352 THE GARDENER. [Aug. 



pinch, root-prune, and train them. To this rule there is only one ex- 

 ception ; and that is, when there is a greater extent of walls, 5 or 

 feet high, than is wanted for growing Gooseberries and Currants. 

 In that case we think a few dwarf trees might be planted profitably, 

 just because there is little profit, and less beauty, in having bare 

 walls. 



Still, many villa -owners have such trees in their possession, and 

 derive a great deal of pleasant occupation pinching, tying, and petting 

 tbeir little trees. The thousands of villa gardens are not cultivated 

 for the sake of profit, but for pleasure ; and there is as much pleasure 

 to be derived from cultivating small Apple-trees and gathering in their 

 fruits, as there is in growing Fuchsias, or Pelargoniums, or Chrysan- 

 themums, or other plants which require staking, tying, petting. Hav- 

 ing said that such trees do not pay, we have performed one duty : to 

 those who wish to know how best to cultivate them we hasten to per- 

 form another. 



Apple-trees which, from the first, are intended to be grown as 

 dwarfs, are, or should be, grafted on some of the dwarfer forms of the 

 Paradise. Even this is not enough to prevent Apple "trees" attempt- 

 ing to grow into trees, more especially if they are planted in rich soils. 

 On poor soils they do not grow into large trees sometimes, unless 

 carefully top-dressed and manure-watered. We have only had such 

 trees to deal with twice. In one of the cases they were in a good 

 deep soil, were lifted and sparingly root-pruned every year, and liber- 

 ally mulched. They were then 6 or 7 feet high, and about 4 in 

 diameter ; were well furnished with fruit-spurs ; were handsome 

 pyramidal trees, and bore really good fruit freely. In the other case, 

 the trees had had similar treatment, so far as we could ascertain, but 

 the result was very different. The trees ivere dwarfs — were hide-bound, 

 stinted, and fruitless. The reason seemed to be that, in the one case, 

 the soil was deep and fertile ; in the other, thin, gravelly, sterile, and 

 burnt up. It is also quite possible that the trees were on an inferior 

 kind of Paradise, for some of the varieties are truly "starving" 

 stocks. 



A great deal depends on the intelligence brought to bear on the 

 trees. When trees grow lustily and outrun their space, careful lifting 

 and root-pruning is just what will correct this tendency. Then, when 

 a heavy crop of fruit ensues, which may be so great as to stop their 

 growth, heavy mulchings and manurings are absolutely necessary to 

 enable the trees to stand the strain. To mulch and manure -water 

 trees which are growing well, inevitably causes the trees to grow too 

 strongly; and to do this first, and then be obliged to lift and root-prune 

 in order to correct it, is wrong. Often enough, however, the opposite 

 mistake is made. Trees growing very moderately, and producing some 

 fruit, and an abundant promise of more in the shape of blossom-buds, 

 are often lifted and root-pruned, simply because the satisfactory state 



