FRUIT UARDEN. 223 



practise, however, never became general ; probably 

 from discovering that the intended effect was not al- 

 ways produced, and that, in other respects, the tree 

 was injured by tiie process. Still, as some of our 

 readers may wish to make the experiment for them- 

 selves, we subjoin the following directions : " Cut out 

 with a knife a ring of the o,i;or and inner bark. If 

 the tree be large, the excision should be made in 

 the branches ; but if small, in the stock. In apple 

 or other trees bearing kernel fruit, the wound should 

 not be larger than will fill up in two, or, at most, three 

 years ; and in peach or other stone-bearing fruit, in 

 one year."* The time for doing this is early in the 

 spring, and before the sap begins to circulate, as the 

 rationale of the practice takes for granted that, ' by 

 preventing the descent of this below the ring, you 

 accumulate a force above it, which shows itself in 

 the production of fruit buds." 



Another means of effecting this object is men- 

 tioned by Williams (the discoverer of it), and con- 

 sists altogether in leaving the plant to throw out 

 lateral shoots, with little, if any restraint. By pur- 

 suing this method, " the leaves soon take that pecu- 

 liar conformation which is necessary to the produc- 

 tion of blossom bads ; and seedling apples give fruit 

 in four, five, and six years, instead of eight, ten, and 

 even fifteen, as is the case by the usual method of 

 planting close and pruning to naked stems. "f 



2. Of propagation by Cuttings. Every variety of 

 the apple-tree may be propagated by this method, 

 and will give the finest fruit in the smallest com- 

 pass for many years. |^ But it does not follow that 



by the London Horticultural Society as late as 1817! (See a 

 paper from Dr. Nohden in the Transactions of that year.) And, 

 what is hardly less extraordinary, Hemphill, a German clergy- 

 man, claims the discovery as his own in 1815 ! 



* Hort. Trans., vol. i., p. 108. See a paper on Ringing, by 

 Williams. 



t Idem., p. 333. J London's Encyclopaedia. 



So lar as our experiments indicate Loudon is wrong. Cut- 



