June 12, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETIGULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



46S 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day Day 



ol I ol 



Month I Week. 



12 

 13 

 14 

 15 

 16 

 17 

 18 



Th 



F 



S 



Sdn 

 M 

 Tn 

 W 



JUNE 12—18, 1873. 



Average Tempera- 1 Kain in 

 tore near Loudon. 43 years. 



Snn 

 Kisea. 



Snn 

 Sets. 



Moon 

 Ki&eB. 



Royal Botanic Society's Show close.s. 



1 Sunday after Trinitv, 



MeetinK of Zoolopical Society, 8.30 P.M. 

 Royal Horticultural Society's Fruit, Floral, 

 rnud General Meeting. 



,36 10 



20 11 



60 11 

 Morn. 



13 



SO 



46 



Moon 

 Sets. 



84 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Clock 

 after 

 Sun. 



Tny 



of 



. Year. 



2 10 

 27 11 

 after 



Days. 

 17 

 18 

 19 

 20 

 21 



c 



28 



m. 8. 



28 



16 



4 



heforo 



22 



35 



48 



163 

 1B4 

 105 

 166 

 167 

 168 

 ICil 



From observations taken near London durinR forty.threo years, the averaKo day temperature of the -week is 72.S" ; and its night tempernture 

 47.9'. The greatest heat was 90^. on the 12th and 13th, 1842 ; and the lowest cold 30-^ on ths 15th, 1850. The greatest faU of rain was 1.4S mch. 



APPLE TREES AS DWARF BUSHES. 



VERY large proportion of the readers of 

 The .Jouunal of Horticulture are also the 

 owners of small gardens, and to such a few 

 practical details of the culture of the Apple 

 tree as a dwarf hush may be useful. The 

 instructions may seem tedious to those who 

 know " all about it," but to those but little 

 acquainted with the culture of fruit trees 

 this does not seem so clear. A friend of my 

 own, a retired tradesman, who does all the 

 light work in his garden, has under my direction taken to 

 the summer management of his Vines and fruit trees. 

 On one occasion after I had clearly explained the pinch- 

 ing and training of the Vines, and shown him how easy 

 it was, he said, " Yes, it seems easy to you, but to me it is 

 very ditficult." So in our writings, if we wrote only for 

 trained gardeners we might take a good deal for granted ; 

 but in writing for the uninitiated even minute details are 

 important. 



A well-trained hne of dwarf bushes worked on the 

 Paradise stock is a very pretty sight in any garden, and 

 they offer the following advantages: — The trees are 

 easily managed, being always under the control of the 

 cultivator; the dangerous practice of using long ladders 

 or climbing amongst the branches is unnecessary ; a great 

 variety of fruit can be obtained from a small space of 

 ground ; and the trees worked on this stock, and trained 

 as advised, will come into bearing much sooner than 

 they would worked on the Crab stock, and planted as 

 standards. A little of my own experience may be useful 

 here. "Wlieu I entered my present situation the kitchen 

 garden was encumbered with old Apple and Pear trees in 

 every stage of decay and canker. Planting young trees 

 amongst them had been tried, but after a few years canker 

 invariably attacked them. Although the trees were un- 

 sightly objects, and overhung the ground so much that 

 vegetables did not succeed, they bore tolerable crops of 

 fruit, and though it was of inferior quality, there was no 

 other source of supply ; so we could not destroy all the 

 trees at once, but borders were formed 9 feet wide on 

 each side of the main walks — this space was cleared of 

 all the old trees growing on it. The next operation was 

 to trench the ground 2 feet deep, also as the soil was 

 poor, some decayed manure was added, and a good 

 baiTowload of turfy clayey loam to each 3-feet trench. 

 The trees were planted about 6 feet 6 inches from the 

 Box-edging, and G feet apart ; the remaining part of 

 the border being planted with Gooseben-y and Red Cur- 

 rant bushes, and that part nearest the Box-edging was 

 made available for Strawberries, Lettuces, and other 

 small crops. Though all the young Apple trees that 

 were planted previous to this were subject to canker, 

 none of those planted iu the trenches and prepared 

 borders have been affected in the least. I may add 

 that they were all removed a second time, the borders 

 being trenched over, and the trees being replanted with 

 plenty of maiden loam round the roots. When the 

 No. 637.— Vol. XXTV. New Series. 



young trees came into bearing, all the old ones wero 

 removed. 



Borders planted as I have described either with dwarf 

 bush or pyramid-trained trees look very well in a kitchen 

 garden, and where the garden is moderately large, and 

 two walks run parallel to each other throughout the length 

 of the garden, the space within the walks and borders 

 may be laid-out in squares for the usual kitchen-garden 

 crops. Of course, if the owner of a garden determines to 

 plant dwarf trees, many other positions may be assigned 

 them according to the taste of the owner, size and form 

 of the garden, &c. But to all intending planters I would 

 say. Prepare the ground well, especially if it has been 

 long used as a garden ; do not attempt to plant unless 

 the ground has been trenched, and if the soil is light, some 

 clayey loam should be added to it. If the soil is very 

 poor, some decayed manure may be worked in. When 

 the trees are planted, a hole sufficiently large to allow 

 the roots to be spread out to their full extent should be 

 dug, and if possible some rotted turfy loam should bo 

 placed under and over the roots. 



Besides preparing the ground well, it is also very im- 

 portant to obtain trees on the proper stock. If the old 

 Crab or wild Apple stock is used, the trees would have 

 a greater tendency to produce young wood than to form 

 fruit or blossom-buds, and they would not come into 

 bearing so early. The French Paradise stock is the best 

 of all for dwarfing the trees and inducing fruitfulness ; 

 but there are, doubtless, many forms of Paradise stocks, 

 as they have been obtained in many ways. When the 

 old trees were rooted out of the garden here I found one 

 with a host of suckers clustering round the bole ; all these 

 were pulled out with portions of roots attached, and 

 planted. All of them had a tendency to send the roots 

 out near the surface, which is one of the most valuable 

 characteristics of stocks for small gardens. They were 

 worked with different sorts of Apples, and came into 

 bearing very early after being worked. 



To those intending to purchase trees, it will be neces- 

 sary to apply to some nurseryman who understands the 

 nature of stocks, and also the ground to be planted. 

 Trees are, no doubt, to be obtained at a cheap rate from 

 vendors who know very little about the article they are 

 selling, but it is a waste of time, labour, and money to 

 purchase ti-ees wrongly named and not worked on the 

 right stock. Two-year-old trees are the best, and if 

 possible they should be selected in the nursery in the 

 autumn, .and removed as soon as ready. The ground 

 should have been prepared some time previously, and 

 be ready for the trees when they come to hand. If the 

 proper stock has been used for grafting upon, the young 

 trees will be more or less furnished with blossom-buds, 

 and many of them will bear an apple or two the first 

 season after bemg planted. It is as well to allow them 

 to remain to prove the sorts. Trees grafted on the 

 French Paradise stock are worked close to the surface 

 of the ground, and in planting them the soil should just 

 come in contact with the lower part of the union, and 

 ; a dressing of rotted stable manure round each tree will 



No 12S9.- Vol. XLIX., Old Series, 



