366 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  18,  1900. 
these  fix  horizontal  lengths  of  wood  or  wire,  on  which  the  long  canes 
when  they  are  produced  may  be  trained.  The  first  season  the  planting 
canes  should  be  cut  do«n  closely,  doing  this  in  spring,  before  growth 
commences  ;  and  if  the  first  year’s  growth  is  not  strong  and  satisfactory, 
repeat  the  process  again.  With  established  plants  the  new  canes  must 
be  reduced  to  four  or  five  each  season,  selecting  the  strongest,  which 
should  be  well  ripened.  Mulch  the  ground  freely  with  manure  in 
autumn,  and  apply  liquid  manure  in  summer. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
Cucumbers. — The  autumn  or  early  winter  fruiters  are  now  in  full 
bearing.  The  plants  must  not  be  overcropped,  therefore  cut  the  fruit 
when  of  suitable  size,  also  remove  all  ill-shapen  and  surplus  fruit.  Go 
over  the  plants  once  a  week  at  least  and  remove  all  bad  leaves,  stopping 
and  tying  the  growths,  laying  in  no  more  wood  than  can  have  full 
exposure  to  light,  cutting  away  the  superfluous  shoots.  Winter  fruiters 
do  best  if  allowed  to  extend  well  up  tne  trellis  before  stopping  them, 
removing  all  side  growths  on  the  stem  up  to  the  trellis,  and  train  the 
growths  right  and  left  of  the  stem,  not  too  closely,  as  well  developed 
foliage  is  very  important.  Kemove  all  male  flowers,  and  cut  off  tendrils 
as  they  appear.  Add  fresh,  warmed  soil  as  often  as  the  roots  have 
fairly  covered  the  sides  of  the  ridges  or  hillocks,  and  if  they  need 
vigour,  or  are  pale  in  the  colour  of  the  leaves,  use  a  little  soot,  and  an 
occasional  dusting  of  the  bed  with  a  little  superphosphate  will  tend  to 
improve  the  substance  of  the  whole  plant.  Maintain  a  temperature  of 
70°  on  mild,  65°  on  cold  nights,  70°  to  75°  by  day  artificially,  advancing 
to  80°,  85°,  or  90°  with  sun  heat.  Admit  a  little  air  at  the  top  of  the 
house  on  all  favourable  occasions. 
Vines. — Earliest  Forced  in  Pots. — To  produce  ripe  fruit  in  late 
March  or  early  in  April  the  Vines  are  best  grown  in  pots,  as  stated 
in  a  former  calendar,  selecting  early  sorts,  such  as  White  Prontignan, 
Buokland  Sweetwater,  and  Foster’s  Seedling  in  white  Grapes,  and  in 
black  Royal  Ascot,  Black  Hamburgh,  and  Madresfield  Court.  They 
should  now  be  in  position  preparatory  to  starting  them  early  in  next 
month . 
Earliest  Forced  House.  —  Where  late  Grapes  are  not  cultivated 
extensively  to  maintain  a  supply  to  May,  or  thin-skinned  varieties  are 
required  by  April,  preparations  must  be  made  for  early  forcing.  The 
Vines  having  been  pruned  in  September,  the  loose  bark  stripped  off, 
the  house  may  be  cleansed,  the  border  top-dressed,  and.  the  Vines 
dressed  with  a  solution  of  softsoap,  3  ozs.  to  a  gallon  of  water,  adding 
flowers  of  sulphur  previously  moistened  with  skim  milk  to  form  a  cream, 
with  a  fluid  ounce  of  petroleum,  which  combined  form  a  mixture 
effective  against  Vine  pests,  mildew,  red  spider,  thrips,  scale,  and  mealy 
bug.  To  have  Grapes  ripe  in  April  the  house  must  be  started  next 
month,  as  under  favourable  conditions  five  months  are  required  to 
produce  ripe  Grapes  (of  even  the  early  varieties)  during  the  dullest 
period  of  the  year.  It  can  be  done  in  much  less  time,  but  the  strain  on 
the  Vires  is  so  great  that  they  are  little  good  afterwards. 
Midseason  Houses. — When  the  leaves  are  all  down  the  Vines  should 
be  pruned,  any  Grapes  being  cut  with  enough  stem  for  inserting  in 
bottles  of  water  and  placing  in  a  cool,  rather  dry  room,  where  they  will 
keep  better  than  on  the  Vines,  especially  where  there  are  plants  in  the 
house.  This  will  allow  of  the  thorough  cleansing  of  the  house  and 
Vines,  upon  which  much  of  success  or  otherwise  depends  in  the  coming 
season.  It  is  better  to  do  this  than  leave  the  house  and  Vines  in  a  dirty 
condition  until  a  convenient  time,  which  is  usually  performed  badly 
later  from  the  press  of  other  matters,  and  the  pests  have  time  to 
hibernate  in  retreats  where  they  cannot  be  reached  by  insecticides. 
Where  Grapes  are  hanging  air  will  need  to  be  admitted  on  all  favourable 
occasions,  and  a  gentle  warmth  be  maintained  in  the  hot-water  pipes,  so 
as  to  promote  a  circulation  of  air  in  dull,  damp  weather,  and  prevent 
the  deposition  of  moisture  upon  the  berries. 
Late  Grapes. — There  is  little  difficulty  in  keeping  such  thick  skinned 
Grapes  as  Alicante,  West’s  St.  Peter’s,  Gros  Guillaume,  Gros  Colman, 
Mrs.  Pince,  Alnwick  Seedling,  and  Lady  Downe’s,  provided  the  roof 
be  waterproof,  drip  avoided,  and  moisture  prevented  from  deposition 
on  the  berries,  which  can  be  done  by  judicious  ventilation  and  gentle 
warmth  in  the  hot- water  pipes.  White  Grapes,  however,  except  Calabrian 
Raisin,  which  has  a  tough  skin,  do  not  keep  nearly  so  well,  both  Syrian 
and  Trebbiano  being  in  degree  only  less  liable  to  spot  than  Muscat  of 
Alexandria,  which  when  finished  so  as  to  hang  in  good  condition  till 
January  or  later,  is,  with  Canon  Hall,  supreme  among  Grapes.  The 
great  enemy  of  the  two  last  named  varieties  is  spot,  and  that  of  two 
kinds,  first  that  caused  by  moisture  on  the  berries,  and  second  that 
xesulting  from  the  action  of  a  fungus  ;  but  the  latter  cannot  attack  the 
berries  successfully  till  their  epidermises  are  suffused  with  moisture 
in  a  stagnant  state — that  is,  resting,  though  imperceptibly,  on  them. 
The  means,  therefore,  of  avoiding  both  is  to  prevent  the  atmosphere 
becoming  stagnant,  a  temperature  of  about  .50°  being  necessary,  and 
*ir  must  be  given  early  on  flue  mornings,  with  warmth  in  the  pipes  to 
expel  moisture  and  allow  of  the  berries  being  warmed  equally  with  the 
surrounding  air,  moisture  being  kept  from  condensing  on  the  berries. 
There  must  not  be  anything  like  a  leak  in  the  roof,  no  mouldy  leaves 
or  decayed  berries,  and  moisture  kept  down  as  much  as  possible ;  that 
likely  to  arise  from  the  border  being  prevented  by  covering  it  with 
clean  dry  material,  than  which  nothing  answers  better  than  roughly 
cut,  clean  and  dry  wheat  straw. 
^<5^  All  correspondence  relatin'  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “Tue  Editor,”  12,  mitre  court  chambers,  Fleet  street, 
Iiondon,  E.C.  It  is  requ  sted  thit  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  tbecft  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
Thrips  on  Vines  (Anxious). — There  is  no  better  or  surer  way  of 
eradicating  thrips  than  sponging  the  leaves  with  Gishurst  compound  or 
other  approved  insecticide.  Just  before  the  leaves  fall  we  should  gather 
and  burn  them.  Where  Vines  are  seriously  attacked  the  insects  get 
into  the  bunches  and  spoil  the  fruit.  When  the  Vines  are  pruned  the 
rods  should  be  thoroughly  cleansed,  also  every  part  of  the  house  and 
the  plants  in  it,  or  you  may  have  more  trouble  next  year. 
Keeping  Walnuts  (K.  A.  C.). — In  gathering  the  nuts  should  be  ripe, 
the  husks  parting  easily  from  the  nuts.  Spread  the  nuts  in  a  dry  airy 
place,  and  turn  them  occasionally  till  the  husks  come  off  readily.  The 
shelled  nuts,  when  dried  with  a  cloth,  or  rubbed  dry  by  two  persons 
shaking  a  convenient  quantity  to  and  fro  in  a  sack,  not  employing  so 
much  force  as  to  break  the  shells,  may  be  packed  in  alternate  layers 
with  sand  in  jars,  and  stored  in  a  cool  place.  A  little  salt  scattered 
over  them  as  they  are  put  in  saves  them  from  mould  and  keeps  the 
kernels  plump,  but  flavour  is  best  preserved  in  the  ground,  the  niUs 
being  placed  in  flower-pots  and  buried  in  a  chamber  on  the  north  side 
of  a  wall,  as  described  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  last  year,  and  to 
which  you  allude. 
Lapageria  Leaves  Falling  (G.  H.  F.). — The  leaves  have  the 
appearance  of  being  scorched,  and  fall  because  their  juices  have 
been  abstracted  by  thrips,  of  which  we  found  some  specimens  in  the 
perfect  or  winged  state,  but  no  larvae  or  eggs.  There  are  also  some 
white  or  Lapageria  scale,  which  are  far  worse  than  the  thrips,  and  some 
of  them  are  iu  the  egg  state  and  others  in  the  larvae  condition,  beneath 
the  body  and  “shell”  of  the  parent  or  old  scale.  Have  the  plant 
carefully  sponged  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves  and  everywhere  with 
the  following  : — Place  a  quart  of  soft  water  in  an  iron  pan,  heat  it  to 
boiling,  with  4  ozs.  of  softsoap,  then  remove  from  the  lire  and  at  once 
add  a  tablespoonful  of  petroleum,  stirring  briskly  until  the  oil 
amalgamates  with  the  softsoap  solution,  and  when  cool  enough  sponge 
the  plant  with  it.  After  the  plant  has  been  sponged,  syringe 
water  at  a  temperature  of  120°.  This  will  give  you  a  clean  plant,  and 
it  will  push  fresh  growths  from  the  stem  that  may  do  good  service, 
but  that  depends  entirely  on  their  being  kept  free  from  insects. 
Leaf  Soil  from  Oak  Leaves  (E.  A.  H.). — In  Oak  woods  and  coppices 
we  have  always  noticed  that  where  the  Oak  leaves  accumulated  as 
top-dressings  among  the  brake  there  the  brake  grew  best,  and 
in  time  was  formed  a  half  peat-like  bed  that  was  unsurpassed  tor 
general  plant  growing,  and  more  especially  Ferns.  There  is  tannic 
and  also  some  gallic  acid  in  Oak  leaves,  but  it  is  so  small  as  not  to  be 
harmful;  and  jou  may  satisfy  yourself  of  this  by  examining  the  roots 
of  any  vegetation  near  or  among  the  leaves.  Moreover,  tannic  aci 
is  soluble,  and  when  leaves  have  lain  damp  in  the  position,  and  for  t  e 
length  of  time  you  name,  very  little  tannic  acid  will  be  left,  even 
supposing  it  not  to  be  decomposed,  which  it  readily  does 
conditions  that  turn  leaves  to  soil.  But  a  simple  way  of  testing  whet  er 
a  sample  of  leaf  soil  is  unwholesome  or  not  is  to  sift  some  with  loam 
and  sand  and  root  cuttings  of  some  plants  with  fleshy  roots  an 
examine  these.  If  they  root  freely  and,  on  examination,  are  foun 
healthy,  all  is  right. 
Chrysanthemums  for  January  (7.  C.). — The  plants  should  be  left 
outside  as  long  as  possible,  and  to  insure  their  safety  they  must  be 
protected  from  frost.  Any  rude  lean-to  or  span-roofed  structure  will 
answer  the  purpose  well.  The  pots  may  be  plunged  to  keep  them  from 
being  knocked  in  all  directions  by  heavy  winds.  The  sides  of  the 
structure  can  be  protected  with  mats  and  the  top  with  canvas  blinds. 
The  latter  should  be  drawn  up  early  on  fine  mornings  and  the  mats 
removed.  During  severe  stormy  weather  they  may  be  kept  on.  This 
light  protection  will  be  ample  to  save  them  from  injury  until  near 
Christmas,  unless  severe  weather  set  in  exceptionally  early.  In  some 
seasons  they  can  be  kept  outside  very  late  without  the  slightest 
protection,  but  one  frost  may  upset  the  whole  work  of  the  season,  and 
therefore  it  is  advisable  that  provision  for  their  protection  should  be 
made.  When  the  whole  or  nearly  the  whole  of  the  plants  are  placed 
inside  at  one  time  the  majority  are  in  flower  all  at  once,  and  do  not 
therefore  prove  so  useful  as  if  brought  forward  in  numbers  according 
to  the  demand.  There  should  be  no  difficulty  in  having  a  supply  of 
these  flowers  until  the  middle  or  end  of  February. 
