  the  bottom  cemented,  it  would 
»e  well  to  provide  a  drain  at  the  lowest  part  of  the  lattei  and 
rhole  length  of  the  border,  it  having  proper  fall  and  outlet, 
,nd  then  place  in  a  foot  depth  of  drainage  from  half-brick  size 
it  bottom  to  road  metal  sized  pieces  at  top,  and  on  this  place 
1  3in  layer  of  old  mortar  rubbish  freed  from  laths  and  other 
lieces  of  wood.  This  will  leave  2ft  9in,  which  is  quite  ample 
or  compost.  This  may  consist  of  ten  parts  turfy  loam  of  medium 
exture,  fresh  horse  droppings  one  part,  old  mortar  or  lime 
ubbisli  one  part,  and  bones,  crushed,  lin  down  to  Jin,  one-fiftieth 
,art,  mixed.  In  the  top  foot  of  this  compost  the  roots  should 
ie  spread  out  evenly  and  in  layers,  the  uppermost  roots  being 
■overed  with  about  3in  of  soil.  It  would  be  advisable  to  have  the 
lorder  bricked  in  front,  so  as  to  confine  the  roots  to  the  border, 
■special Iv  as  the  bottom  is  cemented.  Of  course  proper  drainage 
s  provided,  and  with  roots  in  more  favourable  circumstances 
lie  Vines  should  improve,  and  produce  well  finished  Grapes. 
Crushed  Jin  bones  are  suitable. 
