Octab«r 02, 186a ] 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICDIiTURE AND COTTAGE GAliDENEK. 



305 



would pay better, and it would be ensy to protect them from 

 early frosts and the attacks of birds. Some have wished wo 

 would give the eizo of a few of our trees, aud the measure or 

 weight of fruit obtuinod from them, but it is always unfilea?ant 

 to do such things when the least Buspicion can bo created as to 

 over-statemeuts. 



To all amateurs and the possessors of small gardens, growing 

 trees in the bush or pyramidal style has this great advantage — 

 that the trees can bo examined, and have all that is neoesiiary 

 done without the operator needing to.leave the solid earth, and 

 steps and ladders are always iucouveuieut to those not used to 

 them. 



The next throe weeks will be the best time for preparing and 

 pJattting all such dwarfs. For first and ultimate eoonomy no 

 plan is bettor than station-planting. The spaces for each tree 

 may be f feet to feet square, or in diameter. In all cold clay 

 soils it would be well to concrete the bottom for such a space, 

 having that at least 15 inches below the surface, and the earth 

 raised abovo it other 15 inches, but which will gradually sink. 

 In planting, if the young trees have a tap root, either cut it 

 oft or bend it outwards, and the other roots should be neatly 

 packed as much horizontally as possible, and from G to 8 inches 

 from the surface. The chief use of concreting, or placing a flag- 

 stone immediately beneath the tree, is that the tap roots cannot 

 well go down, and if the tree grows too vigorously at first the 

 roots can bo cut as they extend beyond the concreting. Many 

 would like to have those neat little fruitful trees, however, who 

 do not see their way to obtaining stones, lime, and gravel to 

 make bottoms for the trees ; and for their encouragement we 

 would say they can succeed very well without them. Such 

 stations may be made a little larger and well trenched, and the 

 subsoil well stirred, but left at the bottom. Then borrow 

 enough from the neighbouring soil, if at all good, or a little 

 fresh soil if to be had, so as to raise the centre of the stations 

 fully 18 inches above the neighbouring ground ; plant as above 

 stated, and secure with a stake, and then mulch over with rotten 

 dung — a much better plan than mixing the dung with the soil. 



If you obtain an early crop you may never need to resort to 

 root-prutiinf) ; but if the tree become too strong you will re- 

 quire to cut the roots that run downwards, and the more hori- 

 zontal ones will then take the growth. Two things will en- 

 sure success. A good crop will lessen mere luxuriance of 

 growth, and if the roots are encouraged to keep near the sur- 

 face they will have less inducement to run dovi-uwards. The 

 chief attraction to go down is to obtain moisture. Let the trees 

 have that at the top, and the inducement is removed ; and the 

 simplest way to give them this requisite is to mulch during 

 summer with rotten dung, however thin the covering. All 

 extra nourishment we would thus give from the surface. We 

 just reverse the plan we would pursue if our object were the 

 greatest amount of timber in a specified time. We do not 

 here want timber so much as the greatest amount of eatable 

 fruit in a small space, and therefore the more the nourishment, 

 and the more the moisture absorbed by the roots is thoroughly 

 oxygenated by free access of the air, the greater the fruitful- 

 ness of the plant. Allow a tree to grow a little freely at first 

 to form itself, arrest mere growth by root-cutting or a heavy 

 crop, and then entice the roots to keep near the surface by a 

 little manuring on the surface, and such trees will bear heavily 

 for years without needing any root-pruning, and no great 

 amount of top-pruning, except a little pinching and nipping of 

 fhe summer shoots in summer. Orchards are all very well, 

 but these little fruitful trees will afford continual interest to 

 the enthusiastic amateur, and even a lady can do all the work 

 they need, except, perhaps, giving a barrowload of dung to two 

 or three trees when young, and a barrowload to each when well 

 established. 



One circumstance, so far as we know, has militated against 

 their more frequent use, and that is something like a dread 

 and a hazy conception of the necessity of root-pruning. Now, 

 frequently there need be none at all. Plant on raised plat- 

 forms, plant shallow, give surface-waterings if necessary, keep 

 the roots near the surface by mulching, and yet, by deep stirring 

 at first where there is no concreting, allow the surplus water 

 to pass freely where there is no regular draining ; obtain a 

 good crop, and keep the roots near the surface as above, and 

 you may never need to cut a root. If necessary, however, to 

 arrest growth, it is just as simple to cut a strong leading root 

 as it is to cut or stop an over-luxuriant shoot, and thus obtain 

 from that which otherwise would have produced nothing but 

 wood buds and mere strong shoots, several shoots that would 

 produce fruit buds. In a few words, had we our v/ill, and gar- 



dening to commence, we would have all our fruit trees in small 

 compass and thoroughly under command ; and as we delight 

 to see the possessors of small gardens acting on this principle, 

 aud would delight still more to see, in many such gardens, 

 the huge Apple trees that now i-hade th.e gi'ound devoted to 

 vegetables exchanged for our favourite dwarfs, we would wish 

 all aspirants to success in this direction just to bear in mind a 

 simple fact, to which wo believe we were the first to draw pro- 

 minent attention — that the deeper the roots go, and the richer 

 the material on which they feed, the greater will be the bulk of 

 timber produced by the tree ; whilst, on the other hand, the 

 nearer the roots are kept to the surface, the more nonrishment 

 is given from the surface, the more the moisture aud the nutri- 

 ment is thus in contact with air, the more shall we promote 

 the fruiting, and so far discourage the mere growing and ex- 

 tending processes. It would be easy to make a tree all fruit 

 and but little growth ; but that is not pleasing even to the eye, 

 and a certain amount of vigour is necessary to keep the tree 

 continuously fruitful, as well as to give size to the fruit. What 

 we contend for is, that all that can be given, not by digging-ia 

 manure, but by applying it to the surface. Do not be driTen 

 from such a simple proceeding by being laughed at for thus 

 wasting the little manure you give. "Why," says an elbow 

 friend, " you aro as great a spendthrift as Mr. Wurzle there, 

 who carts out his manure for Turnips and Cabbages, aud lets 

 it become as dry as hay before he covers it in." Well, not 

 quite. For all mere bulk of produce the manure cannot be too 

 soon covered up from the air and its wasting decomposing 

 powers ; but our practice may well be different when we aim 

 at obtaining flowers, seeds, and fruit, and not mere bulk of 

 roots and leaves. It we wished to obtain the largest Cabbages 

 we would dung well, stir the ground, water — do everything to 

 encourage growth. If we wished a Cabbage plant to flower as 

 soon as possible we would give no manure, keep the soil about 

 it hard — in fact, encourage the throwing-up of the flower stalk 

 instead of abundance of succulent leaves. We wish our small 

 fruit trees to bear fruit and yet have enough of growth to con- 

 tinue fruitful, and therefore we prefer manuring chiefly from 

 the surface. We adopt the same plan with flower-garden plants 

 frequently. If we enriched the beds and manured deeply we 

 would have too vigorous growth to ensure free blooming. By 

 giving a little help to growth, aud then surfuce-manuring, we 

 secure enough of growlh and free-blooming, whilst otherwise 

 we would have too much growth aud too few flowers. 



ORNAIIENTAL DEPAETirEXT. 



Never did we see the lawns more rich and beautiful. The 

 drought destroyed many of the weeds, and the grass looks aU 

 the more beautrful without them. After the rains very little 

 rolling is necessary to keep them smooth, and for this purpose 

 under such circumstances nothing is better or more easily ap- 

 plied than a wooden I'oller with a light handle — say the roller 

 a foot in diameter, and from 3! to 4 J feet in length, as then a 

 lad can easily go over a large piece of ground. When mowing 

 has to be done a day or two afterwards, such a light roUer is 

 better than a heavy one, and it always leaves the gloss and 

 polish of a fresh-ironed garment behind it. 



We have had a few slight frosts, but with us neither Colons, 

 Perilla, nor Heliotrope, is greatly injured, and we are unwil- 

 ling as yet to take up some small favourite jdants, and a few 

 large ones for the centres of beds next season. We must keep 

 watch, and only hope that the first sudden frost wiU not come 

 on a Sunday evening. 



Took in most tender plants in pots under glass, or under pro- 

 tection, as what is in pots will suffer more easily than what is 

 growing in the ground. Some plants, as Salvias, are quite a 

 thicket of bloom, and the beds in general, though not brilliant, 

 are still fair. 



As to itrapagatiiifi, WO have mado a commencement with Cal- 

 ceolarias. As previously described, our pit is too deep for otur 

 purpose. We therefore put some dry litter in the bottom, a 

 few leaves on the top, and trod firm ; next a couple of inches of 

 half-rotten leaf mould, mixed with a little lime ; then 3 inches 

 of soil, fresh sandy loam, the roughest riddlings at bottom, the 

 finest at the top, well trod, and levelled, aud then a quarter of 

 an inch of road drift sand, aud in that placed the cuttings in 

 rows 2 inches apart, and 1 inch from cutting to cutting in the 

 row. — R. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUE RECEIVEB. 



William Chater, Saffron Walien.— Catalogue of UoUyhocks 

 and Eoscs. 



