142 THE FLOEAL WOULD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



and there will be a plentiful and uniform production of flowering wood. 

 Beyond these directions it does not seem needful to go, except to say- 

 that during very severe winter weather the protection of a mat will do 

 something towards the preservation of a tree which is not constituted 

 to hear the severe trial of an exceedingly low temperature. Where the 

 pomegranates grow well, hut refuse to flower, it will usually he found 

 that their roots have penetrated very deep, and so have got away from 

 the action of the summer sun on the soil. In hot climates it matters 

 not how deep they root — the deeper the better — but as we have to 

 ■economize atmospheric warmth by planting against walls, so we must 

 ^economize earth-heat by planting on platforms, for in good summers 

 the natural soil is a hot-bed from the end of June to the end of August, 

 in the first twelve inches of depth. In 'any case, therefore, of pome- 

 granates failing, the best general advice that can be given is, take up 

 the trees, remake the border, and plant again. 



Cultivation under Glass. — When the trees are of a fruiting 

 size and age they should be potted into tubs or boxes of the same kind 

 as those used for the growth of orange trees (see Floral World, 

 vol. ii. p. 255), and the soil should be rather tenacious, turfy loam 

 -with one-third part rotten dung, and plenty of well-packed drain- 

 age material at the bottom. The stuff should be rammed in hard at 

 the time of potting ; the best season for which is when the leaves 

 are falling, in autumn, and every year afterwards some of the old 

 soil should be removed, and its place supplied with a rich com- 

 post consisting of equal parts turfy loam and rotten dung. The 

 temperature of the greenhouse or conservatory will suit the 

 plants well until the fruit is set, which should be about the first week 

 in August, and they should then go to a vinery, where late crops of 

 muscats are ripening, or to the dry-stove, to swell up and ripen the fruit. 

 In all stages of growth, except when out of leaf, the trees must have 

 plenty of water ; and while the fruit is swelling in a high temperature, 

 strong manure water should be given every two or three days. When 

 the leaves are down, let them rest completely, keeping them rather dry, 

 and only as much sheltered as will prevent serious injury by frost. A 

 few degrees of frost will never harm them. When planted out under 

 glass, a fiued wall is the best place for them. Occasional crops of ripe 

 fruit of middling quality have been obtained by growing them on garden 

 walls, cased with glass ; but when so much expense is incurred, it is 

 better to give them the aid of a house and flue, as there is an end then 

 of all risk in the matter. 



Propagation. — The simplest and most certain way to propagate is 

 by laying down a branch of the previous year's growth in May, and 

 fixing it with a strong peg on a little prepared soil, consisting of any 

 li^ht mulchy materi al, such as manure rotted to powder, moss, peat, or 

 cocoa-nut fihre waste. There is no need of any tongue or incision ; the 

 wood is sure to make roots, and the shoot so rooted may be removed the 

 next March, and be set growing at once in a warm house. They are to 

 be removed b} r a clean cut with a sharp knife, and be at once potted in 

 a mixture of equal parts loam, leaf-mould, and dung rotted to powder. 

 Shift on as required by the increase of their roots, and encourage growth 

 in a greenhouse temperature for two seasons, after which they may be 



