194 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER, 



[ Uarcb 18, IBCO 



Dilke, Mr. Encker, and Mr. J. Fleming regreUinRthfir inability 

 to attend. The Rev. M. J. Berkeley was elected Chairman, and 

 Mr. George Eyies Secretary. 



OPENING THE CONES OF THE LEBANON 

 CEDAR. 



Permit ma to direct the attention to all lliose who are in- 

 terested in arboriculture to the splendid crop of cones which 

 these trees are now bearing. All Cedars do not bear fruitful 

 ones, but many contain excellent and numerous seeds. 



The cone of the Cedar is remarkably tougb, and will not 

 discharge its seeds by exposure to heat like ihuse of other Firs. 

 I have tried various methods of extracting the seeds, and find 

 the following the most effectual : — Fix the cone in a vice, and 

 saw off about three-cjuarters of an inch top and bottom ; then 

 with a mallet and cold chisel divide the cone into quarters, 

 which must be separated into smaller portions. Place these in 

 the kitchen screen for say twenty-four hours, and they can then 

 be separated without much difficulty. If very tough use a pair 

 of wire nippers to open them. A good coue contains from forty 

 to sixty seeds. 



It is remarkable that though the Cedar is so prolific this year 

 the Finns austriaca has no cones, but it bore so heavily the two 

 previous years that I have not only young trees of this species 

 growing from trees of my own planting, but have sent con- 

 siderable quantities of seed to friends and some nurserymen. — 

 HiGFORD Burr, Aide rmaston. 



THE PORTABLE ORCHARD. 



(Continued from page 161.) 



Having, then, a nursery of stocks, procure the scions of tho 

 sorts you wish to propagate at least a month before the grafting 

 season. The best time for grafting is usually the first half of 

 April ; but in early seasons and localities an earlier date is 

 better. As far as my experience goes I have found it safer to 

 work as late in the season as possible ; but I must also remind 

 my readers that I live in a cold climate, and the soil is very 

 tenacious, so that I have to guard very carefully against all 

 checks to vegetation. The stock should be on the point of 

 bursting its leaf buds, but the scion must have them much less 

 advanced for ordinary out-of-door work. To secure this diiier- 

 ence of development the scions are cut otf a month at least 

 before the time of using them, and may he cut off as soon as 

 the leaves have fallen. They require to he kept from drought 

 and frost, and the common way of storing them is to tie each 

 sort in a bundle, and put it two-thirds of its length in the 

 ground in the open air, under a north wall or other shade from 

 the sun. This " laying in by the heels " I never practise myself 

 now, for it gives much trouble in cleaning the scions when they 

 are required for use. The best way of keeping them is to put 

 them overhead in cocoa-fibre refuse in flower pots, storing the 

 pots in a cool cellar or outhouse, and taking care that the fibre 

 is neither dry nor wet, but only thoroughly damp ; scions so 

 stored will keep perfectly sound for a very long time, frequently 

 striking root, and always forming a callosity at the base. Sand 

 used in the same way answers very well, but it is apt to damage 

 the knife if any is left when the scion is being shaped ; the cocoa 

 fibre shakes off, leaving the wood quite clean. 



I may also mention what occurred to me three years ago with 

 regard to some scions, as it may be a useful hint when they 

 are sent from a distance. A friend sent me some, and they were 

 left at an inn, and forgotten for three weeks. Being merely 

 ■wrapped in a piece of paper they were dried up and brittle. 

 I thought them quite killed, and wrote to tell ray friend of the 

 misfortune ; but after writing to him I thought I would try a 

 plan I learned when a boy for freshening up cut flowers sent 

 from a distance. This plan is to bum to a cinder about an inch 

 of the lower ends of the stalks, and then place them instantly in 

 cold water, leaving the burnt pieces- on, and placing the glass 

 containing them in the dark for a short time. Violets sent in a 

 letter will generally revive under this treatment, and Rose buds 

 will expand as if they were on the tree. My dried scions were 

 so treated and put into the dark ali night, and to my surprise 

 the next morning they were quite fresh, and when used every 

 one of them grew. 



In sending scions from a distance, when the quantity is small 

 I always post them, hut pack them with damp rag, cotton wool, 

 or cocoa fibre, in a piece of thin sheet gutta percha, such as 

 can be obtained at any druggist's shop. To send them safely 

 to great distances, as to America, it is necessary to pack them ' 



with damp cocoa fibre, or some such material, in tin cases. 1 

 led sure that if an ordinary biscuit tin were filled up with scions 

 and cocoa fibre, and soldered up, it would keep ihcm perfectly 

 fresh for six months. 



The scions arc cut from thoroughTy-ripcnod shoots of the 

 preceding summer ; where it can be done, a piece of the pre- 

 vious year's wood should be cut off' along with the new, for if 

 the scion is fitted so that thu junction of \he two-vcars growth 

 is applied to the stock, a much largor portfon of the living 

 tissue is brought into contact. Some kinds of trees require the 

 second year's wood to he tiiken for the scion, .lud although the 

 fruits we arc dealing with do not, I ■v\ould rather have a scion 

 of the second year's wood than a baiUy-ripcnod shoot of the pre- 

 vious summer. The buds on the scion must be leaf buds, and 

 tlie plumper they are the better. Avoid .all those succulent 

 shoots commonly seen on the steins of old orchard trees ; you 

 may, of course, have no ( hoice, and to preserve some favourite 

 variety you may be driven to use flower liud', but the rule is to 

 choose well-ripened shoots with wcU-dcveloped loaf buds. "\Ve 

 shall presently havo a full consideration of the distinctions that 

 mark leaf buds and flower buds ; at present I must take ii fur 

 granted that you have proper scions. 



We now Clime to the tools required ; they are very simple — 

 a very sharp knife, some matting or yarn for tying, grafting 

 wax or clay to cover up the joint, and do not blame me if you 

 take rheumatism in tlie knees through not following my advice, 

 to be most cautious in never kneeling on the hare ground ; 

 always use a piece of waterproof cloth, or a hassock, or you 

 may get a stiff knee through your imprudence ; a rifleman's 

 kneeling pad is an excellent protestor. 



As the knife must he in first-rate condition for the most deli- 

 cate part of the operation, it should ne-ccr be used for rough 

 work, so use another for cutting ott the heads of the stocks and 

 any other preliminary trimming. Knives for the purpose are 

 sold by all nurserymen and seedsmen. The common form of 

 budding knife is that to be kept for delicate work, the hooked 

 form is the best for cutting stronger branches. 



The cot'.on used for the wicks of dip candles is first-rate for 

 tying, and it can be procured from any candle maker. The 

 Japanese bast is most excellent when grafting clay is u.sei, be- 

 cause it rots away in about the time it is necessary" for the liga- 

 ture to be removed. Some pei-sons use worsted, some a soft 

 strand of rope yarn ; but I have found the cutton wick and the 

 Japanese bast, used quite dry, by far the best and pleasamest 

 materials. 



The receipt for the grafting wax or mastic, and the grafting 

 clay, will be given further on. 



^'arious modes of grafting arc adopted for particular purposes. 

 For our present purpose three only arc needed — iiiiip or tunijue 

 grafting, crown grafting, and sljicid grafting, or budding, as it 

 is more commonly designated in this country. The first two 

 are performed early in spring, the other most commonly in 

 summer. 



Ali the books in which I have found a description of grafting 

 seem to me to be very defective in more than one particular, 

 and I shall endeavour to make the matter perfectly clear at the 

 risk of being tedious. A glance at the figures will explain to 

 any experienced gardener all that is new. 



Cut down in the autumn all the stocks that are to be grafted 

 in the spring, and any branches of larger trees that are to be 

 grafted afresh, leaving in every case about three eyes beyond 

 the part where the scion is to be placed, at the same time trim 

 oft' any laterals that require removing. This cutting-back in 

 autumn prevents the check that would otherwise be given to the 

 stock were it cut back after the .sap had begun to move. Then, 

 as soon as the buils which have been left arc on the point of 

 opening, choose a day that is calm and warm ; if there has been 

 rain shortly before all the better. If the season has been very 

 dry water the stocks well a week before you intend grafting. 

 Take the scions you are about to use in a basket or box, covering 

 them over with damp cocoa fibre or sawdust. Begin at one end 

 of a row of stocks, kneeling down in tlic ;i-feet space with your 

 back towards the other end of the row. so as to move backwards, 

 keeping your face towards the work done, and then you will not 

 break oft' the scions you have already inserted. I'ut a label, 

 having written on it indelibly the name of the sort of scion you 

 are about to use, or a number referring to it, on the first stock, 

 and every time you arc about to use a new variety of scion put 

 its label on the stock before you graft it. Attend to this advice. 

 Where the number is considerable you must kee]i a book in 

 which to register the sorts, according to the rows and numbers 

 in each row. Now cut oti the top of the stock down to a dis- 



