52i 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  11,  1903. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
FIGS  :  FARLY  FORCED  TREES. — Generous  treatment  is 
needod  after  the  first  crops  are  gathered  to  enable  the  trees  to 
swell  the  .second  crop,  which  should  be  thinned  before  the  fruit 
is  the  size  of  Walnuts,  and,  in  tliinning,  reserve  the  largest  fruits 
at  the  base  of  the  shoots.  Syringe  twice  a  day  to  keep  red  spider 
in  check,  and  afford  liquid  manure  when  watering  is  necessai’y. 
^ees  in  pots  require  it  daily,  .sometimes  twice  a  day,  and  those 
in  borders  once  or  twice  a  week,  according  to  the  extent  of  the 
rooting  area.  Mulch  trees  in  pots  with  rich  material,  also  those 
in  borders,  lumpy  loam  and  sweetened  manure  answering  admir¬ 
ably,  especially  when  sprinkled  occasionally  with  a  mixture  of 
three  parts  steamed  bonemeal,  two  parts  nitrate  of  potash, 
powdered,  and  one  part  ground  gypsum,  mixed,  using  2oz  or  3oz 
of  the  mixture  every  fortnight  or  three  weeks. 
SUCC'ESSION  HOUSES. — When  the  fruit  commences  ripen¬ 
ing  a  free  circulation  of  warm  air  should  be  afforded,  which  is 
essential  to  high  quality,  not  less  .so  being  the  tying  in  of  the 
shoots,  regulating  them  by  thinning  and  stopping,“so  as  to  afford 
the  fruit  the  benefit  of  all  the  light  and  air  possible.  The  moisture 
in  the  atmosphere  will  need  to  be  moderated,  not  wetting  the 
fruit,  though  if  red  spider  prove  troublesome,  the  fruit  .should 
be  gathered  closely,  and  a  good  syringing  given,  which  will  not 
injure  the  remaining  fruit,  providing  it  is  done  early  on  a  fine 
day,  so  that  the  moisture  does  not  remain  long  on  the  fruit,  other¬ 
wise  it  may  cause*  it  to  crack.  Do  not  allow  any  lack  of  moisture 
at  the  roots,  yet  give  supplies  of  water  less  liberally  than  when  the 
fruits  ai-e  swelling. 
YOUNG  TREES  IN  POTS  FOR  NEXT  YEAR’S  EARLY 
FORCING. — The  trees  must  have  all  the  light  possible,  and  be 
kept  as  near  the  glass  as  practicable  without  touching,  so  as  to 
secure  sturdy  growth;  well  ripened  wood,  kept  perfectly  dean  by 
syringing,  and  well  stored  with  nutrient  matter  by  judicious 
applications  of  liquid  manure  or  top-dressings  of  fertilisers,  espe>- 
cially  those  of  a  phosphatic  nature.  Stopping  must  not  longer 
be  practised,  for  it  is  from  the  well-matured  joints  of  the  current 
year’s  shoots  that  next  year’s  first  crop  of  ’ Figs  are  produced, 
and  this  first  ci’op  is  of  greatest  consequence  in  very  early  forced 
Fig  trees.  If  there  be  any  neglect  in  the  preparation  of  the 
trees  disappointment  is  inevitable.  The  growth  being  completed, 
the  trees  may  be  stood  outdoors  to  induce  re.st,  but  the  wood 
must  be  well  ripened  previously,  and  to  be  of  use  for  early  forcing, 
it  must  be  matured  early. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES  ;  EARLIEST  HOUSES.— 
When  all  the  fruit  is  gathered  from  individual  trees,  the  wood 
on  which  it  has  been  borne  should  be  cut  away  to  the  shoot  at 
the  base,  which  is  to  afford  the  bearing  wood  for  next  season, 
except  if  the  fruit  has  been  produced  on  wood  that  is  necessary 
for  the  extension  of  the  trees,  then  it  must  be  retained.  All 
growths  not  absolutely  necessary  for  bearing  next  season,  or  for 
the  extension  of  the  trees,  must  be  cut  away,  as  it  is  important 
the  foliage  be  fully  exposed  to  light  and  air ;  and  it  is  also  es.sen- 
tial  that  it  die  naturally,  not  prematurely  through  attacks  of 
red  spider  or  lack  of  moisture  at  the  roots.  Employ  the  .syringe 
or  engine  freely.  Keep  the  inside  borders  properly  moist  by  duly 
watering,  not  neglecting  the  outside  ones  if  the  weather  be  dry. 
Admit  all  the  air  po.ssible,  and  when  the  buds  are  plump  and 
the  wood  firm,  the  roof  lights,  where  moveable,  as  they  should  be 
in  all  early  forced  houses,  may  be  taken  off. 
TREES  STONING  THE  FRLHT. — The  trees  started  in 
February,  or  even  in  March,  have  the  fruit  of  a  good  size,  and 
the  stoning  process  in  various  stages  of  advancement.  To  con¬ 
tinue  this  in  steady  progress,  and  insure  its  stoning  satisfactorily, 
there  must  not  be  any  deficiency  of  moisture  at  the  roots ;  the 
foliage  must  be  kept  clean  by  daily  syringings,  and,  if  necessary, 
by  the  prompt  application  of  an  insecticide.  Continue  the  tem¬ 
perature  at  60deg  to  65deg  by  artificial  means,  and  allow  a  free 
circulation  of  air  between  70deg  and  75deg,  having  it  full  at  the 
latter,  and  close  at  75deg,  with  plenty  of  atmospheric  moisture. 
If  the  temperature  rise  to  SOdeg  or  Sodeg,  or  even  OOdeg,  it  will 
not  do  any  harm,  but  admit  a  little  air  in  the  evening,  so  as  to 
allow  the  pent-up  moisture  to  escape,  and  the  temperature  to 
gradually  cool  through  the  night.  Increase  the  ventilation  with 
the  advancing  heat  from  65deg,  not  pincliing  for  air  in  the  early 
part  of  the  day. — St.  Albans. 
Weather  Notes, 
Temple  House  Gardens,  Great  Marlow,  Bucks. 
The  register  of  rainfall  for  May,  1903,  was  3.91in  ;  and  for 
May,  1902,  2.28in.  The  maximum  temperature  for  May,  1903, 
was  79deg  ;  and  the  minimum,  32deg,  on  the  12th.  The  maximum 
for  May,  1902,  was  70deg ;  and  the  minimum,  30deg.  During  May, 
1903,  there  was  a  hailstorm  on  the  6th,  thunder  and  hail  on 
the  17th,  a  foggy  morning  on  the  19th,  thunder  and  hail  the  28th, 
thunder  the  29th,  very  heavy  thunder,  with  sprinkle  of  hail  on 
‘  he  30th,  and  thunder  early  morning  on  the  31st. — G.  G. 
Sussex  Weather. 
The  total  rainfall  for  the  past  month  at  Abbot’s  Leigh,  Hay¬ 
ward’s  Heath,  was  2.86in,  being  1.18in  above  the  a’verage.  The 
heaviest  fall  was  0.80in  on  the  3rd  ;  rain  fell  on  eleven  days.  The 
maximum  temperature  was  84deg  on  the  30th;  the  minimum, 
30deg,  on  the  13th.  Mean  maximum,  Go.Oldeg;  mean  minimum, 
44deg;  mean  temperature,  54.50deg,  which  is  1.13deg  above 
the  average.  Ma.y  came  in  wet  and  cold  ;  and  the  last  three  days 
were  remarkably  hot ;  otherwise,  it  has  been  a  favourable  mouth. 
Potatoes  were  slightly  damaged  by  the  frost  on  the  13th,  but  are 
now  looking  well.  Apples,  Pears,  and  Goosebemes,  where  the 
birds  did  not  destroy  the  buds,  will  be  a  fair  crop.  Plums  are 
scarce.  Strawberries  will  be  a  fine  crop,  and  Black  Currants  will 
also  be  good. — R.  I. 
May  Weather  at  Belvoir  Castle. 
The  prevailing  directions  of  the  wind  were  N.  total  seven 
days,  and  S.W.  total  seven  days.  The  total  rainfall  was  2.79in; 
this  fell  on  eighteen  days,  and  is  0.43in  above  the  average  for  the 
month;  the  greatest  daily  fall  was  0.43in  on  the  10th.  Baro¬ 
meter  (corrected  and  reduced) :  Highest  reading  30.46in  on  the 
23rd  at  9  p.m.  ;  lowest  reading  29.247in  on  the  4th  at  9  p.m. 
Thermometers;  Highest  in  the  shade  7Gdeg  on  the  22nd;  lowest 
30deg  on  the  12th;  mean  of  daily  maxima  58.87deg;  mean  of 
daily  minima  42.25deg, ;  mean  temperature  of  the  month 
oO.oGdeg ;  lowest  on  the  grass  2.3deg  on  the  12th,  highest  in  the 
sun  122deg  on  the  22nd  and  27th  ;  mean  temperature  of  the 
earth  at  3ft  48. IG  deg.  Total  sunshine  159  hours  55  minutes, 
which  is  27  hours  58  minutes  below  the  average  for  the  month ; 
there  were  5  sunless  days.  The  excessive  rainfall  (2.55in)  during 
the  first  12  days  of  the  month  is  the  heaviest  recoi’ded  here  for 
that  period.  "  Previous  to  1877  the  records  are  imperfect. — 
W.  H.  Divers. 
All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “  The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  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. 
xl.SPARAGUS  AND  PHOTOGRAPH  (H.  S.).— We  are  grati¬ 
fied  to  receive  the  little  present,  and  the  growths  are  admirable. 
The  photograph  will  be  used. 
TOP  OF  CHRYSANTHEMUM  DISEASED  (H.  S.).— The 
leaves  are  affected  by  the  Clny-santhemuin  leaf  blight  fungus 
(Cylindrosporium  Chi-ysanthemi),  and  has  been  described  by  Mr. 
J.  Dearness  as  proving  destructive  to  cultivated  plants  in 
Ontario,  Canada.  As  common  with  many  plants  infested  by 
endophytic  parasites  the  leaves,  or  parts  of  them,  affected  as.sume 
a  dark  colour,  or  large  dark  green  blotches  appear  on  the  leaves, 
which  shortly  afterwards,  or  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  turn 
yellow  and  shrivel.  On  the  diseased  patches  numerou.%  fruiting 
pustules  are  formed,  and  these  produce  innumerable  long,  narrow 
spindle  or  club-shaped,  colourless,  septate  conidia,  which  rupture 
the  epidermis  of  the  leaf,  become  diffused,  and  spread  the  disease 
rapidly  under  favouring  conditions,  moist  weather  and  having 
tlie  plants  somewhat  crowded  favouring  the  disease.  .  The  disease 
is  not  uncommon  in  the  cutting  stage  of  the  plants,  probably 
from  the  moist  and  close  cii'cumstances  in  lyhich  they  are  kept, 
thougli  the  spores  must  be  present  or  the  disease  already  in  the 
plants,  and  probably  in  this  way  the  disease  goes  over  from  year 
to  year.  It,  however,  occurs  on  potted-on  plants,  even  outdoors, 
leaf  after  leaf  collapsing  from  below  upwards  on  the  stem,  the 
diseased  leaves  hanging  down  and  lying  close  to  the  stem.  In 
bad  cases  the  flower-buds  do  not  expand,  and  in  every  instance 
the  loss  of  foliage  seriously  prejudices  the  bloom  as  well  as  the 
appearance  of  the  plants.  Sometimes  it  does  not  appear  until 
the  plants  are  iioused,  or  does  not  materially  affect  the  leafage; 
but  then  from  the  closeness  of  the  plants  it  develops  rapidly,  and 
the  leaves  one  after  another  die  and  hang  down  close  to  the 
stem,  so  that  there  is  scarcely  any  sound  foliage  left.  Spraying 
the  plants  with  fungicides  does  not  appear  to  have  any  apparent 
effect  on  the  disease,  hence  the  best  course  is  to  remove  and 
burn  the  affected  leaves,  or  destroy  the  plant  as  soon  as  the 
disease  is  observed.  Those  reju’essive  measures  and  allowing  the 
plants  plenty  of  room,  and  when  under  glass  a  free  circulation 
are,  in  our  experience,  the  best  means  of  combating  the  disease. 
