62 THE GARDENER. [Feb. 



Pyramid Plums may be pruned and treated as Apples and Pears ; but 

 as with all stone-fruits, they like very firm soil and plenty of lime or 

 chalk in it. Pruning should be mostly done during the growing sea- 

 son : little should be left till winter ; but dead spurs and those coming 

 out from the walls should be cut off, and old shoots getting past use 

 should be replaced by young growths. Plums trained upright or 

 horizontal form may be spurred like Pears, every season renewing 

 some exhausted portion of the tree. Cherries are often liable to 

 canker ; and they are the worst of trees to cure of the malady. They 

 do not lift so easily ; it is best to watch them from their very early 

 stages, working in lime-rubbish to the soil near the roots. They must be 

 well cut back in their centres, as it is difficult to get wood to fill up a 

 tree evenly. They may be managed easily on the close spur system. 

 Standard Cherries bear abundantly in some localities, but it is often 

 difficult to preserve the fruit from birds. In the Cherry orchards which 

 supply London Market, powder and shot are freely used, and the 

 " pickers " go over the trees, taking the fruit as they ripen. Cherries 

 grown on walls are high-class fruits compared with Standards. Morello 

 and Kentish Cherries should have extra firm soil, strong, and free 

 from manure. They bear on the young wood formed the previous 

 season ; cutting the shoots in to form spurs does not answer well : 

 if natural spurs are formed they are fruitful. The wood should be short- 

 jointed and firm, whether on Standard trees or those trained to walls 

 and fences. It is a mistake to suppose that a north wall is essential 

 for these. The best we have seen were on the front of a house among 

 other buildings : they are, however, often very fine on north walls. 

 Apricots are often fickle to deal with : as one expects them about 

 their best they often die off piecemeal — sometimes the half of 

 the tree at a time. When planting, the subsoil should be examined ; 

 if it is cold and unhealthy, a layer of concrete should be placed 

 over the soil under the roots, then a layer of brick and lime-rubbish. 

 The trees in most situations should be planted high. When gross 

 sa PPy growth is observed in the growing season, these should be 

 topped as they grow ; lifting the roots in due time. The pruning 

 may be performed as recommended for Plums. Peaches and Nectarines 

 may remain untied till March, keeping the bearing-shoots from 

 the walls — keeping these late has much to do with their success. 

 All trees should be free from moss, American blight, scale, or any other 

 insects : a washing with Gishurst compound, using a brush, may be 

 necessary. Moss may be scraped off and the bark coated with lime. 

 Trees about being planted should have wide holes, good loam, and 

 proper mulching for the roots. Rasps, Currants, and Gooseberries 

 should be planted in deep, well-manured soil ; the first named in a 

 cool position. M. T. 



