336 



JOURNAL OF HOBTIC0LTOBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



r May 7, 1868. 



Bpaoe, and that each is really as vigorous a tree as a moderate- 

 sized fan-trained tree. 



Oonunencing, then, from near the roof, I look down on 

 hundreds of healthy young Peaches or Nectarines on each cordon. 

 How absurd seem objections to this mode when such practical 

 results are evident. Below me I see my spiral cordons, already 

 12 feet long in their twist, and having some H feet more to 

 ascend. These are young, and this first season bear well ; but 

 farther on is a row of fine pyramids two years plunged in the 

 border. A great mistake ! These are growing too strongly, 

 and I can see even now will require very little thinning. This 

 may be a hint to others. As long as these were in their pots 

 they bore fairly, and were easily enough restrained ; but now, 

 left to themselves, they must soon become tedious to train. 



Between my groups of spiral cordons are some very fine 

 standards ; these are really more manageable, but would soon 

 become huge trees if left alone. I can see that all their exten- 

 sions are " gross shoots," and, further, the shoots growing 

 inwards below these are e-jually strong. As the fruit grows 

 most on rather weak branches this tendency is objectionable, 

 especially here ; nor is the fruit on these, though very good, so 

 numerous as on the cordons. These were really troublesome to 

 thin ; at last I used to rub them off without looking at them. 

 As to the spiral groups they are very accessible. About two- 

 thirds of the whole crop were removed at this first thinning ; in 

 a fortnight afterwards a second severe removal took place. 

 Now all was ea-iy, because many Peaches remained small, and 

 were at once taken away. This difference in size is not ac- 

 counted for by imperfect development alone. Here, for example, 

 at one extremity of this house are two trees trained in the fan 

 form — one an Elruge Nectarine and the other a Eivers's 

 Orange. Both are of the same size, both sorts naturally set 

 equally well, but the tree which has now the most advanced fruit 

 is that which has had the most watering. Thus I conclude 

 that Peach trees require free supplies of water during this 

 exhausting period, and it is just what Nature would give them, 

 for, as I write, nearly 1 inch of water has fallen in the twenty- 

 Jour hours, and it blows so hard that the mails are delayed. 



I cannot resist adding a word more as to the progress of the 

 spiral cordons also. Though these are several feet from the 

 back wall, so much is gained by the twist that a length of 

 fully 20 feet will be required before they reach the glass. As 

 they are planted IG inches apart in groups of five, and the 

 shoots grow freely all round them, any one may estimate the 

 proportion of bearing space they occupy. In no other way — 

 and this is important — in no other way can this be so well 

 effected, taking into consideration quality, quantity, and variety 

 of fruit. If this be really the case, then, who can doubt the 

 ultimate universal adoption of the method in orchard houses ? 

 A cordon of this size when full grown can bear as freely as a 

 moderately large wall tree, and if carefully thinned, need never 

 have any rest such as potted trees require. These groups 

 should alternate with standard or potted trees, so as to secure 

 free access of sunshine to the lowest parts of the back wall in a 

 lean-to. In a span-roofed house facing north-east and south- 

 west (as such houses should face), this is of less importance. 



I have sometimes alluded to the house of a friend and pupil, 

 as he genially writes : could some who read this Journal see 

 his GOO-feet houses, all trained with diagonal cordons parallel 

 with the houses, they would learn something new. After all, 

 if we do spend so much time and money on these things, we 

 may as well aJopt the most advantageous plans, and this 

 many well known in these pages have now decided on doing. 

 Our poor pyramids are to be soon " diaestabUshed." — T. C. 

 BaEHAni. 



BEDDING PLANTS 



THAT M.IY BE PLANTED OUT EAKLY, AJfD OTHERS TO BE 

 PLAKIED LATE. 



The lesson taught us last year as regards planting out too 

 early, is not likely to be forgotten by those who were sufferers ; 

 nevertheless, there are some plants so much hardier than 

 others, that they may be planted eai 'y without sustaining so 

 much injury from cold as they would tiom other causes if kept 

 in their present quarters. Such plants it would be advisable 

 to plant out as early in May as possible, consistently with the 

 state of the weather, the condition of the ground, and, more 

 important than all, the condition of the plants themselves ; 

 therefore, where there is an opportunity, let no time be lost 

 in planting them out, at the same time take care not to pro- 

 ceed far in adopting the same course with others which are 



too tender yet to be trusted out of doors. A few notee on such 

 plants as may be first removed to beds out of doors, as well as on 

 those that had better remain in their sheltered quarters some 

 time longer, may be useful at the present season. 



Commencing, therefore, with such as will bear a tolerable 

 amount of cold, the first on the list is one of the most popular 

 plants of the parterre, and inapproachable, as yet, in one of 

 the colours it represents — I mean the Calceolaria. 



Calceolarias. — Assuming the plants to be in some cold pit, 

 and not in pots, but growing in the pit, most likely if tolerably 

 close together they will be drawing each other up, and running 

 into flower, even if they have been partially thinned, as mine 

 were, in the early part of March. At that time, in my case one 

 half of the rows were taken out and planted elsewhere under 

 shelter, but those that were left grew out and occupied all the 

 space, and after April 20th commenced running into flower. 

 Many of them I had removed into their permanent quarters 

 before the end of the month, taking advantage of the dull, moist 

 weather that occurred during the interval to perform the 

 operation. Those which were transplanted I need hardly say 

 were not so forward, and. consequently, not in such need of 

 immediate removal ; and if there had been an opportunity to 

 transplant the whole, they would, of course, have been later, 

 but it not being convenient to do so, and as Calceolarias have 

 on former occasions done pretty well when planted early, the 

 trouble of an intermediate transplantation was avoided. Of 

 course, those who have the means and accommodation to give 

 their plants more room, need not plant so soon, and may 

 possibly benefit by the delay ; or where Calceolarias form a 

 portion of a bed, along with other plants which cannot be planted 

 out BO soon, in that case delay must take place ; but when prac- 

 ticable, and where the plants have been well inured to the open 

 air beforehand, they may often be planted out much earlier 

 than they are with advantage. 



Gacinia. — This is also a hardy plant compared with many, 

 and I usually treat it the same as the Calceolaria. Cuttings 

 put into a cold pit in the last week in September, make ex- 

 cellent plants, bushy and well rooted, by the end of April, and 

 they may then be planted in their summer quarters. Usually 

 the Gazania likes a rather dry situation, and looks well hang- 

 ing over the sides of some raised bed or vase, the plant re- 

 quiring a less amount of soil to grow in than some of the Ver- 

 benas, which it resembles in habit, but in no other particular. 

 The Gazania is, however, not a hardy plant, and will not bear 

 so much cold as the Calceolaria and Nierembergia, but it has 

 the property of resisting damp, and transplants well. 



Ceeastium. — Perhaps this plant ought to have preceded the 

 Calceolaria, as it is much hardier — in fact, is a hardy plant, 

 and in a dry situation will withstand any ordinary amount of 

 cold, but a wet winter is fatal to it, and in the spring of last 

 year it was very scarce. Where, however, plants are at 

 command, it is a good plan to make fresh plantations of it early 

 in April, and as it is mostly used for edgings, it can 

 often be put in its place without interfering with the planting 

 of other subjects afterwards. Certainly it would be better to 

 have the whole of it planted during April, as it will then have 

 a good start, and show itself earUer in the season. 



CtKERARiA MARiTiJiA. — Unfortunately it is not always that 

 good rooted cuttings of this Cineraria can be had early in the 

 season, otherwise there is no reason why they should not be at 

 once planted, but it would be better to wait until such cuttings 

 were well rooted before planting. We have for some years 

 put in cuttings a little before those of the Calceolaria in au- 

 tumn, and they have made tolerably good plants, but not early 

 ones, and it is not advisable to remove them until they are 

 well rooted. We have occasionally taken up old plants, and 

 by puUing them to pieces have sometimes met with nicely 

 rooted offsets ; but these, unfortunately, so persistently run to 

 flower and seed, that they rarely look well, and seedling plants, 

 though perfect paragons of health and compactness, are in- 

 variably of a bad dull green colour : so that after trying many 

 modes of growing this plant, we have found out that autumn or 

 early spring-struck cuttings are best, when allowed to root well 

 before planting. It must be confessed they are not so early 

 as could be desired, at the same time they are not so apt to run; 

 into flower as when made earlier, which is unfortunately too apt 

 to be the case with this otherwise useful plant. Its hardiness 

 is well established. 



Vehonicas of the New Zealand shrubby race, especially the 

 variegated, are popular plants, but are less hardy than the 

 plant last named ; the variegated one, however, will bear the 

 ordinary treatment of Calceolarias, and may be planted out at 



