16C 



JOURNAL OF HOUTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ AngOBt as, 188D. 



hae, I ftm at a loss to know. And he goes on to eay that Mr. 

 Bivcrs has discovered an intorraediate stock for doable graft- 

 ing Pears npon, but *'On?rK\-ER" was not eurpri?ed to find 

 that it» name was withheld, because of the inpiratitiide of the 

 present generation in not properly acknowledging all his pa- 

 tron's doings and sayings. Now, I am going to be more 

 generous to " nngrateful public," as I do not cure whether he 

 is grateful or the reverse. I work for the love of the thing, 

 and shall giro the public all the assistance I can. I know he 

 cannot get on without such follows as I. And as I have also 

 discovered an intermediate stock of wonderful proportions, 

 strong as a giant and dwarf as Tom Thumb, I mean to give 

 the public the benefit of my discovery, and let him be grateful 

 or not as ho pleases. I do not think he will be able to help 

 himself when he gets somo of my nice luscious Pears I mean to 

 grow on our little dwarf friend for him — t.c , on the Nain vert, 

 whose action on the graft ia wonderful. Such giant-growing 

 kinds of Pear as Gilogilj Catillac, Triompho de Jodoigne, 

 Jargonelle, Uvedale's St. Germaiu, itc, are reduced to prolific 

 dwarf bushes, which bear wonderfully. And the seedlings of 

 tliis little tree come true, and can be grafted at once, cr may 

 be first worked upon the Quince, and then double grafced as 

 may seem best ; only it does not matter much as regards their 

 dwarfing nature whether they are double worked or not, but trees 

 worked first upon the Quince generally give better flavoured 

 fruit. This is especially the case in dry seasons, in wet ones 

 the difference of flavour is not so apparent. 



With respect to double grafting the Apple, I have for some 

 years worked Manks Codlin, Keswick Codlin, Downton Pippin, 

 and several other dwarf-growing, free-bearing kmds, and then 

 regrafted them with other large shy bearers ; the result has 

 generally been gond. But all this double work is set aside by 

 my Pommier de Paradis stock, which has tho merit of grow- 

 ing well, dwarfing tho trees worked upon it, rendering them 

 at the same time more prolific and better flavoured. No one 

 else seems to possess this fine stock, as all the examples 

 brought to a comparison with it have proved not to be anything 

 like it, nor so valuable in so many points of view. 



The last clause of "Obseuveu" is quite correct, and has 

 been a subject of investigation for a number of years by many 

 pomologists, A:c. ; and it is not looked upon as in any way 

 chimerical, but, on the contrary, as a well-known matter of 

 fact, that all fruits ore either improved or deteriorated by the 

 kind of stock they are worked upon — for instance, the Apricot, 

 which we generally work upon Plum stocks, is thereby improved 

 in size, flavour, and quality, whilst the same worked upon 

 stocks obtained by sowing Apricot stones is generally deterio- 

 rated in size, quality, and bearing. Tho same holds good 

 with many sorts of Peaches and Nectarines budded upon Al- 

 mond stocks, whilst, on the contrary, these are again improved 

 by being budded on the Plum. This U a fact that I myself 

 have proved over and over again many years ago, and to those 

 conversant with these matters it is well known that even the 

 very kernels of Apricots and Peaches are affected by the kind 

 of stock the trees have grown on. The subject, therefore, of 

 stocks is one that cannot be compassed by tlie intelligence of 

 any one individual, nor by any one generation of men. It ia 

 one of those mysterious chemical subjects, like the extraction 

 of many colours by one plant, say, Tropreolum tricolorum, out 

 of the same portion of earth, that' almost bids defiance to 

 man's ingenuity. It is, therefore, a work of generations to 

 solve this influence of the stock -upon the graft, and vice verso. 

 — John Scott, 



PAPERS READ AT THE HORTICULTURAL 



CONGRESS AT MANCHESTER. 



BEMARKS AND EXPERIMENTS ON THE APPLICATION 



OF WATEK TO THE ROOTS OF PLANTS 



growing under glass. 



Plants, like hnmnn beinps, breathe, digest, and perspire. These 

 important functions being principally performed by the leaves, it is a 

 certain and jnst eoii'-lnsion that whatever treatment promotes the 

 healthy and free action of these organs, does a proportionate amonnt 

 of good to tho plant. Cleanliness, a pare atmospliore, and a reqnlar 

 and flnitable temperature, with a proper amonnt of light, may be re- 

 garded as the leading conditions requisite for healthy vej;etatiou ; but 

 althongb perfection in plant-growth depends so much npon tho dne 

 performance of the funt-tions of the leaves, yet there is a prior con- 

 sideration — viz., the roots of tho plants. The roots of a plant may lie 

 described as being its foundation, because they are the organs soonest 

 developed, also the first substantial agents at work towards forming 



and bailding up a plant. A plant will not sustain life loof; without its 

 roots, but there are many instances where the roots will live without 

 branches or leaves for a greater length of time, and they hare the 

 power of throwing ont fresh ones. However, the more a person dives 

 into the vast subject of vegetable life, the more complicated and mar- 

 vellous does it appear, especially root action and root growth, the roots 

 penetrating tho earth in cverj- direction in search of food, and, when 

 coutJned within tho limits of a pr>t or other vessel, tightly cuvtloping 

 tho earth in their network as if jealous of the treasures etorcd-np in 

 the soil. 



Heat and water are as essential to the formation and growth of 

 roots as thoy are to wood and leaf dcvelupment ; they must both be 

 prefient in the atmosphere as well as in the soil, and it is on tho arti- 

 licial application of water to tho roots of plants that I purpose offering 

 a few remarks. I have contincd them to plants growing under glass, 

 because everything growing under it ia intlneaced by the proper appli- 

 cation of water. 



It has long since been a recognised fact, that plants search niter 

 and obtain food by the agency of tlieir roots, and that tho food so 

 obtained is taken up by these in a liquid state and conveyed to the 

 leaves for digestion ; and no plainer proof of this fact need bo stated 

 than that, when a plant becomes sulliciently dry at the roots to 

 flag, it soon recovers itself when water is applied to them. Bat with- 

 out discussing the various other modes by which plants obtain their 

 support, tho above facts are convincing that water not only affords 

 food to the plant of it,self, but has also the power of rendering the 

 chemical parts of a soil soluble and capable of being taken up by the 

 roots as required. It is, therefore, very necessary- for all those who 

 have charge of plants to use every means in their power towards gain- 

 ing a thorough knowledge of their wiuits in the way of water at the 

 roots, for it is as easy to give a plant too much water as to give not 

 enough, and either extreme is injurious to the plant and disappointing 

 to the cultivator. Let me impress upon beginners, for whom these 

 remarks are principally intended, that such knowledge is not to be 

 gained without considerable experience and close observation. It will, 

 however, not be very difficult to put my remarks into practice, for I 

 am not prepared to lay before you the results of a series of pnzzUng 

 and scientific experiments with water, but simply to lay down a few 

 rules and impart some information on watering. 



In order that water may bo applied to plants under glass in the 

 most beneficial way, it is absoluttly necessary to know what relatiou 

 the temperature of the soil bears to that of the atmosphere of the 

 lionse. I have tried it many times and have found that from a 16-sized 

 (V)-iuch) pot downwards the temperature of the soil is about the same as 

 that of the air, and subject to tho same variations, but above that size, 

 including the largest tubs and other vessels used for plants, the 

 average temperature in a day is a degree or two lower, but subject to 

 less variation. In large beds and borders from 2 to 4, feet in depth, 

 and with the surface exposed to tho atmosphere of the house, the tem- 

 perature on an average is several degrees lower, with but trifling va- 

 riation. From these facts it appears that the larger the bnlk of soil 

 the more uniform is the tcmpcrnturo. Such f.acts go far to prove whj 

 plants thrive so well when planted ont in borders. 



In coming to the nest subject — viz., the influence of water on the 

 temperature of the soil, I may remark, that during my four years' ex- 

 perience of it, I have tried all sorts of soils in which bouse plants are 

 usually grown, and I find that water has the effect of lowering as well 

 as of increasing the temperature of the soil; for instance, water at a 

 temperature of l>0- applied to a pot of soil having a temperature of 75", 

 reduces the heat to fyl° ; bnt reverse the experiment, and apply water 

 at 75° to soil at GO', and the teoiperaturo rises to ('■'<', or about one- 

 third of the difference between the two original temperatures. Accord- 

 ing to another experiment — applying water of tho same temperalnre 

 as that of the soil, the heat of the latter is increased two or three 

 degrees ; bnt if the water is -~ colder than the soil, it has no apparent 

 effect on the temperature. From these cxperimtnts we may conclude 

 that the nearer the temperature of tho water is to that of the soil, all 

 other conditions being favourable, the more progi-ess the plant makes ; 

 for although the variations of temperature caused by water arc bnt 

 of temporary duration when it is applied either too cold or too warm, 

 yet repeated applications of water in one or other of these conditions 

 often cause a permanent derangement of the functions of the plant, 

 which no after-treatment can thorooghly remedy. Three years ago I 

 selected a batch of two dozen even-sized Cinerarias, and placed them 

 under one etmcture; one half were watered with cold water at a 

 chance temperature, whilst the remainder always bad water of the 

 same temperature as that of the hon.-e : in three weeks anyone might 

 easily have picked out the former ; their foliage was of a lighter green, 

 thinner in texture, and not so largo as that of tho others ; their roots 

 wore more wiry, and less numerous ; and the plants were many days 

 later in coming into bloom. I have been in the habit of growing Vines 

 in pots from tlie eye to the ripening of the fruit in twelve months, and 

 when the above experiments were tried with them, the results were 

 similar, with in addition much shanking in the bunches of those Vines 

 which had cold water applied to them. The Vines which I exhibited 

 at tho lutomatioual Horticultural Exhibition in 18(>t>, were from a 

 nnniher of the best-treated ones. 



The foregoing facts with regard to the .npplication of water to plants, 

 will be sufficient to teach the gardener the importance of comparing 

 the temperature of the water be uses with that of the honsc he enters 



