58 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  19,  1900. 
Notes  on  Figs  Dnder  Glass. 
Fig,  13. — The  Gates,  Tatton  Park. 
Treks  ia  pots  for  early  forcing  mast  be  kept  free  from  red  spider 
by  syringing  at  least  once  a  day,  in  hot  weather  twice,  directing  the 
force  of  the  water  against  the  under  side  of  the  leaves;  and  if  this  is 
not  sufficient  an  insecticide  must  be  employed,  as  it  is  important  that 
the  foliage  be  kept  clean,  and  perform  its  functions  to  the  last.  Afford 
liquid  manure  at  the  root  s — not  to  the  extent  of  causing  exuberance, 
but  to  insure  a  due  supply  of  nutriment  and  the  storing  of  assimilated 
matter  in  the  wood.  Pinching,  to  induce  a  neat  habit  in  young  plants 
with  fruitfulness,  must  be  attended  to,  regulating  the  growth  by 
stopping  in  accordance  with  the  vigour  and  the  variety. 
Strong-growing  plants  require  more  stopping  than  others  of  moderate 
vigour,  but  in  all  cases  avoid  crowding  the  shoots,  for  fruitfulness  is 
not  so  much  dependent  on  ample  foliage  or  growths  as  on  the  sturdi¬ 
ness  and  proportion  duly  exposed  to  light.  .  The  trees  must  be  kept 
sufficiently  far  apart  to  permit  proper  development  in  each  individual, 
under  all  the  light  possible,  affording  ventilation  freely  to  solidify  the 
growth  as  it  is  made.  The  pinching  of  trees  for  early  forcing  must 
not  be  practised 
after  this  date, 
but  the  young 
growths  allowed 
to  mature,  as  on 
that  of  their 
points  being  well 
perfected  de¬ 
pends  the  first 
crop  fruit  another 
season. 
Planted  -  out 
trees  started  at 
the  new  year 
have  the  second 
crop  in  an  ad¬ 
vanced  state,  and 
it  must  be  thinned 
if  too  thickly  set, 
there  not  being 
any  danger  of 
this  crop  drop, 
ping,  as  occurs 
frequently  with 
the  first,  reserv¬ 
ing  the  fruit  at 
the  base  of  the 
growths,  as  these 
finish  better  than 
those  near  their 
points.  Thinning 
the  second  crop  is  of  vital  importance,  because  bearing  is  an  exhausting 
process,  and  the  first  crop  next  year  having  to  be  borne  on  the  well- 
ripened  points  of  the  growths  of  the  preceding  year,  that  part  must 
not  be  enfeebled  by  carrying  a  heavy  load  of  fruit.  First  crops  are 
the  most  valuable,  and  the  chief  cause  of  their  failure  is  imperfect 
ripening  of  the  wood  with  impairment  of  the  energies  of  the  trees  by 
carrying  a  previous  heavy  second  crop. 
Attend  regularly  to  training  and  stopping  the  shoots,  keeping  the 
points  well  exposed  to  the  light.  Tie  loosely,  leaving  plenty  of  space 
in  the  ligatures.  Above  all  train  thinly,  stop  side  shoots  at  the  fifth 
leaf,  and  rub  off  those  not  required,  for  spur  growths  to  the  extent  of 
crowding  is  fatal  to  fruitfulness.  Afford  water  copiously  through  a 
light  mulching  of  short  lumpy  manure,  horse  droppings  duly  sweetened 
being  unsurpassed. 
If  fresh  manure  be  used,  and  too  abundantly,  there  is  danger  of 
inducing  soft  growths.  Light  dressings  admit  air  and  contain 
ammoniaoal  elements,  which  both  in  the  soil  and  atmosphere  benefit 
the  trees.  Liquid  manure  or  top-dressings  of  chemical  fertilisers 
washed  in  will  be  necessary  according  to  the  vigour  of  the  trees  and 
the  extent  of  the  rooting  area.  They  can  hardly  have  too  much  water 
in  hot  weather,  provided  the  soil  is  not  made  sodden,  and  they  store 
more  matter  in  a  week  of  fine  weather  than  in  a  week  of  dull.  This 
applies  to  warm  borders  of  sound  material  over  thorough  drainage. 
Forcibly  eject  red  spider  by  syringing  twice  a  day  in  bright  weather, 
otherwise  occasionally.  Admit  a  little  air  constantly,  and  increase  it 
early  in  the  morning  ;  close  early  in  the  afternoon  with  plenty  of 
atmospheric  moisture,  allowing  the  heat  to  rise  to  90°,  95°,  or  100°, 
then  the  fruit  will  swell  to  a  good  size. — Grower. 
- - 
Tuberous  Begonias. 
Considering  the  utility  of  tuberous  Begonias  it  is  not  at  all 
surprising  that  they  have  become  so  popular  during  the  past  few  years. 
But  a  decade  or  so  ago  these  plants  were  practically  unknown  to 
amateurs,  and,  moreover,  the  uses  to  which  Begonias  were  then  put 
differed  materially  from  those  of  the  present  day.  At  the  former 
period  tuberous  Begonias  were  only  to  be  found  in  the  conservatories 
of  the  wealthy  and  the  glass  houses  of  nurserymen,  but  since  then 
matters  have  changed,  and  now  it  is  an  uncommon  occurrence  not  to 
find  them  in  most  small  gardens.  Indeed,  one  might  go  farther, 
and  assert  that 
tuberous  Be¬ 
gonias  are  grown 
by  the  majority 
of  amateurs  both 
for  the  decora¬ 
tion  of  green- 
houses  and  win¬ 
dow  boxes  and 
the  embellish¬ 
ment  of  the 
flower  garden. 
^  It  cannot  be 
said  that  tuberous 
Begonias  are  dif¬ 
ficult  to  grow,  it 
being  a  com¬ 
paratively  easy 
matter  to  raise 
a  large  number 
of  plants  from 
seed,  provided 
a  well  heated 
greenhouse  or 
propagating  case 
is  forthcoming. 
The  seeds  should 
be  sown  in  the 
spring,  and  there¬ 
fore  it  would 
serve  no  useful 
purpose  to  refer  at  length  to  that  portion  of  their  cultivation  at 
present.  Amateurs  who  have  not  facilities  for  raising  plants  from 
seed  may  procure  tubers  from  advertising  firms  in  the  winter,  or 
flowering  plants  now.  The  latter  procedure  would,  in  some  respects, 
better  meet  the  requirements  of  many  persons,  and  if  the  plants 
are  judiciously  treated  they  will  continue  to  bloom  until  the  autumn 
is  well  advanced. 
In  the  flower  garden  tuberous  Begonias  have  to  a  great  extent  taken 
the  place  of  Zonal  Pelargoniums.  The  plants  produce  a  good  display 
of  blossom  under  these  circumstances  if  grown  in  a  light  fertile  soil. 
As  is  well  known,  they  are  planted  in  the  beds  during  May  or  June, 
and  if  the  weather  is  dry  throug.h  the  summer  occasional  waterings 
may  be  advantageously  given.  A  mulching  of  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse 
will  also  preserve  the  moisture  in  the  soil  and  benefit  the  plants. 
When  frost  has  damaged  the  blooms  lift  the  Begonias  and  store 
the  tubers  in  dry  sand  or  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse  in  a  shallow  box,  and 
place  where  frost  cannot  reach  them.  In  this  position  they  will 
keep  until  the  spring,  when  place  in  pots  in  heat,  and  grow  again  for 
another  season. 
There  are  numerous  named  varieties,  as  a  glance  as  any  trade 
list  will  show.  Those  depicted  in  the  illustration  (fig.  15,  page  63) 
are  Duke  of  York,  dark  red  ;  Mrs.  Regnart,  chrome  yellow;  Countess 
I  of  Craven,  white  rose-edged  ;  and  Lord  Dunraven,  rich  scarlet. — F.  B. 
