THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 63 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Prunine Watt Trees.—Z. P. Parsons, Moreton-in-Marsh.—No. 1. The 
laterals of pear trees trained horizontally should be six inches apart, and if they are 
closer than this they should be thinned at the winter pruning. In removing surplus 
shoots, cut them away close to the horizontal branch, otherwise, in the course of 
the summer following, they will produce a number of young shoots. The remaining 
laterals that are not furnished with fruit spurs should be pruned back to the third 
bud.—2. There is some difficulty in giving advice on the pruning of the fruit spurs, 
as so much depends upon their size, and the position on the branch, They must not 
be ‘too large, and they should be kept as close as convenient to the branches. 
Therefore, if the fruit spurs are in large clusters, a portion of the cluster should 
be cut away, and the spurs farthest removed from the branches should be selected 
for remoyal.—3. If there is any deficiency of fruit-bearing spurs, a portion of the 
shoots of last year’s growth may be laid in their full length, and the best way to 
deal with them is to pull them down in a more or less perpendicular direction. In 
the course of the summer following, flower-buds will be produced throughout their 
whole length, and in the second season a grand crop of fruit will be the result.— 
4, Plums are usually produced on spurs, and these should be kept to within five 
or six inches of the wall, by removing at the winter pruning a portion of the 
aluster of spurs, where they project toa greater distance from the wall, The young 
shoots, if crowded, must be thinned, and those remaining, if not required for filling 
yacaut places, should be pruned back to the third or fourth bud.—d. The shoots, 
young and old, should he laid in about five inches apart. 
Rost Periz pe Jarpins.—TZhird Water, Silsdon.—The flowers of this rose 
vary from straw-colour to canary-yellow, and are of a comparatively large size and 
double. It has a vigorous habit. It is of much the same degree of hardiness as the 
majority of the tea-scented varieties, Perfection de Monplaisir has canary-yellow 
flowers, of medium size, and is of vigorous growth, and in every way desirable. The 
best of the white-tinted rose hybrid perpetuals is Madame Lacharme, a really first- 
class rose. We have no recollection of your previous commuuication. 
Forcinc Frencu Brans.—Amateur.—To force French beans successfully, a 
temperature of 70° by day and 65° by night is essential, for with less heat they do 
not make a satisfactory growth and bear good crops. A pit or house of any kind 
will do, as they are by no means particular as to the form of structure, provided they 
can have a light position, and the advantage of plenty of warmth combined with 
an abundance of atmospheric humidity. Pots eight inches in diameter are the 
most suitable in which to fruit the beans, andif there is plenty of room they may be 
sown in them. If space is not over-abundant, they should-be sown in five-inch pots, 
and be shifted when sufficiently advanced. As a rule, it will be found, for suc- 
cessional crops, to be more convenient to sow in pots of the smaller size. Five 
plants will be sufficient for each pot, but the safest course is to sow seven beans in 
each, and draw two of the plants out when they are a few inches in height. A 
compost of two parts loam and a part each of leafmould and old hotbed manure, is 
probably the best that could be prepared, for it must be light and rich. In pre- 
paring the large pots, place a handful of crocks in the bottom, cover with a layer 
of leaf-mould, and fill to within three inches of the rim with the prepared compost. 
Insert the beans in the soil at the rate of seven to each pot, and place near the glass, 
for if too far removed they will become tall and leggy. After the first pair of rough 
leayes is developed, fill the pot to nearly level with the rim, and in doing this, be 
careful not to damage the tender stems. Ifthey are sown in small pots, they will 
require shifting into others of larger size when two pairs of the rough leaves are 
developed. ‘They should be potted rather low, so that a small quantity of the fresh 
compost may be placed about the stems, to strengthen them. When in full growth, 
they should be watered liberally and be syringed overhead twice daily. This 
ent syringing is necessary to prevent the red spider becoming established on the 
oliage. 
February. 
