Sepl  ember  3,  1903. 
JOUR^NAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
229 
Hardy  Fruit  Garden. 
PREP.4IIATIONS  FOR  STORING  FRUIT.— Although  in 
manj-  instances  the  fruit  crop  this  sea.son  will  not  be  a  heavy  one, 
yet  what  there  may  be  to  gather  and  stoi’e  ought  to  receive  the 
best  treatment,  especially  where  high  culture  has  been  given 
and  every  effort  made  to  develop  and  finish  well  the  crop.  When 
this  has  been  done,  and  the  gathering  carried  out  on  careful  lines, 
the  storage  of  the  crop  is  of  next  importance.  The  best  place 
for  storing  fruit  is  undoubtedly  a  properly  arranged  fruit  room 
with  tiers  of  shelves  for  holding  the  fruit.  The  fruit-storing 
trays  are  also  valuable,  and  these  may  be  placed  in  any  suitable 
room  or  structure.  Fruit  rooms  must  be  scrupulously  clean  and 
.sweet,  therefore  before  any  attempt  is  made  to  store  fruit, 
thoroughly  wash  out  the  whole  place,  limewashing  the  walls,  and 
carefully  scrubbing  the  shelves  and  floor.  After  this  allow 
several  days  for  the  place  to  thoroughly  dry,  throwing  the  doors 
and  windows  wide  open  for  the  purpose  of  ample  ventilation. 
Retain  nothing  in  the  place  which  will  cause  dust,  dirt,  or  taints 
of  any  kind. 
GATHERING  FRUIT. — To  gather  fruit  judiciously  it  cannot 
be  picked  all  at  once,  as  a  rule.  The  very  early  varieties  of 
Apples,  which  need  little  or  no  storing,  like  Beauty  of  Bath, 
Irish  Peach,  and  Lady  Sudeley,  which  may  be  eaten  direct  from 
the  trees,  do'  not  fully  perfect  every  fruit  at  once.  The  for- 
wardest  only  should  be  picked,  leaving  the  re.st  to  mature  further. 
It  is  easily  known  which  fruits  are  ready  by  the  ease  they  part 
from  the  spurs,  on  lifting  to  a  hojizontal  position.  The  same 
te.sts  apply  equally  well  to  Pears,  but  it  is  always  desirable  to 
gather  them  before  they  are  fully  ripe.  Just  when  the  fruits 
begin  to  colour  and  can  be  readily  detached  from  the  trees  is  the 
best  time.  They  may  be  finished  in  the  fruit  room,  where  they 
develop  a  melting,  juicy,  and  rich  flavour.  Left  too  long  on  the 
trees  many  of  the  early  Pears  eat  mealy.  The  fruits  must  not 
be  bruised  in  picking,  as  this  will  be  against  their  keeping  for 
any  length  of  time.. 
STRAWBERRIES  ;  OLD  BEDS. — The  continuous  wet  weather 
has  in  many  cases  prevented  the  necessary  work  in  clearing  off 
runners.  It  is  important  they  should  be  removed,  together  with 
any  crop  of  weeds  which  may  be  springing  up  among  them.  If  a 
further  lot  of  plants  are  needed  to  plant  new  beds,  a  selection  of 
the  best  sliould  be  made  from  outside  rows,  or  wherever  such  can 
be  found  that  have  not  been  crowded.  Cut  the  runners  off  close 
to  the  old  or  parent  plant,  and  any  old  leaves  at  the  same  time. 
Should  the  surface  roots  be  much  exposed  a  mulch  of  decayed 
manure  mixed  with  decomposed  vegetable  matter  and  wood  ashes 
may  be  spread  along  the  rows. 
PLANTING  STRAWBERRIES.— Strong  rooted  plants  will 
be  plentiful  now,  even  where  no  special  attention  has  been  given 
in  preparing  rooted  runners.  Lift  them  from  the  positions  where 
they  have  rooted  into  the  soil  between  -and  outside  the  rows. 
They  may  be  obtained  with  balls  of  soil  adhering,  and  can  be 
planted  at  once  permanently  in  rows  where  they  are  to  fruit. 
Should  the  ground  not  be  ready  for  their  reception,  temporarily 
insert  them  in  nursery  beds,  from  vdiicli  they  may  be  readily 
lifted  and  planted  a  little  later  almost  without  receiving  any 
check.  Plants  of  new  varieties  received  from  a  distance  are  not, 
unless  in  pots,  in  a  condition  ready  for  immediate  permanent 
planting.  It  is,  therefore,  a  good  plan  to  give  them  nursery  bed 
treatment  for  a  time,  carefully  spreading  out  the  roots  in  good 
soil,  in  which  they  will  form  tufts  of  fibrous  roots  readily,  and 
soon  be  ready  for  transferring  to  fruiting  quarters.  Much  will 
depend,  however,  on  the  .size  of  the  plants  or  rooted  runners 
whether  they  are  ready  for  autumn  or  spring  planting. 
OUTDOOR  FIGS. — Shoots  for  future  bearing  ought  to  be 
selected  from  the  current  year's  growths,  those  of  medium 
strength  being  the  bast,  which  lay  in  close  to  the  wall  at  full 
length.  Growths  bearing  the  season’s  crop  must  be  stopped  a 
few  leaves  beyond  the  fruit,  such  growths  being  cut  out  after  the 
crop  has  been  gathered,  thus  leaving  room  for  the  full  and  com¬ 
plete  ripening  of  the  shoots,  without  which  a  satisfactory  crop 
the  following  year  cannot  be  depended  upon. 
MORELLO  CHERRIES. — These  Cherries  will  keep  a  long 
time  on  the  trees,  providing  they  are  protected  from  birds  by 
nets,  but  it  is  possible  the  demand  for  the  fruit  has  long  exceeded 
the  supply,  and  the  trees,  principally  on  walls  and  espalier  fences, 
are  now  clear  of  the  crop.  This  being  so,  it  is  desirable  to  direct 
efforts  to  the  complete  ripening  of  the  wood  for  next  sea.son’s 
cr..p.  The  fir.st  es.sential  is  to  cut  out  the  old  bearing  wood — that 
is,  if  the  fruit  has  been  produced  on  long  shoots  laid  in  last  year 
for  the  purpose,  but  if  the  fruits  have  been  borne  on  spur  growths, 
these  must  remain.  The  shoots  required  for  fruiting  are  the 
medium  sized  growths  of  the  current  season.  Not  all  these  the 
trees  produce  will  be  reqiiired,  therefore,  a  general  thinning  out 
mu.st  be  adopted,  discarding  on  the  one  hand  very  .strong  shoot.s^ 
and  on  the  other  very  weakly  ones.  Dispose  the  branches  and 
shoots  in  their  proper  positions  on  the  walls  or  fence,  training 
them  thinly,  whereby  the  ripening  influences  of  sun  and  air  can 
act  upon  them.  Growths  for  which  no  room  can  be  found  may  be 
cut  out  entirely  or  shortened,  if  well  placed  wdth  a  view  to  their 
forming  spurs.  With  the  exception  of  these,  train  all  others  at 
full  length. — East  Kent. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
CUCUMBERS:  WINTER  FRUITING.— The  plants  from 
seed  sown  in  August  will  now  be  ready  to  plant  out.  First  of  all, 
thoroughly  cleanse  the  house,  removing  every  particle  of  old  soil, 
and  scalding  the  whole  of  the  interior  with  boiling  water.  Then 
wash  the  woodwork  with  paraffin,  softsoap,  or  carbolic  soap, 
limewashing  the  walls  with  hot  lime  and  a  small  handful  of  flowers 
of  sulphur  in  each  pailful.  Make  the  drainage  secure  with  a 
layer  of  turves,  previou.sly  charred  or  .scalded.  Put  in  hillocks  or 
ridgeis  of  soil,  and  plant  when  the  compo.st  is  warmed  through. 
Shade  from  bright  sun  until  established.  Maintain  a  day  tem¬ 
perature  of  70deg  to  75deg,  85deg  to  90deg  from  sun  heat,  and 
a  night  temperature  of  70deg,  falling  to  Godeg  or  even  GOdeg  in 
the  early  morning.  The  plant.s  thus  attended  to  will  fruit  in 
late  autumn,  but  they  mu.st  not  be  cropped  too  much  if  they  are 
to  give  a  plentiful  supply  from  Chri.stmas  to  the  spring. 
PEACH  HOUSES. — Too  luxuriant  trees  should  be  checked  by 
making  a  trench  one-third  the  distance  from  the  stem  that  the 
trees  cover  in  extent  of  trellis,  cutting  quite  down  to  the 
drainage.  Care  must  be  taken  that  the  trees  do  not  suffer  for 
want  of  water  Avhilst  the  trench  is  open.  This  proceeding  should 
be  followed  by  a  good  watering.  Root-pruning  and  lifting  must 
be  deferred  until  the  leaves  give  indications  of  falling,  but  these 
operations  are  best  performed  as  soon  as  the  wood  is  sufficiently 
matured,  and  whilst  the  leaves,  or  some  of  them,  are  upon  the 
trees. 
LATE  HOUSES. — The  dull  and  wet  w’ eat  her  has  not  been 
favourable  to  the  late  varieties,  but  they  promise  to  be  of  large 
size,  and,  with  fine  summer  weather,  will  be  strikingly  beautiful 
and  excellent  in  quality.  The  trees  must  still  have  suflficient 
water,  though  a  somewhat  drier  condition  at  the  roots  is  desirable 
when  the  fruit  is  ripening  than  when  it  is  swelling,  but  if  kept 
too  dry  the  fruit  is  mealy.  X  free  circulation  of  air  is  necessa^, 
utilising  the  sun  heat  as  the  fruit  is  backward,  and  with  ventila.- 
tion  early  in  the  day  the  temperature  may  run  up  to  85deg  or 
90deg,  which  is  preferable  to  fire  heat  at  a  later  period.  Keep 
the  wood  thin,  .stop  anv  growing  shoots  at  about  fifteen  inches, 
or  to  such  length  as  is  likely  to  become  matured,  and  whilst  the 
leaves,  or  some  of  them,  are  upon  the  trees. — St.  Albans. 
Trade  Notes. 
Dicksons,  Chester. 
Among  the  bulb  catalogues  worthy  of  special  notice  at  this 
time  we  would  commend  that  of  the  firm  named  in  our  headline. 
This  catalogue  is  under  number  574,  which  avoids  confusion  with 
others  that  have  gone  before.  It  is  well  illustrated  with  good 
views  of  growing  bulbous  flowers,  and  also  individual  blooms  of 
choice  sorts.  The  descriptive  letterpress  conveys  an  impression 
of  the  characters  of  the  numerous  subjects.  All  genera  of  any 
decorative  merit  are  included,  and  cultural  remarks  are  not 
awanting.  It  is  thus  a  useful  guide  as  well  as  reference  book  on 
bulbs  and  their  treatment.  On  page  31  Messrs.  Dickson  have 
compiled  a  separate  detailed  index  of  Narcissi. 
Barr’s  General  Bulb  Catalogue. 
Recently  we  referred  to  Messrs.  Barr’s  Daffodil  catalogue, 
which  is  separate  from  the  autumn  bulb  catalogue.  We  wmuld 
specially  draw  attention  to  their  list  of  novelties  and  .specialities 
for  1903,  on  pages  5 — 8  of  the  general  bulb  catalogue.  Good 
practical  notes  on  culture  are  given  On  page  1  of  the  general 
bulb  catalogue  and  on  pages  3 — 5  of  the  Daffodil  catalogue.  We 
notice  that  these  catalogues  are  arranged  on  a  strictly  alpha¬ 
betical  system  for  easy  reference.  Amongst  the  new  things  we 
would  name  the  yellow  Freesia,  Lilium  elegans  Peter  Barr, 
Irises  bucharica,  persica  Heldreichi,  Warleyensis,  Sofarana  mag- 
nifica  (all  seemingly  vigorous  growers),  Muscari  Heavenly  Blue  (a 
gem),  and  Lycoris  radiata  alba. 
