18 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



fruits that occur annually. It is not necessary for us to stop to 

 inquire how or from whence this erroneous impression originated, as 

 it is quite sufficient for us to know that the practice of keeping the 

 soil in which fruit-trees are planted perfectly dry when the trees 

 are at rest, will be resented by the flower-buds dropping off just as 

 the anxious cultivator is expecting them to expand. It is not desirable 

 that inside borders should be kept in as moist a condition during 

 the winter as others in the open air are kept during the same 

 period, as it may possibly be injurious to the trees; but the soil 

 must be moderately moist, even when the trees do not evince the 

 slightest symptoms of vitality. Fruit-trees, iinlike bulbous or 

 tuberous-rooted plants, have no vast storehouse from whence they 

 can receive support when they are deprived of their ordinary sup- 

 plies, and are therefore utterly unable to undergo a season of starva- 

 tion without being injured in some way. 



A very large quantity of water is not required to keep the inside 

 borders in a properly moist condition, and, generally speaking, one 

 or two thorough soakings during winter will be sufficient. I would 

 urge all fruit-growers who have any doubts as to the condition of 

 the borders under their charge, to examine them at once, and 

 water them copiously if they are dry. If the trees are in a 

 healthy state, and the border from long usage has become impo- 

 verished, the drainings from the manure heap and stables should be 

 used instead of clear water. That obtained from the last-mentioned 

 source should be diluted with w r ater, for if used too strong the roots 

 will be injured; but the exact quantity that must be added must be 

 determined by its strength. The trees will not receive any imme- 

 diate benefit from the fertilizing matter contained in the liquid 

 manure, but it will enrich, and become thoroughly assimilated with 

 the soil, and be of more assistance to the trees when they com- 

 mence an active growth than it would be if applied to the border 

 when they are in full activity. 



The foregoing remarks are of especial importance to the owner 

 of pot-trees, which usually suffer more from dryness at the root 

 than trees planted out in a border. It is by no means an unusual 

 occurrence to meet with pot-trees huddled up into one corner of the 

 orchard-house, to make way for bedding and other plants, and then 

 utterly neglected, if they are not forgotten altogether, until the 

 season for starting them into growth comes round again. Trees in 

 pots ought to be watered often enough to prevent the soil becoming 

 idust dry ; but fruit-growers generally may save themselves much 

 trouble and vexation by taking pot-trees into the open air, and by 

 removing the lights from houses in which the trees are planted per- 

 manently, as soon as the crop is gathered. The rains and dews 

 assist in keeping under red-spider and other insect pests, and the 

 foliage is maintained in a healthy condition until the last moment, 

 and the result is fine plump buds which nothing but the worst 

 management will cause to fall off prematurely. 



It is not wise to expose peach and nectarine trees to very severe 

 frosts, such as those which occurred in the winter of 1866-7, and 

 therefore, after the commencement of the new year, the lights 



