March II, 1875.] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



193 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day I Day 



ol I of 

 Month Week. 



MARCH 11—17, 1875. 



11 

 I'i 



13 

 14 

 15 

 16 

 17 



Th 



F 



S 



Sun 



M 



To 



W 



Royal Society at 8.80 p.m. 

 Literary ami Artistic Society at 7 P.M. 

 Royal Botanic at liAii. 

 5 Sunday in Lent. Passion Sunday. 

 Entomological Society at 7 p.-ai. 

 Manchester Botanical and Horticultural Society, 

 lioyal Horticultural Society, Fruit and Floral Com- 

 [ mittees at 11 a.m. 



Sun 



Sets. 



Moon 

 Rises. 



Moon 

 Sets. 



m. h. I m. h m. h. 

 55 at 5 43af 7 20 11 



4 



33 8 

 11 9 



8 10 

 19 11 

 after. 



morn. 

 51 

 16 2 

 26 3 

 21 4 

 58 4 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Clock 

 before 

 Sun. 



Days, 



4 



8 

 9 

 10 



10 10 

 9 64 

 9 88 



Day 



of 



Year. 



70 

 71 

 72 

 7S 

 74 

 76 

 7C 



From obserrations takes near London during forty-three yeai-s, the average day temperature of the week is 50.G'; and its night temperature 



GUMMING; ITS CAUSE AND PREVENTION. 



>'S)^' OULD that I dare write cure instead of 

 prevention. I am obliged to acknowledge, 

 however, at the outset that when a tree 

 which is grown out of doors has once got 

 a habit of gumming, I know of no perma- 

 nent cure for it. This disease {'.'} often 

 commences at a very early stage of the 

 tree's existence, and it is worse than use- 

 less at any time to plant a young tree 

 with the least tendency to gum. In the 

 case of trees which are come to the fruiting stage it is 

 different ; they may be planted temporarily to produce 

 fruit for a season or two while young healthy trees are 

 being prepared to supply their places. 



What is the cause of gumming ? The best general 

 answer I can give is — severe checks to the sap and sap 

 vessels. These checks are brought about in many ways, 

 such as by extremes of temperature, the evils of which 

 are multiplied when the trees come in contact with metal 

 or other quick-conducting substances ; by cutting back 

 gross growth, which has been produced by an excess of 

 manure ; by wounds from nails, shreds, ties, sharp bends, 

 and sometimes even a touch with the hammer ; by prun- 

 ing after growth has commenced — i.e., any time after 

 Christmas; by disbudding before the bark has set. When 

 the growths are 1 or 2 inches in length it will be found 

 that it is then diflicult to remove one of these growths 

 without taking a portion of the bark with it ; it is even 

 impossible for the most skilful manipulator at such a 

 time to disbud a fair-sized tree without having one or two 

 mishaps in this way. At a very little later period the bud 

 will part from the bark very easily indeed without any 

 damage. Gumming may also be caused by insects, and 

 by a very low temperature checking the first growths in 

 spring, so that the leaf action is not sufficient for the 

 roots. AU trees on the Plum stock commence action 

 first at the root, and at a certain stage they require corre- 

 sponding leaf action ; if this is not forthcoming something 

 must go wrong. May not gumming be also caused by 

 leaving too many flowers to set and too many fruit to 

 stone ? Remember, if Peach trees were grown in their 

 natural bush form there would not in proportion be a 

 quarter of the fruiting wood on them there is on our 

 trained trees. As far as I am able to form an idea they 

 would be of similar habit to the Kentish or Morello Cherry 

 unpruned and untrained, with the bearing shoots at the 

 extremities of the branches only. Finally, may not syring- 

 ing with cold water on a hot summer's day have some- 

 thing to do with gumming ? Think of the temperature of 

 a south wall on such a day, perhaps it is VH)'. If water 

 were used of the same temperature as the wall it would 

 cool it considerably by evaporation. What must be the 

 effect when the water is only Go" or 70'-"? 



Having pointed out some of the ways by which the sap 

 and sap vessels receive severe checks and thereby produce 

 gumming, I wUl now attempt to explain how these checks 

 may often be prevented. 



No. 728.-V0L. XXVIII., New Seeles. 



1. As TO Extremes of Temperature. — Now I do not 

 believe the Peach tree, even at midwinter when trained 

 to a wall, is capable of bearing with impunity '25° or 30' 

 of frost followed by bright sunshine while the branches 

 are stiU covered with ice. If, then, they have to endure 

 such a severe frost, some means ought to be found to 

 screen them from the sun for a time should it make 

 its appearance while they are stiU frozen. As a rule, 

 plants standing in an open exposed situation, espe- 

 cially if it is elevated, do not suffer so much from very 

 severe frosts as those do which are in what is called a 

 sheltered position, and of course the sun has more effect 

 on the plants so sheltered, so that the extremes are 

 greater. Tender trees, such as Peaches, where they are 

 hable to great fluctuations of temperature, ought certainly 

 not to come in contact with metal or other rapid con- 

 ductors. Indoors, where the plants are never frozen, a 

 wire trellis is the best ; galvanised wire I prefer, but, ae 

 pointed out by Mr. Abbey, it ought to have an even sur- 

 face, or galvanism may get the credit for injury done by 

 a very simple mechanical means. 



2. CuTTING-BACfi GrOSS GrOWTH PRODUCED BY AN 



Excess of Manure. — A soil should be used that is suffi- 

 ciently rich of itself to produce moderate growth without 

 adding any large quantity of manure. Gross growth is 

 not required, it never ripens and it never produces fruit ; 

 if you cut it back you wUl either have gumming or shoots 

 of unequal dimensions produced from it, and perhaps 

 both. My advice is, rather have the soil too poor than 

 too rich ; have it mechanically right, and supply a stimu- 

 lant if required in the shape of washings from the manure 

 heap any time in winter or spring, but not later than 

 spring ; also have the border thoroughly drained and 

 rather elevated with a view to the ripening of the roots. 



3. L.\TE Pruning. — I am sorry to see this practice is 

 still recommended, but happily not in " our Journal." 

 The roots of Plum stocks commence growing soon after 

 Christmas, sometimes before ; a perceptible swelling of 

 the buds very soon follows ; to use the knife then is most 

 cruel — barbarous. If my trees were left so long unpruned 

 I should then certainly leave them till July, keeping the 

 young growths pinched back where they are not wanted, 

 and finally cutting the surplus shoots entirely away when 

 the trees are in full growth. This is what I actually do 

 in the case of late-planted trees — i.e., trees planted after 

 November. All pruning of established trees should be 

 finished as soon as possible after the fruit is gathered. 

 With well-managed trees there is not much to do even 

 then ; it is only the bearing shoots of the current year to 

 be cut out. Some people say late pruning of Peach trees 

 causes late flowering. It is perfectly untrue. 



4. Disbudding too Early. — Disbudding ought to be 

 done very carefully and not too severely. It is better 

 to pinch-back the points of some of the growths at first 

 rather than disbuil too much at once, and allow the 

 principal shoots to get into a good healthy growth so 

 as to be able to utilise the extra sap when the final dis- 

 budding takes place. 



5. Insects .^nd Low Temperature checking the First 



No. 1880 —Vol.. LIII., Old Seeies. 



