18 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
January  7,  1904, 
®  WOKK.foiitheWeE 
k.  .j 
• 
Fruit  Forcing. 
CHERRY  HOUSE. — Tlie  trees  in  tlie  house  usually  staited 
at  the  end  of  the  old  or  beginning  of  the  new  year  are  fairly 
on  the  move,  when  the  day  temperature,  in  order  to  ensure 
.steady  progress,  must  be  kept  at  SOdeg  to  55deg.  If  the  days 
are  bright,  air  should  l)e  admitted,  but  only  to  the  extent  of 
keeping  the  temperature  from  rising  above  65deg,  maintaining 
it  from  sun  heat  at  GOdeg  to  Godeg,  admitting  a  little  air  at 
GOdeg,  more  at  55deg,  above  which  a  free  circulation  of  air 
must  be  allowed,  and  when  the  temperature  declines  to  Godeg 
<!lo.se  the  house  for  the  day.  The  night  temperature  should 
.still  be  kept  at  40deg  to  4Gdeg  artificially.  Syringe  the  trees 
in  the  morning  and  early  afternoon  if  the  weather  is  bright, 
but  if  the  day  be  didl  it  will  suffice  if  the  borders  and  other 
•surfaces  are  damped  whenever  they  become  dry.  Examine 
the  borders,  supply  water  if  necessary,  moistening  them 
thoroughly,  the  water  not  being  loss  or  much  higher  in  tem¬ 
perature  than  that  of  the  house.  Trees  in  pots — the  mo.st 
desirable  mode  of  forcing  Cherries — must  be  well  supplied  with 
water,  repeating  the  applications  as  necessary  to  ensure 
thorough  moisture  in  the  soil  without  making  it  sodden  and 
.sour. 
CUCUMBERS. — Where  winter  Cucumbers  are  not  grown, 
jdants  for  the  early  supply  of  fruit  should  now  be  prepared, 
sowing  the  seeds  singly  in  3in  pots  half  filled  with  soil,  so  as 
to  leave  space  for  top-dressing  when  required.  Plunge  .the 
pots  in  a  brisk  bottom  heat  near  the  glass,  or  where  this  is 
not  forthcoming  place  on  shelves  and  cover  with  a  pane  of 
glass,  removing  as  soon  as  the  seedlings  are  just  clear  of  soil. 
The  house  must  have  a  temperature  of  Godeg  to  7Gdeg  by 
artificial  means.  These  plants  will  be  sufficiently  advanced  in 
about  a  month  for  planting  in  houses,  pits,  or  frames,  and  will 
supply  fruit  during  the  month  of  April  onwards.  Where  con¬ 
venience  for  raising  the  plants  for  planting  in  frames  does  not 
exist,  seed  should  be  sown  in  pots  placed  in  a  hotbed  as  advised 
under  IMelons. 
IN  THE  CASE  OF  WINTER  CUCUMBERS  care  to 
husband  the  sun  heat  is  important,  giving  a  little  air  if  the 
weather  be  mild  and  calm  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  and 
close  early  in  the  afternoon,  or  shortly  after  midday,  damii- 
ing  the  house  at  the  same  time.  Sprinkle  the  floors  on  fine 
mornings,  and  syringe  the  plants  lightly,  thus  discountenancing 
red  spider,  and  to  some  extent  holding  the  pest  in  check. 
Supply  weak  liquid  manure  to  plants  in  free  growth,  and  to 
those  not  showing  signs  of  growing  freely  sprinkle  a  little 
superphosphate  and  soot  on  the  soil,  and  u.se  tepid  water  only 
until  the  growth  becomes  free.  To  encourage  surface  roots  a 
top-dre.ssing  .should  be  given  of  turfy  loam  from  the  size  of 
a  nut  to  an  egg,  intermixed  with  a  fourth  of  sweetened  horse 
droppings,  having  it  previously  warmed  to  the  temperature  of 
the  house,  and  sprinkle  on  this  a  handful  per  square  yard  of 
some  approved  fertiliser.  IMaintain  the  night  temperature  at 
(iGdeg,  a  few  degrees  less  in  severe  and  a  few  more  iji  mild 
weather,  70deg  to  7Gdeg  by  day  and  SGdeg  to  90deg  with  sun 
heat,  keeping  the  bottom  heat  steady  between  80deg  minimum 
and  90deg  maximum. 
MELONS. — To  have  ripe  fruit  in  April  or  early  in  May, 
seeds  must  now  be  sown  singly  in  3in  pots,  leaving  room  in  the 
pots  for  top-dressing.  Plunge  in  a  bottom  heat  of  80deg  to 
90deg  near  the  glass,  or  cover  the  i)ots  with  bits  of  glass  and 
remove  when  the  plants  appear,  thus  plants  can  be  raised  on 
slielves  in  any  structure  having  a  temperature  of  GGdeg  to 
7Gdeg  by  artificial  means.  As  .soon  as  the  plants  have  unfolded 
the  first  leaves,  top-dress  the  soil,  keep  them  as  near  the  glass 
as  possible  without  touching,  so  as  to  prevent  a  weakly  growth. 
HOTBEDS. — In  small  or  moderate  sized  establi.shments, 
where  there  are  no  light,  well-heated  structures  for  raising 
Cucumber  and  Melon  i^lants  from  seed,  a  hotbed  is  very 
important.  The  materials  may  consist  of  two  parts  of  leaves 
and  one  part  of  stable  litter,  well  mixed  and  thrown  into  a 
heap,  damping  if  necessary,  aiid  turning  over  twice,  the  first 
time  when  the  materials  are  warmed  through,  and  again  in 
the  course  of  a  week.  This  sweetens  the  material,  rendeiang 
it  fit  for  making  up.  Choose  a  dry  site,  and  in  front  of  a 
wall  or  hedge  to  the  north,  and  if  similar  but  low  on  the  east 
and  west  sides  the  force  of  winds  will  be  much  modified.  Make 
the  bed  Gin  larger  than  the  frame  every  way,  but  as  it  is 
difficult  to  carry  up  the  sides  and  ends  quite  peiqiendicular, 
let  the  base  be  1ft  greater  than  the  box  every  way,  building 
the  bed  so  that  it  will  have  about  Gin  to  spare  all  round  the 
frame.  Put  the  materials  together  as  evenly  as  practicable, 
and  beat  them  down  as  the  work  proceeds,  making  tlie  bed 
about  one-third  higher  than  the  intended  height,  the  bed  at 
Elis  season  needing  to  be  about  5ft  high  at  the  back  and  4fc 
in  the  front.  In  a  week  the  bed  will  have  settled  down,  then 
level  the  surface,  return  the  frame,  and  put  in  sufficient  fer¬ 
menting  material  to  make  the  back  of  the  frame  correspond  in 
depth  with  the  front,  and  over  this  4in  to  Gin  of  leaves  or 
other  light  material  for  plunging  the  pots  in  that  contain  the 
seeds.  I  find  it  an  excellent  practice,  though  very  old,  to  form 
a  cavity  inside  the  frame  in  order  to  allow  the  plants  the  benefit 
of  top  heat  from  the  linings  after  that  from  the  bed  is 
declining.  Due  preparation  mu.st  be  made  of  ferine  at  iiig 
material  for  linings  and  hotbeds  for  plants  as  they  become  Al 
for  planting  in  the  fruiting  beds. 
PINES.  —  When  it  is  found  that  plants  under  the  ordinary 
regime  will  not  fruit  sufficiently  early  for  particular  purpose", 
a  selection  must  be  made  from  the  successional  plants,  choos¬ 
ing  those  which  appear  likely  to  show  fruit  quickly,  these  being 
readily  distinguished  by  the  high  centres  or  hearts  and  stout¬ 
ness  at  the  upper  part  of  the  jilant  stem,  and  bri aging  them 
together  into  a  liglit  house,  where  they  can  have  tlie  hi  nefii 
of  more  heat.  Plunge  the  pots  in  a  bed  standing  reguiariy  at 
a  temperature  of  90cleg  to  9Gdeg  at  the  base  of  the  pots.  If 
the  plants  are  in  the  least  dry,  water  them  with  liquid  nianuro 
copiously  at  the  same  temperature  as  the  bed.  Maintain  the 
top  heat  at  GGdeg  to  70deg  at  night,  with  Gdeg  more  from  fire 
heat  by  day,  advancing  to  85deg  to  90deg  from  sun  heat.  Keep 
the  atmosphere  about  the  plants  in  a  genial  and  invigorating 
condition  by  damping  the  paths  and  sides  of  the  bed  as  they 
become  dry,  and  lightly  syringing  as  may  be  necessary. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES— EARLIEST  FORCED 
HOUSE. — The  trees  started  in  December  will  require  a  night 
temperature  of  GOdeg  to  GGdeg,  the  latter  only  when  the  nights 
are  mild,  and  as  a  maximum  hy  day  when  the  sky  is  overcast, 
Godeg  by  day  from  sun  heat,  and  if  the  air  be  mild  a  few  more 
degrees  may  be  allowed.  Cease  syringing  the  trees  directly 
the  anthers  show  clear  of  the  corollas,  but  damp  the  floor  and 
border  on  bright  days  in  the  morning  and  afternoon.  Lose  no 
opportunity  of  ventilating  freely  where  external  conditions  are 
favourable,  and  when  the  pollen  is  sufficiently  advanced  choose 
the  warmest  and  driest  part  of  the  day  for  aiding  its  di.stri- 
bution  by  .shaking  the  trellis  or  tree,  or  taking  a  camel’s-hair 
brush,  applying  the  pollen  to  the  stigmas.  If  there  is  a 
deficiency  of  pollen  of  any  variety,  some  should  be  taken  from 
those  that  afford  it  freely  and  applied  to  the  pistils  ;  a  rabbit 
tail  mounted  on  a  small  stick  holds  the  pollen  well,  and  allows 
the  cross-fertilisation  to  be  readily  effected.  Inside  borders 
must  not  be  neglected  for  water ;  protect  outside  ones  with 
leaves  and  litter,  just  sufficient  covering  to  exclude  frost,  but 
not  so  thick  as  to  perceptibly  ferment. 
SECOND  EARLY  HOUSE.— This,  the  first  in  mo.st  estab¬ 
lishments,  and  planted  with  such  varieties  as  Alexander  and 
Early  Louise  Peaches,  Cardinal  and  Early  Rivers  Nectarines, 
must  be  started  to  give  fruit  early  in  May ;  or  if  such  varieties 
as  Hale’s  Early,  Dr.  Hogg,  Stirling  Castle,  Royal  George, 
Grosse  Mignonne,  or  Dymond  Peaches.  Lord  Napier,  Stanwick 
Elruge,  Rivers’  Orange  or  Humboldt  Nectarines,  to  give  ripe 
fruit  at  the  end  of  May  forward,  must  be  started  at  once. 
Damp  the  trees  in  the  morning  and  early  afternoon,  turning  on 
the  heat  in  the  morning,  so  as  to  raise  and  maintain  through 
the  day  a  temperature  of  GOdeg,  taking  care  that  it  does  not 
exceed  that  heat  by  artificial  means,  allowing  the  temperature 
to  rise  to  GGdeg  with  sun  heat,  and  free  ventilation  from  GOdeg. 
When  the  buds  .swell  maintain  a  night  temperature  of  40deg 
to  4Gdeg,  up  to  then  merely  excluding  frost. — G.  A.,  St.  Albans, 
Herts. 
Kitchen  Garden. 
CAULIFLOWERS. — A  little  Cauliflower  seed  should  now  be 
sown  to  follow  plants  in  frames.  It  is  unwise  to  raise  these 
plants  in  a  high  temperature.  Sow  the  seed  very  thinly  in  a 
shalloAv  box,  and  place  this  on  a  shelf  near  the  roof  glass  in  a 
temperature  not  exceeding  45deg  at  night.  The  .seeds  soon 
germinate,  and  will  .soon  become  drawn  if  not  attended  to. 
One  of  the  chief  secrets  in  the  successful  culture  of  early  Cauli¬ 
flowers  is  to  avoid  a  check  of  any  kind  in  the  early  .stages  of 
the  groAvth.  Tavo  reliable  kinds  for  early  use  are  Veitch’s 
Forcing  and  a  good  strain  of  SnoAvball. 
MATERIAL  FOR  MAKING  HOTBEDS  should  be  col¬ 
lected  and  formed  into  a  heap  to  ferment.  Three  loads  of 
Beech  and  Oak  leaves  to  one  of  long  stable  manure  Avill  malve 
a  lasting  bed.  It  is  a  mistake  to  use' more  than  one-third  of 
horse  manure ;  the  heating  is  too  violent.  As  soon  as  the  lu'ap 
begins  to  heat  freely  it  should  be  turned  and  thoroughly 
shaken  to  pieces  and  alloAved  to  lie  holloAv,  to  alloAv  the  rank 
gases  to  escape.  In  the  course  of  eight  or  ten  days  it  should 
be  turned  again.  If,  hoAvever,  it  is  found  to  be  in  fairly  good 
condition,  viz.,  not  heating  too  violently,  it  may  be  made  up 
for  the  frames  to  be  at  once  placed  on  it.  The  bed  should  be 
