138 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  6,  1903, 
tarines,  eating  into  the  choicest  at  the  apex.  Poisons  are  not 
safe  to  use  at  such  times.  The  only  suitable  means  of  riddance 
is  to  take  small  pieces  of  dry  sponge  between  the  fingers  and 
dip  them  thus  held  in  treacle,  relaxing  the  pressure  so  that 
this  will  be  absorbed  by  the  sponge,  then  remove  and  with  a 
gentle  squeeze  free  the  sponge  of  the  excess  treacle,  placing 
the  bowls  or  saucers  level  with  the  edge  in  the  soil  in  their  runs, 
or  near  their  haunts;  and  when  the  ants  are  feeding  lift  and 
drop  the  sponge  into  boiling  water.  Another  plan  is  to  place 
some  partially  picked  bones,  such  as  come  from  table,  in  their 
haunts,  and  when  they  are  feeding  on  the  meat  place  them  in 
boiling  water.  The  bait  should  be  dried  before  using  again,  and 
this  persisted  in  will  soon  clear  a  house  of  the  ants. 
LATE  HOUSES. — The  wood  should  be  laid  on  thinner  than 
is  customary  with  trees  in  earlier  houses,  so  as  to  give  it  a  better 
chance  to  ripen,  and  the  foliage  advantage  to  assimilate  food 
and  store  it  in  the  wood ;  whilst  the  buds  are  perfectly  formed. 
Attend,  therefore,  to  thinning  and  regulating  the  growths. 
Gross  shoots  tend  to  impoverish  the  weaker,  appropriate  an 
undue  amount  of  sap,  j^revent  an  equal  distribution  of  the 
nutriment,  and  are  seldom  fruitful.  They  mostly  fall  a  prey  to 
gum  disease,  and  are  best  removed  in  favour  of  less  exuberant 
growths,  striving  to  secure  an  even  spread  of  moderately  strong 
short  jointed  wood.  Ventilate  freely  in  the  early  part  of  the 
day ;  allow  a  good  heat  from  the  sun  during  the  day,  and  close 
in  good  time,  so  as  to  run  to  Sfideg  or  even  90deg.  This  will 
only  be  necessary  where  the  fruit  is  required  accelerated  in 
ripening.  Sun  heat  will  not  do  any  harm  after  evaporation  has 
been  going  on  for  some  time,  but  it  is  desirable  to  admit  a 
little  air  before  nightfall,  to  allow  the  pent  up  moisture  to 
escape,  and  the  gradual  cooling  of  the  house  will  insure  rest. 
Early  ventilation  and  consequent  elaboration  of  the  sap  is 
necessary  for  the  solidification  of  the  growths.  Forcible 
syringings  will  keep  the  trees  free  from  red  spider,  and  should 
be  continued  until  the  fruit  commences  to  ripen.  Keep  the 
borders  well,  but  not  excessively,  supplied  with  water  or 
liquid  manure,  mulching  the  surface  with  short  sweetened 
manure. — St.  Albans. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens  at  Chis¬ 
wick,  height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
1903. 
July. 
.2^ 
o> 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
C 
c3 
0^ 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
■ 
3  05 
-S  05 
H  c3 
s  s 
i  <xj  O 
o  a 
Q 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
<u 
tuO 
S 
CO 
o 
o 
J 
s  5 
0)  ° 
Sunday  ...19 
S.W. 
deg. 
62-9 
deg. 
59  4 
deg, 
67-6 
deg. 
5t)'5 
Ins. 
0  02 
deg. 
63-4 
deg. 
61'5 
deg. 
58-2 
deg. 
50-1 
Monday  ...20 
N.E. 
57-2 
55-3 
64-4 
55-9 
_ 
65'0 
61-3 
58  2 
53'3 
Tuesday  ...2L 
S.E. 
59'6 
56-8 
70-5 
47-5 
C.02 
61-3 
61'0 
58-4 
39'5 
Wed’sday  22 
S.W. 
64-5 
61-2 
73-2 
495 
0.01 
63*2 
61-2 
58-4 
40-9 
Thursday  23 
S.W. 
64-6 
59-7 
66-9 
54.0 
1.20 
63  5 
61-2 
58  4 
46-1 
Friday  ...24 
S.AV. 
56-1 
54-4 
70-2 
540 
O'Ol 
62-2 
61-2 
58-4 
53-4 
Saturday  25 
S.W. 
66-2 
57-8 
70-4 
45-5 
0-72 
61-8 
61'0 
58-4 
38-5 
Means  ... 
61-6 
57*8 
69  0 
51-7 
Total. 
1-98 
62-6 
61-2 
58-3 
461 
Sunday  ...26 
S.W. 
deg. 
61-2 
deg. 
60-4 
deg. 
70-2 
deg. 
57  "8 
Ins. 
0  15 
deg. 
63-0 
deg. 
61*0 
deg. 
58-4 
deg. 
56-9 
Monday  ...27 
S.W. 
62 ’3 
57-0 
63-5 
46-2 
0-15 
62-1 
61-0 
58-4 
39-2 
Tuesday  ...28 
S.W. 
61-2 
57-2 
64-6 
55-2 
0-27 
ei-9 
60'8 
58-4 
47-7 
Wed’sday  29 
S.W. 
58-2 
560 
66-4 
55-3 
0-39 
61-2 
60-8 
58-4 
49-5 
Thursday  30 
S.W. 
60-7 
55-9 
66-7 
51.9 
0-02 
61-5 
60-8 
584 
44-6 
Friday  ...31 
W'.N.W. 
56-7 
52-5 
62-4 
53.9 
_ 
61-2 
606 
58-4 
47  0 
Saturday  1 
S.W. 
61-6 
58-2 
70-2 
53-3 
0  02 
60-5 
60-2 
58-4 
43-8 
Means  ... 
60-3 
56-7 
66-3 
53'4 
Total. 
1-00 
61-6 
60  7 
58’4 
47  0 
From  J uly  19th  to  25th,  a  week  of  dull  weather,  wfith  rain  on  six 
days  ;  and  also  from  the  26th  to  August  1st.  the  weather  has  been  dull 
and  eool.  with  rain  on  six  days.  Total  rainfall  for  July,  3-95  inches. 
Trad-e  Catalogues  Received. 
T.  Methveu  and  Sons.  Leith  Walk,  Edinburgh. — Bulbs. 
John  Peed  and  Son,  West  Norwood,  London. — Bulbs. 
Tr.4DE  Notice. — -The  contract  for  supplying  the  whole  of  the 
parks  and  cemeteries  of  Bradford  with  bulbs,  forcing  plants,  herba¬ 
ceous  plants,  sundries,  &e.,  for  the  ensuing  twelve  months  has  been 
given  to  Mr.  F.  C.  Edwards,  nurseryman  and  seedsman,  Leeds.. 
*  All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  bedirected 
to  “The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
Loudon,  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. 
GRUBS  ON  STALKS  AND  ROOTS  OF  CABBAGES  (N.  H.  S.). 
— The  reply  to  your  query  will  be  found  on  page  121. 
DURATION  OF  FRENCH  RANUNCULUS  (Hortus).  —  The 
roots  will  endure  indefinitely  if  taken  up  as  soon  as  the  leaves  ripen 
and  turn  yellow  after  flowering  is  over,  drying  and  storing  away  in  a 
dry  airy  compartment,  in  drawers,  or  suspended  in  paper  bags  until 
planting  time  again  arrives.  This  is  best  done  towards  the  end  of 
February,  should  the  weather  permit,  and  being  properly  planted  and 
well  attended  to,  there  is  pi’actically  no  limit  to  the  duration  of  the 
roots,  the  plants  being  given  fresh  soil  or  new  beds  from  time  to  time. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES  FALLING  OFF  (E.  G.).— The 
two  fruits  each  of  Peach  and  Nectarine  have  been  cast  through 
defective  stoning.  Though  the  stone  in  all  the  four  samples  was 
completely  foi’med  and  hard,  the  kernels  were  very  small,  shrunken, 
and  defective,  and  this  is  the  real  cause  of  the  fruit  falling  off.  One 
of  the  Nectarines  had  also  split,  a  matter  that  has  not  been  satis¬ 
factorily  explained,  being  attributed  to  imperfect  fertilisation,  which  is 
somewhat  confirmed  by  the  defective  state  of  the  kernels,  which  are 
devoid  of  embryos  ;  hence,  useless  as  means  of  continuation  by  seed, 
this  being  Nature’s  definite  law.  not  man’s  sole  or  chief  concern  about 
flesh.  The  best  aids  to  avoiding  stone  splitting  and  casting  of  the 
fruit  in  stoning,  or  at  its  should-be  completion,  is  carefully  lifting  the 
trees  and  replanting  them  in  rather  strong  loam,  to  which  has  been 
added  a  sixth  of  old  mortar  rubbish,  keeping  the  roots  ■well  up  to  the 
surface,  and  making  the  soil  firm  under,  about,  and  over  them.  This 
should  be  done  as  soon  as  tlie  leaves  give  indications  of  falling,  and 
done  carefully.  The  trees  not  being  very  old.  this  will  not  prejudice 
the  next  year’s  crop.  It  would  also  be  well  to  have  I’eeourse  to 
fertilising  the  blossoms,  especially  cross-fertilisation. 
TOMATOES  NOT  SWELLING  (J.  C.). — The  fruits,  a  quai’ter  to 
half -swelled,  are  seedless,  ■which  is  the  only  cause  of  their  not  swelling 
that  we  can  discover.  In  the  United  States  is  is  said  that  Tomato 
cultivators  have  succeeded  in  growing  Tomatoes  without  seeds,  greatly 
to  the  increase  of  the  quality  of  the  fruit  in  sugar,  and  as  a  safeguard 
against  appendicitis  ;  but  if  like  yours  we  question  their  utility,  and  it 
is  difficult  to  see  how  the  supply  of  plants  is  to  be  maintained.  All  the 
fruits  in  your  ease  are  without  evidence  of  seed,  and  to  insure  their 
further  swelling  it  is  likely  that  phosphate  of  potash,  ^oz  to  a  gallon  of 
water,  would  be  the  most  serviceable,  increasing  as  we  suspect  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  the  fruit.  This  may  be  supplemented  about 
once  a  week  with  nitrate  of  soda,  ^oz  to  a  gallon  of  Avater,  or  the  two 
substances  may  be  used  together  in  the  proportion  of  three  parts 
phosphate  of  potash  and  one  part  nitrate  of  soda,  using  §oz.  of  the 
mixture  per  gallon  of  Avater.  Or  form  a  mixture  of  three  parts  super¬ 
phosphate,  one  part  sulphate  of  potash,  and  half  a  part  nitrate  of 
soda,  using  ^  to  loz  of  the  mixture  to  a  gallon  of  Avater.  In  order  to 
have  the  fruit  SAvell  properly,  it  Avould  be  advisable  to  carefully 
fertilise  the  blossom,  haAfing  recourse  to  cross-fei'tilisation  in  order  to 
effect  thorough  fecundation. 
USING  KAINIT,  SUPERPHOSPHATE  OF  LIME,  AND 
NITRATE  OF  SODA  FOR  CELERY,  CHRYSANTHEMUMS, 
AND  VINES  (F.  L.,  Hants). — It  is  not,  as  a  rule,  adA'isable  to  use 
kainit  during  the  groAvth  of  the  plant,  but  is  best  mixed  with  an  equal 
proportion  of  superphosphate,  and  applied  some  time  in  advance  of 
cropping,  or  in  autumn  for  Vines  and  fruit  trees,  folloAving  Avith  nitrate 
of  soda  in  the  spi'ing.  or  Avhen  the  plants  are  starting  into  growth. 
Of  the  mixture  of  superphosphate  and  kainit  3Jlb  may  be  applied  per 
rod,  and  dug  in  in  autumn  or  early  spring,  and  after  the  sown  or  set 
plants  are  up  or  established,  or  fruit  trees  starting  into  groAvth,  apply 
finely  crushed  nitrate  of  soda  at  the  rate  of  Iflb  per  rod.  As  you 
have  used  farmyard  manure  for  the  Celery,  you  may  sprinkle  nitrate 
of  soda  alongside  of  the  plants,  not  over  them,  in  the  trenches,  about 
^oz  per  yard  run  of  trench,  and  repeat  this  occasionally,  say  at 
intei'A'als  of  three  Aveeks  up  to  the  time  of  first  earthing.  For  the 
Chrysanthemums  you  may  use  the  nitrate  of  soda  in  liquid  form  not 
stronger  than  ^oz  to  a  gallon  of  Avater,  and  not  applying  oftener  than 
once  a  Aveek,  eommeneing  after  the  bloom  buds  have  been  thinned,  not 
before.  For  the  Vines  it  may  be  supplied  also  in  liquid  form  and  weak, 
as  an  aid  to  SAvelling  of  the  Grapes  ;  but  the  value  of  nitrate  of  soda 
is  proportionate  to  the  amount  of  phosphoric  and  potassic  elements 
present  in  the  soil  in  available  form.  If  the  kainit  be  of  good  quality 
you  may  form  a  useful  mixture  for  most  crops  of  three  parts  super¬ 
phosphate,  tAvo  parts  kainit,  and  one  part  nitrate  of  soda,  not  applying 
I  more  of  the  mixture  than  4oz  per  square  yard. 
