302 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ April 28, 1870. 



disappointed in not being able to get from the nurserymen as 

 many plants as they wanted. 



Next comes Amy Hogg, a very free bloomer and of good habit, 

 bnt rather too leggy in the footstalk. Dr. Hogg is, in my 

 opinion, an improvement on the former, with more of a violet 

 shade, and one of the most lovely flowers to look at individually 

 I have ever seen. I am almost afraid, however, it will prove 

 too strong a grower in many places. Indian Yellow, also a 

 seedling of Mr. Beaton's, will como next, though not strictly 

 belonging to this section ; it has a peculiar shade of colour 

 blended with the cerise, and the name Indian Yellow is rather 

 apt to mislead, except with those who call the darker chrome 

 yellow No. 3 Indian yellow; but there is not really so much 

 yellow in the flower as in the Orange section. It is a very 

 valuable bedder, as being a very free bloomer, with a good 

 habit, and offering a very distinct colour in a bed. 



I will take the Orange section next. I have tried several, 

 bnt like Orange Nosegay best, though it is too small a truss, 

 and too strong a grower. I have a promising kind to try this 

 year, called Grace Holmes, which seems dwarf and free-bloom- 

 ing, and I hope to be able to report favourably of it another 

 year. 



The Rose section cornea next, with Rose Rendatler, Rose 

 Perfection, Blue Bell, Ne Plus Ultra, &c. 



Of these, Rose Rendatler has hitherto proved far the best ; 

 it is rather upright in its habit, but if carefully pinched-in 

 before bedding-out, its trusses of bloom are so fine and of such 

 long continuance, that I know nothing to equal it yet in this 

 colour. Blue Bell (another misnomer), has, in my opinion, 

 too coarse foliage, but otherwise is good. Christine Nosegay I 

 have not sufficiently tried. Rose Perfection did not answer 

 the expectations I had formed of it, but the colour of the flower 

 is so good that I shall give a further trial this year. Ne Plus 

 Ultra is alBo promising, but I had not enough of it to bed it 

 last year. 



Although I have now tried several salmon-coloured varieties, 

 I have never yet found one which altogether satisfied me; and 

 the same may be said of what the Royal Horticultural Society's 

 report calls oeulate Zonals, of the type of Madame Werle, 

 Francois Desbois, &c. The only one of this section which 

 may prove good is Gloire de Corbenay ; but I have hitherto 

 found none th».c would stand both sun and rain. 



Madame Voucher is still as good as any of the white sorts, 

 but we are very much in want of a better, and a good white- 

 edged variegated kind supplies the want in a great measure. 



To sum up, then, I think the best bedders we have at present 

 are — Waltham Seedling, Le Grand, Eclat, C.v bister, Multi- 

 florum, Violet Hill, Grand Duke, Dr. Hogg, Indian Yellow, 

 Rose Rendatler, Robert K. Bowley, Masterpiece, and Godfrey. 

 The last three I have not yet tried except in pots, but am very 

 confident of their succeeding. — C. P. Peach. 



THE FIG AND ITS CULTURE— No. 5. 



Soils. — Somewhat in relation to this, we bave one very note- 

 worthy fact, which has repeatedly been observed — namely, that 

 the Fig has been found to succeed best in districts bordering 

 on the sea, whether the plants have been grown in houses or 

 in the open air. All along the southern coast of England the 

 Fig succeeds most admirably ; this may be parlly owing to the 

 genial, humid atmosphere on ihe sea ooast, or a little, perhaps, 

 to the sea air, as in the north of Scotland the Fig also succeeds 

 near the sea, whilst in inland districts farther south it is much 

 more difficult to cultivate. The same fact ha3 been noted of 

 the Fig in France and other countries, with but few exceptions. 

 What, then, it is worthy to inquire, are the natural conditions 

 of these districts which seem so favourable for the growth of 

 the Fig? A moderate yet warm temperature, a humid atmo- 

 sphere, sea air, and a calcareous soil. In almost every instance 

 ■where the Fig has been found to succeed well the soil is chufly 

 calcareous and shallow, retting very frequently on the chalk, 

 or on any gravelly subsoil. These, then, are the conditions 

 which we must provide and secure to command success. If a 

 calcareous soil cannot be had naturally, the soil must be made 

 to assume Ihe same conditions by mixing it with chalk, lime- 

 rubbish, and materials of that kind, the chalky particles'aoting 

 not merely as simple earthy ingredients, |but tending to give 

 it greater porosity. To two-thirds of ordinary yellow loam, add 

 one-third of chalk, with some burnt ashes. Trees in pots, 

 which are more confined in their energies, require a soil some- 

 what richer ; for them, therefore, add a good portion of rotten 

 manure. 



Preparation of tee Border, &c. — Trees planted-out, espe- 

 cially those in the open border, should have the space allotted 

 to their roots, as well as the quantity of soil, very limited in 

 extent, bo as to check their natural tendency to exuberant 

 growth, and a production of gross and unfruitful shoots. The 

 soil should therefore be excavated to the depth of about 

 21 feet, and then from 9 to 12 inches filled up with brick 

 rubble for drainage ; over this put a layer of chalk of about 

 3 inches, and fill up wilh the remainder with the soil recom- 

 mended. The border for trees on trellises or against walls 

 need not be made more than from 4 to 6 feet in width, unless 

 it is intended for the trees to attain a very large size. The 

 roots should be prevented from extending further by a solid 

 brick wall in front. For bush, standard, or ordinary-sized 

 trees planted out, a square yard of Boil about 15 or 18 inches 

 deep will be quite ample for a good-sized plant. 



Root-pruning. — Another mode of repressing the excessive 

 vigour of the Fig and inducing fruitfulness, is root-pruning. 

 This is rendered necessary at times, and is beneficial also when, 

 if the soil happens to be rich, and the roots have liberty, the 

 trees are growing too luxuriantly. The plants may be taken 

 up out of the soil, the roots shortened or cut quite closely back, 

 and then replanted in the same soil. This thould be done as 

 soon after the fall of the leaf as possible, as if delayed until 

 late in spring it is apt to endanger the first crop of fruit. With 

 small bush trees, &c, planted out, it is recommendable to sub- 

 ject them to this treatment regularly every season. Some may 

 require much pruning, others very little. The condition of all, 

 however, is thus seen and known, and the cultivator is enabled 

 to treat them accordingly. With large trees which are in a 

 fruitful state, this root-pruning is not necessary ; but with 

 unfruitful rampant-growing trees of whatever age or size, it is, 

 perhaps, the most efficacious mode of bringing them into a 

 fruiting condition. It is wonderful how much it improves 

 them, causing the production of short, stubby, fruitful wood. 

 It is a practice, therefore, to be highly recommended. 



Potting. — The young plants or cuttings (as explained at 

 page 107) are first potted-cff into 3-inch pots, the soil then 

 used being rather light, after which, when the roots have 

 pretty well reached the sides of the pot, they should be potted 

 into what are called 48's, or pots 5 inches in diameter, the soil 

 used being that recommended for the tree's general culture. The 

 pots should have a liberal supply of drainage ; pieces of broken 

 pots are the best, and they should alwajs be clean and pure, 

 not dirty, as frequently is the case, and in goodly-sized pieces. 

 A little extra atrention to these comparatively small matters 

 wrll tend to greater success in the pot cultivation of all sorts 

 of plants. 



By the end of the first season the plants will have become 

 tolerably well established in the above-sized pots. Some may 

 bave required a third potting. If it is intended to secure large 

 plants speedily, they may be shifted into larger pots as soon 

 as it is found that the roots have freely penetrated through the 

 soil, othernise it will not be required. Fruit being the object, a 

 little cramping at the roots is most conducive to that end, 

 excess of pot room tending more to the production of wood. 

 As soon after the fall of the leaf as possible, the plants should 

 have all the loose soil shaken from the roots, the roots slightly 

 shortened, and should be shifted into pots just a size larger ; 

 then during the succeeding summer if the plants seem to re- 

 quire it, they may receive another shift. After the fall of the 

 leaf the same practice in shaking out the soil, trimming the 

 roots, and repotting, has to be again performed, and so on 

 year after year, or at least until the plants occupy as large a 

 pot as it is intended they should. 



Fig trees will produce fruit in very small pots, and they are 

 then much more interesting and more easily managed than 

 when in large oues. We should endeavour, therefore, to retain 

 them as long as possible in the smallest pots we can. Many of 

 the plants may not every season require a larger shift: ; these 

 should therefore simply be turned out, the ball of roots and 

 soil reduced, and be repotted in the same-sized pot. I do not 

 recommend the use of large-sized pots for any fruit tree, as 

 they are uot only very unmanageable, but they take up much 

 space, are unsightly, and not in any way advantageous. For 

 Figs, the largest size I would recommend is the 14-inoh — that 

 is, 14 inches in diameter. The most desirable size, however, 

 is the 12-inch. I have found almost as much fruit can be 

 grown in pots of that size as in larger pots, and they are much 

 more convenient. Plants in the largest-sized pots may, if in 

 good condition, instead of being repotted, have the surface soil 

 picked off as far dewn as possible — half-way down the pot — with 



