452 THE PAEKS AND GAEDENS OF EAEIS. [Chap. XXV. 



to enable the operator to secure an effective tie. The plant is a 

 common Water- weed about three feet high, growing everywhere 

 in Britain along the margins of ponds, streams, and ditches. It 

 is therefore a very cheap material, and may be cut and stored in 

 any quantity for budding and grafting purposes. It is in exten- 

 sive use in some of the largest and best nurseries in France. The 

 stems of the common Eeed-mace (Typha latifolia) are used for 

 like purposes, but not so extensively. By means of these, many 

 French grafters have been enabled to do away with all expense 

 for woollen and cotton thread. The Sparganium is gathered in 

 summer when fully grown ; the leaves, which are united at the 

 base, are separated, and then hung up in bundles to dry in a shed 

 or barn. "When required for use they are cut to the necessary 

 length, from fourteen to twenty inches, steeped in water for a few 

 hours, and then slightly dried by pressure or wringing. In large 

 field-nurseries, where there is no water, bundles of the Bur-reed 

 are kept moist and flexible by being buried in the earth, and they 

 may also be kept so by placing them in a cellar. It must not be 

 used very wet, and if too dry it is more liable to crack. It is found 

 to bend best when applied edgeways to the body which it is to 

 envelope, and slightly twisted. For all kinds of budding and 

 grafting, except large cleft-grafting and the like, it is as good a 

 material as can be found. 



Pkotection for Wall and Espalier Trees. — Having several 

 times spoken of the deep temporary copings the careful French 

 cultivator uses for his fruit-wall, I here give a rough figure show- 

 ing a section of the tile-coped wall, and projecting from beneath 

 it the supports for the temporary protection. The French take a 

 good deal of trouble with temporary copings, and find them of the 

 greatest value in getting regular crops ; for the frosts are severe 

 in the northern parts and all around Paris, and, in fact, over 

 nearly all the region north of the river Loire — the most important 

 fruit-growing districts of France. The best appliance of this 

 kind consists of narrow lengths of bitumenised felt nailed on light 

 frames from six feet to eight feet long, and about eighteen inches 

 wide. The use of these on walls devoted to the culture of choice 

 Pears, Peaches, etc., results in a marked improvement. The 

 temporary coping has a great advantage in being removable, so 

 that the trees may get the full benefit of the summer-rains when 



