Attention must this month be more particularly directed towards laying a good foundation for a supply of strong young plants for next season. Suckers yielded by early Queens, and that were potted some time ago, will now be well rooted and growing. If, to economise space, they were plunged thickly at first, they should now have more room to prevent their drawing. They can now be more freely aired, and should never be allowed to get very dry. Avoid syringing them much overhead; but on fine afternoons shut them up with a moist atmosphere. The night - heat for these should range from 65° to 70°, according to the state of the weather, and the bottom-heat should not exceed 85°. Another batch of suckers can now be procured from plants ripening their fruit, or from which fruit has recently been cut. Suckers of Smooth Cayennes and Charlotte Rothschilds, that are very strong, may be potted into 8-inch pots; but Queens will do best in 6-inch pots. Plunge them in a bottom-heat of 90°; shade them slightly from the sun for a time, and keep the atmosphere moist by frequently sprinkling paths and walls, and dew the plants lightly overhead on the afternoons of warm days.

Smooth Cayennes, and other sorts most suitable for an autumn supply of ripe fruit, will now be swelling rapidly, and should be nourished with ordinary manure-water, alternately with guano and soot water. See that they have a bottom-heat of about 90°, a moist atmosphere, and a night temperature at 10 p.m. of 75°, allowing it to fall to 70° by 6 a.m. Syringe about the axils of the leaves every bright afternoon when the house is closed, and let the heat rise for a time to 85° or 90° with sun-heat. Do not syringe much over the crowns, for if water stands in the crowns they grow too large and become unsightly. Any late Queens or other sorts that are ripening now should have a circulation of dry warm air about them, and be exposed to full sun, so that they may ripen a bright colour and be of fine flavour. If any strong suckers are clustering about any of the fruits, either remove them or tie them back off the fruit, so that they may ripen and colour equally all round. To retard or keep any ripe fruits not required for immediate use, remove them to some cool vinery or fruit-room as directed in former Calendars. The stock of Queens required to start into fruit at the beginning of '82 will now require careful treatment.

Should the weather be dull and sunless, apply water to these very sparingly. Air them freely on fine warm days, and by the end of the month the night temperature should not exceed 65°, so that they may gradually be brought to a state of rest by autumn. Plants intended to start in succession - about March or April - should still be encouraged to grow freely. All syringing of plants in this stage should be discontinued after the middle of the month.

Pine Forcing #1

Fruit that ripens this month should not be so freely watered as those that ripen in summer, especially should the weather be wet and sunless; and the atmosphere should also be less moist. Those that are swelling off should have a moist atmosphere, and be steadily supplied with manure and guano water alternately, sufficient to keep the soil moist, but not sloppy. Range the night - temperature for these at 70°, a few degrees more or less being of little moment, according as the weather may be colder or warmer. The bottom-heat should not exceed 90° nor fall below 85°; shut up every afternoon with sun-heat when it is available, so as to run the temperature up to 80° or 85° for a time, giving the plants a syringing about their collars and over the leaves, but missing the crowns. October is an excellent month for swelling-off Pines, for the houses can be shut up with a considerable amount of sun-heat, without any risk of injury. Queens intended to start early into fruit will now be in a well - matured condition, and must be kept in a comparative state of rest for the next three months.

Drop the temperature to 60° at night by the end of the month, and the bottom-heat should not be more than 75°. If the pots are plunged to the rim in moist tan, very little or no water will be required by the end of the month; but if plunged in a shallow layer of any material over hot-water pipes, watering will have to be carefully seen to, or the plants may suffer from over-dryness. Batches of plants to farm a succession to these early Queens should be kept growing up to the end of the month, and should have a few degrees more heat and more moisture; but this must not be carried to anything like excess, or the plants will draw, now that the days are shortening and the light less intense. Suckers potted in August and early part of September will now grow freely, and must be carefully ventilated and watered, to prevent a soft sappy growth. After the middle of the month the temperature should range from 60° to 65°, and air should be given when the heat touches 70°. The bottom - heat for these will do quite well at 80°. Should there be any fear of the largest suckers getting pot-bound by February, let such be shifted into 10-inch pots at once, and plunged thinly in a light pit near the glass, and they will make a nice batch for starting next July. Any strong suckers on plants now swelling-off fruits should be taken off, and potted in 6-inch pots.

Drain the pots well, and use a light fibry loam. Now is a good time to collect soil for next season's potting.