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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  5,  1903. 
WOKK^outheWEEK. 
'd 
Fruit  Forcing. 
CUCUMBERS.— Autumn  fruiting  plants  are  now  in  full 
bearing,  and  having  plenty  of  stamina  in  them,  and  not  being 
overcropped,  will  continue  to  bear  good  fruit  a  considerable 
time  longer.  It  is  also  necessary  to  remove  the  fruit  as  soon 
as  it  becomes  a  usable  size,  and  all  deformed  fruit  when  seen,  as 
these  needlessly  weaken  the  plants.  Attend  to  the  plants  once 
or  twice  a  week  for  the  removal  of  bad  leaves,  stopping  irregular 
growtlis  and  cutting  out  superfluous,  keeping  the  foliage  mode>- 
rately  thin.  If  mudew  appear  dust  the  affected  parts  with 
flowers  of  sulphur,  or  form  this  into  a  paste  with  skim  milk, 
and  brush  a  little  on  the  hot-water  pipes.  The  fumes  given  off 
act  against  red  spider  and  white  fly,  but  aphides  and  thrips 
should  be  subdued  with  vaiiourisation  of  nicotine  essence,  or 
fumigation  with  good  tobacco  paper,  or  the  advertised  sub¬ 
stances,  which  are  generally  safe  and  thoroughly  effectual. 
Winter  fruiting  plants  are  far  the  most  difficult  to  manage ;  the 
great  thing  is  to  get  theim  well  established  and  furnished  with 
sturdy  growths  and  thick,  leathery  leaves,  letting  the  shoots 
advmnce  well  up  the  trellis  before  stopping  them,  training  the 
growths  evenly,  and  not  more  closely  than  to  allow  of  the 
foliage  being  well  exposed  tO'  light.  Stop  the  side  growths  after 
a  few  good  leaves  are  made,  and  the  shoots  issuing  from  the 
wood  left  will  show  plenty  of  fimit,  and  such  may  be  stopped 
one  or  two  joints  beyond  it.  This  will  secure  foliage  for  accele^ 
rating  root  action  and  the  proper  nourishment  of  the  fruit.  To 
insure  the  fruit  swelling  it  is  sometimes  necessary  tO'  have  re¬ 
course  to  fertilising  the  flower ;  but  allow  few  or  no  male 
blossoms  or  tendrils,  removing  them  as  fast  as  they  appear, 
for  they  only  weaken  the  plants.  Add  fresh  soil  to  the  ridges 
or  hillocks  as  the  roots  protrude,  and  bei  careful  not  to  over¬ 
water,  affording  a  supply  only  when  needed.  The  water  or  liquid 
manure  applied  should  be  warm  to  the  mean  temperature  of 
the  house. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES;  EARLIEST  FORCED 
TREES  IN  POTS.— For  securing  very  early  fruit,  the  trees  are 
unquestionably  best  grown  in  standard  form  in  pots,  and  the 
stems  varying  in  height,  so  that  they  will  accord  with  the 
incline  of  the  structure,  and  thus  have  the  heads  well  up  to  the 
light.  The  very  early  varieties  do'  well  under  this  method  of 
culture,  as  from  the  pinching  they  have  blossom  buds  on  the 
young  wood,  and  these  are  not  liable  to-  drop  as  are  those  on  the 
first  made  wood  of  the  previous  year  through  over-development. 
A  three-quarter  span-roof  house,  facing  south,  provided  with 
top  and  front  ventilation,  and  four  rows  of  hot  water  pipes,  two 
along  the  front  and  two  next  the  path  on  the  front  side  of  the 
house,  cannot  be  bettered  for  early  forcing,  the  back  wall  being 
utilised  by  growing  Tomatoes  against  it ;  and  when  the  Peach 
trees  are  withdrawn,  as  they  may  be  after  the  weather  becomes 
settled  in  June,  the  front  of  the  house  can  be  occupied  with 
Tomato  plants  grown  in  pots  for  the  purpose. — Sr.  Albans. 
Kitchen  Garden. 
ASPARAGUS  BEDS.— Now  that  the  yellow  steins  of  the 
plants  indicate  that  their  work  is  done  for  the  season,  the  'vvork 
of  cutting  them  down  closely  to  the  ground  may  be  proceeded 
with.  The  growth  of  weeds,  too,  in  many  cases  has  recently 
been  free  and  luxuriant.  Owing  to  the  continued  wet  it  has 
been  difficult  to  check  them,  but  now  in  clearing  the  beds  they 
should  also  be  dealt  with.  Many  of  them  can  be  pulled  up,  but 
some  which  are  deep  rooting  and  of  a  perennial  character  will 
require  forking  out.  Having  cleared  the  beds  a  mulching  ought 
to  be  spread  over  alike  to  protect  and  enrich  the  ground.  Short, 
decayed  manure,  mixed  with  a  little  leaf  soil,  is  suitable,  spread¬ 
ing  it  not  more  than  3in  thick. 
POTATOES.— The  stock  of  Potatoes  now  under  cover  should 
be  looked  over,  sO'  that  the  best  only  may  be  select^  and  pre¬ 
served.  In  doing  this  it  is  necessary  to  keep  a  strict  look-out 
for  diseased  tubers,  as  the  presence  of  these  will  quickly  cause 
more  to  be  affected.  Small  tubers  at  the  same  time  should  be 
picked  out,  the  best  of  them  being  used  for  mixing  with  the 
food  of  poultry  or  pigs.  It  is  important  to  keep  the  tubers 
intended  for  table  use  protected  from  frost  and  covered  from 
light.  Store  them  in  any  dry,  frost  proof  structure,  and  covers 
with  straw,  dry  mats,  or  bags. 
SEED  POTATOES. — It  is  desirable  to  make  an  early  selec¬ 
tion  of  these,  taking  especial  care  to  save  only  sound,  untainted 
specimens,  which  shall  be  of  good  .shape  and  medium  in  size. 
Tlie  preservation  of  them  is  a  matter  of  importance,  arranging 
them  thinly  in  shallow  boxes,  which  may  be  placed  in  a  light 
and  notably  cool  position,  but  safe  from  frost.  Seed  tubers 
are  also  kept  in  bags.  The  method  of  storing  them  in  .shallow 
boxes  is  adapted  chiefly  for  early  varieties  which  are  sprouted 
before  planting. 
CABBAGES. — The  old  stumps  which  are  worth  retaining 
should  be  cleared  now  of  large  and  yellow  leaves.  Also  rake 
the  ground  beneath  the  plants  clear  of  rubbish.  Take  the 
opportunity  of  hoeing  between  young  plants  in  dry  weather. 
PREPARING  MANI^RE  FOR  MUSHROOMS. — A  sufficient 
amount  of  short  horse  droppings  should  be  collected  and  kept 
dry,  preventing  them  heating  until  enough  are  at  hand  for  all 
to  ferment  at  once.  The  material  may  then  be  thrown  together 
in  a  heap  and  encouraged  to  ferment,  which  it  will  do  if  duly 
moist,  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  two.  On  becoming  hot  turn 
the  heap  over,  placing  the  inside  out  and  the  outside  in.  If 
this  is  repeated  once  more  the  manure  .should  then  be  in  a 
right  condition,  having  lost  its  fiery  state,  to^  form  into  a  bed. 
CELERY. — During  the  continued  wet  wffiich  has  lately  been 
prevalent  it  has  been  difficult  to  finish  the  earthing  of  the  late 
crops.  Under  drier  conditions  the  work  ma-"  be  done.  Pack 
the  soil  well  round  the  plants,  and  when  finishing  make  the 
sides  steep,  so  as  to  carry  off  the  w^et  away  from  the  plants. 
The  Celery  fly  has  been  very  destructive  in  some  places  this  wet 
summer  and  autumn.  In  the  worst  cases  all  the  green  tissue 
of  the  foliage  has  been  completely  eaten  up.  A  check  should 
be  given  the  pest  when  the  first  larvse  are  seen  at  work  in  the 
leaves.  With  a  little  patience  and  persistence  in  crushing  them 
they  can  be  kept  down  at  first. 
SPINACH. — Make  a  final  thinning  of  the  autumn  sown 
Spinach.  Plants  short,  and  sturdy,  and  not  crowded,  will  stand 
the  winter  best.  Keep  the  ground  clear  of  weeds. 
BEET. — Beet  roots  not  yet  out  of  the  ground  should  be 
lifted  forthwith,  dried,  and  then  stored  in  sand  or  ashes  in  a 
cool  shed. 
ENDIVE. — The  driest  opportunities  possible  should  fa's 
chosen  for  covering  full  grown  plants  of  Endive  for  blanching. 
Pots  inverted  over  and  the  drainage  hole  covered  with  a  slate 
to  exclude  light  will  prove,  perhaps,  to  be  better  than  placing 
a  slate  directly  on  the  i^lants. — East  Kent. 
Weather  Notes. 
Cyclone  in  Berks. 
On  Sunday  last,  October  25,  we  were  visited  with  what  one 
might  call  an  “  American  ”  cyclone.  It  came  up  from  the 
south-west,  across  the  Coombe  Hills,  with  terrific  force  just 
before  8  p.m.  One.  could  hear  numerous  tree.s  snapping  and 
falling,  but  owing  to  the  darknes.s  I  could  not  see  what  damage 
was  being  done.  After  it  beca,me  quiet  I  ventured  out  with  a 
light  to  see  that  the  glass  was  safe.  That,  excepting  the  con¬ 
servatory,  was  all  right,  but  the  latter  had  part  of  its  roof 
stripped  off.  It  was  the  park,  however,  that  had  the  full  force 
of  the  storm.  Trees  are  down  ever^nvhere.  Elms,  Oaks,  Ash, 
Limes,  and  Cedars.  It  is  impossible  to  give  the  correct 
number  of  trees  that  have  fallen.  The  local  paper  gives  the 
number  of  267.  I  think,  when  cut  out,  there  will  be  even  more 
than  that.  Considerable  damage  was  done  also  to  house 
property  in  the  village  ;  while  the  Bath  Road  was  rendered  im¬ 
passable  by  trees  and  fallen  telegraphic  wires.  This  storm 
seemed  to  put  the  last  straw  upon  gardening  after  such  a  bad 
sea.son. — John  H.  Simmons,  Foreman,  Barton  Court,  Kintbury, 
Berks. 
Rainfall  at  Camp  Hill,  Woolton,  Lancs. 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  some  of  your  readers  to  know  the 
amount  of  rain  which  has  fallen  in  this  district  durinof  October. 
We  have  registered  here  for  the  month  7.09ins.  The  rainfall 
for  October,  1902,  was  3.73ins,  being  3.36ins  less  than  this 
year.  The  heaviest  was  on  Tuesday,  the  27th,  the  rain  guage 
registering  1.42ins;  on  the  7th  O.OOins;  and  on  the  6th  and 
12th,  0.48  fell  on  each  of  those  days.  The  total  rainfall  for  the 
present  year  up  to  October  31  is  34.32ins. 
• 
Rainfall, 
Days  without 
1903. 
rain. 
January  .. 
2‘14  inches 
14 
February.. 
.  . 
2-09  ,, 
11 
March 
3-47  ,. 
9 
April 
.  . 
1-70  ,. 
17 
May 
,  . 
3-48  ,, 
11 
June 
,  . 
1-70  ,, 
22 
July 
•  . 
3-30  ,, 
16 
August  . . 
.  . 
4-18  ,. 
..  . .  5 
September 
,  , 
.  . 
5-13  „ 
10 
October,, 
•• 
-• 
..  7-09  „ 
2 
34-32 
117 
304  days  of  the  year  ;  117  days  without  r.ain  ;  187  days  with  rain. 
— J.  Stoney,  The  Gardens,  Camp  Hill,  Wootton,  Lancashire. 
The  Month  of  October. 
In  this  part  of  the  kingdom  the  almost  continuous  falling  of 
rain  was  unprecedented  in  the  memory  of  anyone  living. 
During  the  month  there  were  only  two  days  on  which  rain  did 
