140 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
'Augr-st  7,  1902. 
with  the  iron  sulphate  solution.  If  fermenting  materials  are  used 
for  bottom  heat  they  must  be  well  prepared,  throwing  the  stable 
litter  into  a  heap  and  turning  over  two  or  three  times.  This 
effectually  works  destruction  on  any  animal  micro-organisms 
present,  and  also  on  the  resting  spores  of  parasitic  fungi. 
^  INES  :  EARLY  HOUSES. — Though  theVines  have  the  wood 
•ripe  and  the  buds  plumped,  with  the  older  foliage  falling,  there 
must  not  be  any  attempt  at  removing  adhering  leaves,  nor  to  cut 
the  laterals  in  all  at  once,  as  that  would  probably  cause  the 
principal  buds  to  start ;  therefore,  remove  the  laterals  by  degrees, 
and  shorten  some  of  the  long  shoots,  preserving,  however,  some 
growth,  especially  when  the  principal  leaves  are  down,  above  the 
buds  to  which  the  Vines  are  to  be  pruned,  the  final  pruning  being 
deferred  until  the  early  part  of  next  month.  The  old  surface 
soil,  top-dressing,  or  mrilching,  should  be  removed,  forking  any 
soil  unoccupied  by  fibres  from  amongst  the  roots,  taking  the 
opportunity  of  raising  any  that  are  deep,  and  laying  them  in  fresh 
material  nearer  the  surface.  Good  calcareous  or  gritty  loam  (not 
too  light)  is  the  most  suitable,  with  about  a  twentieth  of  wood 
ashes  and  a  fortieth  part  of  crushed  half-inch  bones.  If  the  soil 
be  light  and  gravelly,  add  a  sixth  of  clayey  marl,  dried  and 
pounded  small ;  if  heavy,  supply  about  a  sixth  of  gritty  matter— 
calcareous  or  ferruginous  gravel  or  freestone  chippings  ■  if 
deficient  in  calcareous  material,  add  a  sixth  of  old  mortar  rubbish 
to  heavy  soil,  and  chalk  to  light  soil.  Charcoal  “nuts”  is  an 
excellent  addition  in  any  case  to  the  extent  of  one-tenth.  Give 
a  moderate  watering  if  dry,  it  sufficing  that  the  compost  be  evenly 
moist,  and  the  roots  Will  push  fresh  rootlets,  especially  adven¬ 
titious  ones,  from  near  the  collar  into  the  new  soil,  and  be  in 
capital  condition  for  a  start  when  the  time  comes  round.  If  the 
V  mes  are  m  an  unsatisfactory  condition,  the  border  should  be 
examined  and -this  being  faulty,  either  in  composition  or  drain¬ 
age,  shade  the  house,  lift  the  Vines,  wrap  the  roots  in  wet 
mats,  promptly  remove  the  old  soi.l  and  drainage,  supplying 
clean  and  sweet  m  their  place,  relaying  the  roots  in  the  fresh 
material  with  despatch.  This  will  give  the  Vines  a  chance  to 
form  or  make  provision  for  pushing  fresh  roots,  and  so  effect  a 
good  start  ;  otherwise,  lifting  or  renovating  the  border  being 
deferred  until  the  leaves  are  all  down,  the  start  is  not  nearly  so 
satisfactory. 
MIDSEASON  HOUSES. — Vines  generally  have  done  weU 
tins  season,  especially  as  regards  crop  ;  but  there  has  been  an 
unusual  prevalence  of  “  spot  ”  and  a  fair  amount  of  “  rust  ” 
probably  mainly  due  to  the  changeableness  of  the  weather  and 
attention  to  the  ventilation  would  counteract  the  prejudicial 
influences  of  its  vicissitudes.  There  has  also  been  more  than 
the  usual  amount  of  shanking.  Grapes,  too,  have  been  slow  in 
acquiring  colour ;  while  some  Vines  have  lost  some  foliage 
through  the  affection  known  as  “browning.”  Red  spider  also 
has  been  troublesome  in  places,  for  which  there  is  no  better 
remedy  than  syringing  the  leaves  carefully  with  a  weak  solution 
ot  sortsoap  on  the  first  appearance  of  the  attack,  and  thinly 
coating  the  liot-water  pipes  with  a  cream  formed  of  skim  milk 
and  flowers  of  sulphur.  The  free  use  of  fertilisers  lias  also  great 
effect  on  red  spider  infested  Vines,  together  with  copious 
supplies  of  water.  A  surface  mulching  of  rich,  but  not  close 
material,  is  of  immense  advantage  to  Vines  in  light  soils  and 
restricted  borders,  with  supplies  of  liquid  manure  of  a  sustaining 
intlici  than  of  a  stimulating,  nature  are  essential  to  a  satisfactory 
ie*ult.  Fire  heat  will  be  necessary  where  Grapes  are  ripening 
to  secure  a  circulation  of  air,  prevent  the  deposition  of  moisture 
on  the  berries,  so  avoiding  “spot.”  A  temperature  of  60deg  to 
hocleg  at  night  is  ample  for  Grapes  when  ripening,  with  70de°- 
to  /odeg  by  day  artificially,  5deg  more  being  allowed  for  Muscats 
a?Ch°i  ler  temperature  requiring  varieties,  allowing  advances 
of  lOdeg  to  lodeg  from  sun  heat.  When  the  Vines  are  carrying 
heavy  craps,  the  temperature  should  be  kept  rather  low  at  night 
.so  as  to  give  time  and  rest  to  Vines  in  order  to  perfect  them. 
LATE  IIOl  SES. — After  the  Grapes  commence  ripening,  full 
supplies  of  water  are  necessary  until  they  are  well  advanced  in 
colour,  as  most  late  varieties  take  a  long  time  'to  perfect 
thoroughly.  All  late  Grapes  require  time,  and  when  commencing 
to  colour  they  require  a  free  circulation  of  warm,  rather  dry  air 
on  favourable  occasions,  and  a  little  constant  ventilation,  arid 
ye,n  W1^h  due  supplies  of  food  and  moisture  they  attain  a  fulness 
of  beiry  and  a  perfection  of  finish,  other  conditions  being 
favourable.  Indeed,  poverty  of  finish  is  the  chief  cause  of 
slim  el  led  Muscats  and  others  shrinking  after  they  have  hung 
time.  Afford  a  temperature  of  70deg  to  7odeg  by  day 
80deg  to  90deg  with  sun,  and  close  sufficiently  early  to  increase 
to  90cleg  or  9odeg.  When  the  sun  is  losing  power,  put  on  enough 
top  and  bottom  and  side  air  to  ensure  a  circulation,  allow  the 
temperature  to  gradually  cool,  which  rests  the  Vines,  and  increase 
the  ventilation  early  with  the  advancing  temperature.  The  liot- 
water  pipes  should,  if  necessary,  have  a  little  warmth  in  them  to 
prevent  the  temperature  falling  below  65deg  at  night,  for 
parsimony  in  this  respect  is  often  costly,  as  having  to  apply  fire 
heat  late  in  the  season  is  more  expensive,  and  the  result  unsatis¬ 
factory. — St.  Albans. 
*  *  *  All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  “  The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  correspondents  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable 
trouble  and  expense. 
Plan  of  a  Bothy— Competition. 
“Well-wisher”  promises  a  first  prize  of  £3,  and  the  Editor 
supplies  a  second  prize  of  £1. 
The  rules  of  the  competition  are  as  follows  : — The.  plan,  drawn 
to  scale,  must  not  exceed  7 in  broad  by  7in  deep,  and  must  be 
clearly  defined  on  stout  paper.  The  plan  must  provide  suitable 
accommodation  for  six  men,  and  the  cost  of  the  building  ought  not 
to  exceed  £200  to  £220.  A  statement  of  the  general  items  of 
cost  should  accompany  the  plans,  together  with  any  written 
comments  thereon.  The  competition  is  open  until  Christmas, 
1902,  by  which  date  all  plans  must  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Editor. 
The  sender’s  name  and  full  address  should  be  enclosed  when  send¬ 
ing  the  plan,  and  the  sender  will  alone  be  held  responsible  for  it. 
CUCUMBER  LEAVES  AND  FRUIT  DISEASED  (W.  D.  R.). 
— The  specimens  are  infested  by  the  comparatively  recently 
determined  Hole-and-Spot  fungus,  Cerccspura  melo n is,  which  on 
the  leaves  produces  numerous  pale  spots,  the  tissue  shrinking  and 
dying  away,  leaving  holes  of  varied  sizes.  Sometimes,  however, 
it  destroys  the  whole  leaves,  and  that  suddenly,  they  appearing 
all  right  in  the  morning,  and  under  an  outburst  of  sunshine  col¬ 
lapsing  in  a  few  hours.  It  also  attacks  the  fruit,  causing  large 
spots,  and  decay  speedily  ensues.  The  fungus  is  most  prevalent 
during  spells  of  cold,  dull,  and  moist  weather,-  and  is  certainly 
favoured  by  the  extremely  close  and  water-saturated  atmospheric 
conditions  under  which  Cucumbers  are  grown  for  marketing. 
The  only  real  preventive  is  more  air,  less  nitrogenous  feeding — in 
short,  more  rational  conditions  of  cultivation.  The  plants  may 
be  sprayed  with  a  solution  of  permanganate  of  potassium,  loz  of 
the  crystals  in  3  or  4  gals  of  water,  and  every  part  of  the  house 
should'  aho  be  coated  with  the  finest  possible  film  of  .the  solution. 
It  will,  however,  discolour  white  paint,  still,  we  do  not  know  of 
anything  more  suitable  for  application  to  Cucumber  foliage  and 
fruit.  The  surface  cf  the  bed  should  also  be  saturated  with  the 
solution.  All  affected  leaves  and  fruits  should  be  removed  and 
burnt.  Ventilate.,  and  the  fungus  will  make  very  little  out,  even 
in  dull  weather  securing  a  change  of  air  daily,  not  allowing 
moisture  to  condense  on  the  foliage  for  lack  of  air. 
LEAVES  OF  APPLES  AND  PEARS  (L.  B.)".— The  Apple  tree 
leaves  are  infested  by  the  Apple  scab  fungus,  Fusicladium  den- 
driticum,  which  first  attacks  the  young  leaves  and  shoots,  small, 
roundish,  dark  spots  appearing,  mostly  on  the  upper  surface. 
These  spots  soon  increase  in  size,  and  run  into  each  other,  forming 
large,  irregularly  shaped  blackish  blotches,  and  when  conditions 
are  favourable  for  the  growth  of  the  parasite  the  leaves  are  fre¬ 
quently  killed  while  quite  young;  always  crippled.  On  the  fruit 
the  fungus  produces  the  well-known  scab.  The  preventive  treat¬ 
ment.  is  to  spray  the  trees  with  ammoniacal  carbonate  of  copper 
solution,  made  by  mixing  loz  of  carbonate  of  copper  and  5oz  of 
carbonate  of  ammonia,  and  dissolving  it  in  about  a  quart  of  hot 
water,  and  when  thoroughly  dissolved,  add  16  gals  of  cold  water. 
Spray,  first,  just  as  the  flower  buds  begin  to  open;  second,  when 
the  petals  of  the  flowers  are  falling;  and  third,  when  the  fruit  is 
the  size  of  peas  or  slightly  larger.  If  the  season  be  rainy  a 
fourth  treatment  should  be  given  twelve  days  after  the  third. 
If  Bordeaux  mixture  be  used  it  must  be  in  dilute  form,  or  the 
foliage  will  bo  injured.  Spraying  now  would  arrest  disease,  but 
the  proper  course  is  to>  prevent  it.  The  Pear  leaves  are  infested 
by  the  Pear  leaf  gall  mite,  Phytoptus  pyri,  which  gives  rise  to  the 
reddish  spots  on  the  leaves,  they  ultimately  becoming  brown  or 
black.  The  mites  live  during  the  winter  in  the  scales  of  the  buds,  . 
and  the  best  preventive  treatment  is  to  thoroughly  spray  the 
trees  while  dormant  with  paraffin  emulsion,  this  being  made  by 
dissolving  1  quart  of  softsoap  in  2  quarts  of  boiling  soft  water. 
Remove  from* the  fire,  and  while  still  boiling  hot  add  one  pint  of 
paraffin  oil  and  immediately  churn  the  mixture  with  a  small 
hand  syringe.  In  five*  minutes  a  perfect  emulsion  will  be  ob¬ 
tained,  and  this,,  diluted  with  ten  times  its  volume  of  water,  is  fit 
for  use.  If  the  trees  are  now  sprayed  with  a  solution  of  the 
paraffin  emulsion,  8oz  to  3  gals  of  water,  adding  j)oz  sulphide  of 
potassium,  and  well  wetting  the  under  side  of  the  leaves,  it  will 
keep  the  mites  in  check. 
