502 
JOUBNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  November  26,  1903. 
two  feet  apart.  With  the  clumj)  system  three  canes  may  be 
planted  a  foot. apart  in  a  triangle,  eventually  driving  down  a 
stout  stake  not  more  than  oft  high  in  the  centre.  The  best 
planting  canes  are  those  of  slender  growth,  but  possessing  ample 
fibrous  roots.  All  must  eventually  be  cut  down  close  to  the 
ground  the  fiivst  season,  so  as  to  encourage  the  formation  of 
strong  fruiting  canes. — East  Kent. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
CrCf'MBERS. — Winter-fruiting  Cucumbers  are  frequent 
failures.  This  is  mo.stly  due  to  a  deficiency  of  heating  surface 
eombined  with  an  arid  atmosphere.  Sharp  weather  necessitates 
brisk  firing,  which,  when  there  is  little  piping,  dries  the  atmo- 
.sphere,  causing  excessive  evaporation  from  the  foliage,  and  it 
becomes  crippled  in  consequence  ;  the  fruits  are  also  stunted, 
and  swell  indifferently,  and  where  the  are  in  close 
proximity  to  the  roots  the  soil  is  dried  too  much,  and  the  growth 
consequently  is  not  healthy.  Heat  I'adiated  at  a  high  tempera¬ 
ture  is  not  good  for  vegetation,  and  when  the  water  in  the 
pipes  has  to  be  kept  at  near  boiling  point  failure  is  almost 
inevitable;  besides,  it  is  highly  wasteful  of  fuel.  Admit  air 
very  carefully,  yet  afford  a  little  when  opportunity  offers,  exclud¬ 
ing  it,  however,  when  the  external  air  is  cold  and  sharp,  turning 
off  the  top  heat  when  the  sun  is  very  bright  and  likely  to  raise 
the  temperature  much  over  85deg  or  90deg.  In  bright  weather 
damp  the  house  morning  and  afternoon,  closing  early  ;  but  be 
careful  not  to  wet  the  embryo  fruit,  for  water  hanging  from 
it  will  cause  decay.  Water  will  be  needed  at  the  roots  about 
twice  a  week,  always  affording  it  equal  in  temperature  to  that 
of  the  bed.  Maintain  a  night  temperature  of  60deg  to  65deg, 
and  70deg  to  75deg  by  day,  and  advancing  odeg,  lOdeg,  or  lodeg 
from  sun  heat,  and  endeavour  to  enclose  as  much  sun  heat  as 
is  safe*. 
The  plants  from  the  early  August  sowing  and  planted  out 
in  September  have  covered  the  trellis  and  are  fruiting,  but  this 
must  be  allowed  very  moderately  if  the  plants  are  expected  to 
afford  full  supplies  at  a  later  period,  and  unless  there  is  undue 
vigour  in  the  plants  they  should  not  be  allowed  to  bear  for  a 
few  weeks,  especially  if  they  are  wanted  to  afford  fruit  at  the 
new  year  and  forward.  Attend  frequently  to  stopping  and  thin¬ 
ning,  also  tying  the  shoots,  avoiding  overcrowding,  as  stout 
foliage  better  endures  the  trying  ordeal  of  wintry  weather. 
Canker  is  best  held  in  check  by  le.ssened  moistfire,  and  not  any 
at  the  collar,  rubbing  quicklime  well  into  the  affected  parts. 
Removing  useless  old  leaves  is  good  for  the  plants,  and  may, 
keep  off  attacks  of  red  spider,  but  if  that  pest  appears,  sponge 
the  infested  leaves  carefully  with  a  solution  of  paraffin  and 
softsoap,  2oz  to  a  gallon  of  tepid  water.  If  this  be  done  on  the 
first  appearance  of  the  pesd  much  after  trouble  will  be  saved. 
Mildew  must  be  kept  under  by  du.sting  the  infested  parts  with 
flowers  of  sulphur,  or  brushing  the  pipes  with  sulphur  brought 
to  the  consistency  of  cream  with  .skim  milk.  Thi^  will  also 
destroy  white  fly.  Aphides  succumb  to  vaporisations  with 
nicotine,  as  also  does  mealy  bug.  Tobacco  fumigation  in  two 
or  three  consecutive  evenings  is  also  effectual  against  aphides 
and  thrips. 
CHERRY  HOESE. — The  trees  must  now  be  pruned.  Full- 
grown  trees,  properly  attended  to  in  stopping  during"  growth, 
will  require  very  little  pruning  now.  Any  summer  shoots  that 
have  grown  considerably  should  be  cut  back  to  about  an  inch 
of  their  base,  and  the  worn-out  spurs  may  be  shortened  or 
removed  as  required.  Cut  out  dead  spurs  and  thin  those  that 
are  crowded,  always  reserving  sufficient  for  producing  a  crop. 
The  terminal  shoots  in  the  case  of  trees  extending  must  not  be 
shortened,  but  when  they  reach  the  extremity  of  the  trellis  they 
will  need  shortening,  always  to  a  wood  bud.  Young  trees  will 
require  to  be  cut  back  as  much  as  may  be  necessary,  the  central 
shoots  being  shortened  so  as  to  originate  others  for  filling  the 
space  regularly ;  but  it  is  not  desirable  to  start-  them  too  closely 
together,  as  they  may  cause  the  branches  to  press  against  each 
other,  and  this  commonly  results  in  gumming.  Fan  training  is 
unquestionably  the  best  for  the  Cherry,  as  it  admits  of  replacing 
any  branch  falling  a  prey  to  this  disea.se,  and  of  renewing  worn- 
out  limbs. 
Thoroughly  cleanse  the  house — the  woodwork  with  soapy 
water,  using  carbolic  or  paraffin  soap,  and  well  brushing  off  the 
dirt,  afterwards  cleansing  with  clean  w'ater,  and  washing  glass 
clean  outside  as  well  as  inside  with  clean  w'ater.  Limewash  the 
walls,  using  freshly-burned  lime  with  a  handful  of  flowers  of 
.sulphur  to  each  pailful  of  whitewash.  Syringe  the  trees  with 
hot  water,  140deg  to  150deg,  to  subdue  any  hybernating  iDe.sts, 
and  if  infested  with  red  spider  dre,ss  with  a  solution  of  caustic 
soda  and  pearlash  in  equal  parts,  u.sing  l^oz  of  the  mixture  to 
a  gallon  of  water,  and  applying  by  means  of  a  clean,  half-worn 
painter’s  sash  brush,  so  as  to  wet  every  part  evenly,  especially 
the  cracks  and  crevices  of  the  bark,  taking  care  not  to  in.jure 
the  buds.  Remove  the  loo.se  surface  soil  and  supply  fresh  loam, 
with  a  pan  of  well-rotted  manure  intermixed,  sprinkling  on  the 
surface  a  good  handful  per  square  yard  of  some  approved 
fertiliser,  scratching  in  very  lightly  with  a  fork. 
The  roof  lights  being  off,  they  need  not  be  replaced  until  the 
time  arrives  for  starting  the  trees,  which  should  be  about  the 
middle  of  December  "to  have  Cherries  ripe  earaly  in  May.  The 
v'ery  early  varieties  will  ripen  sooner,  .such  as  Belle  cl’Orleans 
and  Rivers’  Early,  these  being  followed  by  Governor  Wood  and 
Black  Tartarian."  Cherries  must  not  be  brought  forward  too 
rapidly,  e.specially  when  forcing  them  for  the  fir.st  time.  Tree.s 
under  fixed  roofs  should  be  well  supplied  with  water  to  keep  the 
.soil  moist ;  but  fixed  roofs  are  great  mistakes  in  the  early  forcuig 
of  Cherries,  unless  they  are  grown  in  pots,  when  they  will  be 
placed  outdoors  after  the  fruit  has  been  gathered  and  wood 
sufficiently  developed.  Trees  in  pots  are  readily  forced,  and 
afford  excellent  fruit  at  the  end  of  April  or  early  in  May,  when 
fresh  ripe  fruit  is  not  over  plentiful.  Cherries  are  then  always 
appreciated  at  table. — St.  Albans. 
TO  CORRESPONDENTS 
Cll  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
*  to  “The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,  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  uryustiti- 
able  trouble  and  expense.  In  naming  plants  we  only  undertake 
to  name  species,  or  well-marked  varieties,  and  only  six  on  any 
one  occasion.  Florists’  flowers  we  do  not  name. 
VINES  FOR  PLANTING  AND  FRIITING  (G.  C.  S.).— 
I.  The  Vines,  two  years  old  from  the  eyes  for  plantiim,  sfiouid 
be  shortened  to  the  length  required,  say  the  bottom  w’lre  ot  the 
trellis.  This  is  better  than  leaving  full  length  and  disbudding 
after  planting  and  growth  taking  place,  as  the  forces  of  the  Vine 
will  be  concentrated  on  the  uppermost  buds,  and  the  ^’owths 
not  required,  or  below  the  pruned  buds,  can  be  removed  whilst 
they  are  relatively  small,  thus  confining  the  vigour  to  Die 
shorter  shoots  retained.  2.  The  \  ines  in  pots  and  to  be  fruited 
therein  may  be  shifted  into  others  a  size  larger,  but  it  is  not 
advisable  to  give  them  a  large  shift,  a  couple  or  at  most  oin 
larger  size,  potting  firmly,  and  providing  good  drainage.  \\  ith 
feedino"  they  may  be  fruited  well  in  the  12in  pots,  and  they 
would°certainly  derive  considerable  benefit  by  knocking  out 
the  bottom  or  enlarging  the  aperture.s  of  the  pot,  and  iiartialiy 
plunging  in  the  border,  always  providing  fvee  access  for  fh® 
passao-e  of  water  passing  through  the  pots.  3.  There  will  not  be 
room  for  fruiting  the  Vines  in  pots  between  the  permanent, 
these  being  only  planted  3ft  apart  This  distance  is  much  too 
small  for  permanent  Tines;  they  should  be  at  least  42tt  apait, 
then  between  them  you  may  fruit  the  supernumeraries. 
PROPAGATING  POTATOES  FROM  CUTTINGS  OR 
SHOOTS  (An  Old  Contributor).— There  are  several  methods,  i. 
Raising  from  single  eyes.  In  this  case  the  tuber  is  cut  into  as 
many  portions  as  eyes,  and  each  is  potted  into  a  smaU  pot  and 
placed  in  a  house  with  a  gentle  heat,  say  5odeg  to  bodeg,  with 
lOdeg  to  lodeg  or  more  rise  from  sun  heat.  Each  eye  soon 
pushes  a  growth,  which,  when  it  has  grown  a  few  inches  high, 
is  topped,  and  the  top  inserted  just  as  one-  would  insert  a 
Pelargonium  cutting,  and  in  a  gentle  heat  and  shade  from 
bright  sun  the  cutting  soon  roots.  Other  shoots  shortly  appear 
from  the  cut  down  plant,  and  when  these  are  loi^  enough  they 
can  be  taken  off  and  inserted  as  cuttings,  suffice  that  each 
cutting  has  two  joints  and  the  growing  point.  Ihe  plants  first 
struck  as  cuttings  can  be  topped  and  each  top  inserted,  so 
that,  by  commencing  about  the  middle  of  Februa^,  a  great 
number  of  cutting  plants  can  be  had  from  a  single  tuber,  as  w'e  1 
as  the  single  eye  plants.  2.  A  tuber  is  placed  to  .spro-ut  in  a 
house  or  place  where  there  is  heat  and  moisture,  and  when 
each  sprout  is  about  3in  long  it  is  detached  and  treated  as  a 
cutting,  and  the  same  eye  of  the  tuber  which  gave  the  first 
cuttino'  or  sprout  usually  develops  several  such  cuttings  from 
side  eyes  and  these  can  be  taken  off  as  advanced  and  potted. 
3  Placin’o-  the  tuber  or  tubers  in  a  box  containing  soil,  say  some 
under  and  over,  just  covering,  putting  in  a^warm  house,  and 
as  the  shoots  appear  above  ground  taking  off  the  cuttings  ana 
rooting  them.  In  this  way  about  a  hundred  plants  have  been 
raised  from  a  single  tuber.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  point 
out  that  if  such  compound  multiplication  is  contemplated,  it  is 
important  to  commence  not  later  than  March,  because  the 
rooted  cuttings  should  be  nice  little  Plants  in  pots,  duly 
hardened  off,  so  as  to  be  planted  out  in  May.  Even  when 
the  division  is  not  carried  beyond  the  single  eye  systeni  it  is 
advisable  to  establish  them  in  pots,  as  they  succeed  much  better 
