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JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Febroary 24, 1876. 



and notes, and not a few expressing snrprise that they conld 

 not have such highly perfected blooms at home. One lady 

 especially was in trouble at the comparison she was insti- 

 tuting between her plants at home and the noble specimens 

 arranged by Mr. Newton. I took the liberty of speaking to 

 the lady, and to our conversation we soon had quite a little 

 crowd of listeners. I first inquired if she had a large con- 

 servatory ; to which she replied, " No, but I have a very nice 

 greenhouse with a stage in the centre, and as I am told that 

 these plants have been grown in the open garden all the 

 summer I cannot eee why I should not have plants equally 

 fine." "But," I inquired, "have you well examined these 

 plants? because, as plants, I think we cannot call them fine 

 at all. The blooms are splendid, but the plants are — trees." 

 " What ! are not these plants fine? Pray explain to me," ex- 

 claimed the astonished lady, which I did as nearly as possible 

 m the following words : — 



"It is neceEsary to notice, in the first place, that we are 

 on a platform much higher than the border in which the 

 pots are plunged, and yet, notwithstanding our elevation and 

 their depression, the flowers are higher than our heads; then 

 if we examine carefully we must see that the pots touch each 

 other, and that each plant is but a single stem surmounted 

 by three or four blooms. Now, if we take out a single plant 

 and place it on the walk we find it, as a plant, has no beauty, 

 and the few fine blooms are high over our heads. Sup- 

 pose, further, we elevate such a plant on your greenhouse 

 stage, how would it look ?" " Indeed," interrupted the lady, 

 " I did not think of it before, but such plants would not have 

 room in my house at all; but cannot we have those fine 

 blooms except on tall plants?" I explained that such fine 

 blooms cannot be had otherwise than by limiting their number 

 and growing the plants for a long period without stopping 

 them. Such plants evince skilful culture, but they have had 

 special care, and have teen provided for a special purpose. 



Now, it is very essential that that be kept in mind. The 

 lady, I take it, represented a hundred others who witness and 

 admire, but who cannot be expected to discriminate in a 

 practical manner and appreciate fully the different circum- 

 stances and objects connected with growing plants and flowers 

 for a special and public purpose on the one hand, and those 

 which must be produced for home effect and by home appli- 

 ances on the other. 



Something further may be also kept in mind. The plants 

 produced for public exhibition receive almost the undivided 

 care of an able cultivator. His other duties are subsidiary. 

 He has no hungry cook crying aloud for every delicacy in 

 season and out of season ; he has no Grapes which need hia 

 care, no Cucumbers to be smitten by disease or Melons with 

 red spider. He has no succeasional batches of ornamental 

 plants to provide for the conservatory, dinner table, and draw- 

 ing-room, which must be furnished at all seasons. He has no 

 dinner parties to supply with fruit and vegetables forced and 

 unforced, and a hundred other demands which divide his 

 thought, energies, and attention. 



I have often wondered that this matter, which affects so 

 intimately gardeners and their employers, has not had the 

 prominence given to it that the subject demands. Exhibitions 

 are visited, and special results of special effort are submitted 

 for admiration, but seldom are the real facts connected with 

 their production realised. By the accidental meeting with the 

 lady referred to I have no doubt I did a favour to some 

 gardener who was probably doing his best in the discharge of 

 his duties, but who would have had much difiiculty in explain- 

 ing why hia blooms of Chrysanthemums were not so fine as 

 those which his mistress would have described to him, and 

 produced by plants and under circumstances of which both 

 mistress and man were ignorant. But if I did a favour to the 

 gardener I conferred one also on the lady, who was very glad 

 to be informed on the matter, no doubt as preventing her 

 making a complaint on inadequate grounds. 



It may be said in honour of employers generally that they 

 are loth to complain without reason, and that most of them 

 are ready to listen to " extenuating circumstances " when such 

 have real weight. It is to instruct where I think instruction 

 is needed that I pen these remarks, for an object cannot be 

 correctly judged without a full knowledge and appreciation of 

 the ways and means of the producer, and, it may be, the multi- 

 farious nature of his duties. 



As this is the usual period for commencing preparations for 

 the autumn display, I will append a list of some of the finest 

 varieties that I noticed in London. They were King of Den- 



mark, White Beverley, Prince Alfred, Gloria Mundi, Empress 

 of India, George Glenny, Mrs. G. Bundle, Golden Beverley, 

 Prince of Wales, Pink Perfection, Garibaldi, White Globe, 

 Alfred Salter, Nil Desperandum, Jardin des Plantes (bronze, 

 and yellow), John Salter, Fingal, and White Venus. Those 

 were the finest blooms. I saw also highly attractive plants of 

 the following: — Princess of Teck, Dr. Sharpe, Mrs. Sharpe, 

 Aureum Multiflorum, Aimce Ferriere, Ariadne, Progne (sweet- 

 scented). Lady Talfourd, Prince Alfred, and Jnhe Lagraviere. 

 The best of the Pompons were Acme of Perfection, Miss Julia, 

 Golden Aurora, Antonius, Mr. Aste, Madame Martha, Marie 

 Stuart, Bob, Little Harry, Andromeda, Mr. Dix, and Dick 

 Turpin. In the Japanese section Elaine is the most useful. 

 Gloire de Toulouse, Garnet, Cry Kung, Red Dragon, and The 

 Cossack I also noted as amongst the best. 



This may be taken as a useful selection, and if strong 

 cuttings are selected now and not weakened by a high tempe- 

 rature, and if the plants are treated liberally, receiving no 

 checks by being pot-bound or insuificiently watered, a display 

 will be produced next November which will amply reward the 

 grower for his vigOance and attention. I will add further 

 notes on the summer culture of the plants in a future com 

 munioation. — A Countbt Gardener. 



PEAKS AND THEIR CULTURE.— No. 2. 



Old Pear trees are often a source of annoyance from the 

 barren state in which they continue year after year. Vigorous 

 shoots are often plentiful enough, and add to our vexation by 

 the clear evidence which they afford that it does not arise 

 from feebleness. Perhaps the worst aspect under which it 

 presents itself is in trees of choice kinds trained to walls. 

 Now wall space is most valuable, and yet it is no uncommon 

 sight to see huge old trees, each spreading its barren branches 

 over 300 or 400 square feet of it. What shall we do with 

 them ? It may help to render our answer more distinct if we 

 first of all inquire. What have we done to them ? An ardent 

 reformer was once showing me some old Pear trees with mag- 

 nificent spurs, such as it takes a lifetime to perfect, and de- 

 scribing how he intended " improving " them by cutting away 

 all the old spurs to make them neat, and to have the fruit 

 close to the stems ! I was not surprised to hear that the re- 

 former's services were dispensed with after another season. 

 Such instances of foolish mutilation are by no means un- 

 common. I for one must plead guilty to some blunders in that 

 direction. Spurs are formed solely to obtain fruit ; to remove 

 them is to set aside all chances of a crop till fresh spurs are 

 formed, and that crop will be pretty much in proportion to the 

 size of the spurs within certain limita. Let ua, therefore, 

 never hastily remove old spurs. If they are crowded thin 

 them, cut away or cleanse any diseased parts as may appear 

 best, manure the soU, and apply liberal surface-dressings to 

 induce a plentiful formation of roots in the upper part of the 

 BoU. Give this plan a fair trial, say about three years, and if 

 then fertility does not ensue, waste no more time over the 

 spurs but cut off the branches themselves to within 6 or 

 8 inches of the main stem, and graft some other sort upon 

 them — a graft to each branch. Such an attempt to renovate 

 old spurs is, of course, only desirable when the variety is of 

 known exceUence ; in all other instances graft at once. The 

 grafting may be done successfully and with excellent results, 

 even when the stems are in a state of partial decay. I once 

 so grafted a couple of very old trees with perfectly hollow 

 boles. The grafts grew with surprising vigour, forming as fine 

 a lot of fruitful branches as conld be wished. Subsequently 

 when the quaint old trees became laden with excellent fruit 

 they were regarded as great curiosities ; they certainly were 

 remarkable, as clearly demonstrating by what simple means a 

 recuperation of fertility may be promptly effected. 



Orchard trees, whether of a bush, pyramidal, or standard 

 form, are all amenable to this treatment. Whenever yon have 

 trees which are unfertile, or varieties which prove unsuitable 

 for your particular soil or climate, never destroy, but cut-back 

 and graft. In doing this it waa once customary to remove the 

 entire head of a faulty standard, cutting it back to within a 

 foot or two of the bole. Now we do better by a moderate 

 shortening of the branches, removing all the spray, leaving 

 lengths of G feet and upwards, so as to retain all the main 

 and many of the lateral branch stems, using a dozen or two 

 of grafts instead of only three or four, and thus saving all the 

 time which was formerly wasted in reforming the head of 

 each tree, the graft-growth being devoted solely to its legiti- 



