510 THE GARDENER. [Nov. 



But to return to tlie border-cropping, and to add our testimony to 

 that whicli has already been furnished by able and experienced gar- 

 deners in favour of continuing the system, we may state that we have 

 an Apricot and a Plum wall here, the border of which, until about 

 three years ago, had, as the writer I have quoted reverently puts it, 

 been "sacred to roots" — having been planted with Roses, as the v/all 

 happens to face into the pleasure-grounds. Farther than receiving an 

 annual top-dressing, the border, as far as I am aware, had not been 

 disturbed for many years ; and although the trees are pretty old, and 

 do not appear to have been neglected in the training, their success 

 never was such as would lead any one to think that the non-cropping 

 system had any particular advantages. About three years ago, however, 

 the Roses were lifted and the border was dug resolutely a spade-depth 

 all over to within 4 feet of the stems of the trees, and since then it 

 has been regularly planted with bedding-plants ; and I can state confi- 

 dently that down to this date the trees are at least no worse, but 

 better — in so far as the growth has been more vigorous, and the crops 

 better. The year before last the Apricots bore a moderate crop, and 

 last year quite an extraordinary one — such as history, at least, does not 

 credit them with before. The Plums, though healthy, have not borne 

 so well, but want root-prunning. We have another inner south wall 

 planted with Pears. Though old, and now somewhat lengthy in the 

 spur, they are perhaps as fine specimens of horizontal training as could 

 be found, generally in good health, and seldom failing to bear heavy 

 crops of fruit ; in fact, we rely upon them chiefly. Yet the border is, 

 and has always been, cropped regularly once or twice a -year, and 

 towards the front is sometimes dug a spade and a half deep, without 

 injuring the roots in the least ; and I should think they have had 

 ample time to hoist their signals of distress if the practice disagreed 

 with them. There is another wall of Jargonelles here, equally fine 

 specimens of fair training, but in too rampant health, in spite of con- 

 stantly cropped borders, as the subsoil under them is a deep strong 

 clayey loam, which the roots persist in getting down into with a per- 

 severance that " is well-nigh miraculous" — prompted, I suppose, by a 

 sagacious instinct to escape the " barbarous mutilations " of our " ruth- 

 less spades." 



We have no Peaches outside ; but the outside half of the border of 

 our early and late Peach-houses is cropped regularly without any ap- 

 parent bad efiects. We even carry the cropping on to our Vine bor- 

 ders. In one case — a late Hambro'-house, referred to by the " Squire's 

 Gardener " in the January number of the ' Gardener ' — where the roots 

 are almost entirely outside, the border is cropped annually with early 

 Potatoes and suchlike, and seemingly the annual manuring for the 



