562 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  25,  1903 
fruitful  plants  for  the  purpose  of  rooting  them  early,  so  that 
bed^  may  be  formed  and  planted  at  an  early  period  in  August. 
The  readiest  manner  of  rooting  them  is  to  fill  3in  pots  with  a 
substantial  mixture  of  loam  and  manure.  Partly  plunge  the 
l>om-  in  the  soil,  and  on  the  surfaoe  of  the  soil  fasten  clown  a 
runner  with  a  peg  or  stone.  The  first  runner  from  the  plant  is 
invariably  the  strongest  and  most  suitable.  Keep  them  well 
■watered  in  diw  weather,  and  prevemt  the  rumier  making  further 
growth.— E.\st  Kent. 
Frnit  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,  and  in  addition 
to  ventilating  freely  the  border  should  be  freciuently  damped 
and  duly  watered,  so  that  no  check  is  given  likely  to  induce  the 
premature  ripening  of  the  wood  and  foliage.  Laterahs-encourage 
root  action,  but  they  must  be  stopped  to  prevent  overcrowding, 
otherwise  semi-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  recjuired,  should 
be  cut  away  to  the  growths  originated  from  their  base  for  next 
year’s  bearing. 
HOUSES  WITH  THE  FRUIT  RIPENING.— The  trees 
started  in  February  have  the  fruit  advanced  for  ripening,  and 
this  must  be  kept  drju  With  a  view  to  prcJonging  the  season 
of  fruit,  fire  heat  may  be  discontinued,  unless  the  weather  is 
unusually  cold,  and  air  admitted  freely  by  day  and  night,  main¬ 
taining  adequate  moisture  at  the  roots.  Where  it  is  not  wi.shed 
to  retard  the  fruit,  maintain  a  night  temperature  of  60deg  to 
bfideg,  and  70deg  to  75deg  by  day.  Free  ventilation  will  enable 
the  fruit  to  swell  freely,  and  develop  good  flavoured  specimens, 
allowing  a  rise  of  lOdeg  to  lodeg  from  sun  heat.  Keep  water 
from  the  fruit,  but  the  floors  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  when  required, 
and  a  light  mulching  of  rather  short  manure,  lumpy  and  well 
sweetened,  will  lessen  the  necessity  for  it,  and  encourage  surface 
roots. 
TREES  SWELLING  THE  FRL^IT. — In  houses  that  were 
started  in  Mardi,  or  where  the  fruit  is  taking  the  last  swelling 
after  stoning,  syringe  vigorously  te  keep  down  red  spider.  If  the 
trees  need  support,  supply  licjuid  manure  or  water  thi’ough  a 
good,  but  not  excessively  deep,  mulching  of  short  manure, 
^'prinkling  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  by 
closing  early,  with  abundance  of  atmospheric  moisture,  allowh 
ing  the  heat  to  rise  to  SOdeg,  Sodeg,  or  90deg  aftenvards.  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.  Keeti)  the  shoots  well,  but  not 
too  olo-sely,  tied  down,  pinch  the  laterals  back  to  the  lowest 
leaf,  thinning  out  the  growths  where  crowded,  and  remove 
superfluous  shoots. 
GATHERING  PEACHES.— Great  care  is  neces-saiy  on  re¬ 
moving  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  a  gentle  pressure,  then  laid  carefully 
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  matui'e  before  being  sent  to  table.  In  bright  weather  the 
trees  should  be  looked  over  in  the  evening  as  well  as  morning 
for  the  r-emoval  of  the  ripe  fruit. 
LATE  HOUSES. — The  fruit  should  be  thinned  to  the  quality 
required  for  the  crop,  or  a  few  more  may  be  left  than  will  be 
reciuired,  to  allow  for  casualties  in  stonmg.  Syringe  morning 
and  evening  in  bright  weather,  but  avoid  syringing  on  dull  davs 
and  on  moi-nings  when  moisture  has  been  conden.sed  and  hangs 
on  the  margins  of  vigorou.s  trees.  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  funiishing  the 
trees,  should  be  removed.  Keep  laterals  closely  pinched,  and 
cut  away  gross  shoots.  The  shoots  on  young  trees  should  be 
left  about  18in  for  next  year’s  bearing,  and  if  they  are  di.si)osed 
to  elongate  above  18in  they  may  be  pinched  to  12in  or  18in, 
stopping  the  laterals  at  the  first  leaf  ;  but  extensions  or  main 
shoots  should  be  allowed  to  grow  their  full  length,  provided  they 
are  evenly  balanced,  and  there  is  room.  Avoid  laying  on  the 
growths  too  thickly:  the  branches  should  be  9in  to*  12in  apart, 
and  these  should  be  as  evenly  balanced  as  possible. — St.  Albans! 
- - 
A  Giant  Cauliflower. 
Mr.  J. ^Munson,  an  ex-policeman  and  the  olde.st  inhabitant  of 
Foisted,  Essex,  ha,s  grown  a  Cauliflower  which  measured  3ft  9in 
in  circumference  and  weighed  7llb. 
*  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. 
HORTICULTURAL  SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  (Ernest).— 
A  list  of  these  was  printeid  in  our  issue  for  March  14,  this 
year.  Being  business  concerns  we  cannot  name  any  one  in 
particular. 
“  F.R.H.S.”  (Idem). — The,se  letters  are  only  used  by  com¬ 
paratively  few  people.  Wc'  believe  nearly  7,000  persons  have 
the  right  to  add  F.R.H.S.  after  their  names,  because  they  have 
paid  their  annual  guinea  subscription  to  the  Royal  Horticul¬ 
tural  Society  of  London,  which,  of  course,  is  a  well  known  body. 
Tljere  is  no  examination  necessaiy  to  obtain  the  letters — only 
the  guinea.  Can  we  propose  you  as  a  Fellow? 
HORTICULTURAL  EXAMINATIONS  (Idem). —Yearly 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  (whose  office  address  is  at  117, 
Victoria  Street,  London,  S.W.)  hold  an  examination  on  the 
principles  and  practice  of  gardening,  which  is  oiren  to  all  comers, 
and  for  which  they  award  first  class,  second  class,  and  third  class 
certificates.  This  examination  is  iield  .yearly  in  April,  and  par¬ 
ticulars  will  be  sent  by  the  secretary  if  you  apply  to  him.  The 
various  horticultural  schools  and  colleges  at  Swanley,  Chelms¬ 
ford,  Reading,  and  elsewhere  make  a  i>oint  of  working  for  this 
examination,  which  they  have  come  to  look  on  as  the  great  test 
cf  their  individual  efficiency.  Private  under-gardeners  also 
enter  in  fair  numbers,  and  though  we  do  not  know  whether  a 
private  gardener  has  ever  been  first  on  the  list,  we  dO'  know 
that  the  second  place  has  been  won  by  a  young  man  studying 
in  his  spare  hours.  You  may  find  in  our  advertisement  columns 
during  the  winter  and  spring  season  announcements  for  come- 
spondence  tuition  by  competent  men.  Naturally  all  aspirants 
to  these  examinations  should  possess  considerable  practical 
knowledge.  We  do  not  say  that  the  possession  of  even  a  first 
class  certificate  carries  one  far,  but  it  has  its  weight  towards 
giving  one  “a  fair  standing  in  the  horticultural  world,”  and  is 
as  necessaiy  for  advancement  in  certain  sections  of  the  calling 
as  your  teacher’s  certificate  is. 
GRAFTING  OR  BUDDING  CHOICE  KINDS  OF  OAK  AND 
HORSE  CHESTNUT  (S.  J.  W.).— We  are  not  aware  of  these 
subjects  being  gone  into  in  back  numbers  of  the  Journal  of 
Horticulture-  Oaks  or  species  of  Quercus  and  their  varieties  are 
grafted  on  stocks  grown  from  acorns  of  the  common  Oak, 
operating  when  the  sap  is  in  full  flow,  the  scions  being  taken  off 
several  weeks  previously,  and  laid  in  damp  soil  in  a  north  border. 
Whip  or  siilice  (whip  without  a  tongue)  grafting  is  most  successful, 
the  stock  and  scion  being  of  similar  size.  Varieties  of  Ever¬ 
green  Oaks  are  also  grafted  on  stocks  grown  from  wild  acorns. 
The  stocks  are  potted  in  autumn,  and  the  grafting  is  performed  in 
January  and  February,  or  sometimes  in  August,  under  glass  in 
both  cases.  Horse  Chestnut  (^Esculus  sp.  and  vars.)  grafting  or 
budding  is  performed  on  stocks  of  the  common  Horse  Chestnut, 
the  scions  for  grafting  being  cut  early,  before  they  begin  to  swell, 
and  kept  dormant  until  the  stock  begins  to  push  into  leaf.  Only 
vigorous  stocks  should  be  chosen,  the  best  results  being  obtained 
when  the  stocks  have  recovered  from  transplanting,  or  when  they 
are  about  three  years  old,  and  the  stock  and  scion  about  the  same 
size,  in  order  to  secure  a  good  union.  The  stocks  are  worked  b.y 
whip  grafting  just  abov’e  the  ground.  The  wound  inustTre  well 
tied  and  protected  by  waxed  cloth  or  grafting  wax.  Budding  is 
performed  in  the  usual  way  in  July,  selecting  buds  from  the  base 
of  the  shoots,  and  may  even  be  irractised  as  late  as  the  beginning 
of  September.  The  working  of  Horse  Chestnuts  is  often  not 
satisfactory,  the  union  being  impei'fect  in  many  varieties,  and 
u.suall,v  no  more  than  half  the  grafts  take  well.  Perhaps  the  best 
success  is  had  by  working  the  stocks  under  glass,  especially  the 
grafting,  or  even  the  budding  on  young  stocks. 
NAMES  OF  PLANTS. — Coi'respondents  xvhose  queries  are  tin- 
answered  in  the  present  issue  are  respectfully  requested  to  consult  the 
following  numher.  (J.  B.). — This  is  the  Miss  Willmott  Verbena. 
(N.  F.).— 1,  Genista  virgata ;  2,  Rosa  lutea  ;  3,  Eseallonia  phillippiana  ; 
4,  Tilia  argentea ;  5.  Rliodoclendron  fragrans.  (F.  X.). — 1,  Russellia 
juneea;  2,  Vinca  rosea;  3,  Solanum  Wendlandi ;  4.  Cestrum  auran- 
tiaea  ;  5,  Isoloma  var.  (D.  C.). — Compositoe  ;  1,  Crepis  biennis,  L. ; 
