Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/467

 445 Morella cherry trees fruit on tne young wood, shoots of which should therefore be laid in. Remove fruitless shoots, with those which have borne this year. Sweet cherries fruit on ordinary " spurs " ; the young shoots should in this case be shortened to two buds. Peaches and nectarines may be top-dressed with rich soil mixed with a good artificial ferti- liser. Spray currants and gooseberries vith lime or soot in solution, to protect ao;ainst the ravages of birds. Any fruit trees affected with American bliglit should be sprayed with a suitable emulsion. Planting: a Vine December is the proper time lor planting and pruning vines. The border should be carefully made up with two feet depth of rich soil mixed with crushed bones, and drained with rubble at the bottom and pounded oyster shells above. Road-scrapings may be used with advan- tage, if these have not been spoilt with motor- grease. Well - ripened canes should be obtained ; most of the soil should be shaken off the roots, and these trimmed if needful. Spread the root-fibres evenly, and cover firmly up to the collar. Where the vine is to be cultivated in a glass- house, one or more bricks should be removed near the bottom, in order to bring the stem through from outside. This method is adapted where it is not suitable to grow the vine altogether indoors. Cut back, after planting, to three or four feet from the base. In pruning established vines, only one or two buds of last year's wood should be left on the main stems, encouraging a few short rods of four or five eyes to replace any old shoots '^-We The Conservatory and Greenhouse Plants from the forcing-house can now be brought into the conservatory, including poin- settias, bouvardias, tuberoses, and gardenias, for which the temperature should be well main- tained. This should not fall below 45° during night-time. A succession should be kept up of chrysanthe- mums, winter-flowering carnations, begonia Gloire de Lorraine, and early bulbs. Be careful to admit sufficient air to keep the chrysanthe- mums in a healthy condition. Damping down the floor in wet or foggy weather should be avoided, therefore care must also be taken to avoid raising a dust over the plants when sweep- ing is done. Primroses, polyanthi, and auriculas are attractive plants for flowering in the conser- vatorv at this time THK GARDEN Lilies of the valley, dielytra spectabilis, and flowering shrubs will be gradually brought on from the plunging-yard or pit. A figure of Deutzia discolor major is shown, as illustrating the result of this method. Seedlings of annual and biennial flowers in the greenhouse must be kept clean and healthy to secure successful flowering in spring. Foliage f)lants should be sponged, and the greenhouse ooked to in matters of cleanliness and repair. The lights should be removed from cold frames for several hours daily in open weather, in cases where cuttings have rooted. Other frames should be kept fairly close unless there seems danger of dampness' within. Batches of late cuttings of hardy plants may still be inserted. Violets in frames should now be giving plenty of bloom. Keep careful watch against disease of any sort. Fruit and Ve(reUble« under Glass A little fire-heat will be needed if grapes arc kept hanging in a house, but all ripe grapes could now be cut and bottled, keeping them in a room of equable temperature. A night temperature of 50° should be aimed at in the early vinery. This will be closed not later than 3 p.m., when the thermometer should register 70° to 80°. Fig trees planted in borders should be pruned and cleaned, preparatory to forcing them next month. Figs in pots may be shifted and top-dressed with gocni soil and a small amount of bone meal. Late peaches may be pruned and trained. Early peaches should now be brought on steadily, the right tem- perature not falling below 45°. Syringe the plants on bright days to encourage the buds. Cucumbers must not be allowed to bear large crops, but growth should be encouraged, and only some pinching out by hand will be necessary, avoiding the use of the knife. Mushrooms, seakale, and asparagus should now be ready in forcing-pits, also an abundance of rhubarb. Plant potatoes in hot-beds, or in ID-inch pots in the forcing-house. A supply of herbs, such as mint and tarragon, can easily be held under glass during the winter. Price of Fruit Trees. — The price of fruit trees from reliable growers is roughly as follows. Larger q^uantities would, of course, be charged at lower prices: Apple trees, from is. to 5s. a-piece. Pears and plums, is. 6d. to 3s. 6d. Raspberries and gooseberries, is. 6d. to 5s. per dozen. Currants, 4s. to 6s. per dozen for bushes ; is. Od. to 3s. 6d. each for standards. Cherries, is. 6d. to 5s. Apricots, peaches, and nectarines, 3s. 6d. to 7s. 6d. Grape-vines, from 5s. upwards. Deutzia Discolor Major y. yeilch &- ^iis. Royal Exotic Nursery, fJttix''i' Road, Chelsea