January 27, 1906 



HORTICULTURE 



97 



altogether too common in neglected trees set out along 

 roads and in parks. Cross branches, superfluous limbs, 

 and all unnecessary wood whether limb, branch, or twig 

 must be cut out to prevent retardation of the desirable 



parts. 



Old trees cannot be cut into in too wholesale a man- 

 ner, [f a lot of pruning is needed it is much better to 

 do a little each year for several years rather than do a 

 lot at once. As a ride two or three medium-sized 

 branches is enough to cut off at once. More than this 

 unbalances the relation between the roots and foliage 

 and causes the formation of water sprouts, suckers, and 

 sometimes reduces the foliage so much that the tree 

 lacks the ability to draw up the sap. But all crossing, 

 interfering, dead or dying branches, lateral trunk 

 shoots, dead stumps and the like, should be removed. 



In removing large limbs saw close to the trunk with 

 a cut nearly parallel to it. This will heal over quicker, 

 notwithstanding the larger area, than one made at right 

 angles to the limb. Avoid sawing so far from the trunk 

 that a stump is left. Not only is it unsightly, but it is 

 a danger point for infection. 



All large. wounds should be covered with zinc, tin, or 

 preferably painted witli coal tar. a by-product of gas 

 works, or a coat of lead paint. Cavities or old wounds 

 which are not healing properly should he opened and 

 iiit smoothly back to sound wood, removing all decay- 

 ing matter, and then repainted. Deep cavities should 

 be filled with cement or a painted plug. The paint 

 keeps out the spores of disease and protects from in- 

 sect attacks. 



I lollow j ri-es cannot he remedied. 



9-i 



Do Varieties Deteriorate ? 



This is one of the oldest of garden questions. 



From the days of Plim Secundus and Virgil, at an} 

 rate, this problem lias exercised the minds of breeders 

 and cultivators in both hemispheres, and so far as ac- 

 tual proof goes we seem as far from a satisfactory an- 

 swer as ever. At present the genera] belief is that 

 seedling varieties of the best do deteriorate or wear out 

 sooner or later, as propagated or increased by vegeta- 

 tive methods. In other words, any plants that are in- 

 creased by division, including grafting and budding, 

 layers or cuttings, or by dividing offsets or tubers, etc., 

 eventually fail, and must be replaced by new selections 

 raised from seeds. This much is believed by the ma- 

 jority, but, on the other hand, a minority persists in 

 maintaining, on the contrary, that varieties of fruit, 

 vegetables and flowers do not deteriorate or wear out, 

 unless they are neglected or become superseded by new 

 kinds, or it may be by old kinds to which new names 

 arc affixed from time to time. Tn the case of the 

 potato especially, deterioration may follow on bad soils, 

 or when had methods of cultivation are adopted, such 

 as planting too thickly together, the use of too much 

 manure, the growth of the same variety too long on 

 the same soil, especially if ii lie originally unsuitable, 

 or by the continual use of small and otherwise inferior 

 I iiIht- as "sets" for planting. If it he true that select- 

 ing the finest of >fri\ leads to a marked improvement 

 in the succeeding crop, it would not In' unreasonable to 

 infer that the worst of seeds would produce an oppo- 

 site result. As a matter of fact this much is known 

 fo be true, and there can be but little doubt that the 

 potato has suffered from the practice of selling or eating 



the "ware" or best potatoes, and reserving the smallest 

 or worst produce for "sets" year after year. These 

 methods may not be those practised today by the best 

 growers, but they have long been the rule with small 

 cultivators, and in cases where the soil was also unsuit- 

 able the results have been disastrous in the extreme. 

 That deterioration comes to all varieties and is in some 

 eases attributed to old age. The argument is that when 

 a plant or tree is increased any other way than by seeds, 

 there is no new life, the offspring being merely a "chip 

 of the same block," so to say. Thus, a potato set or 

 tuber is not a new plant, but merely a small portion 

 of the original variety. Hence it has been inferred that 

 when any particular variety fails from senility or old 

 age all its descendants fail, or should fail at same time. 

 The common Lombardy poplar has been cited as an 

 instance of this universal failure taking place all o vet- 

 Europe and elsewhere. It is simply a male variety, 

 and has constantly been increased from cuttings or 

 layers, that is to say. from detached bits of the parent 

 t ree or its descendants. 



If it is true this tree is failing in health and vigor 

 everywhere alike, it certainly looks as if there is some- 

 thing more than mere coincidence or conjecture in the 

 mailer. A similar thing has occurred in the case of 

 hardy bamboos in British gardens. Several kinds have 

 flowered and died within the past three years, and it 

 has been argued that the reason of their blooming and 

 dving "simultaneously was due to their having been 

 division- oil' what originally was one solitary individual 

 plant. In both cases so little is known either his- 

 torically, or physiologically, of the poplar and the bam- 

 boo alluded to, that no rule or law can be adduced 

 from their behavior under cultivation. 



After all, the main question as to whether varieties 

 wear out or die out altogether does not so much matter 

 to practical breeders and cultivators, since so soon as 

 their produce falls below a profitable standard they 

 will be supplanted by other and newer kinds. Indeed 

 there are many instances of new introductions and the 

 booming thereof having actually led to the neglect and 

 abandonment of older kinds. The race for novelty is 

 so great that the main question of well-tried quality 

 and productiveness is now and then forgotten in the 

 chase. 



Laelio Cattleya Erotion and 

 Cattleya x Lancastriense 



In last week's issue of Horticulture the descriptions 

 id' the above two new orchids were unfortunately trans- 

 posed, ami. as their registration correctly is a matter 

 of importance, the writer wishes to make the correction 

 himself and publicly for the error began with him by 

 incorrectly labelling tin 1 photographs sent. 



Properly the record should read for Laelio-Cattleya x 

 Erotion = Cattleya Walkeriana x Laelia glauca and for 

 Cattleya x Lancastriense = C. labiata x C. velutina. 

 The above is respectfully submitted to editor and 

 readers of Horticulture. 



