602 



ANNUAL ROOT-CUTTING. 



bushes becoming gradually denuded of 

 spurs, or at their bearing badly coloured 

 and worse flavored fruit? 



As to the other class, the blossoms being 

 formed on the annual shoots, are in pre- 

 cisely the situation most congenial as to 

 light, and will also bear high cultivation 

 much better than the former. 



With regard to annual root-cutting, I 

 must here observe, that the necessity for 

 it will not arise on poor and unmanured 

 soils ; it is chiefly in our kitchen gardens, 

 where, from a long course of tillage, ac- 

 companied by very frequent manurings, 

 the soil has become what is commonly 

 termed effete ; by which we understand, 

 that the mechanical texture is altered, part- 

 ly through the decomposition of vegetable 

 fibre, and partly, I believe, through the loss 

 of inorganic constituents. 



To give an instance ; let us examine the 

 common red currant. This it is well known 

 has a greater tendency to produce what is 

 termed " watery wood" than the white. 

 Now on rich soils it will sometimes pro- 

 duce shoots of two feet in length during 

 the first three weeks in June : the rapidity, 

 in fact, with which such growth is made, 

 might not inaptly be termed propulsion. 



Now what is the consequence ? The 

 fruit, with the various tufts of leaves by 

 which it is accompanied, is thrown into the 

 most intense shade ; and in proportion to 

 the extreme grossness of the bush will the 

 berries be found of a diminutive size and 

 destitute of flavor. Nor does the evil end 

 here, for the blossom spurs, intended to 

 produce succeeding crops, and which need 

 the fertilising agencies of light more than 

 the fruit, are hereby rendered barren, or 

 totally destroyed. And hence it is no un- 

 common thing in garden^ to see huge cur- 

 rant bushes, showing signs of great age and 

 vigor, destitute of fruit, with the exception 

 of a mere tuft at the extremity. 



Again, with regard to the strawberry; 

 how frequently do we meet with exceed- 

 ingly gross beds or plantations bearing lit- 

 tle ifruit, yet possessing enormous leaves ! 

 If much manure is dug into the soil at 

 planting time, and the plants are placed too 

 thick, this is sure to happen. It may not 

 the first season, but will assuredly take 

 place as soon as the plants crowd each other. 



We find the cultivation of this valuable 

 fruit very much improved within the last 

 twenty years ; and why ? because prior to 

 that, the importance of light Avas so much 

 underrated. Few persons think of planting 

 them thickly in beds at this period : and we 

 shall find that the farther they are planted 

 apart the finer will the produce be. The 

 finest Keen's Seedlings I ever saw were 

 four feet apart between the rows, and three 

 feet between each plant. Each plant form- 

 ed a huge isolated mound ; and the quan- 

 tity and size of the fruit were indeed most 

 extraordinary. I have also seen the prolific 

 hautboy thus treated, with a similar amount 

 of success. This I confess astonished me 

 more at that period than the Keen's ; for in 

 my younger days we were taught in the 

 neighborhood of London, that the hautboy 

 would only succeed in beds. Nor is this 

 grossness, with thick planting, inimical to 

 their bearing properties alone; deteriora- 

 tion of flavor is a sure consequence. The 

 ripening period of the strawberry — the 

 month of Julj' — is very often a cloudy and 

 wet period ; and I have frequently known 

 in crowded and luxuriant plantations of 

 strawberries from fifty to seventy per cent, 

 of the fruit actually rot on the ground. In 

 such periods what an advantage thin plant- 

 ing possesses ! If bright skies intervene 

 the latter readily become dry, Avhilst the 

 former will scarcely receive benefit. If 

 strawberries are planted on good loamy 

 soils, well trenched, with little or no ma- 

 nure, they will be found very different in 

 character to those on light and highly ma- 

 nured soils ; the whole plant will be more 

 compact, the leaves smaller in circumfe- 

 rence, yet thicker, and the plant will more- 

 over endure periods of drouth much better. 



Having now pointed out the evil effects 

 of grossness, as tending to barrenness and 

 loss of flavor, I come to the point from which 

 I set out, viz., to recommend what I have 

 practiced for years under such circumstan- 

 ces, and I think I may say always succeed- 

 ed with, or at least it has always produced 

 the result I anticipated. Let it not, how- 

 ever, be supposed for a moment that I ad- 

 vocate so foolish and prodigal a system as 

 first to over-excite fruit-bearing trees by ma- 

 nures, and then to cut away their roots : by 

 no means ; I merely suggest a mode of 



