IRISH GARDENING 



37 



f,'cl a sliapoly tree, plcas'mj^ lo tlic (.ye aiul so 

 tjrown llial we can ffct tlie maxiimiin ot' iVuil- 

 \vi.hhI uitlunil overcrowilint,''. It is a curious 

 lliini^' tiiat nearly e\ery i^anlener has his own 

 \\a\- o\ priiiiini,^, ami is as a rule i.|uile 

 intolerant of auv one who ilifters from him. 

 The reason is, I think, thai every one has had 

 lo learn in the best wa\ he could. There has 

 been no central authoril\-, no primer that could 

 be relied on, hul, insteai.1, many books published 

 privately, and each one teaching something 

 i|uite dilTerent to the other. In om' forefathers 

 tnnell was lashionahle to train apple trees into 

 all sorts ot shapes, called vases, pyramids, 

 &c. To-day espalier trees are still found, 

 especially on walls, and all these tax the clever 

 man and confound the ignorant, and anyway 

 are outside tlie scope of this article. These 

 artilicially-formed trees take much skill and 

 knowledge if a decent crop is to be obtained 

 and are not to be thought about by the be- 

 ginner, but they are the reason of the legend 

 that pruning is so dillicult, and will illustrate 

 my meaning when I say that at first we prune in 

 order to shape our tree, and not to get apples. 

 This, of course, is speaking generally, as there 

 are some apples that require special treatment, 

 but are the exception to the rule. 



We must go back to our maiden, or one 

 year old tree, and consider how to cut it, or 

 prune it, so that it will please us in our garden. 

 If we leave it as a whip and only " cut in " any 

 of the side branches it will be a cordon and 

 require special and somewhat artificial treat- 

 ment, which we will leave alone for to-day, as, 

 although it is one of the most profitable forms 

 of fruit-growing, a beginner should wait a 

 couple of years until he has had full opportunity 

 of studying his apple trees in growth. 



We will, therefore, cut our tree down to about 

 a foot or eighteen inches from the ground. 

 This action w-ill throw back the sap, and force 

 the lower buds into growth, and if the tree is 

 in good soil it will throw out three or more 

 branches, which should at the end of a year 

 be three or four feet high. These in the autumn 

 or winter should each be cut back two or three 

 feet, leaving about one foot of the new wood, 

 and the same thing will happen, each branch 

 W'ill send out three or more new branches, and 

 so we shall have nine. After this, if you are 

 wise, you will leave your tree alone, or nearly 

 so, only cutting right out any branch that 



crosses another or that points inwards lo the 

 centre of the tree, or any one that appears to be 

 crowding another or better branch, as all 

 branches will require plenty of light and sun. 

 \'ou will \er)' probably buy your tree as a three 

 )ear old from the nursery, where it has been 

 formed or shaped for you, in which case you 

 can pl.int it in \our garden, keep it free from 

 weeds, and after tlie first year gather apples, 

 in fact if you will cut out the ingrowing 

 and crowding branches, and thin the apples 

 themselves, not letting the bush over-fruit itself, 

 it is all \ou need i.\o. 



From this I hope that you will understand 

 that if, on receiving the tree or bush (the latter I 

 have hatl in my mind) you cut back the 

 nine leading branches, you will get twenty- 

 seven or more branches the following sum- 

 mer, and if you again cut back these twenty- 

 seven in the autumn, you will then get — well, 

 apple trees like inost of your neighbours — trees, 

 but no apples. 



]\IoRAi. — Do not over prune when your apple 

 tree reaches a bearing state. 



ffi^ ^^ t^^ 



M.AGNOLI.^S. 

 Magnolia crandiflora is a familiar evergreen wall 

 plant, possessing several deciduous relatives of the 

 highest order of merit, which are even now opening 

 their flowers. M. stellat.i is the first to bloom, and a 

 bed of this lovely shrub forms a conspicuous object on 

 any lawn, the starry flowers being of a dazzling white- 

 ness. In exposed localities it is safest to protect it at 

 night by a temporary shelter of slakes and canvas for 

 fear of frost. .M. conspicua forms a small tree, and is 

 a grand spectacle when covered with its snowy white 

 blooms. M. soulangeana is a hybrid between con- 

 spicua and obovata, retaining the size and shape of the 

 former, but the purplish colour of the latter parent. 

 A sheltered position should be selected for them on 

 account of their early-flowering propensities. Perhaps 

 the scarcity of Magnolias in gardens may be accounted 

 tor by their being rather difticull to transplant. The 

 roots are extremely sensitive and liable lo rot if moved 

 in autumn, if even slightly injured. The proper lime 

 for transplanting is spring, just as growth commences, 

 lifting with a ball of earth, and with a little attention 

 afterwards, as regards shading and watering, success 

 may usually be guaranteed. They like an open, sweet 

 soil, trenched beforehand and enriched with leaf-mould 

 and loam. Layering is the best mode of propagation. 

 Seeds require to be sown as soon as ripe, for, as in all 

 the Magnolia family, the seeds lose their germinative 

 power if kept till spring. In some Irish gardens the 

 two new Japanese kinds, M. Watsoni and M. parvi- 

 flora, are doing well ; a striking contrast is made by 

 the claret-coloured stamens and the pure while flower 

 of M. parvirtora. 



