\ 



1844] 



THE GARDEN ERS' CHRONICLE. 



autumn, and the circulation of the sap . 



will continue to increase, and the stock to 



g unimpeded, 

 the rooti will continue to increase, and the stock to 

 swell • and when the inserted buds receive the stimulus 

 of the »ap in the spring, the difference between their 

 habit of growth and that of the natural produce of the 

 wild itock (provided there be buds enough), is the only 

 disadvantage the tree has to overcome that is worth a 

 consideration. Knight mentions an experiment which 

 he tried upon fruit-trees, of stopping the current of the 

 sap by a ligature after the bud had taken, thus throwing 

 a great part of the vigour of the tree into the newly- 

 placed bud. This is a much more workmanlike experi- 

 ment, and produces no injury to the tree. There seems 

 to be 'an advantage gained by shortening the branches in 

 the autumn, which atfirstsight mightbedisregarded,viz., 

 preparing the plant to break out at the part desired. If 

 a stock be entered in November, a preparation takes 

 place in the buds at its summit, and they break in March 

 or April, as may happen ; but if the top of the same 

 stock be left uncut till the spring, the plant is not pre- 

 pared to break, and a delay occurs. Placed buds, not 

 having so direct a communication with the channels of 

 the sap as natural ones, require more management ; 

 and a very woody shoot that extends a considerable dis- 

 tance beyond the inserted bud, and has not been short- 

 ened in the autumn, is frequently induced, with great 

 difficulty and repeated stopping of the sap-buds, to do 

 the work required, viz., to transfer its sap; whereas, mo- 

 derate cutting in applies the vigour of the plant through- 

 out the winter to the vicinity of the part required ; and 

 the first blush of spring finds the inserted bud in a state 

 of preparation to take up the action of the plant when 

 the end of the shoot is cutaway. 



It will frequently be found that a plant which has been 

 long worked, and carries a good head, will (when that 

 head has ceased to increase for the autumn) employ the 

 eicess of the vigour of the plant in throwing out side 

 .shoots ; it being manifest, in such case, that the head is 

 not robbed by the formation of wood elsewhere, such side 

 shoots may be left to increase with advantage ; and if un- 

 xemoved until their growth be fully terminated, they wiii 

 help the stem to swell, and when cut off at the end of 

 autumn, will transfer the vigour destined for their sup- 

 port to the supply of the head which remains the ensuin» 

 spring. ° 



:" f \°™JTZ a J *? Centre - » *■»* leave, . viccuum 



389 



wall U t'hPn r T ? C CCntre and ° Utside courses « The 

 wall wa, then risen five courses. In the following or sixth 



course one brick was bonded from either .ide* he wal 



T'"A ? er u U r the centre P^; two brick 

 stretched and one headed the whole of this course, rising 



flehonHT/h Wh r b0nded 8nd etched as before, only 

 he bonded bncks come in alternately with those below, 



so that they range diagonally within three courses of the 

 top of the wall, above which is solid. This plan leaves an 

 uninterrupted vacancy from bottom to top of the wall 

 In sunny weather the vacancy becomes charged 

 during the day with heated air, which is given bfck 

 during the night, and materially assists in warding off our 

 late spring frosts, and in perfecting the fruit and wood in 

 autumn. From such a wall in " Omikron's" climate, there 

 will be no fear of his wood becoming perfectly ripened • 

 again, m winter, when the trees are at rest, it would' 

 vice versa, keep them cool and dry, to sav nothing of 

 such a wall being so much drier than a solid one. A 

 wall put up on this principle is built at less expense, 

 per superficial yard, than an 18 inch wall, independent of 

 a saving of one brick in four ; of course the workmanship 

 of such a wall requires attention, t. e., well bedding and 

 flushing the joints. I agree with Mr. Errington, as respects 



Home Correspondence. 



Vwase in Peach-trees.— I have noticed with pleasure 

 the replies to « Omikron's" paper on the disease of his 

 Peach-trees (p. 295), by Mr. Errington ; as well as re- 

 marks that were given in a Leading Article lately. The 

 generality of garden-walls in England, for the culture of 

 choice and tender fruits, are very improperly constructed, 

 being built what is termed solid walls-more especially 



ih ^ "^^^ofEngland, it being well known 

 that with few exceptions to the north of Nottingham- 



Mhx e we cannot bring the Peach, Nectarine, and Apricot, 

 to the a Cme of perfection, without the aid of flued walls • 

 ottoMnV^\° r ^ PUrp ° Se of committing an outrage,' 

 itcton^K re K fi u ,n f, her wiH ln ear] y s P ri »&> but for 



cial r^r a,iT 8 V he . bl °° mi ^ S6aSOn ' and more ™P*- 

 wood to th? i? K 6 . r 1Q aUtUmn ' in better Perfecting the 

 jear withon^K* ^ ° f the P lant in the forthcoming 

 ii 1 pro^r m L h,S *£?* per / eCt ' a11 - science a " d labou°r 

 * onY? tr M u^ hat * different a PPearance - Omi- 

 fl«ed (for i L WOuld ha *e presented had his walls been 



tenhaLwi ifav 121 ** ^ °/ ^ ^"^ near CheI " 

 S"en his wall a lim E " T' 8t autumns ' could he have 

 u it won M- u Fe thr0ngh September and Octo- 



n^at woS A! **?!!* B--! * 



W met witfr J ri . pencd the wood > and would n < 

 ?° justly comp ft J^r/T^"^ ° f " hich h 

 ** the LeadinS ArS'i P erfe , ctl y «gree with the remark 



e 

 rks 



"* l «e L,eadin e ArhVi, f T ' " s ' cc * vllu luc remar « 

 Proceeds from th ' /*' at thc ori § in of the disease 

 {"* bad similar caseltn bCi " g W^J ri P ened ( ha " 

 Er "'ogton thinks l 4 c ° ntcnd * ,th )' and not ' as Mr - 

 and the attack of' Ta cons truction of the border, 

 *>ave observed tLFX J forever y practical man will 

 «eed f , directly or L u lta , ck ° f insects generally pro- 

 thc *ery reverse iJ^ 11 ^ fr0m diseased P ,ant >- " is 

 Properly attended to ? tS are in health « and their wants 

 , of a flued wall i. ma * be ar gued, that the expense 



bQt that I pnL P n ° n ! u 8reat oh i ect[ on to its adoption ; 



^mpensate for th'p I Saving in brick would nearly 

 a aes, & c . twofll * extr a expense incurred in pointing, 



and * the cour 8e n o C f e8 * ? d mana ^ e 8 °y ds - fn len ^ 



Jeered the wallsL- ^ r . 6 y ears ' when the trees had 

 rur naces m j„ ht h " y Judicious pruning and training, the 



<*** into flu bear" PeDSed with > the trees wil1 have 

 Jniform wood, whioK g ' a ? d conse quently will make more 

 J° 8t that superabu n H dri P eninbet ter season, having 



%?• a re subject to . growth which *& joung Peach- 

 * ble border at a „ ft ' pecialI y in * well-formed and suit- 

 i ear8 I bave erected! ? T }' sta S e - Within the last 10 

 ^•hton Hall, whiph t ?l ,0vv wal1 in the gardens at 

 ?nM eI1 a8 « A h i think is a g^at desideratum, 

 ^ Ued ^alls are nouS ,? CXpense > in ^ach-walls where 



the ^ l »bou J \\T' Indeed ' had l the erectioa of 

 i»ot i l ? W wa ^ for th' T^ d m y em Pl«yer to adopt 



folU The PUn I idin! 7 h -° le » Whether flu « d for fire or 

 ^ow, :^ Aft ado e d 1Q the building of them is as 



»tl? l had J t fla Kee °r, dat ? n W f P ut ««Pon a proper 

 *^ ct «re f rom ^, to start the brickwork or super- 



*idth U ; V a C0 «rs e o C f I ^ T the wal1 18 ins. wide, 



nret ^ers length Way ; P °"^ " ,0 " e l ^ M three courses of 



78 ^ ^ facc °f the wall on each side, 



established trees into, but I am of opinion such a border 

 would be too powerful for young trees. In a humid 

 climate they would luxuriate too freelv, which would 

 cause them to grow too late in the autumn. Again, I 

 am no advocate for over-cropping the borders, nor yet 

 for narrow borders. In my opinion, if " Omikron " 

 had procured his trees one or two seasons, preparatory 

 to final planting, cut them well in, and had had them in 

 training one or two years before removing them to their final 

 destination— as there is generally spare room upon walls 

 to give young trees a year or two's training,— their roots 

 would have been in a better condition to support the 

 top. As to the formation and depth of the border, and 

 suitable compost, I should say, for a wall 12 feet high, a 

 border should be 16 feet wide, and opened to the depth 

 of 22 inches on a good sound bottom. It should have a 

 fall from back to front of 16 inches upon the bottom, 

 which should be well drained. Lay on, to the depth of 

 6 inches, well broken stones, filling in with the sward, 

 and 4 inches of good strong loam, which should be 

 previously laid up six months and never turned. This 

 would, in my opinion, form a border for the growth and 

 maturing of the Peach and Nectarine, adapted to the 

 three kingdoms. Mr. Errington's remarks on dis-bud- 

 ing are very judicious, and his method of stopping the 

 young wood, at the time the fruit is ripening, might 

 answer for a tree that 



effect would it have upon •• umiKron s" trees, providing 

 they were in good health ? In a border composed of 

 chopped turf, every strong shoot so stopt would throw 

 out a host of laterals, which would have the appearance of 

 a Ling broom. In healthy young trees they would 

 almost break every eye. Would it not be a much better 

 plan to curve the strongest shoots, so as to encourage 

 the weaker parts of the tree? If "Omikron," by way 

 of experiment — say early in September — would rear up 

 a few spare lights from his early vinery, against two or 

 three of his trees, covering the roots beyond their ex- 

 tremities with the same, he would, by ripening the wood 

 more perfectly of those so experimented upon, I think be 

 able next season to partially discover the cause of his 

 present failure. There is likewise another cause of 

 failure in the Peach, Nectarine, and Apricot, as regards 

 their being subject to gumming, which is their not being 

 worked upon perfectly free stocks. The more free-growing 

 kinds, such as the French Mignonne, Royal George, and 

 Noblesse Peaches, Violet Hative, and other Nectarines, 

 worked upon stubborn stocks, dwarfs more so than 

 standards. In a few years there are large excrescences 

 at the point of union of the bud with the stock, so that 

 in that time the trees have shown a premature decay. 

 This arises from the want of reciprocity betwixt root 

 and branch, and all the kind treatment imaginable can- 

 not counteract the consequence. The sap in its down- 

 ward direction meets a repulse, is propelled upwards 

 into the channels already surcharged, when it procures 

 for itself an outlet, and then gum disease, and a prema- 

 ture decay of the whole plant, is the consequence. — 

 James Roberts, Hampsthwaite, Ripley. 



Disease in Peaches. — Your Leader lately led me 



o^r P Z h i? / f 8kCWer ' With * crimson radia ti°n 



IZ a A k { i° m thC CCntre ' from *Wch in most caset 

 gum exuded In my garden, the leaves and fruit were 



in many instances affected later in the season in the same 

 way. To test my notion as to climate, I got a neieh- 

 bour .who had a Peach-house, to take one of these trees, 

 and to plant it m precisely the same soil in the Peach- 

 house. There the tree flourished, and bore fruit abun- 

 dantly, and not a spot was ever seen on it afterward*. I 

 did not then see that the more perfect ripening of to* 

 wood was the explanation of the difference. I attributed 

 this to protection from spring frost. Seeing, however, 

 that the strong shoots were most affected, I set to work 

 to check the growth by cutting away roots : that seemed 

 to produce very little effect. I then loosened some of the 

 smaller trees from the wall, lifted them, and re-planted 

 immediately nearer the surface in the same soil. This 

 produced a good effect. I obtained a larger quantity of 

 fruit, and smaller wood. Then it occurred to me that the 

 mischief resulted from the imperfect ripening of the large 

 wood. I have since replanted my wall, and removed the 

 bed of good soil where I planted the trees, and filled up 

 the holes with stones, rubbish, and poor road-scrapings, 

 nearly free from any mixture of dung. On this I laid 

 !„ °™-i" e . f00t ° f f omm o n 'garden soiI) and placed my tree 



und, and laid 

 so that, when 



little under the 



surface. The trees are now looking better than I have 

 ever seen them, with a fine crop of fruit, and generally 

 free from all appearance of disease, though they still 

 throw their wood somewhat stronger than I could wish. 

 I do not dare adopt your suggestion,^ taking out, early 

 in the summer, all the wood which would not be requisite 

 for the following year, which would certainly give that 

 the best chance of ripening by free exposure ; for the 

 little which would be left would, in my garden, grow as 

 large as faggot sticks.-— C. Lawrence, Cirencester. 



Preserving Seeds from Birds.— 1 have found it very 

 difficult to keep birds from tree and other small seeds. 

 Every nurseryman knows the uncertainty of depending 

 upon boys, and the expense of nets, which are not always 

 certain of preventing the seed from being injured. This 

 season I adopted the following plan, which has suc- 

 ceeded remarkably well : — I had common hurdles, the 

 same as are used for folding sheep, made the breadth of 

 the seed-beds ; they rest upon bricks on each side of the 

 bed ; so covered, no birds have got into them ; but of 

 those covered with nets, where there appeared to be no 

 place of entrance, they made their way under the nets. 

 Besides, hurdles form a shade that assists small seeds to 

 get up. Would the same covering answer for quarters 

 of Gooseberries, or Currants, by resting them on sup- 

 porters higher than the bushes ? Upon Raspb€rrieg, 

 that is fully established, but what where shade is an advantage, they would not fail to 

 u Omikron's" trees, providing , answer. Birds have no inclination to go under hurdles, 



although they are open at all sides. Common coppice 

 hurdles, 6 feet long and 3 wide, are worth from 6s. to Ss, 

 per dozen. — J. S. 



Bees and their Nightcaps. — " Melissa ,f requests to 

 be informed how she may ascertain when her bees are 

 napping, and the officers are relieving guard, for should 

 she go when they are on duty, and the others wide 

 awake, she fears she should have but a poor reception ; 

 besides, she has no Wrotham telescope to aid her vision, 

 so that she is not likely to observe the working of the 

 drones' eyes, the rolling and winking of which would 

 altogether escape "Melissa's" notice. The habits of 

 insects in many respects are worthy the imitation of 

 man, and, as good examples of industry and short hours, 

 she doubts not but Lord Ashley would most graciously re- 

 ceive an introduction to <k Mel's " bees ; but his Lordship 

 would not recommend man to sleep away his spare time, 

 but to work for that part of himself which we are told 

 is never to die. 



Bees. — Of late Mr. Pettigrew'has written a great deal 

 on these insects ; and in my opinion, had he been nursed 

 in a bee-hive he could not have thrown more light on the 

 subject. A few weeks ago Mr. Pettigrew stated, by ad- 

 vertisement in the Chronicle, that he intended to make 

 his peculiar system of management known for ten shil- 

 lings, not pledging himself, however, unless he got 100 

 subscribers. Mr. Pettigrew mentions that it is worth ten 

 pounds instead o( ten shillings ; and he was fair enough 

 to say that if any person, after getting it, thought it too 

 much, he would return their money. On seeing the ad- 

 vertisement, I was inclined to think it was quackery ; but 

 to be certain of the affair I wrote to Mr. Thomson, the 



have hit the right nail on the head, as I can demon- 

 strate. In addition to your theoretical hints, which are 



grew has made him a present of his system, and he con- 

 .„» w . -« u««.„ U u w jvm. mmhiiiw iuhh, mum >• firms the advertisement to the very letter. I am, therefore, 

 very judicious, I can give him some which have sue- very anxious to get it, and I trust this will be the means 

 ceeded in practice. I would caution him against chopped j of many coming forward, who at first, like myself, thought 

 turf, as I would a plethoric alderman against turtle, and I it a catch-penny ; only 18 persons have come forward 

 recommend the water-gruel system. It .is very uncom- yeL — J. Addison, Gosford, near Haddington. 

 mon to meet with good healthy Peach and Nectarine 

 trees in this part of the country ; I attributed this to 

 want of care in providing them with suitable nourish- 

 ment. Accordingly, I saved all the turf taken off about 

 the eighth of an acre bared for buildings, and formed a 

 border of this about 3 feet deep and 9 feet wide. My 

 trees thrived beautifully to my inexperienced eye ; I re- 

 joiced in the size and vigour of the shoots, but my 

 visions of melting Peaches were speedily dissipated by the 

 plague which has visited M Omikron." I felt sure the 

 soil could not be in fault, and concluded it must be our 

 ungenial climate, for the enemy was especially active in 

 the spring. The shoots were spotted, as if touched by 



yet 



Glazing. — In reply to numerous inquiries I have re- 

 ceived respecting my mode of glazing, which was lately 

 described in the Chronicle (p. 277), I can only say, that 

 I should not at all hesitate to have a house of any descrip- 

 tion whatever, glazed in the manner alluded to. Although 

 I have never had an opportunity of trying it on a green- 

 house or stove, I cannot see why it should not answer as 

 well for these as for frames or pits, in which the angle is 

 so much less than in the former. The principal thing is 

 to have the work well done, making the edges of the 

 panes fit exactly. If I were about building anew 

 greenhouse, I would procure the glass a little thicker 

 than what is generally sold for gardening purposes, as 



