July  17,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
67 
Notes  from  the  Transvaal. 
The  following  letter  from  a  soldier,  we  feel  sure  will  be  read 
with  much  interest  :  — 
“I  received  your  letter  dated  May  18.  By  the  time  you 
receive  this,  I  hope  we  will  have  orders  for  home.  The  burghers 
are  coming  in  all  right,  and  one  of  Kemp’s  commando  was  telling 
me  that  there  would  be  close  on  20,000  when  they  all  came  in, 
which  time  will  tell.  Most  of  them  are  very  hard  up  for  clothes 
and  boots.  I  Was  speaking  to  some  of  Delaray’s  mob,  and  they 
all  give  Methuen  a  very  good  name,  and  say  his  capture  was  a 
piece  of  misfortune.  One  old  man  gave  us  cigars  and  said  he 
would  fight  for  Britain  any  time  after  this.  They  all  seem 
to  be  glad  the  war  is  over.  One  said  that  they  get  on  best 
with  Scotchmen — as  Scotchmen  pick  up  the  Butch  (or  rather 
Taal)  language  very  quickly. 
“  The  way  the  old  Boer  farmers  do  with  the  Kaffirs  is  to  allow 
the  latter  so  much  land  to  grow  whatever  they  like  in  return 
for  their  labour  on  the  farm.  Most  of  the  farmers  are  content 
with  growing  a  few  mealies  (Indian  Corn)  and  Pumpkins,  and 
sometimes  Tobacco.  Most  of  them  build  their  farms  near  some 
stream  or  ’spring,  and  generally  build  a  big  dam  to  throw  the 
water  into  the  channels  made  for  irrigation  purposes.  Very 
few  have  windlasses,  as  they  are  expensive  and  the  Boers  are  not 
a  progressive  lot.  Most  of  the  houses  have  draw-wells  next  to 
them,  and  the  farmers  don’t  seem  to  have  to  sink  them  far  to 
get  water.  I  see  our  Government  had  a  lot  of  experts  out  here 
to  report  on  the  best  methods  of  irrigation. 
“About  six  months  ago  I  saw  in  the  ‘Bloemfontein  Post  ’  a 
prospectus  of  a  company  being  formed  to  pump  water  from  the 
Orange  River  to  the  Karoo  desert  in  Cape  Colony  for  vineyards, 
&c.  I  prefer  either  Natal  or  the  Transvaal  to  Orange  River 
Colony  or  Cape  Colony  for  anything  either  in  farming  or  other 
industry.  In  the  Western  Transvaal  are  found  splendid  agri¬ 
cultural  districts,  especially  round  by  Rustenburg.  Near  by 
Pretoria  the  districts  are  rich  in  minerals,  and  this  continues  so 
right  up  to  Middelburg.  In  the  “New  Scotland”  district  round 
by  Botheville  and  Steynsdorp  in  E.  Transvaal)  we  passed  a 
number  of  splendid  farms,  mostly  owned  by  Scotchmen.  Most 
of  the  soil  seems  to  be  very  sandy  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
“  The  great  drawback,  according  to  my  idea  on  farms  out  here, 
is  the  scarcity  of  good  grazing  during  the  winter.  The  grass  gets 
burned  and  withered,  and  has  no  substance  whatever,  and  affects 
stock  greatly.  Cattle  grow  to  an  enormous  size,  however,  and 
with  nothing  but  the  simple  grazing  to  fatten  them.  I  have 
seen  some  draught  oxen  which  I  am  sure  would  weigh  nearly 
16cwt  or  18ewt.  Of  course  I  may  be  mistaken,  but  I  think  an 
average  bullock  at  home  is  about  lOcwt  or  llcwt,  and  I  was 
judging  by  appearances.  Farmers  out  here  have  to  spend  con¬ 
siderable  sums  on  fencing,  and  a  great  many  use  slabs  of  stone 
instead  of  wooden  posts.  Others  plant  rows  of  trees,  as  ants 
leave  growing  trees  alone.  Round  gardens  or  orchards  they 
generally  make  hedges  of  Prickly  Pears  (Opuntia  vulgaris)  or 
Quincey  bushes.  The  most  general  wage  out  here  for  mine 
employes,  tradesmen,  &C.,  is  £1  a  day.  Prices  for  lodgings  vary, 
but  in  Johannesburg  and  Pretoria  they  are  much  the  same,  and 
generally  range  from  30s.  a  week  upwards.  A  suit  of  clothes  costs 
about  £6  or  £7.  One  is  a  great  deal  better  off  at  home  with  30s.  or 
35s.  a  w'eek  than  with  £1  a  day  out  here.  With  these  few  notes 
in  the  meantime  I  conclude. — W.  D.,  Pretoria,  Transvaal,  South 
Africa,  June  15,  1902.” 
/-TV 
WORK/o^the WEEK,  f 
Ww 
Fruit  Forcing. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES:  EARLY  FORCED 
HOUSES. — Trees  of  Alexander,  Waterloo,  and  Early  Louis  ■ 
Peaches,  Advance,  Cardinal,  and  Early  Rivers  Nectarines,  will 
now,  or  by  the  end  of  the  month,  have  the  buds  sufficiently 
plumped  and  the  wood  matured  to  admit  the  roof  lights  being 
removed.  This  is  a  commendable  practice,  as  it  prevents  over- 
maturity  in  the  buds,  lessens  the  danger  of  their  dropping,  and 
the  trees  are'  cleansed  and  refreshed  by  the  dews  and  rains  in 
the  autumn.  Where  the  lights  are  not  moveable  air  should  be 
admitted  constantly  to-  the  fullest  extent,  the  border  properly 
watered,  and  the  trees  syringed  occasionally,  so  as  to  keep  the 
foliage  free  from  red  spider.  The  second  early  varieties,  such  as 
Hale’s  Early,  A  Bee,  Early  Alfred,  and  Dr.  Hogg  Peaches,  Lord 
Napier,  Darwin,  and  Rivers’  White  Nectarines,  which  were 
started  at  the  new  year,  will  not  be  so  forward,  and  the  mic- 
season  varieties,  Stirling  Castle,  Royal  George,  Dymond. 
Noblesse,  Grosse  Mignonne,  and  Bellegarde  Peaches,  with  Stan- 
wick  Elruge,  Humboldt,  and  Dryden  Nectarines,  will  be  later 
still,  but  all  cleared  of  their  fruit.  Wood  in  which  the  fruit 
was  borne  will  have  been  removed,  reserving  extensions',  al. 
superfluous  growths  have  also'  been  cut  away,  so  that  the  tree s 
have  the  full  benefit  of  light  and  air  by  the  foliage  being  fully 
exposed,  influences  essential  to  forming  and  perfecting  the 
blossom  buds  and  the  thorough  maturation  of  the  wood.  Syringe 
the  trees  and  cleanse  them  of  insects  if  necessary  by  the  prompt 
application  of  an  insecticide,  and  supply  water,  or  in  case  or 
weakly  trees,  top-dressings  of  artificial  fertilisers  washed  in,  or 
liquid  manure  at  the  roots..  Mulching  will  also  tend  to  keep 
the  roots  active  at  the  surface  and  prevent  the  premature  ripen¬ 
ing  of  the  foliage.  Admit  air  to  the  fullest  extent.  v\  hen  buds 
are  plumped  and  the  wood  hard  and  brown  where  exposed  to  the 
sun,  the  roof  lights  may  advantageously  be  removed. 
SUCCESSION  HOUSES.— Trees  started  in  February  and 
beino-  of  the  approved  standard  second  early  and  midseason 
varieties,  which  are  much  better  than  the  very  early  sorts  for 
general  cultivation,  have  the  fruit  ripe  and  ripening,  As  the 
sun  acts  fiercely  on  the'  apex  of  the  fruit  it  often  ripens  oi  even 
shrivels  these  before  the  lower  part  becomes  soft.  To  obviate  a 
slight  shade  from  powerful  sun  is  an  advantage,  preventing  the 
defect  mentioned  and  insuring  more  even  ripening.  As  the 
fruit  is  cleared  off  the  trees,  cut  out  the  wood  that  has  borne 
fruit  and  then  the  growths  where  too  close,  or  where  the  foliage 
cannot  have  the  essential  exposure  to  atmospheric  influences. 
Cleanse  the  trees  of  dust  and  red  spider  or  insect  pests  by 
means  of  the  syringe  or  engine,  if  necessary  using  an  insecticide.. 
Keep  the  border  thoroughly  moist,  feeding  trees  that  have 
carried  heavy  crops  or  are  at  all  weakly.  Avoid,  however,  making 
the  soil  sodden  by  thick  and  heavy  applications  of  liquid  manure, 
or  inducing  growth  by  toe  abundant  top-dressings  ot  the 
advertised  fertilisers.  Stop  laterals  to  one  joint,  or  allow  a 
little  extension  if  the  tree?  are  weakly  or  have  the  buds  in  an 
advanced  state,  thus  preventing  the  foliage  ripening  prematurely 
by  continuing  the  root  action  with  growth  When  the  buds  arc 
well  formed  the  roof  lights  may  be  removed  m  showery  weather 
and  where  this  cannot  be  done  the  fullest  amount  of  air  should 
be  given.  The  exposure  to  rains  and  dews  has  an  invigorating 
effect,  doing  no  harm  except  where  the  trees  are  too  vigorous 
and  the  wood  ripening  unkindly. 
HOUSES  WITH  FRUIT  SWELLING.— Trees  started  m 
March  have  the  fruits  in  a  forward  condition  where  they  have 
stoned  .satisfactorily,  as  they  do  when  the  growth  is  not  too 
luxuriant  or  improperly  formed  and  matured.  The  leaves  over 
hanging  the  fruit  should  be  drawn  aside,  and  depending  speci¬ 
mens  raised  by  means  of  laths  placed  across  the  trellis  wires  so 
that  the  apex  will  be  to  the  light.  Water  the  borders  copiously 
as  required,  and  feed  with  liquid  manure  or  top-dressings  of  the 
advertised  fertilisers  washed  in.  Keep  the  surface  mulched  with 
short,  sweetened,  or  spent  manure  in  a  lumpy  state,  just  a  little 
to  keep  the  surface  uniformly  moist  and  encourage  surface  roots. 
Avoid  a  thick  mulch  of  material  likely  to  form  a  close  soapy 
mass  and  exclude  air.  Ventilate  early  ;  in  fact  leave  a  little  air 
on  constantly,  syringing  by  7  a.m.,  and  through  the  early  part 
of  the  day  ventilate  freely.  When  the  sun  commences  to  lose 
power  in  the  afternoon  reduce  the  ventilation,  and  raise  the 
temperature  to  85deg  or  90deg  by  its  agency  about  4  p.m.,  with 
a  good  syringing  and  damping,  but  it  must  be  done  with 
judgment,  for  when  the  water  hangs  for  any  length  ot  time 
on  the  fruit  during  the  last  swelling  process  it  is  liable  to 
flnnintTA  the  skin,  causing  it  to  crack,  and  giving  the  fruit  a 
