68 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  17,  1902. 
musty  flavour  ;  therefore  have  the  fruit  dry  before  nightfall,  and 
when  the  day  is  likely  to  be  dull  omit  the  morning  syringing. 
Directly  the  fruit  commences  ripening  cease  syringing,  but  afford 
air  moisture  by  damping  the  paths  and  borders  in  the  morning 
and  afternoon,  ventilating  rather  freely  in  the  daytime,  and 
sufficiently  at  night  to  insure  a  circulation  of  air. 
LATE  HOUSES. — In  order  to  assist  the  swelling  of  the  fruit 
observe  the  conditions  advised  in  the  preceding  paragraph.  If 
wranted  to  accelerate  the  ripening  ventilate  rather  freely  in  the 
early  part  of  the  day  and  up  to  1  p.m.,  then  keep  the  heat 
obtained  by  reducing  the  ventilation  so  as  to  secure  80deg  to 
85deg,  and  at  about  4  p.m.  close  the  house,  syringing  well,  and 
no  harm  will  come  if  the  temperature  rise  to  90deg,  ventilating 
about  6  p.m.,  so  as  to  let  the  pent-up  moisture  escape  and  the 
temperature  gradually  cool  down.  Keep  the  shoots  tied  down  as 
they  advance,  allowing  no  more  than  are  necessary  for  next 
year’s  bearing  or  for  furnishing  the  tree.  Let  all  have  space  for 
development,  with  full  exposure  of  the  foliage  to  light  and  air. 
Keep  laterals  stopped  to  one  leaf,  also  retain  growth  to  attract 
the  sap  to  the  fruit.  If  there  are  any  gross  shoots  which  push 
laterals  from  the  leaf  buds,  cut  them  back  to  where  the  buds 
remain  intact,  or  if  likely  to  derange  the  equilibrium  of  the 
tree  and  the  equalisation  of  the  sap,  cut  them  off  altogether,  as 
they  only  tend  to  promote*  gumming,  imperfect  setting,  and 
certain  casting  of  the  fruit  in  stoning.  Draw  the  leaves  aside  or 
away  from  the  fruit,  and  let  it  have  as  much  light  as  possible, 
the  sun  acting  directly  on  the  apex.  This  will  be  uppermost 
when  the  fruit  is  put  up  for  sale  or  dished,  hence  the  necessity 
of  having  the  chief  colouring  there,  and  as  the  colouring  is  so 
is  the  flavour  in  the  case  of  Peaches  and  Nectarines. 
UNHEATED  HOUSES  OR  WALL  CASES.— Where  there 
are  early  varieties  in  these  structures,  such  -  as  Alexander, 
Waterloo,  Early  Louise,  and  Early  Rivers  Peaches,  Cardinal  and 
Advance  Nectarines,  the  fruits  will  be  ripening.  These  should 
not  be  syringed,  but  the  trees  must  not  lack  water  at  the  roots, 
and  the  borders  should  be  damped,  as  moisture  is  necessary  for 
the  health  of  the  foliage.  Afford  top-dressings  of  the 
advertised  fertilisers  washed  in,  or  supply  liquid  manure  from 
tanks  properly  diluted,  adding  about  4oz  of  superphosphate  to 
each  gallon  of  strong  liquid  and  diluting  this  with  five  or  six 
times  the  bulk  of  water.  House  sewage  may  be  used  for  this 
purpose,  and  its  unpleasant  smell  may  be  subdued  by  using  lib 
sulphate  of  iron  to  10  gallons  of  undiluted  sewage,  this  after¬ 
wards  being  diluted  five  or  six  times  with  water,  mixing  well  a 
few  days  before  use.  This  will  convert  the  sewage  into  a  more 
or  less  double  sulphate  of  ammonia  and  iron,  the  latter  being 
ammoniated,  and  then  it  loses,  any  deleterious  properties  it 
might  otherwise  have  in  the  large  amount  given.  Iron  is*  an 
essential  plant  food,  but  often  worse  than  useless  on  the  soil  for 
lack  of  nitrogenous  matter  for  ammoniation.  Even  without  the 
direct  application  of  the  sulphate  the  sewage  causes  the  foliage 
to  assume  a  dark  glossy  hue,  and  this — the  amount  of  chlorophyll 
m  the  leaves — practically  determines  the  colour  (when  properly 
exposed  to  the  light)  and  quality  of  the  fruit.  Keep  the  growths 
thin,  every  shoot  having  space  for  development  and  proper  ex¬ 
posure  to  light  and  air.  Syringe  about  7  a.m.,  the  house 
having  a  little  air  constantly;  increase  the  ventilation  with  the 
advancing  temperature,  contriving  to  have  it  full  at  7odeg,  or 
if  it  is  desired  to_  accelerate  the  ripening  keep  through  the 
day  at  80deg  to  85deg,  but  always  with  ventilation,  and  close 
early  to  maintain  the  temperature,  but  not  to  raise  it  above 
JOdeg.  Syringe  again  in  the  afternoon  about  5  p.m.  This  at¬ 
tended  to,  and  the  operation  being  effective,  there  will  not  be 
any  red  spider,  the  roots  being  well  supplied  with  water  and 
nourishment.  Timely  thinning  increases  the  size  of  the  fruits 
retained,  and  having  been  attended  to  early  the  fruit  is  a  good 
size  by  the  time  the  stoning  is  completed,  when  the  final  thin¬ 
ning  should  be  given.  It  is  a  mistake,  however,  to  leave  many 
more  for  stoning  than  will  be  ultimately  allowed  to  ripen,  for 
it  is  really  the  stoning  that  is  the  exhausting  process. — 
St.  Albans. 
Kitchen  Garden. 
(  OLI.— -Early  midseascn  and  late  Broccoli  plants 
ought  all  to  be  planted  in  the  course  of  the  present  month,  deal¬ 
ing  first  with  those  varieties  intended  to  come  into  use  in  late 
autumn  and  early  winter.  Broccoli  likes  stiff,  firm,  but  good 
ground,  as  m  such  soil  the  most  desirable  growth  is  made 
which  is  able  to  withstand  the  rigours  of  any  untoward  weather 
which  may  occur.  Such  plants  produce  thick  substantial  leaves, 
which  are  able  to  fold  well  over  the  centres  and  enclose  the 
flower  head  as  it  develops.  With  such  leaves  and  thick  woody 
stems  the  plants  are  sure  to.  be  productive  sooner  or  later.  The 
best  plants  are  those  which  have  been  gaining  strength  in  nursery 
beds  where  they  were  pricked  out  previously  for  that  purpose,  but 
plants  thinly  grown  in  the  seed  beds  are  also  suitable  ground, 
tor  Broccoli  ought  to  be  selected  in  an  open  position.  That 
which  was  liberally  manured  and  dug  in  the  spring,  and  is  now 
firm  is  the  best,  but  any  rich  and  fertile  ground,  however  firm, 
can  be  utilised.  Of  course  it  is  more  difficult  to  insert  the  plants 
where  the  ground  is  hard,  but  Broccoli  does  well  even  when 
inserted  with  a  crowbar,  watering  the  plants  with  liquid  manure 
to  afford  them  a  start.  Carefully  pricked  out  plants  are  usually 
furnished  with  a  mass  of  fibrous  roots  with  soil  adhering  which 
it  is  desirable  to  retain;  therefore,  form  a  trench  with  a  spade, 
place  the  plants  at  the  proper  distance  therein,  and  make  the 
soil  as  firm  as  possible  about  them.  The  distance  between  the 
rows  should  not  be  less  than  2ft,  and  need  not  exceed  30in,  the 
plants  being  15in  to  18in  apart.  Give  surface  cultivation  by  hoe¬ 
ing  to  keep  down  weeds  and  encourage  growth. 
SAVOYS.- — A  good  breadth  of  Savoys  ought  to  be  planted 
forthwith,  as  upon  the  whole  they  are  a  most  useful  vegetable, 
supplementing  and  extending  the  supply  for  a  long  period.  The 
small,  compact  varieties  come  into  use  early.  The  medium-sized 
and  the  larger  sorts  are  invaluable  during  hard,  severe  weather, 
when  other  green  vegetables  may  be  scarce,  while  of  course  they 
are  equally  serviceable  as  a  change  during  mild  periods.  Plant 
as  good  a  selection  as  possible.  The  smaller  varieties  may  be 
planted  closer  together  than  the  larger.  Some  will  do  a  foot 
apart  in  the  rows,  and  that  distance  between  the  rows. 
CAULIFLOWERS.— These  and  Cauliflower  Broccoli,  which 
come  into  use  in  autumn,  must  be  encouraged  With  copious 
waterings  of  liquid  manure.  Remove  yellow  and  decaying 
leaves. 
TOMATOES. — Afford  systematic  and  regular  attention  to 
Tomatoes  growing  against  walls  and  fences.  One  or  two  main 
stems  to  each  plant  are  ample,  dispensing  with  the  side  growths, 
which  appear  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves.  Strong  plants  must  be 
kept  moist  at  the  roots,  and  as  roots  of  a  fibrous  character 
multiply,  and  bunches  of  fruit  set  and  swell,  the  need  for  a 
mulching  of  manure  will  be  apparent.  In  addition  the  plants 
must  be  assisted  to  support  the  increasing  burden  of  fruit  by 
applications  of  liquid  manure,  weak  in  character  at  first,  but 
increasing  in  strength  as  the  crop  becomes  heavier.  Denuding 
the  plants  of  foliage  to  a  large  extent  is  a  mistake,  until  the 
foliage  turns  yellow  and  is  useless.  It  is  far  better  to  encourage 
root  action,  and  give  ample  support,  then  the  crop  will  be 
satisfactory. 
CUCUMBERS  IN  FRAMES.—' With  continued  cropping  and 
growth  the  plants  become  to  a  certain  extent  overcrowded  and 
somewhat  exhausted.  It  is  a  good  plan,  therefore,  to  go  over 
the  entire  frame,  cutting  out  the  exhausted  growths  and  yellow 
leaves,  also  any  weakly  growths,  and  regulate  afresh.  This  will 
give  an  opportunity  to  top-dress  with  a  mixture  of  good  soil, 
having  a  dash  of  artificial  manure  in  it.  A  fresh  impetus  to 
growth  will  thus  be  given,  and  the  plants  will  produce  fruit 
abundantly  again,  especially  if  the  conditions  which  favour 
healthy  growth  are  maintained,  namely,  a  moist  atmosphere. — 
East  Kent. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens  at  Chis¬ 
wick,  height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Direction  of 
Wind. 
' 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Rain. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
Lowest 
Temperature 
on  Grass. 
1902. 
July. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep 
At 
4-ft. 
deep 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
1 
Highest. 
-W 
CO 
CD 
£ 
O 
Q 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Ins. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Sunday  ...  6 
E.S.B. 
67-9 
62-6 
79*3 
58*9 
— 
639 
60*2 
56*8 
52-5 
Monday  ...  7 
E.S.E. 
72*9 
66*0 
80*2 
57*0 
-  1 
64*5 
61*0 
56*8 
46*3 
Tuesday...  8 
S. 
74*9 
60*9 
82-5 
56*2 
— 
64*5 
61*4 
56*9 
42*2 
Wed’sday  9 
w.s.w. 
65*2 
61*6 
72*2 
59*5 
0*21 
65*1 
61-8 
570 
48-9 
Thursday  10 
s.w. 
59’9 
54-6 
65*2 
52*2 
0*52 
64*0 
6i-5 
57*2 
40*0 
Friday  ...11 
N.W. 
56*9 
50-4 
62*4 
50*5 
— 
60*4 
60-8 
57*2 
40*0 
Saturday  12 
W.N.W. 
59*9 
51-9 
70*3 
41*8 
59-2 
60*2 
57*2  ; 
297 
Total. 
- 
Means  ... 
65*4 
58*3 
73*2 
53*7  ’ 
0-73 
1 
634 
61*0 
57*0 
42*8 
The  first  part  of  the  week  was  very  warm.  Thunderstorms 
occurred  on  the  9th  and  10th,  since  which  time  the  weather  has  been 
dull  and  cool. 
Sweet  Peas  from  Canterbury. 
Mr.  Geo.  Mount,  nurseryman,  Canterbury,  sends  a  consign¬ 
ment  of  Sweet  Peas,  from  among  the  varieties  of  which  we  select 
the  following: — Miss  Willmott,  bright  salmon  rose;  Lovely,  a 
beautiful  shade  of  mauve-pink ;  Blanche  Burpee,  white ;  Black 
Knight,  rich  violet-maroon ;  Queen  Victoria,  pale  tea  coloured ; 
Emily  Eckford,  violet-blue,  and  Prince  of  Wales,  mauve-crimson. 
Each  of  these  are  very  beautiful  and  distinctive. 
