OF DWARF FRUIT TREE dULf URE. Jtf 



give no manure, and the same in winter and spring, the plants then 

 being at rest; the best manure is finely powdered oil cake OP bone 

 meal. To a jardinier one foot in diameter we give three or four large 

 teaspoonsful, not heaped, of this dry manure, spread evenly round the 

 edge of the jardinier a larger or smaller jardinier will require more 

 or less for a small jardinier, say three by six inches, half a teaspoon- 

 ful will be ample each time. 



Repotting This is done by us once in two or three years, as fol- 

 lows : Lift the plant out of the jardinier and with a sharp pointed 

 stick remove about one-third of the old soil around the edge and bot- 

 tom, cutting away a portion of the old fine roots, but none of the 

 strong roots, then replace the plant in the same jardinier, first look- 

 ing to the drainage. For a small shallow jardinier we use a flat piece 

 of stone or a flat crock over each hole ; over this we spread some rich, 

 fresh soil to within half an inch of the rims ; this holds the water and 

 prevents the manure being washed over the sides of the jardinier; 

 also the soil should be made sufficiently tight around the edges of the 

 jardinier to prevent the escape of the water, it being of the first im- 

 portance that all the ball of soil around the plant be moistened at 

 each watering. Should the watering of the plant at any time be 

 neglected and the soil become quite dry, put the jardinier in a tub 

 of water for 10 or 15 minutes NOT LONGER and if the injury is 

 not too serious, the plant will recover. In the case of large plant* 

 we use hollow crocks for drainage, the same as used by growers of 

 specimen plants. After several repottings the plant having increased 

 in size, shift into a larger pot, but as dwarfness is the thing aimed at 

 the smaller the shift the better. Repotting should be done in Febru- 

 ary or March, just before spring growth commences. 



Pruning To maintain dwarfness in trees, pinch back the young 

 growth ; this we usually do from April to the middle of June, and 

 always with the finger and thumb. Flowering peach and flowering 

 cherry, etc., we pinch back to non-flowering shoots either before or 

 after blooming ; in July and August we pinch back all young growth, 

 leaving only four or five leaves on each shoot. Maple and other de- 

 ciduous trees are pinched back in the same manner, leaving two to 

 four leaves, as may be necessary to maintain the proper shape of tht 

 plants. Should a second growth be made the same rule is followed 

 of pinching out the points. 



It will be noticed here the great similarity between the European 

 and the Japanese practice of dwarfing trees, and yet it must b e- 



