152 



Hints for Horticulturists and Lumbermen. 



Vol. XII. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet, 



Hints for IIorticultuAsts and Lumber- 

 men. 



Mr. Editor, — I take the following' ex- 

 tract from Dr. Liebig's great work on Agri- 

 cultural Chemistry. It may be found in^be 

 chapter headed "The Art of Culture." 



" A new and peculiar process of vegeta- 

 tion ensues in all perennial plants, such as 

 shrubs, fruit and forest trees, after the com- 

 plete maturity of their fruit. The stem of 

 annua! plants at this period of their growth 

 becomes woody, and their leaves change in 

 colour. The leaves of the trees and shrubs 

 on the contrary, remain in activity until the 

 commencement of the winter. The forma- 

 tion of the layers of wood progresses, the 

 wood becomes harder and more solid ; but 

 after August the leaves form no more wood; 

 all the carbonic acid which the plants now 

 absorb is employed for the production of nu- 

 tritive matter for the following year; instead 

 of woody fibre, starch is formed, and is dif- 

 fused through every part of the plant by the 

 autumnal sap. According to the observa- 

 tions of M. Heyer, the starch thus deposited 

 in the body of the tree, can be recognized in 

 its known form by the aid of a good micro- 

 scope. The barks of several aspen and pine 

 trees* contain so much of this substance, 

 that it can be extracted from them as from 

 potatoes, by trituration with water. It ex- 

 ists also in the roots and other parts of pe- 

 rennial plants. A very early winter, or sud- 

 den change of temperature, prevents the 

 formation of this provision for the following 

 year; the wood, as in the case of the vine 

 stock, does not ripen, and its growth is in 

 the next year very limited. From the starch 

 thus accumulated, sugar and gum are pro- 

 duced in the succeeding spring, while from 

 the gum those constituents of the leaves and 

 young sprouts which contain no nitrogen, 

 are in their turn formed. After potatoes 

 have germinated, the quantity of starch in 

 them is found diminished. The juice of the 

 maple tree ceases to be sweet from the loss 

 of its sugar, when its buds, blossoms and 

 leaves attain their maturity. The branch 

 of a willow which contains a large quantity 

 of granules of starch in every part of its 

 woody substance, puts forth both roots and 

 leaves in pure distilled rain water, but in 

 proportion as it grows, the starch disappears; 

 it being evidently exhausted for the formation 

 of the roots and leaves." 



Here we have some very useful facts; in- 

 deed, the full extent of their usefulness 



* It is well known that bread is made from tlie bark 

 of pines in Sweden during famines. 



hardly appears at first sight — it requires re- 

 flection in order to get acquainted with it. 

 I shall treat upon it in connection with a va- 

 riety of operations, each of which is highly 

 important. 



First, in connection with transplanting' 

 trees and shrubs. When these are trans- 

 planted, many of the roots are absent, and 

 the plant deprived to the same extent of the 

 means of external support. If this be done 

 in the summer, when the plant has but little 

 or no starch, and therefore no internal means 

 of support, the plant suffers by the operation, 

 and without great care seldom survives. But 

 if the transplanting takes place in the win- 

 ter, or at anytime after the starch is deposi- 

 ted in its cells, and before the tree or shrub 

 blooms in the spring, the plant doe^ not so 

 much suffer by the operation. It has within 

 itself, by the aid of its starch, the means of 

 subsistence and the first stages of growth, 

 and therefore the roots may more readily be 

 dispensed with. By the aid of its starch it 

 puts out roots and leaves, and by the time 

 the starch is all gone, it may depend upon 

 those roots and leaves for its future subsist- 

 ence. This is the reason why nurserymen 

 advise the transplanting of trees and shrubs 

 in the fall, winter and spring, — after Au- 

 gust, and before the plants bud in the spring. 



Owing to the carelessness often displayed 

 in transplanting, the earth is not placed 

 close to, or in contact with the roots of the 

 plant, and the consequence sometimes is, 

 that when the plant puts forth its small 

 roots, they do not meet with the earth that 

 should surround them, and therefore wither 

 and die. This is one reason why it is bet- 

 ter to transplant trees and shrubs in the fall 

 instead of the spring, because during the 

 winter and before the time of budding in the 

 spring, the rains may settle the earth around 

 the roots well, and the efforts of the plant 

 when it puts forth its tender roots, are avail- 

 ing; and if all the other circumstances are 

 equal, the chances for a successful operation 

 of transplanting are good. 



We come next to consider our text in 

 connection with grafting. When a graft is 

 well supplied with starch, as it is in a 

 healthy tree, after, say November, and be- 

 fore April, it has the means within itself of 

 growth, provided it has moisture. The 

 graft should be so placed in the stock as to 

 secure this end, if almost absolute certainty 

 is aimed at. Remember the proper time to 

 take gratis from the parent stock is after 

 November and before April, for reasons 

 stated above. 



The same remarks with little variation, 

 may apply to slips, cuttings, &c. 



So much for the Horticulturist merely, — 



