256 



THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



bearing wood than if they were stopped at 

 an earlier stage, for every stopping of a 

 plant is a check to it. When the laterals 

 break, they are thinned if requisite, and 

 trained out regularly upwards, and when 

 they have grown about half way to the top, 

 they are stopped, and the new shoots trained 

 in laterally. Every one of these laterals 

 that does not show fruit at the second leaf 

 from the main branch, is stopped again, and 

 the process repeated until fruit appears. The 

 upper part of the trellis has, of course, the 

 same kind of treatment. When fruit-blos- 

 soms appear, no more stopping of that branch 

 takes place till the fruit is well set, then I 

 stop at the next joint beyond the fruit, and 

 this stopping causes it to swell. The re- 

 moval of the leaf beyond the joint would 

 cause the fruit to fail. This is an important 



point, and applies to the summer pruning 

 of the grape vine, after precisely the same 

 rule. It is the leaf that keeps the fruit sup- 

 plied with sap, for its growth and matura- 

 tion. Whenever a branch begins to fail in 

 bearing, it is cut clean away, and new 

 branches trained out to take its place. All 

 the pruning on this principle, except the 

 removal of an exhausted branch, is done 

 with the thumb-nail ; if the growth goes so 

 far as to reuder a knife necessary, then the 

 grower has done an injustice to the plant. 



One other matter is of importance. The 

 bed or the tank is divided into compartments, 

 by means of slates on edge, and this allows 

 of the removal of a plant, and the soil it has 

 grown in, without the least disturbance to 

 any of the rest. 



An Old Gardener. 



NOVEMBER 



Those who intend to enjoy the sight of 

 well-bloomed beds of bulbous plants 

 must now set to work in earnest, and 

 get every bulb into the ground. The 

 more they shoot while kept dry, the 

 more are their energies exhausted ; and 

 if the blooms are not deteriorated — as 

 they are pretty sure to be — the bulbs 

 themselves will be weakened, and will 

 be poor the next year. Lord Mayor's 

 Day is the day for planting tulips with 

 the majority of London growers ; in 

 Lancashire they are a little earlier. The 

 remark about planting applies also to 

 purchasing. The best are sold first; 

 as the season wanes, the dealers have 

 only the leavings of others, who were 

 on the look out in time, and who had 

 the pick on the first arrival of the 

 bulbs. Add to this the uncertainty of 

 the weather at this time of year, and 

 there are three good reasons for at- 

 tending to the bulbs at once, even to 

 the neglect, for a week or two, of 

 other matters. Planting is now going 

 on in all directions. In this work 

 delays are dangerous. Trees got into 

 their quarters at once, even if they 

 have not quite shed their leaves, will 

 at once make fresh root, for the ground 

 is warm, and get well established be- 

 fore severe frosts set in. Order at 

 once whatever fruit trees, roses, &c, 

 vou may require, and have the ground 

 prepared, so that they may be planted 

 immediately on arrival. Laying in by 

 the heels is a mischievous practice, and 

 should never be resorted to, except 



WORK IN GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE. 



when unavoidable. It is better, how- 



ever, for trees to lay in than lay out ; 

 the air acting on their exposed roots 

 does immense injury ; but the danger 

 of laying in is that, regarding them 

 as " safe for the present," the planting 

 is often deferred till they have actually 

 struck out roots ; and lifting them to 

 their places destroys the new roots, 

 and compels them to a second effort 

 when planted. In some districts there 

 have been sharp frosts, and, in the 

 north, two falls of snow. AVe saw 

 dahlias and scarlet runners cut off to 

 the ground on the 15th of last month, 

 five miles from London ; at Stoke 

 Newington and in the southern and 

 western suburbs, however, bedding- 

 plants were safe on the 26th, and dah- 

 lias and autumn roses still loaded with 

 bloom. The further safety of such 

 things, however, cannot be depended 

 on for a single day, and whatever re- 

 quires preservation should be got under 

 glass without delay. Chrysanthemums 

 are in very fine condition this year, and 

 the season will close gaily. 



Kitchen Garden. —Wherever digging 

 and trenching are required, let it be done 

 without delay ; every additional day's ex- 

 posure of the soil to the action of the 

 weather, is a benefit to it ; generally speak- 

 ing, it is not well to manure in autumn, 

 because the Avinter rains wash the best of it 

 away, but manures should have attention, 

 and this is a good time to clear out the 

 muck pit, and pile the stuff in a heap, and 

 throw over it few inches of soil or burnt 



