THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



823 



helper, as this saves lots of tramping back and forth. 

 After the rows are opened I cover by hand very thinly, 

 making no allowance for cut worms or other pests. 1 

 give these separate treatment. To cover the seed 1 

 use the back of rake, holding it diagonally and_rolling 

 the soil over the seed. I aim to get a thin even stand, 

 so as to prevent any spindliness due to delayed thin- 

 ning. In thinning always select the strongest. Some 

 may be a couple mches out of line, and here is where 

 we usually find them. Space between plants is always 

 governed by their expected size at maturity. We must 

 keep in mind the leaves are not only the lungs of the 

 plant but a factory as well, for it is in the leaves the 

 oxygen, carbon and nitrogen the plant takes from the 

 air that combines with the other food elements and 

 makes them ready for the use of the plant. Therefore 

 we must give foliage due consideration and room to 

 breathe and sunlight. Sunlight is a factor in promoting 

 the action of the living cells which contain the green 

 substance called chlorophyll. You will all understand 

 the importance of the leaf's cells to a plant when you 

 see the foliage covered with mildew rust and blights, 

 for with the cells destroyed the poor results are sure to 

 follow. 



To keep up a constant supply I make successive sow- 

 ings and am governed both by growth and time to 

 bring to maturity at time of planting. In spring, for 

 such things as peas, beans, lettuce, I replant as soon as 

 the first planting is about one inch Jiigh ; for beets, 

 when about size of marbles, and corn, six inches high. 

 Things that take the whole season to develop one 

 planting will suffice. I find the most critical time is 

 during the hot weather of June, July and August, for 

 it is surprising how quickly plants will then mature and 

 lose their tender and delicious table qualities. Fore- 

 sight will do much to alleviate this trouble. We are 

 oftentimes caught napping at this time by waiting for 

 rain to plant. ■ For the young plants, while hanging fire 

 for want of rain, seem to rush to maturity after a good 

 rain, almost before the successive planting is hardly 

 above ground. Then again in fall, with the advent 'if 

 cold nights, plants will be correspondingly slower. If 

 it is time to plant a succeeding crop during droutii 

 thoroughly saturate enough ground to plant the seed 

 and proceed as after a rain. 



If it is peas or beans to be planted open a trench a 

 few inches and saturate in the trench, plant the seed and 

 cover with dry soil. This leaves a loose soil for the 

 plants to push through and prevents loss from break- 

 ing cntvledons. Plants producing quality can be ex- 

 tended by removing the seed pod and fruit before it is 

 ripe. All should be picked, both good and bad, for 

 the plant's natural function is to reproduce, and as 

 soon as the seed ripens its natural function is ended. 

 Tomatoes are a good example of this, for we often see 

 them in September full of ripe fruit and dying stems 

 and foliage. 



For certain things the growing season can be length- 

 ened by the use of hotbeds in spring and cold frames in 

 fall. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants should always 

 he started early, and being tender kinds, need either a 

 hotbed or greenhouse. Cabbage, melons and cucum- 

 bers can be hastened by this method, and if properly 

 handled onion and leek are improved in size by start- 

 ing earlv. .A.11 the things are transplanted to garden 

 proper as soon as weather permits. To properly handle 

 a hotbed requires watchfulness; we must aim to give 

 the plants the proper amount of food, warmth, light, 

 air and moisture. If we wait for nature to warn us 

 here irretrievable damage will result, for young plants 

 are most sensitive. The whole secret of our profession 



revolves on being able to keep a plant healthy from the 

 time of germination until its normal life is ended. 



The rotation of crops should be mentioned in this 

 treatise, but the length of the subject prevents me from 

 going into details. Suffice it to say it is good policy to 

 keep a record of the kind grown the season before and 

 use something different the next. It is impossible for 

 the gardener to follow any set rule like a farmer, on ac- 

 count of the smallness and frequency of planting. Oft- 

 times the gardener can overcome the defect of replanting 

 the same kind by the application of some commercial 

 fertilizer rich in the properties used by that same 

 vegetable, or maybe lime, salt, soot or wood ashes 

 would do the trick. 



In conclusion I will say we must at all times try to 

 improve on past effort. If we meet with failure look to 

 it as a lesson and try to solve the trouble, for nature 

 never intended trouble. Look to nature as your guide 

 and not onl}' follow but try to improve along the lines 

 it has laid down. After all wc say and do, we are like 

 the lady in the poem : 

 "Narrow the window ledge where bloom my flowers, 



Fach in its pot a little tree of joy. 



Supreme am I in their benign employ, 

 (iuessing their' dumb need through the fragrant hours." 

 — Paper read before Oyster Bay Horticultural Society. 



ROOT PRUNING. 



Bv Wm. R. Fowkes. 



The pruning or cutting back of the roots of fruit 

 trees is an unfailing remedy for reluctance to produce 

 fruit, but the remedy is a severe one, and it must not 

 be undertaken in a careless, light-hearted manner, or 

 fatal results will follow. The idea is to produce fruit 

 on a seemingly barren tree, or to check the over- 

 luxuriant growths of an ornamental tree. 



The proper time for the operation is the autumn 

 when the roots will send forth small, fibrous spongioles, 

 which elaborate the sap and form blossom buds. 



Should it be attempted too early in the season too 

 much sap will be lost, therefore commence any time 

 after the leaves begin to fall. 



A trench must be dug around the tree so as to keep 

 clear of roots, at the same time laying them all open 

 about 3 feet from the stem of the tree, then witli a 

 sharp a.xe or chisel mallet, cutting through a portion 

 of the strongest roots. If the tree is extremely rigor- 

 ous, without producing fruit, two-thirds of the stronger 

 root? cut through in this manner will materially assist 

 the production of fruit bearing, the trench then should 

 be filled with virgin soil and packed in between roots 

 in the usual manner, and the tree left at rest for a year. 



Should the tree still present an over-vigorous 

 growth, it must be subjected next fall to a less violent 

 mode of treatment, which is often performed with ad- 

 vantage. 



The soil is removed from one entire side of the tree, 

 and the roots laid bare, and left exposed during the 

 summer to the effects of air and light. This has the 

 effect of diminishing the rigor of the tree, and throws 

 it into bearing. 



Should the tree still present an over-vigorous 

 growth it must be taken up entirely, and all the strong 

 roots pruned in, then replanted, taking care that in re- 

 planting the tree is raised considerably above its 

 former level — a severe operation, but certain to be suc- 

 cessful in reducing the tree to a fruitful state, being 

 careful always to preserve the fibrous roots, which are 

 the important ones. 



