Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/284

272 H 11 T I U L T U R E [FRUITS. of the two leaves, and they should be trained one towards the front and the other towards the back of the frame, before reaching which the points should be pinched off and lateral fruit-bearing shoots will then be produced. The melon being one of those plants which produce distinct male and female flowers (dioecious), it is necessary to its fertility that both should be produced, and that the pollen of the male flower should, either naturally by insect agency, or artificially by the culti vator s manipulation, be conveyed to the stigma of the female flower ; this setting of the fruit is often done by stripping a male flower of its corolla, and inverting it in the centre of the fruit-bearing flower. After the fruit has set and has grown to the size of an egg, it should be preserved from contact with the soil by placing it on a piece of tile or slate ; or if grown on a trellis by a little swinging wooden shelf, just large enough to hold it. In either case the material used should be tilted a little to one side, so as to permit water to drain away. Before the process of ripening commences, the roots should have a sufficient supply of moisture, so that none may be required from that time until the fruit is cut. When the melon is grown in a house there should be a good depth of drainage over the tank or other source of bottom heat, and on this should be placed turfs, grass side downwards, below the soil, which should not be less than 15 and need not be more than 18 inches in thickness. The compost should be made moderately firm, and only half the bed should be made up at first, the rest being added as the roots require it. The melon may also be grown in large pots, sup plied with artificial manure or manure water. The stems may be trained up the trellis in the usual way, or the rafters of a pine stove may be utilized for the purpose. If the trellis is constructed in panels about the width of the lights, it can be taken down and conveniently stowed away when not in use. The presence of too much moisture either in the atmosphere or in the soil is apt to cause the plants to damp off at the neck, but the evil, if it appears, may be checked by applying a little fresh-slaked lime round the stem of the plant. The varieties of melon are continually receiving additions which are more or less permanent. A great deal depends on getting the varieties true to name, as they are very liable to get cross- fertilized by insect agency. Some of the best are Scarlet-fleshed. Scarlet Gem, and Read s Scarlet-fleshed. ~ hitc-fleshed. Colston Basset Seedling, and Queen Emma. Green-fleshed. Victory of Bath, Eastnor Castle, and Egyptian. Mul- 125. The Mulberry, Morns nigra, is a deciduous tree, with monoe- berry. cious flowers, and oblong compound fruits, having a rich aromatic flavour and a fine subacid juice. The fruit is in request for the dessert during the months of August and September. It is a native of Persia, and succeeds well as a standard in the warmer parts of England, especially in sheltered situations, but in the north of England and the&quot; less favoured parts of Scotland it requires the assistance of a wall. The standard trees require no other pruning or training than an occasional thinning out of the branches, and are generally planted on grassy lawns, to prevent the fruit being damaged when it falls. The tree succeeds best in a rich, deep, and somewhat moist loam, but grows well in any good garden ground. It is usually propagated either by cuttings or layers, which latter, if made from the older branches of the tree, come sooner into bearing. Cuttings planted in the spring should consist of well-ripened shoots of the preceding year, with a joint of two-year-old wood at their base, or if planted in autumn should have the shoots well matured, and furnished vyith a heel of two-year-old wood. The branches and even stout limbs are sometimes employed as cuttings instead of the younger shoots, especially when the object is to obtain a bearing tree quickl}. The branch should be planted deeply in autumn in good soil, and if necessary supported in an upright position by a stake. The most common mode of propagation, however, is by layering the young branches. The mulberry may be grown in pots, and gently forwarded in an orchard house, and under these conditions the fruit acquires a richness of flavour and a melting character which is unknown in the fruit ripened outdoors. If cultivated in this way it requires abundance of water while the fruit is swelling, and also frequent dressings of artificial fertilizers or doses of liquid manure. Nectar- 126. The Nectarine, is merely a smooth-skinned variety of the ine. peach, and will be included under that head (see par. 129). Nut. 127. The Nut, Corylus Avellana, or hazel-nut, one of our indi genous shrubs, is the parent of the Filberts, Cob Nuts, and other improved varieties which are met with under cultivation. These succeed best in a rich dry loam, deeply worked, and should receive from time to time a slight manuring. &quot; They arc generally planted in the slip, but thrive best in an open quarter by themselves. The different varieties are propagated by layers, or more generally by suckers ; or, if required, they may be grafted. The Cosford is a favourite kind, being a thin-shelled nut, and having a kernel of high flavour. If either this or the filbert be grafted on small stocks of the Spanish nut, which grows fast, and does not send out suckers, dwarfish prolific trees may be obtained ; and, by pruning the roots in autumn, the trees may be kept quite neat and bushy. The county of Kent has long been celebrated for the culture of nuts for the London market. The young plants are almost always suckers from old bushes, and are planted from 10 to 12 feet apart, being subsequently kept from crowding or shading each other by pruning. They are suffered to grow without restraint for about three years, and then, being cut down to within 12 or 18 inches of the ground, they will push out from near the top five or six shoots, which at the winter pruning in their second year are shortened one-third. A hoop of sufficient diameter is then placed within the branches, and the shoots are fastened to it at about equal distances. In the spring of the fourth year all the laterals are cut back nearly to the principal stems, and from these cut-back laterals short shoots proceed, on which fruit may be expected in the follow ing year. Those which have borne fruit are afterwards removed by the knife. The leading shoots are always shortened about two- thirds. Every bearing twig is deprived of its top, and all suckers are carefully rooted out. The nut being a monoecious plant, it is necessary in the winter or spring pruning to take care that a sufficiency of the male flowers those produced in pendulous catkins are preserved. The female flowers, which produce the fruit, are not visible till spring, and appear in the form of plump buds, producing from their apex several deep crimson threads, which are the styles to which the pollen from the catkins should be applied. The best kinds of nuts for garden cultivation are Lambert s Filbert, the Red and the White Filberts, the Cosford, the Norwich Prolific, and Pearson s Prolific. 128. The Orange, Citrus Aurantixim, has been usually culti- Oral vated in England for the beauty of the plant and the fragrance, of its blossoms, rather than for the purpose of affording a supply of edible fruit. The latter can, however, be easily grown in a hot-house, some of the fruits thus grown, especially those of the pretty little Tangierine variety, being superior in quality to the imported fruit. The best form of orange house is the span-roofed, with glass on both sides, the height and other conditions being similar to those recom mended for stove plants. The trees may be planted out, a row on each side a central path, in a house of moderate width. The borders must be carefully made, with a drainage bottom of from 9 to 12 inches of broken bricks or rubbly stones, and a drain leading to the exterior. Rough turf with the grassy side downwards should be laid over the drainage material, and then 18 inches of good turfy loam mixed with gritty sand or fine burnt ballast, to keep it per meable to water. The trees, if intended to be permanent, should be placed 10 to 12 feet apart. Bottom heat (about 80) is beneficial ; but it is questionable if its advantages beneath a bed of soil are not more than counterbalanced by the risk of over-dryness, and the inconvenience of getting access to the heating pipes in case of repairs becoming necessary. It will generally be found more convenient to grow the plants in pots or tubs, and then bottom heat can be secured by placing them on or over a series of hot-water pipes kept near to or above the ground level. The pots or tubs should be thoroughly well drained. The temperature may be kept at about 50 or 55 in winter, under which treatment the trees will come into bloom in February ; the heat must then be increased to 60 or 65 in the day time, and later on to 80 or 85. Throughout the growing season the trees should be liberally watered, and thoroughly washed every day with the garden engine, care being taken not to injure the young leaves ; this will materially assist in keeping down insects. The fruit may be expected to ripen from about the middle of October to January, and if the sorts are good will be of excellent quality. When the trees are at rest the soil must not be kept too wet, since this will produce a sickly condition, through the loss of the small feeding roots. The trees require little pruning or training. When a branch appears to be robbing the rest, or growing ahead of them, it should be shortened back or tied down. When grown for the production of flowers, which are always in great request, the plants must be treated in a similar manner to that already described, but may do without bottom heat. The favourite sorts of oranges are the Tangierine, a delicious small-fruited early variety; the Mandarin, which is larger than Tangierine; the St Michael s, which is the most commonly grown ; the Maltese Blood, which is a very distinct sort with red flesh ; and the Plata or silver orange. 129. The Peach, Amygdalus Persica, or Persica vulgaris. is one Peac of the most delicious of exotic garden fruits. There are two principal races, the Peach proper, which has fruits covered with a downy skin, and the Nectarine, which has fruits covered with a smooth skin. The peach and the nectarine would therefore appear to bo distinct kinds of fruit, and indeed have an appreciable difference of flavour ; but as both peaches and nectarines have been known to grow on the same branch, and individuals half-peach half-nectarine have been produced, they must be regarded as merely varieties 01 one kind of fruit. Their treatment, moreover, is the same in every respect. To perpetuate and multiply the choicer varieties, peaches and nectarines are budded upon plum or almond stocks. For dry situa tions almond stocks are preferable, but they are not long-lived, while for damp or clayey loams it is better to use plums. Double-