MANURING GARDEN TREES. 257 



apply is ground lime, and this should be forked in every 

 third winter at the rate of 402. per square' yard. 



Marl contains a good deal of lime, and a top-dressing 

 of it, where it can be obtained, will prove beneficial to 

 fruit trees generally. 



General Hints. The mistake is too often made of 

 applying fertilisers and manures around the base of the 

 trunk only. Manure so applied rarely benefits the tree, 

 unless it be a cordon, with compact root action. The 

 fine fibrous roots, which alone collect and assimilate the 

 food, are usually situate at a distance from the trunk 

 equal to the circumference of the branches or beyond. An 

 old standard tree, indeed, may have its feeding roots some 

 1 5ft. or 2oft. we have found them 3oft. away, in fact; 

 so that, if the tree is to derive any advantage from addi- 

 tional food, it must be applied where the feeding roots 

 really are. So, in applying manures or fertilisers, the 

 application should commence some 6ft. or 8ft. from the 

 trunk, and extend to loft, at least from the outer fringe 

 of the branches of a standard tree. In the case of a bush 

 or a pyramid, commence at ift. to 3ft., according to the 

 size and age, and apply the manure to a distance beyond, 

 equal to the height of the tree. For cordons apply from 

 the base to 3ft. or 4ft. beyond ; and for large wall trees 

 generally from 3ft. to 8, 10, or isft., according to size 

 and age. Grape vines have a habit of extending their 

 roots many, many yards, often under paths into the 

 garden beyond, and it is extremely difficult to decide where 

 their fibrous feeding roots really are. Raspberries, Goose- 

 berries, Currants, and Strawberries are compact-rooting, 

 and hence there is no difficulty in feeding 'such crops. 



Special Manures for Various Fruits. Mr. W. Dyke, 

 in his excellent little manual on " Manures for Farm and 

 Garden Crops," recommends the following formulae: 



Apples and Pears. For trees the second year after 

 planting that do not grow freely, fork in a barrow-load 

 of dtcayed manure to every six trees in autumn, and in 



