MarcJi  3,  19C4. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
193 
Fruit  Forcing. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES:  EARLIEST  HOUSE.— 
Now  tlie  fruit  is  .'^toning  tlie  temperature  must  be  kept  as 
equable  as  possible.  Too  bigh  a  temperature,  especially  at 
night,  is  not  favoui'able  to  the  process,  and  sudden  fluctuations 
often  cause  the  fruit  to  drop  w  holesale.  The  temperature  should 
he  continued  at  GOdeg  to  Godeg  at  night  in  mild  weather,  oodeg 
to  GOdeg  when  severe;  GOdeg  to  Godeg  on  cold,  dull  days;  Godeg 
to  70deg  when  mild  hut  sunless  ;  70deg  to  7odeg  with  gleams  of 
sun,  ventilating  early  and  freely  under  favourable  climatic  con¬ 
ditions.  Thinning  the  fruit  must  be  seen  to,  not  allowing 
twice  as  many  fruits  to  stone  as  are  to  be  left  for  the  crop,  hut 
a  few  more  than  the  required  number  should  he  retained  to 
meet  casualties  in  stoning.  One  fruit,  to  every  s(iuare  foot  of 
trellis  covered  hy  the  trees  is  a  capital  guide.  Small-fruited 
varieties  may  have  the  fruit  left  a  little  clo'-er,  and  vigorous 
trees  will  carry  more  than  weakly  trees.  Overcropping,  how¬ 
ever,  must  be  strictly  avoided.  Nectarines  require  the  same 
space  as  Peaches  to  have  fine  fruit. 
SECURE  ALT.  THE  SHOOTS  to  the  trellis  as  they  advance 
in  growth,  stopping  any  that  are  likely  to  exceed  12in  to  loin 
at  those  lengths,  and  if  the  pinching  results  in  laterals  stop 
them  at  the  first  leaf.  Shoots  retained  to  attract  the  sap  to  the 
fruit  should  be  stopped  to  one  leaf.  Extensions  must  be  trained 
in  their  full  length,  pinching  laterals  to  one  joint  as  made. 
Syringe  the  trees  in  the  morning  and  afteiuioon  when  the  days 
are  fine,  but  damping  the  paths  and  borders  will  he  sufficient  in 
dull  weather,  with  an  occasional  syringing  applied  with  force  to 
keep  red  spider  under;  hut  care  should  he  taken  not  to  tatter 
the  leaves.  If  the  pest  gain  a  footing  extirpate  it  by  the 
prompt  application  of  an  insecticide,  or  a  solution  of  petroleum 
emulsion,  carefully  following  the  directions  for  use.  Inside 
borders  must  be  kept  duly  supplied  with  water  or  liquid  manure 
in  a  tepid  state,  but  avoid  over-stimulation  whilst  the  fruit  is 
stoning. 
SECOND  EARLY  HOUSE.  — Disbudding  must  be  proceeded 
with  gradually,  and  the  .successional  bearing  .shoot.s  should  be 
laid  in  as  soon  as  they  are  sufficiently  advanced  in  growth. 
Thinning  the  fruit  must  be  attended  to  as  soon  as  the  remains 
of  the  flowers  are  cast.  Remove  all  twin  fruit,  the  smallest, 
that  on  the  under  side  of  the  branches,  and  the  badly  placed, 
leaving  three  on  a  branch  of  12in  length,  to  be  afterwards  reduced 
to  two  on  a  .strong  and  one  on  a  weak  branch  when  the  size  of 
marbles.  Only  one  fruit,  as  a  rule,  should  be  left  on  each  bearing 
shoot. 
SUCCESSION  HOUSES. —Trees  now  in  bloom  require  a  free 
circulation  of  air,  as  such  will  keep  the  atmosphere  buoyant 
with  sufficient  fire  heat  to  pi'event  sudden  depre.ssions  of  tem- 
pera,ture,  maintaining  50deg  at  night,  or  a^  few  degrees  less  on 
cold  nighfis.  A  temperature  of  oOdeg  to  oodeg  will  be  suitable 
in  the  daytime,  advancing  to  GOdeg  to  Godeg  from  sun  heat, 
with  free  ventilation.  Shake  the  trellis  or  trees  occasionally  to 
distribute  the  pollen,  or  preferably,  pass  a  camel’s-hair  brush  or 
feather  over  the  flowers  that  have  ripe  pollen  once  a  day,  and 
give  extra  attention  to  the  shy-.setting  varieties  hy  conveying 
))ollen  from  others  that  produce  it  in  abundance,  as,  for  instance, 
Royal  George  and  Stirling  Castle  Peaches,  also  Elruge 
Nectarine.  Keep  the  paths  well  damped  on  fine  days,  and  be 
more  sparing  of  water  when  the  weather  is  dull  and  cold. 
LATE  HOUSES.— The  roof  lights  need  not  be  put  on  until 
the  buds  show  colour,  as  the  silvery  integuments  that  envelop 
the  floral  organs  afford  protection,  but  the  blos.som  is  not  .safe 
after  showing  colour.  Tfiee.s  under  fixed  roofs  are  more  for¬ 
ward,  the  buds  being  in  various  degrees  of  expansion.  G.  A., 
St.  Albans,  Herts. 
Kitchen  Garden. 
MAKING  HOTBEDS  FOR  CUCUIMBERS  AND  .MELONS. 
—Hotbeds  .should  now  be  made  for  Cucumbers  and  Melons.  See 
that  the  material  is  thoroughly  prepared  as  previously  advised 
It  .should  be  thoroughly  mixed  and  shaken  to  pieces,  or  heat  will 
1)6  nnecjUixl.  Tlie  iiiutBriiil  isliould  be  trodden  us  fiiinly  us 
possible  in  order  to  prevent  undue  shrinkage.  As  '^oon  a.s  the 
heat  becomes  steadv,  the  Cucumber  may  be  planted  ;  the  Melons, 
however,  may  stay  a  fortnight  longer,  hy  which  time  the  days 
will  have  lengthened  and  the  sun  have  gained  power.  JJirow 
up  a  ridge  of  turfy  loam  along  the  centre  of  the  bed,  on  whicli 
to  plant  the  plants.  This  should  be  done  some  days  before  the 
plants  are  planted,  in  order  for  the  soil  to  become  warmed. 
The  plants  should  be  well  prepared  before  they  are  planted  in 
trames.  No  greater  mistake  could  be  well  made  than  to  take 
the  plants  direct  from  a  hot  proijagating  lioii^e  to  the  frames. 
They  should  be  first  placed  in  a  house  near  the  roof  glass,  where 
the  temperature  is  somewhat  lower  than  in  the  propagating  pit 
or  house.  This  will  harden  them  somewhat. 
PEAS.— A  successional  sowing  of  Peas  should  now  be  made.. 
Those  3ft  high  are  the  best  for  this  sowing.  The  ground  should 
be  thoroughly  prepared.  The  .seed  should  he  a  little  thicker 
than  usual.  The  soil,  being  so  cold  after  so  much  rain,  many 
of  the  .seeds  with  weak  germs  may  fail. 
AUTUMN-SOWN  ONIONS  should  now  be  planted  out  on 
dry,  well-prepared  .soil.  See  that  they  are  planted  firmly  to 
prevent  the  wind  twisting  them  out  of  the  soil. 
NEW  BEDS  OF  ASPARAGUS  may  now  ho  made.  The 
old  way  of  digging  out  the  .soil  and  filling  in  with  a  great  many 
different  kinds  of  compo.sts  and  faggots  of  wood  is  not  now 
practised.  First-rate  Asparagus  is  obtainable  from  beds  made 
by  trenching  the  .soil  deeply  and  thoroughly  manuring  the  soil. 
The  rows  .should  he  18in  apart,  and  the  plants  1ft  from  plant 
to  plant.  See  that  the  roots  are  spread  out  carefully  in  broad 
holes  or  trenches.  Two-year-old  plants  are  the  best  for  tlie 
purpose. 
LEEKS. — The  seeds  should  now  be  sown.  Sow  on  a  fine, 
sunny  day.  The  .seeds  should  be  coated  with  red  lead. 
NEW  BEDS  OF  SEAKALE  should  now  he  made.  If  the 
roots  were  prepared  early  in  the  new  year  they  will  be  now  in 
good  condition  for  planting.  The  ground  should  he  deeply 
worked  and  enriched  for  Seakale.  If  it  is  intended  to  force  the 
plants  outside  they  must  he  planted  in  clumps.  Place  three 
good  sets  in  a  clump  ;  each  set  .should  be  lOin  from  its  neigli- 
bour,  and  the  clumps  should  he  4ft  apart.  This  will  give  ample 
room  lor  nianuie  to  be  placed  between  the  pots  for  forcing. 
Seed  may  also  now  be  sown  to  provide  plants  for  planting  next 
year. 
POTATOES. — A  good  breadth  of  early  kinds  .should  now  be 
planted.  It  will  be  well  to  select  a  sheltered  border  where  fro>t 
and  keen  winds  will  not  be  so  likely  to  injure  the  ijlants  in 
IMay. — A.  T.,  Cirencester. 
The  Flower  Garden. 
HERBACEOUS  PERENNIALS. -Borders  in  which  strong¬ 
growing  clumps  of  Phloxes,  Helianthuses.  IMichaelmas  Daisies, 
hardy  Chrysanthemums,  Delphiniums,  Pinks,  Pseonies,  and 
similar  subjects  have  been  established  for  .some  years  will  require 
.some  attention  in  improving  the  soil,  e.specially  where  it  is 
light,  poor,  and  shallow.  The  present  is  a  good  time  to  deal 
with  perennials  affording  an  opportunity  to  lift,  divide,  and 
replant  after  thorough  trenching  and  digging  of  the  ground. 
Work  in  material  which  will  prove  of  service  in  enriching  the 
ground  and  encouraging  a  healthy,  vigorous  growth.  Leaf  .soil, 
loam,  and  decompo.sed  manure  with  wood  ashes  and  vegetable 
matter  will  prove  to  l)e  suitable  material.  The  oldest  and 
exhausted  parts  of  the  clumps  may  he  discarded  when  dividing 
them  up,  using  only  the  newer  and  vigorous  portions,  which 
will  be  of  ample  size  for  planting.  Shorten  also  long,  straggling 
roots.  In  the  event  of  the  ground  being  stiff  and  wet,  the 
result  of  rain  following  closely  on  digging,  use  some  light,  dry 
material  round  the  loots  when  planting,  especially  if  any 
small  new  plants  are  introduced,  this  encouraging  them  to  make 
a  free  start. 
LILIUMS.  —  Groups  of  these  interesting  flowering  bulbs  make 
a  conspicuous  display  during  their  .season  of  blooming  in 
summer,  and  the  plants  increase  in  effectiveness  year  by  year 
through  the  bulbs  multiplying.  When  inserting  the  bulbs  the 
soil  .should  not  be  too  wet.  A  layer  of  dry,  sandy  soil  is  best  to 
employ  for  placing  the  bulbs  upon,  surrounding  them  al.«o  with 
material  of  the  same  kind.  Plant  at  a  depth  of  4in  to  Gin,  the 
latter  depth  in  light  .soil.  All  may  he  placed  Gin  apart  and  in 
groups  of  three  to  twelve  ))ulb.s.  [Mark  the  positions  where 
planting,  either  with  sticks  or  labels,  recording  the  names  of 
varieties.  Suitable  positions  may  he  found  for  planting  neai- 
the  .shelter  of  shrubs,  though  groups  mmst  not  be  .so  arranged 
where  shrub.s  or  trees  will  affect  the  growth  detrimentally. 
Liliums  do  remarkably  well  among  low-growing  American 
slirubs,  the  soil  used  for  these  being  of  a  peaty  character,  or 
special  borders  may  be  prepared  for  them.  A  good  .selection  of 
varieties  to  plant  are  Ij.  tigrinum,  L.  lancifolium,  L.  croceum, 
L.  IMaitagon,  L.  chalcedonicum,  L.  japonicum  Browni,  L. 
Thunhergianum,  and  L.  auratum. 
RAISING  PLANTS  FOR  SILMMER  DISPLAY.- Among 
the  plants  it  is  desirable  to  raise  as  early  as  possible  now  for 
summer  flowering  are  Ageratums,  Celosias,  Carnations.  Dahlias 
(single),  IMimuhrs,  Petunias,  Lobelias,  Verbenas,  and  Violas. 
Sow*^  in  pans  or  boxes  filled  with  light  soil  placed  under  glass 
in  slight  heat  to  eiiconrage  quick  and  strong  germination,  and 
help  on  the  early  growth  of  the  seedling'.  — E.  D.  S.,  Gravesend. 
