1843.] 
THE GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE. 
677 
heat in the forcing season, the buds burst from their bonds 
with all the strength of giants refreshed. In this way Mr. 
Roberts gives his plants no more to do than they are 
quite capable of performing ; and thus he gets regular 
crops of large bunches from the top to the bottom of the 
Vine, and not two or three large bunches at the top of the 
plant, with a few spindlers, or none at all at the bottom, 
Ten days back, I took two young Vines, of equal 
strength, and growing side by side, and having pruned 
them to the length intended for fruiting next season, I 
divested one of half its buds, and this morning the buds 
on the plant so treated are at least three times the size of 
those on the plant not disbudded, and so satisfied 2m I 
with the result, that I intend to disbud the whole of my 
Vines without delay. The only thing to fear 1s the 
bursting of the buds prematurely ; but if a lateral or two 
are left on the most vertical part of the Vine, this cause,| 
of fear is removed. 
Now, as the Vines in the greenhouses of a great num- 
ber of Amateurs are generally in a very unfruitful state, 
I introduce this system of management to their notice 
with the hope that it may be of use to them, and introduce 
a little order and regularity where hitherto all has been 
confusion. In the management of out-door Vines it is 
also equally applicable ; in truth, in the management of all 
Vines whatever, because it is a system of nursing the 
strength of the plant, and therefore must be good. 
will, however, let Mr. Roberts speak for himself as to the 
method of performing the operation :—‘* You may pro- 
ceed to disbud, beginning at the bottom of the Vine, 
leaving a bud you think well placed on the side of the 
shoot, (preferring that to either the top or underside, ) 
then cut clean out the two following, leaving the fourth, 
taking out the next two, and so on till you reach eight or 
nine feet in height, as to that length the cane minst be cut 
back ; proceed again at the bottom, disbudding the other 
side in the same manner, so that in that length you will 
be able to leave eight or ten permanent eyes to form fruit 
bearing spurs for the following year, or five on each side. 
T particularly caution against injuring the leaves when the 
bud is cut out, as they may not naturally drop for weeks 
after, and may yet be useful in more perfectly maturing 
the stem and remaining buds. Ina few days the wounds 
or cuts will have dried up, touch them with a little paint, 
keep them cool and dry until the leaves have commenced 
dropping generally.’’ This system of disbudding may 
seem severe, and though the Amateur can use his own 
discretion as to the number of buds taken out, it must be 
Lt d it is ded by a gardener of sound 
practical attainments, and is therefore not a theoretical 
speculation. Those who are interested in Vine culture 
would do well to peruse Mr. Roberts’s publication — I”. 
P. Ayres, Brooklands. 
HOME CORRESPONDENCE. 
Encouragement to Planters.—In the Chronicle of last 
week is an article of some length under this heading; and 
so far as its tendency is to encourage planting, I should 
say everything in its favour ; but it holds out very con- 
spicuously also encouragement to pruning, which cannot, 
in my opinion, be too strongly deprecated. Having 
formerly written so many articles against pruning, I need 
not take Mr. Humphreys’ paper in detail, but merely call 
on all proprietors and managers of young woods and 
plantations to consider well what they are about before 
they adopt the practice either of Dr. Thackeray or that 
recommended by the ‘‘highly-respectable Scotch gentle- 
man residing near Cupar, in Angus.’’  Judicious thinning 
is absolutely necessary ; but systematic pruning is unques- 
tionably injurious; and however thriving eppearances 
may be presented by some plantations that have been 
pruned, yet I maintain that they would have been better 
without it, and that their thriving appearance isin spite of 
the pruning, and not the effect of it. I am therefore 
anxious that it should be published to all the planting 
world that pruning is rather a discouragement, inasmuch as 
it retards rather than accelerates the growth of trees. Itis 
much to be lamented that woods and plantations generally 
are not better managed than they are ; and in as far as the 
effo-ts of Mr. Humphreys tend to correct that evil, I cor- 
dially bid him God speed: for one cannot walk or ridein 
any direction, but for a very short distance, without 
having taste and feelings shocked by crowded or mangled 
plantations.— Quercus. [We quite agree. ] 
Destruction of Small Birds.—‘‘Este,”” referring to an 
article in Gardeners’ Chronicle two or three weeks back, 
on the Destruction of Small Birds, begs to say that he 
never allows a bird to be killed. He never has the 
Caterpillar. In a neighbouring patish, where a Small 
ird Club exists, they are yearly overrun with vermin. 
Fruit without Leaves.—In addition to the statements 
already made, respecting the maturation of fruit upon 
shoots devoid of leaves, I can give you another instance. 
There is here three healthy good-sized Peaches growing 
upon a shoot which has not an atom of leaf upon it, 
from the point to three inches below the lowest fruit. The 
end of the shoot has died back nearly tothe first fruit. I 
would scarcely have believed this upon the testimony of 
another; for I had imbibed the idea that it was essential 
to the well-being of the fruit, both in swelling and ripening, 
to have a few leaves upon the end of the shoot, for the 
purpose of attracting the sap. This is one thing I have 
had to unlearn. Gardeners have many things to unlearn 
before they have a perfect knowledge of their business. — 
. H., Cantley, near Doncaster. [This matter seems to 
H 
be misunderstood. The necessity of a leaf above a fruit 
before swelling off seems clear; but after it has once 
egun to swell, the leaves above it may, no doubt, be 
dispensed with, for reasons which we cannot now find 
room for. Would ‘R. H.'s’? Peaches have stoned if 
they had had no leaves beyond them ?] 
Interment of Bees.—A correspondent who signed him- 
self Yeoman’? favoured your readers with a simple and 
easy method of preserving Bees during the winter, namely, 
burying them in leaves several feet deep. T made the trial 
with one hive of Bees in the winter of 1841-42, but from 
some cause or other the experiment was unsatisfactory, as 
the Bees were all dead when I took them out in March, 
1842. “Yeoman’s” communications were published in 
the autumn of 1841, and he mentioned that he found his 
plan very successful. It appears to me that it will be 
difficult to procure a sufficient quantity of leaves dry 
enough to cover three or four hives; at any rate, they 
would not be sufficiently free from moisture to be used for 
that purpose, unless they could be dried in akiln or oven. 
I should be obliged if “ Yeoman”? will inform me if be 
still continues to inter his Bees during the winter, and 
whether he is still successful. I shall also be glad to 
know if dry Wheat-straw will answer to cover the Bees 
instead of leaves : it might be cut into short pieces with a 
chaff-cutting machine, if required. What is the proper 
time to put the hives into the leaves, and what sort of 
house or building is most proper? Ought the Bees to be 
interred on a frosty day? Should they be stopped up 
with perforated zinc before the holes? It is stated by all 
writers on Bees—at least in all the works I have consulted 
—that damp is very injurious to Bees, and I scarcely con- 
ceive that leaves are dry enough; but if ‘‘ Yeoman ” will 
give us a few lines in an early Number of the Chronicle, 1 
shall be extremely obliged to him. Most of the cottagers 
in my neighbourhood destroy their Bees with sulphur ; 
could they not be smoked with the puff-ball recommended 
by Taylor, Cotton, and others, put into a hive, and buried 
in the way “ Yeoman’? recommends ?—W. E., Suffolk. 
Saline Manure.—Mr. Potter kindly and promptly 
answered the queries of a ‘‘ Paper-maker ”” respecting his 
“retort refuse’? in the Chronicle of the 26th August, 
when he hoped the result of any trials might be communi- 
cated. I have not had time to make the trials he 
suggests, but one or two others of a practical nature 
which I made during the past and present year are quite 
at his service. Last autumn I carted into a Wheat eddish(?) 
a quantity of mud washed down from off a sandy soil, 
intending in the spring to carry it over the land and sow 
it with Oats. To this mud 1 put about one cart-load to 
ten of the refuse, turning it over twice during the 
winter, and breaking the hard pieces, that it might amal- 
gamate the better with the mud. This I carted over my 
field in February, leaving a small portion without any. 
In March I sowed my Oats; they came up, and looked 
well, promising a good crop; but after a little time I per- 
ceived a failure in that part of the field that was not 
covered with it. On examining the spot more closely, I con- 
cluded the worm had got into them, and from that time 
it continued so to destroy the root of the Corn, that at 
harvest Ihad none, in comparison with the other parts of 
the field; but a luxuriant crop of weeds, &c. Still I 
must state further that the plant of Oats was destroyed a 
little beyond where this was not laid, but that only for 
a small space. I tried it also this summer for Swede 
Turnips. I carted together some mould and ashes, with 
a little dung, and added, as before, some of (the retort 
refuse, turned it together two or three times, and laid it 
over my field (about 15 small cart-loads to the statute acre), 
ploughed it in, and then, after some time, ploughed it 
again, bringing it to the surface, and sowed my Swedes, 
putting over a few ashes also. 1 considered my season for 
Swedes a very unpropitious one, for the weather was so 
wet, and the subsoil being clay, I could not sow till the 
27th June, and then, after repeated rolling and harrowing, 
LT could not sufficiently pulverise the soil; but my Swedes 
soon came up, and I have never had any grow faster, or 
promise better, than they do at present. I must, there- 
fore, consider this refuse very beneficial as I now use it, 
With regard to the manganese that is left behind, I 
have no doubt the qnantity is considerable. The fore- 
man I now have in the paper-manufactory had been for 
some years superintending a concern of the same kind in 
Sweden; his master there was a chemist also, and he was 
aware of the manganese left, and tried to separate it by 
washing, but he could not sufficiently dissolve it for that 
purpose $ and having a large quantity of manganese by 
him, he is putting this refuse by till there is a large 
accumulation, and then purposes putting up some simple 
machinery to grind it in water, washing away all the 
saline and other refuse (leaving the manganese behind), as 
he had no thought of using that as a manure. But there 
is another refuse we make, which he did use for that pur- 
pose; it is the liquid we draw away after boiling our rags 
in lime; this liquid he carried to a distance in wooden 
shoots over a piece of pasture-land ; but on applying it, 
it was too powerful, and killed the Grass ; he then had a 
large place dug out, into which he turned this liquid, 
filling the hole with any description of refuse he could 
collect, and then after a sufficient time carried it over his 
land, and found it very beneficial in promoting vegetation. 
We boil our rags for several hours, so that what pieces of 
woollen rags may be mixed with the others are dissolved. 
May not this add something to the vegetating properties 
of this liquid ?—J. S. 
Polter’s Guano.—I have read with interest your re- 
commendations of Potter’s Guano, and as Ihave made 
an experiment with it for Wheat, the result, as far as Tat 
present can give it, may be interesting. For many years 
J have been convinced that the present improved know- 
ledge in chemical science would discover some concen- 
trated dressing for land that would equal, if not surpass, 
in usefulness and cheapness, much of the common ma- 
nures now in use. I was, therefore, greatly pleased to 
observe lately the attention of scientific men turned to 
this subject; and having accidentally seen some circulars 
in reference to Potter’s Guano, and understanding that 
Mr. Potter himself was a practical chemist, I determined 
to give the dressing a fair trial for Wheat. For this pur- 
pose I prepared a field in the usual way, and dressed one- 
third of it with the Guano according to the directions 
sent with it, and the other two-thirds with common ma- 
nure ; and the result has, in every respect, answered my 
expectations. During the whole year the crop on that 
part had the advantage over the other ; and towards har- 
vest, it was very visibly superior, as was evident to all 
who saw it, though the other was a very good crop ; it 
being thicker on the ground, the straw longer and firmer, 
and the ears much larger, fuller, and heavier. I will also 
observe, that I took several persons into the field, and, 
as atrial, asked them to point out the part where the 
Guano was put on; this they always did exactly. I may 
add, that at harvest, when the crop was cut, I was from 
home, and the workmen who were employed, eight in num- 
er,were sent by a friend, who as soon as I saw him on my 
return told me that 1 had a very excellent crop generally, 
but much the better where the Guano had been. When 
the Crop was carried, I was pleased to hear the men 
remark how very heavy the sheaves were, and large the 
ears of Corn. So far, this trial of the Guano has been 
perfectly satisfactory, and I intend to employ it again 
more extensively. I regret that I am not able just yet to 
thresh the crop, but as soon as this shall be done, I will 
send you the result in quantity and weight.—George 
Witkins, Wir, near Harwich. 
Bees.—In criticism and controversy it is difficult to 
avoid giving offence. This is applicable to myself. In 
the Chronicle of Sept. 9, Dr. Bevan complains of the 
‘tone which I adopted towards his esteemed friend, Mr. 
Golding.” Tf I have gone beyond bounds I am very sorry 
for it, and sincerely hope that expressions I may have in- 
advertently used will in no way ‘deprive our apiarian 
brethren of farther information from the same source.’ 
My observations on one point in the ‘: Honey Bee”’ are, 
I am happy to say, taken by Dr. Bevan in the true light. 
I accept his kind offer of a copy of the second edition of 
his work on Bees, with many thanks, and I shall regard 
it as a great favour from the able Author.—John Wighton. 
[If it is sent to 3, Charles-st., Covent-Garden, it will be 
forwarded. ] 
Mulberry.—Lop off astraight branch, at least 8 ft. long, 
from a large tree in March, the nearer the trunk the better ; 
clear away every little branch, and leave it quite bare; dig 
a hole 4 feet deep, plant the naked branch, and make it 
firm in the ground ; leave around it a little basin of earth 
to hold water, and if the season be dry give it every morn- 
ing a bucketful of water throughout the summer. In two 
years it will have made a good head and will bear fruit_— 
Zyt a. 
Gardeners’ Association.—From an advertisement in the 
Chronicle of last week I learn that the Gardeners in the 
neighbourhood of Stoke Newington are about to form an 
Association for Mutual Instruction. I am glad to hear of 
this, as I consider it to be essential to the happiness and 
well-being of the Gardening community. Having for 
some time witnessed the scarcity of employment for Gar- 
deners, I think it high time that they should adopt for 
themselves some means of preventing the distress that 
appears to await them, and from so many noblemen and 
gentlemen reducing their establishments it is evident that 
situations will become still more scarce. There are many 
good practical Gardeners at present out of employment, 
and before this distress becomes more prevalent, 1 beg to 
call the attention of my brother Gardeners to the necessity 
of forming a Society,—I will say a Joint Stock Company, 
and let the shares be 1/. each; and ont of the number a 
Committee may be chosen to frame rules and regul: 8 
for conducting the Society. I may suggest the farther 
practicability of establishing 2 garden, to be conducted by 
a practical and confidential man, where forcing might be 
carried on in all its branches, and, if the funds should 
allow, likewise ornamental gardening, and when any mem- 
ber of the Society shall be thrown out of employment, if 
he beara strictly moral and sober character, that he should 
be employed, and receive 15s. per week, until something 
better offer for him. T beg leave to observe that all 
Gardeners should give this a fair and weighty considera- 
tion, as it is in their power to provide a cowfortable live. 
lihood for many of their now starving brethren, and as 
situations are generally uncertain, we do not know how 
soon we may want employment ourselves, and when such 
a Society as that proposed is once formed and set a-going, 
it will pay itself, and will not require yearly subscriptions. 
— William. 
Fumigating.—My standard Rose-trees being very much 
infested this year with the Green Fly and other insects, 
T had recourse to the following useful, and at the same 
time very cheap and simple, contrivance to rid myself of 
them. I ordered my carpenter to make me a box not 
unlike a watebhouse, of half-inch deal, seven feet high 
and four feet in diameter, of an octagon shape, with one 
of the sides made to open like a door, with a hole an inch 
in diameter three inches from the ground to admit the 
nose of the bellows. I then lifted it over one of my 
Rose-trees, and placed the fumigating apparatus in the 
interior; after a few minutes’ application at the bellows 
J had the pleasure of seeing those detestable pests fall to 
the ground. After a good syringing the trees looked 
as healthy and were as free from insects as I ever saw any. 
Of course the box may be made of any size.—G. Young, 
Faleing. 
Clover Dodder.—On looking through a small field of 
Khelat Lucerne, I found a great many patches of the 
inclosed plant, which I strongly suspect to be the Dodder 
