152 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  21,  1901. 
white  fleshed  Melons  in  cultivation.  Fruit  large,  oval  shape ;  skin 
a  bright  yellow  colour,  and  beautifully  netted;  flesh  juicy  and  of 
excellent  flavour.  Eastnor  Castle  is  one  of  the  best  flavoured  green 
fleshed  Melons  in  commerce,  but  there  is  some  difficulty  now  in  getting 
seeds  of  the  true  strain. 
I  have  thus  endeavoured  to  fulfil  the  task  of  showing  the  progress 
that  has  been  made  in  the  culture  and  development  of  the  Melon 
during  the  professional  lifetime  of  a  single  individual.  I  may  not  have 
said  much  that  is  new — it  were,  indeed,  almost  impossible  to  do  so  in 
these  times  of  widely  diffused  knowledge.  But  1  hope  I  may  have 
been  able  to  some  (Xtent  to  succeed  in  the  object  I  had  set  before  me 
of  setting  forth,  with  some  measure  of  clearness  and  at  uracy,  the  past 
and  the  present,  and  the  methods  bv  which,  under  the  guidance  of 
science  and  experience,  I  have  had  some  degree  of  success  in  the 
cultivation  oi  a  favourite  home-grown  table  fruit. — ( Paper  read  by 
Mr.  A.  Pettigrew  bejore  the  Loyal  Horticultural  Society .) 
Seasonable  Work  in  Plant  Houses. 
( Continued  from  paqe  110.) 
During  the  next  month  or  six  weeks  potting  will  claim  a  large 
share  of  attention,  and  the  performance  of  the  work  is  greatly 
facilitated  by  preparing  at  the  outset  a  large  heap  of  compost,  so  that 
there  will  be  no  delays  in  having  to  mix  a  fresh  supply  when  some 
important  work  is  in  progress.  The  occupants  of  the  stove  usually  claim 
first  attention,  because  being  grown  in  a  considerable  amount  of  heat 
they  are  the  first  to  show  signs  of  growth  as  the  season  advances.  Many 
very  complicated  mixtures  have  at  various  times  been  recommended 
for  certain  plants,  but  the  tendency  of  the  present  day  is  ail  in  favour 
of  simple  composts,  because 'it  has  so  often  been  proved  that  if  we 
provide  plants  with  a  suitable  medium  for  their  roots  to  permeate,  the 
additional  food  required  can  be  easily  supplied  in  the  form  of  chemical 
manures.  Good  fibrous  peat  and  loam  are  the  staple  soils  which  the 
plant  grower  needs,  and,  as  a  rule,  if  these  are  used  in  the  proportion  of 
one  of  the  former  to  two  of  the  latter  few  other  ingredients  are  needed. 
Tbe  quality  of  the  peat  and  loam  at  command  will,  however, 
sometimes  make  it  necessary  to  vary  the  above  proportions.  To 
illustrate  the  point,  let  me  deal  with  the  circumstances  under  which 
different  cultivators,  whom  we  will  designate  A,  B,  and  G,  have  to 
work.  A  is  able  to  procure  abundance  of  that  brown  fibrous  peat 
which  all  gardeners  delight  to  obtain,  but  the  loam  is  heavy  and 
lacks  fibre  ;  in  such  a  case  it  would  sometimes  be  wise  to  use  two 
parts  peat  to  one  of  loam,  or  to  employ  them  in  equal  proportions. 
B,  on  the  other  hand,  has  splendid  loam  ot  medium  texture  packed 
with  fibre,  but  must  perforce  use  peat,  which  quickly  becomes  sour. 
The  quantity  of  loam  then  used  should  be  increased,  and  the  peat 
correspondingly  decreased.  0  has  good  loam,  an  unlimited  supply 
of  sweet,  tough  leaf  soil,  but  inferior  peat.  In  such  a  cake  only  the 
rougher  poition  of  the  peat  ought  to  be  used,  and  leaf  soil  added  to 
render  the  compost  light  enough. 
In  preparing  composts  one  point  of  vital  importance  is  to  use  the 
main  ingredients  in  a  rough  state.  Either  chop  up  the  loam  with  a 
spade  or  pull  it  to  pieces  with  the  hand,  and  shake  out  the  finer 
portions.  An  ideal  peat  has  plenty  of  fibre  and  very  little  fine 
material,  but  in  many  districts  fairly  good  peat  may  be  obtaine ' 
near;  it  is  rather  “flaky,”  and  after  the  fine  portions  have  been 
shaken  out  the  residue  is  of  good  quality,  and  answers  well  for  the 
majority  of  stove  plants.  F rn<  lyT  ground  bonemeal,  added  at  the  rate 
of  a  quart  to  a  bushel  of  the  other  ingredients,  some  lumps  of  charcoal, 
and  a  tenth  of  sharp  sand,  will  complete  a  mixture  suitable  for  stove 
plants  and  Ferns.  As  the  various  stocks  of  plants  are  potted  it  is 
then  an  easy  matter  in  some  cases  to  add  more  peat  or  loam  as 
experience  may  suggest.  The  finer  portions  of  soils  which  have 
shaken  out  can,  with  the  addition  of  plenty  of  sand,  be  formed  into  a 
suitab'e  mixture  for  propagating  purposes. 
'I he  advantages  ot  good  drainage,  and  of  employing  clean  pots  and 
potsherds,  are  so  fully  recognised  by  all  gardeners  that  they  need  only 
be  touched  upon  lightly,  and  may  be  summed  up  in  the  following 
words.  So  arrange  the  drainage  that  the  water  will  pass  away  freely 
and  evenly,  which  conditions  are  secured  by  surfacing  the  larger  crocks 
with  a  layer  of  finer  materials,  and  then  covering  with  moss  or  rough 
peat  to  prevent  the  soil  from  mixing  with  the  drainage.  Plants  will 
often  grow  quite  as  well  in  dirty  pots  as  in  clean  ones,  but  when 
repotting  becon  es  necessary  those  grown  in  dirty  pots  lose  many  of 
their  young  roo‘s,  which  cling  to  the  sides  of  such  pots.  In  private 
establishments,  too,  cleanliness  is  always  necessary  for  the  sake  of 
appearances. 
Before  commencing  the  work  of  potting,  to  which  1  shall  refer  in 
subsequent  notes,  see  that  ihe  compost  has  been  thoroughly  mixed  by 
turning  ;  that  it  is  dry  enough  to  prevent  “caking”  when  pressed 
between  the  hands,  and  have  it  warmed  to  the  temperature  of  the 
house  in  which  the  plants  to  be  potted  are  growing. — H.  D. 
New  Vine  Borders. 
The  compost  for  new  or  renovating  old  borders  should  now  be 
prepared.  The  best  for  the  purpose  is  the  top  2  or  3  inches  of  a 
pasture,  rich  and  friable,  preferably  of  the  old  red  or  new  red 
sandstone  formations,  and  in  nature  neither  very  light  nor  very  heavy. 
It,  however,  is  better  rather  strong  than  light,  provided  it  contains 
plenty  of  gritty  matter,  as  it  always  should  do,  otherwise  the  material 
is  apt  to  settle  in  a  soapy  mass,  and  a  bad  condition  of  the  roots 
ensues,  accompanied  by  ill  health,  liability  to  diseases  in  greater 
measure,  bad  colour,  and  shanking  of  the  Grapes. 
Red  loams,  as  before  indicated,  are  the  best,  but  yellow  or  so-called 
hazel  loams  are  good,  as  both  contain  a  good  percent ige  of  oxide  of 
iron,  with  lime  and  magnesia,  and  being  in  gri  ty  or  rock  substances 
of  a  pebbly  nature  will  be  yielded  steadily  to  the  Vines,  the  roots 
dissolving  them  out  more  or  less,  hence  the  importance  of  a  free- 
rooting  medium.  To  good  friable  loam  add  a  sixth  of  old  mortar 
rubbish  broken  small,  removing  any  pieces  of  wood.  Wood  ashes  or 
chaired  refuse  should  be  used  to  a  similar  extent,  and  also  a  fifth  part, 
especially  if  the  turf  is  poor,  of  short,  fresh  stable  manure  or  horse 
droppings.  To  this  compost,  the  turfy  loam  being  chopped  up  rather 
roughly,  add  28  lbs.  of  crushed  half-inch  bones  and  3  bushels  of 
charcoal  “nuts”  to  each  cartload,  and  mix  thoroughly.  This  formula 
has  grown  prizewinniog  Grapes,  and  yielded  fine  supplies  for  home 
me,  and  also  brought  good  returns  for  the  produce  from  the  salesmen 
in  northern,  midland,  and  southern  centres. 
In  preparing  the  border  provide  a  foot  of  drainage,  the  roughest 
at  the  bottom  and  smallest,  not  less  than  road-metal  size,  at  the  top, 
and  on  this  a  layer  of  old  mortar  rubbish  broken  up  and  the  finer 
particles  silted  out  by  a  quarter-inch  sieve,  being  very  careful  to 
remove  any  portions  of  wood,  as  this  fosters  root  fungi,  which,  if  not 
actually  attacking  the  roots  of  the  Vines,  so  bind  the  compost  together 
by  their  mycelium  as  to  prevent  due  moistening  of  the  border,  and 
the  Vines  suffer  in  consequence  of  inadequate  supplies  of  moisture 
and  nutrition.  If  old  mortar  rubbish  be  not  to  hand  secure  the 
drainage  with  a  layer  of  turves,  grass  side  downward.  Where  the 
border  is  intended  for  early  Vines  allow  a  rather  sharp  incline  to  the 
front  or  south  of  the  outside  for  throwing  off  heavy  rains;  but  for 
early  forcing  the  roots  are  best  wholly  inside,  especially  for  the  tenderer 
varieties,  such  as  the  Frontignans  and  Muscats.  Indeed,  outside 
planting  is  now  almost  obsolete,  the  Vines  being  planted  inside,  and 
having  borders  both  inside  and  out. 
A  width  of  6  feet  is  quite  sufficient  in  the  first  instance,  and  that 
should  be  formed  inside,  to  which  the  roofs  must  be  confined  until 
the  interior  is  occupied,  not  making  the  outside  border  until  the  Vines 
are  thoroughly  established.  Tne  border  should  be  30  inches  in  depth 
to  commence  with,  as  it  will  settle  at  least  a  fitih  even  when  the 
materials  are  well  compacted,  they  not  being  trodden,  but  beaten  with 
the  fork  as  placed  in,  and  the  soil  being  in  neither  a  dry  nor  wet 
condition.  By  planting  rather  high  opportunity  will  be  given  for 
top-dressing,  and  roots  can  be  encouraged  from  the  collar,  thus 
increasing  the  rooting  area  whilst  encouraging  the  roots  to  work  near 
the  surface. 
The  proper  time  for  planting  Vines  is  from  the  time  the  buds 
commence  swelling  until  they  are  an  inch  or  two  long  in  growth,  they 
beiug  cut  back  in  the  winter  to  the  length  required,  keeping  cool,  and 
when  planting  shaking  them  out,  dfientangling  the  roots,  and 
spreading  out  evenly  in  the  compost.  When  the  Vines  are  raised 
from  “eyes”  inserted  singly  in  turves  about  6  inches  square,  and 
3  or  4  inches  thick,  they  may  be  transferre  >  to  their  permanent  places 
when  well  rooted  and  growing  freely,  the  breakage  of  a  few  roots  not 
being  material,  as  this  only  tends  to  a  m  re  fibrous  formation,  and 
that  is  better  than  the  coiled  root  system  induced  by  potting  the 
Vines  and  planting  them  with  the  ball  intact. — G.  A. 
- - - 
Honours  for  Mr.  G.  Stanton. — At  the  meeting  of  the  Reading 
Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Association,  Mr.  G.  Stanton  of  Park 
Place,  Henley-on-Thames,  was  congratulated  upon  the  distinction  that 
had  been  conferred  on  him  by  the  French  Government  in  nominating 
him  Chevalier  du  Merite  Agricole.  Mr.  Stanton,  in  replying,  said  that 
the  nomination  came  to  him  as  a  surprise.  He  received  an  official 
letter  from  the  French  Minister  of  Agriculture  through  the  French 
Ambassador  in  London  informing  him  of  the  fact.  A  few  days  later 
came  the  full  insignia  of  the  order  subscribed  for  by  old  French  pupils 
with  advice  that  the  parchment  diploma  would  follow  in  due  course. 
This  he  owed,  he  believed,  to  his  pupils’  appreciation  of  his  treatment 
— for  acts  of  kindness  shown  in  days  of  the  young  French  gardeners 
who  came  to  Park  Place  Gardens  for  improvement  in  horticulture, 
some  of  whom  are  now  the  leading  horticulturists  in  France. 
