300 
April  7.  1904. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Figs  under  Glass. 
Kari.y  Forced  'Prees  in  Pots. 
Inci-oaso  tlie  vi'iitilation  wlieii  tlio  t'niit  shows  signs  of  ripen¬ 
ing,  and  expose  to  the  sun  as  inncli  as  possible.  'Phe  drier 
atmosphere  eneoni'ages  tlie  I’hg  trees’  worst  enemy,  red  spidei’, 
and  also  brown  scale,  therefore  no  (>ffort  shonld  he  spared  to  have 
the  foliage  clean  up  to  ripening  time.  Supplies  of  water  are 
needed  through  all  stages  at  the  roots,  yet  less  when  the  fruit 
is  ripening  than  during  its  swelling.  Increase  tlie  ventilation  at 
70deg,  affording  air  constantly  during  its  period  of  ripening. 
Day  temperature  80d(>g  to  8odeg  from  sun  heat,  and  night  tem¬ 
perature  (iOdeg  to  (iodeg. 
SrccESSiON  HorsE.s. — 'Prees  in  inside  borders  will  need  abun¬ 
dant  supplies  of  water,  and  those  in  narrow  borders  and  cairying 
heavy  crops  of  fruit  reipiire  licpiid  manure,  with  rich  surface 
dre.ssings.  Attend  frepnently  to  tying-in,  thinning,  and  stop¬ 
ping  the  shoots  at  about  the  fifth  leaf  of  such  as  are  required 
to  form  spurs,  and  avoid  oveicrowding  the  growths.  Maintain 
a  night  temperature,  of  (iOdeg  to  bodeg  after  the  leaves  have 
become  full-sized,  and  70deg  by  day,  allowing  a  rise  of  80deg  or 
8odeg  for  sun  heat,  ventilating  from  79deg,  closing  at  80deg, 
so  as  to  I'ise  to  8odeg  or  90  deg  afterwards. 
Late  Houses. — Syringe  the  tiees  on  fine  days  sufficiently 
early  to  allow  of  their  becoming  dry  before  night.  Ventilate 
freely  in  the  early  part  of  the  day  ;  strive  to  secure  solidified 
growths,  and  close  early  in  the  afternoon,  with  a  fair  amount 
of  atmospheric  moisture  where  there  is  means  of  excluding  frost, 
Imt  in  nnheated  houses  afford  moderate  moisture  only. — 
Grower. 
Notes  on  Pines. 
Suckers  or  Plants  Started  Early  in  IMarch. 
'Phese  will  not  re((uii'e  attention.  'I'lu'  pots  will  be  full  of 
roots,  but  before  the  plants  are  root-bound  shift  them  into  10, 
11,  or  12in  pots,  watering  them  a  day  or  two  previously,  so  as 
to  have  the  soil  modeiately  moist  when  they  are  jiotted.  Take 
advantage  of  (he  removal  of  the  plants  to  examine  the  beds, 
replenishing  them  if  need  be  by  the  addition  of  fresh  tan,  mixing 
it  with  the  old  to  a  dejith  that  will  afford  the  temperature 
required,  namely,  Oodeg,  at  the  base  of  the  pots  until  the  roots 
I'each  the  sides,  when  OOdeg  is  more  suitable.  Keep  the  air 
about  such  plants  well  charged  with  moisture  during  the  time 
the  house  is  closed,  employing  no  more  fii’e  heat  than  absolutely 
necessary  to  maintain  a  temperature  of  70deg  to  7ddeg  on  mild 
nights,  bdeg  to  lOdeg  less  on  cold  nights.  \"entilate  slightly 
at  80deg,  liberally  at  OOdeg,  closing  with  sun  heat  at  8odeg,  at 
which  time  syiinge  the  plants.  This  treatment  will  be  snitabie 
for  fruiting  plants,  exce]it  such  as  are  in  bloom,  which  should  not 
l)e  syringed.  Examine  the  plants  twice  a  week,  and  water  those 
that  recpiire  it. 
Plants  Started  into  Fruit  Earla'  in  the  Year. 
The.se  are  fast  approaching  the  floweiing  stage,  and  will  be 
benefited  by  an  occasional  sprinkling  at  the  time  the  house  is 
closed  ;  but  when  in  flower  they  must  not  be  so  treated.  Phe 
foliage  being  as  yet  tender,  it  will  be  desirable  in  the  case  of 
houses  with  large  panes  of  glass  to  afford  a  slight  shading  for  an 
hour  or  two  in  the  hottest  pai't  of  the  day  until  the  foliage 
becomes  inui’ed  to  the  sun’s  influence.  When  the  flowering  is 
over  the  fruit  will  advance  rapidly  if  the  roots  are  in  good  con¬ 
dition.  and  plentiful  supplies  of  weak  liquid  manure  will  he 
I'eipiisite.  Attend  to  ventilating  eaily  in  the  morning,  com¬ 
mencing  when  the  temperature  is  at  80deg,  and  closing  at  8odeg 
with  sun  heat.  Keeji  the  atmosphere  moist  when  the  house  is 
closed,  and  maintain  the  bottom  heat  steady  at  8()deg  to  OOdeg, 
night  tempei’atnre  lOdeg,  and  7bdeg  by  day  artificially.  As  the 
suckei's  appeal’,  remove  ali  but  one  to  eacli  plant.  —  P’ractice. 
Failure  of  Young  Peaches  to  Set  Fruits. 
It  may  not  be  a  common  experiiuice  to  find  that  young  trees 
of  Peaches  and  Xectariites  grown  under  glass  fail  to  set  fruits, 
whether  forced  or  brought  on  in  a  natural  manner.  I  liave 
])lanted  many  young  trees  in  glass  structures  started  at  varying 
periods,  but  so  unifoi’in  has  their  failure  become  in  eai'ly  fruit 
bearing  that  I  do  not  now  exjiect  them  to  do  so.  Some  may 
be  inclined  to  say  that  undue  vigour  of  firanch  is  a  dominatiini 
cause,  which  no  doubt  is  true,  but  when  this  has  been  corrected 
bv  replanting  oi'  root-pruninc:.  the  failure  continues  in  spite  of 
these  well-worn  remedies,  what  then  P  Absence  of  lime,  too. 
may  easily  be  made  another  assumed  reason  for  failure,  but  this 
again  is  never  omitted  in  planting  Peaches,  or.  indeed,  any 
stone,  fruits.  Sometimes  outdoors  there  is  greater  precocity  of 
fruit  bearing  from  young  specimens,,  but  even  here  there  is  no 
bindi-ng  rule  observed. 
'Phese  observations  have  been  so  often  made,  indeed  become 
part  of  th('  yearly  routine,  that  in  paying  visits  to  grounds  or 
other  gardens  wherein  Peaches  are  represented  in  varying  ages, 
I  very  naturally  observe  the  habits  of  trees  in  this  particular 
phase.  I  have  found  that  in  some  instances  the  same  failures 
occur,  in  others  mey  are  unknown.  Some  may  even,  if  they 
so  choose,  obtain  a  ci’op  from  trees  imported  'from  some  distant 
nurs'uy  where  necessarily  there  can  be  no  soil  carried  with  the 
fibrous  roots,  and  the.se  dried  more  or  le.ss  in  packing  and 
transit.  Home-grown  trees  prepared  on  the  walls  outdoors  just 
as  signally  fail  as  do  the  purchased  trees.  The  latter  we  shonld 
not  encourage  to  fruit,  willing  though  they  might  be,  for  the 
fruits  in  most  cases  wouid  be  small,  and  consecjuently  have  no 
value  justifying  their  retention.  Purcha.sed  maiden  trees,  how¬ 
ever,  ju'iqiarod  at  home  say  two  or  three  years  f'om  the  bud, 
when  they  have  made  good  healthy  heads  and  root  balls,  ought, 
when  carefully  removed  to  stations  prepared  under  glass,  to 
give  a  small  crop  of  fair-sized  fruits.  The  matter  remains  a 
mystery  why  this  shonld  be  so  regular  and  so  oft  experienced. 
Immaturity  of  wood  cannot  be  associated  with  the  failing, 
because  were  this  so,  such  healthy  and  full-grown  buds  wdiich 
afterwards  expand  and  give  such  good  promise  would  not  occur. 
It  is  not  so  marked  this  failure  to  fruit  in  other  kinds  of  trees 
as  wfth  Peaches  and  X'ectarines. — S.  Mb 
- - 
The  Cultivation  oi  Vegetables. 
(Continued  from  pa<je  284.) 
One  of  the  most  important  vegetatiles  is  the  Potato,  and  the 
liGst  jilace  to  grow  Potatoes  is  undoubtedly  in  the  open  field. 
The  most  suitable  soil  for  producing  floury  and  welj-flayonred 
Potatoes  is  a  good  sandy  loam.  Potatoes,  however,  have  to 
be  grown  in  all  kinds  of  soil,  and  the  only  way  to  be  successful 
is  to  select  varieties  suitable  to  each  particular  district.  I 
do  not  approve  of  using  rich  manure  when  planting  Potatoes. 
What  manure  is  required  shonld  be  dug  in  in  the  autumn. 
Spent  hotbed  manure  is  quite  strong  enough,  and  an  excellent 
dressing  to  use  at  planting  time.  A  good  plan  when  preiiaring 
the  ground  is  to  loo.sen  the  soil  under  where  the  spade  has 
been.  This  has  a  lasting  effect  upon  the  crop  of  Potatoes, 
especially  when  we  get  a  dry  season,  which  was  not  the  case 
last  year.  For  field  work,  w'e  double-plough  the  ground  for 
Potatoes. 
Our  earlie.st  crop  ive  grow  in  frames  heated  with  manure, 
followed  by  a  second  on  a  south  border  in  the  kitchen  garden. 
The  Potatoes  come  up  much  better  and  truer  if  they  are  laid 
out  singly  in  boxes  some  time  before  planting.  Quite  a  fort¬ 
night  can  be  gained  by  inducing  the  sets  to  start  before  placing 
them  in  the  hotbed,  or  even  in  the  open  border.  The  favourite 
for  the  earliest  work  is  Pingieader.  both  for  frames  and  out¬ 
side.  'Phis  variety  is  a  fair  cropper,  quick  to  mature,  and  fit 
for  the  table  as  soon  as  it  is  large  enough.  IMay  Queen  is 
another  excellent  variety,  and  a  heavy  cropper.  The  same 
remarks  apply  to  Xinetyfold,  but  it  does  not  mature  so  quickly 
as  Ringleader. 
For  the  main  crop  I  do  not  think  anything  is  to  lie  gained 
by  too  early  planting.  Any  time  from  AI arch  to  May  will  do, 
but  I  consider  April  to  be  the  best  month  if  the  ground  is  in 
good  condition  ;  lint  good  results  may  be  had  if  they  are  planted 
as  late  as  June.  Potato  ground  should  be  kept  free  from  weeds, 
and  well  stirred  with  the  hoe.  X"o  crop  benefits  more  from  the 
fre(|uent  use  of  the  hoe  than  Potatoes.  Of  the  new  varieties 
I  have  tiled  this  year.  Discovery  is  a  splendid  acquisition,  a 
wonderful  cropper,  and  almost  free  from  disease,  as  is  also 
X'^ortliern  Star,  an  earlier  variey.  These  are  the  two  best  I 
have  tried  for  a  long  time.  The  Potato  crop  in  the  neighbour¬ 
hood  of  Ryfleet  la.st  vear  was  about  the  worst  on  record. 
M  any  plots  were  not  worth  digging,  and  yet  the  two  varieties 
I  have  mentioned  have  come  through  it  all  with  hardly  a  sign 
of  disease.  This  makes  them  especially  valuable. 
The  Pea  (Pisuji). 
Another  important  crop  is  the  Pea.  Gardeners,  as  a  rule, 
aie  very  proud  of  a  good  ciop  of  Peas,  and  I  do  not  think  that 
anything  in  the  way  of  vegetables  is  more  appreciated  than  a 
good  dish  of  Peas  well  cooked  and  .served  up.  I  find  it  a  good 
plan  to  s(>t  apart  a  plot  of  ground  well  in  the  open  especially  for 
Pi'as.  This  should  be  tremebed  and  manured  during  the  winter, 
and  left  as  rough  as  po.ssible  until  required  for  sowing.  Then 
take  out  a  trench  (5in  wide  and  Gin  deep,  and  sow  the  seed, 
thinly.  No  seeds  closer  together  than  an  inch,  and  the  larger 
and  more  vigorous  the  variety  the  farther  ajiart  the  seed. 
It  is  a  very  common  mistake  to  sow  Peas  too  thickly. 
A  mistake  often made  is  not  staking  the  Peas  soon  enough. 
The  sooner  the  sticks  are  in  the  better,  after  the  Peas  are  up. 
t 
