86 



JOtlENAL OF HOETICTJLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ AuRUst 4, 18CJ. 



situations ; but deep, rich, sandy loam suits them best, and 

 an open sunny site or aspect is necessary to secure fruit. 

 In woods, however, wliere the shrubs receive a moderate 

 amount of light without much sun, I have seen them plenti- 

 fully producing fi-uit which seems to be well reUshed by 

 some of the feathered tribe. As we begrudge a few Cherries 

 and Strawberries for the songsters' invaluable nine-months 

 picking of grubs out of our gai-dens, is it asking too much 

 to request that a few BerbeiTy shi-ubs be planted in the 

 woods ? They are an excellent cover for game. Nevertheless, 

 then- fruit gi-own in shade is never so highly flavoiu-ed as 

 when exposed to sun heat, light, and aii- : therefore, I by no 

 means recommend planting BerbeiTies in woods in hopes of 

 obtaining then- berries to increase the novelty of the dessert, 

 and fill the preserve-jai-s in the store-room. StOl the fi-a- 

 gx-ance of the flowers imparts a charm to the woodlands in 

 spring, and may help to keep the songsters from the netted 

 Cherries. 



As a hedge plant the Berberry has a few points to recom- 

 mend it. It wiU bear any amount of cutting, grows rapidly 

 and close, and is rather rough to face, its short prickles or 

 spines not being pleasant. It, is not so good, however, as a 

 Quickset (Thorn) hedge, and at the very best is but a second- 

 rate hedge plant. Yet, whatever good properties it might 

 have, I fear ignorance and prejudice are still too prevalent 

 to acknowledge as eiToneous the popiilar idea that it com- 

 municates the mildew fungus to the Wheat plant. Not long 

 ago a certain M.D. drew my attention to a field of Wheat 

 infested with a parasitical fungus, and in walking round the 

 gai-den a few days aftei-wards he noticed a fungus on 

 a Berberry apparently identical with one on the Wheat 

 plant in the field adjoining. He was a good fungologist, 

 therefore I was mute; but he told such an old-wife tale 

 about the Berben-y communicating blight to Wheat in close 

 proximity to it, even insinuating that it had the power to 

 cause Wheat to be affected by the Berberry bbght at a dis- 

 tance of 200 yaa-ds, that I very soon doubted his words, for 

 I had seen abundance of blighted Berbei-ry shrubs in a 

 plantation adjoining a Wheat field which did not prevent 

 the Wheat plant yielding sixty bushels per acre. We had 

 a dispute, when out came the microscope; and GrevUle's 

 cryptogamical work decided the fungus on Berberis vulgaris 

 to be jEcidium berberidis. Subjecting that on the Wheat 

 plant to a power of 300 diameters the first glance was enough 

 to show a difference ia the two fungi, identified at once as 

 Pucoinia graminis 1jy my scientific friend, who never kept 

 his microscope, nor books, nor accumulated information out 

 of the reach of a poor man. 



Irrespective of its claims as a hedge plant, in which 

 respect it about ranks with the Privet, it wOl be admitted 

 on all hands that the BerbeiTy is a highly ornamental 

 shrub, whether planted in lai-gc shi-ubberies or by the side 

 of woodland walks. Besides its peculiarly ornamental 

 character it is of easy cidtui-e, reqim-ing but little care after 

 first planting. 



Berbemes may be best treated of in two classes — the 

 deciduous and the evergi-een. 



Deciduous Species. — Of these Berberis vulgaris is the 

 type.^ They are suitable for woods, where they form, as 

 mentioned before, a capital cover for game, and for larwe 

 shi-ubbery -borders ; but they are not suitable for planting 

 in groups on lawns, for there plants should be as ornamental 

 in winter, for the most part, as in slimmer, and this the 

 deciduous character of these Berbenies in a great measm-e 

 prevents. 



In planting them in shrubberies, it is necessary that the 

 ground should be trenched dueidy without turning up too 

 much of a clay subsoil ; and if that be wet, drains should be 

 cut 4 feet deep and 21 feet apai-t, with a suitable fall and 

 outlet. If the ground be poor, a liberal di-essing of manure 

 or leaf mould wiU contribute much to the prosperity of the 

 shrubs ; and a baiToivful of fine, but not very rich, soil put 

 a little imder, around, and on the roots at the time of 

 planting will materially assist the plants to form fibres and 

 roots, and give them a start. 



Half the height which any slu-ub attains is the proper 

 distance to plant fi'om a walk, and its fuU height the distance 

 from plant to plant in the shrubbery. Most shrubberies, 

 however, are faced with some of the under-shrubs, or lower- 

 growing kinds : consequently the taller kinds may be planted 



at a greater distance from the walk, so as to allow of those 

 of low giowth being planted in front of the border, so that, 

 even when of full size, they will not need cutting back or 

 clipping to prevent theii' encroacliing on the path or space 

 beyond their limits. 



Everj- tree or shrub shoiild be planted at such a distance 

 that it will never be made by crowding to assume an appear- 

 ance contrary to its natural habits. 



Were I fonning a slirubbery I would have no duplicates 

 in it, for no amount of beauty can be pleasing unless it be 

 varied. Shiiibberics of the present time have no beauty 

 beyond that seen at first sight, for such are mostly com- 

 posed of the commonest shrubs piu-chasable, and have 

 nothing to I'ecommend them beyond cheapness, which is 

 not commensurate with the interest lost. Were no dupli- 

 cates admitted the slirubbery would afford an interesting 

 field for study at all seasons, and take hoiu's instead of 

 minutes to inspect before all its beauties could be noticed. 



I would distribute shrubs in mixed shrubberies, so as to 

 present a good face to the eye ; but, at the same time, with 

 a variable yet hannonious aspect. But were the place large 

 I would plant each natural order in groups, after the style 

 of an arboretum ; and with a view to this I would place the 

 Berberideae in the foremost rank. A gi-oup of Berberries on 

 a lawn would be a beautiful object in May when our flower 

 gardens are little better than fallow fields, and highly orna- 

 mental in autiunn from the effect produced by their berries. 

 Disposed of in that way, I shoidd plant the deciduous kinds 

 in the centre of the group and the evergreens chiefly around 

 them, always taking into consideration the height of each 

 species and their character of growth. I should not plant 

 a straggling grower in fi-ont, but put it behind a compact 

 gTOwer. 



In planting, however, the ideas of individuals vary. Some 

 would object to planting deciduous slinibs and evergreens 

 together in gi-oups, and it certainly detracts much from the 

 beauties of evergi-eens when they adjoin deciduous trees, 

 especially when seen on the same level with them : therefore 

 I would only employ evergreen Berbenies for gi'oups on 

 lawns, unless I were forming an arboretum, when I might 

 plant the deciduous and evergreen together. 



Propagation. — Seeds of the common kinds, deciduous 

 and evergreen, may be sown in sandy loam, in the open 

 gi'ound, on nui-sery-beds in March or April, coveiing them 

 with fine soil about half an inch deep ; but seeds of the 

 evergreen species, as Berberis Fortuni, nepalensis, &c., 

 shoiild be protected in a cold frame until the seedlings ai-e 

 fairly up, and when of sufficient size to handle transplanted 

 into nursery-beds, and afterwards fui-ther transplanted 

 annually or biennially, allowing more room each time be- 

 tween the plants, until they are of sufficient size to plant 

 out finally. 



Seedlings ai-e such a long time before they flower com- 

 pared with plants raised from layers, division of the i-oot, 

 or suckers, that it is not a very advisable method of j^ro- 

 pagation. 



The deciduous species are best raised from layers, and 

 the evergi'eens by suckers, with a portion of root attached 

 to each when taken from the parent. Layering may be 

 done any time whilst the plants are at rest ; but about this 

 there are many opinions. Some will insist that it ought to 

 be done when the sap is descending, for then a callosity is 

 sui-e to be formed ; but others uphold that it is best done 

 before the sap rises, for the plant emits fibres more rapidly 

 then than at any other period, and a tongued branch is 

 more likely to caUus at that time than when the plant is 

 all but at rest. I find spring the best time for layering and 

 getting plants of any kind to root quickly ; but in the case 

 of the Berbeny it is immaterial what time they be layered, 

 if tongued like a Carnation to facilitate the process, and 

 pegged securely under the surface, leaving the slit open, 

 and allowed to remain attached to the paa-ent plant for 

 twelve months fi-om the date of the operation. The layers 

 then may be detached from it, taken up with as much soil 

 as wdl adhere to the fibres without fallijig off, and planted 

 either in beds to gather strength, or at once into the places 

 where they ai-e to remain. 



Division is simply taking up an old plant and slipping the 

 side shoots off %vith as much root adhering to them as pos- 

 sible ; or digging round an established plant, and so opening 



