bi-2 



T 1 1 K GARDENERS' ( HIlONICLE. 



[1> -7 



to be inj.irri m i'Tially by taking off their heads, the 

 itm «>f the wild »y be aocce«*f y graftrd, pro- 



Tided the wound be carefully kept from thai tod althoug 

 (when grafted early la the season) the scion will remain 

 In the » k for months without bursting, as long a* the 

 bark and buds remain plump no fe»r need be entertained. 

 The j- on between the scion and stock is so slow that 

 the growth of th'. buds appears quite imperc hut 



where once a single well expanded leaf is found upon the 

 bud, the scion incorporates w the stem, and the tree, 

 being then m a natural state, vegetates with vig -. 



Those who object to u*e clay may defend their graft 

 with the mixture, swathing the head of the »' k t 

 •e I Mom, "Wdl I it be sioaally wetted with a 



watrring-p it. The nee M • f ibis met J is not qolla 

 equil to cUjing, which moistens the head of the stock, 

 ■oftens the bark, an I by facilitating the passage of the 

 sap to the bast t tin s. effects a speedy junction. 



Mots U, however, admit dy adaptr '• to preserve scion* 

 in flgour a they are connected with the tree J and 



such buds as are I in it will frequently break out 



vyitfa while thar part of the scion wiieli is exposed 



to the air dies off entirely. To enable the operator to 

 k < scions moi* It is necessary that all wild 1 Is 



beneath the ligature be M confin. d as to reader them 

 ibis to receive or u*c the sap which rises in thes h | 

 and if the bsst bandage be carefully and do* r twiste 

 round the stocks an B, it will admit of the passage 



of moisture to the bark of such scion, while at the same 

 time prevents tin- swelling of the buda of the subject. 

 V n an over] * of any valuable sort of scion* remain, 

 they may be advantageously used by cutting down the 

 shoots of any stools of Hoses about the garden, near I 

 the ground, and cleft-grafting them in the same manner 

 as the wild itock. Their v uty to the groui I, which 

 renders them so lit! liable to bo blown about and 

 i ired by the wind, will do away with the necessity of 

 claying, a common sailor's knot being slipped o*ef the 

 beads of esch, and tied in front ; the mixture No. '1 is 

 applte I to the graft, which (as only one scion is entered 

 in « shoot, and but one bud left to break) can be done 

 w the greatest facility, and the shoot produced may be 

 laid down the same season, and be cut off from the stool 

 a perfect and independent plant, upon its own bottom, 

 the same autumn ; while the operator is enabled to avail 

 himself of the assistance of a handglass, if required, to 

 adviin his layers. Two or three buds of the new shoot 

 should be left upon each graft of the stock for dowering 



in the ensuing spring. 



The ertcd scions are greatly helped, until supplied 

 with nourishment from the stock, by the moisture of the 

 clay ; if the re the lowest bud be only a quarter of an 

 Inch above the head of the stock, it will remain alive 

 though « ealed in the clay, and dormant (having no 

 power of breaking out before that tim« *dl the midsum- 

 mer shoot, when, if the clay be removed, it will grow 

 rapidly. This is a desirable method of finding vent f 

 ft ess of sap at midsummer, as well as of limiting the 

 dennn i upon trees in the spring. If this mode be 

 adopte '. the clay should be removed and t!»e ligature 

 loosened, when the spring shoot is over; the mixture 

 being then applied in the same manner as to other 

 wounds, the point of the bud only being left free. If 

 there be not vigour enough in the tree to start the bud 

 during the autumn, it will lie dormant, and break out 

 with increased strength the next spring. In many cases, 

 however, the spring shoots alone will increase the size of 

 the scions and head of the stock so much, that it maybe 

 necessary to loosen the bandage, which may be done 

 during the month of June, when the tree is usually in a 

 ■tate of comparative rest, between the spring and mid- 

 summer shoots. The most favourable time for removing 

 the clay is after rain, when, having become soft, there 

 will be less risk of injuring the scions. If the stem he 

 large and but one scion take, a quantity of dead wood at 

 the head of the stock will be the result ; the whole of 

 this must either at this period, or eventually, be cut away 

 and the place defended with the mixture, or the opera- 

 tion of grafting must (as to the Rose) be abandoned. 



OfBRATrOV- IV nirPKRXNT MONTHS. 



January. — Procure wild stocks, if delayed before. 

 February. — Wild stocks may still be planted with ad- 

 vantage, but the season is getting forward ; cut and put 

 by some scions for grafting ; beat up clay for that pur- 

 pose, and attend to the buds in the wild stocks. 



March.— This is the last month to plant wild stocks | 

 prune all trees which were grafted last or budded the 

 year before, and restake those that have got blown about ; 

 graft fresh stocks ; pinch off wild buds where not wanted, 

 and from those trees which have been budded 1H months 

 cut off the remaining parts of the old stem and that part 

 of th$ budded shoot which is beyond the bud inserted — 

 the first to the base of the shoot, th; second close to the 

 bud ; they are then expected nearly to heal over the 

 ■ame year : cover them with cement for that purpose. 



April.— Attend to cleft grafts by keeping down the 

 buds below them, eradicating suckers, and cutting off 

 the heads of failing grafts to bud upon in autumn; 

 attend to the shoots budded upon last year ; nip off the 

 point of the sap-bud where required, and put on guards ; 

 kill snails and caterpillars this month, and whensoever 

 afterwards they can be found ; leave some flower-pots 

 inverted to catch slugs in, which will infallibly harbour 

 them ; stop newly-starting buds when they have formed 

 three or four eyes, that a head may be formed at once. 



May. — Attend to the buds and suckers of wild stocks, 

 and tie the new shoots to the guards, where necessary, 

 without delay. 

 June t as in|May. 



July.—M the season be early, bud at the end of the 



on* 

 Aug**! Bud all this month, and if any buds start,^ 



they may be treated as poshing eyes ; but, undrr sues 



rcumstances, the whole of the sh ti upon the same 

 irtc must be shortened, or the curtailing of one shoot 

 would be a mere transfer of its sap to another, to the 

 treat detriment f not eventual death of the inserted 

 bud ; attend t< matures. 



September, — Conl to watch all newly inserted 



buds, and for the first fortnight replace any that fail 

 loosen the ligatures if necessary, but not without, except 

 to examine where there may be reason to think they 



reqtrre it. 



October. — Transplant in the Ia*t week; cutting off the 

 enda of the wild branches, as directed. 



November. — Take up any trees (carefully examining 

 their roots) it may be desirable to remove, and replant 

 them immediately ; procure fresh wild stocks to plant, 

 and set them out in line, or if delayed, lay them by the 

 heels. 



December. — The ssme as last month. 





stronghold to be in the old stool under e rroaad • (or 



is] e of all I could do, they stilt continue to 

 their appearance on the yoong brancht I hate H 

 satisfac n in observing that the young brancaee tadi 

 a decided improvement in health and vigour, havina 

 a good broad foliage, and rhowiog no signs of em 



The roots are pushing freely into the fresh earth, „ 

 many young roots have sprang from the base of the pruv 

 cipal brat , or sucker. By encouraging these yeas* 

 roots, keeping them near the surface, and otkeVausi 



TlIK ORIGINAL RIBSTONE PUTIN' APPLE-TRE1 



The eoOOBpaoying is a representation of what remains 

 of this renowned tree, with a few observations on its 

 present condition. 



nursing the shoot, I have no doubt that the old e mtv 

 be revived, and as there are already several incipfcat 

 blossom-buds on the heretofore sickly branches, pro- 

 bably the year 1846 may be remarkable for the icprc- 

 duction of fruit on the original KiDstone IV 



I am informed that the old tiee was broken down in 

 the year 1815, after which only one large branch re- 

 mained, which was supported by stakes in a horiaoatal 

 position, as shown in the engraving figured below 

 In this state it bore fruit for many years, and while it 

 position many layers were taken from it. It linfered 

 until 1835, when it died, and was removed and burnt. 

 The remainder of the trunk, excepting the small portion 

 which now stands, was removed in 1839. and is 



■ £•««««*■ , «m» it »u, ui tuurio it if noi toe on- 

 Mv suspicions on this point were first raised by 

 earance of a sucker which is growing in the 



Tns Obioinal Ribhtovk Pippin Apple-trke. 



April 20, 1844. 



A small portion of the old trunk, as represented in the 

 above engraving, still exists, and stands about 9 inches 

 from the ground ; and out of this, about 4 inches below 

 the surface, springs a branch, which with proper care 

 miy yet become a tree. It is about 4 feet in height, and 

 appears to be of about 10 years' growth. It stands in 

 an exposed part of the park, and is merely fenced round 

 with Scotch fencing. The soil in which it grows is of a 

 tolerably free, open texture, on a sandy and gravelly 

 subsoil. 



When the tree first came under my care (scarcely two 

 years ago) it was nearly devoured with the woolly aphis 

 and canker, and almost overgrown with Nettles. I had 

 the inclosed area (which is about 6 yards in diameter) 

 thoroughly cleaned, part of the earth removed, a quan- 

 tity of fresh earth brought in, and some of the roots 

 raised into the fresh soil. I have not been able to ac- 

 complish the extirpation of Ihs aphis. I believe their 



preserve* 1 by Joseph Dent, I q , the present pr prietor 

 of Ribstone. 



Although I have hitherto spoken of e old Ribstort 

 Pippin-tree as the original, yet I am of oj on thst it 

 had been grafted ; and if so. of course it is not the or 

 ginal. 



the nppea 



garden at Ribstone, and which was taken from the old 



tree sixteen or eighteen years ago. This tree has not yet 



borne fruit : it has thriven badly, being greatly affected 



by canker: it is now in a more healthy state, and 



fag many blossom-buds. I could not r icile the habit 



of this tree with that of the true Ribstone Pij tnd 

 consequently took considerable pains to ascertr. if any 

 and what measures had been taken to prove whether the 

 old tree had been grafted or not. In pursuit of this 

 object various and contradictory was the evidence that I 

 met with. The strongest evidence that I obtaine f its 

 being a grafted tree, was from a person whose voluntary 

 testimony I have no reason to doubt, and who pos cly 

 asserts that he took a root-sucker from the old Ribstone 

 Pippin-tree, and planted it against a wall, where it rr 

 mained until it bore fruit, which prow I to be a had 

 Crab. The sucker was then destroyed. On the othe 

 side, Mr. Thompson, of the Horticultural .Society's 

 Garden at Chiswick, informs me that there is growing in 

 that garden a tree which was raised from a sucker that 

 was taken from the original tree at Ribstone with apiece 

 of the old root attached, eight en years ago, and that this 

 tree has borne fruit identical with the true Ribstone 

 Pippin. However contradictory these accounts may 

 appear, they may nevertheless be both eotrect ; if the 

 old tree has been grafted (admitting this) we must sup- 

 pose that the tree in the Chiswick Gardens has been 

 raised from an underground branch, which branches fre- 

 quently put out roots at their bases, and that the old 

 tree has been grafted very low, having the earth about 

 its stem considerably raised ; or it may have sprung 

 from the roots of some of the layers, of which there were 



many before that time. 



It is much to be regretted that this point has notbeea 

 settled beyond dispute, as it ought to have been long ago. 

 This neglect is scarcely to be accounted for, unless we 

 suppose it to be consequent on the many changes which 

 have taken place, or, if it has been proved, the unwil- 

 lingness to publish the fact. It therefore remams 

 enveloped in mystery, and will probably rest so (unless 

 some of the existing suckers prove the old tree to have 

 been grafted) until a root-sucker is raised from the old 

 stool, which I think is practicable, and which I V ar V°*** 

 attempting had I remained at Ribstone.— James Craig, 

 late Gardener at Ribstone Park. 







Home Correspondence. 



Tank-heating. — I have observed, on two or three 

 occasions, that an opinion has been expressed in the 

 Chronicle unfavourable to the use of pottery for the 

 construction of tanks and gutters as chancels for hot 

 water. On one occasion there was a specific objection, 

 viz., the alleged impossibility of avoiding leakage. I am 



" — ' lted 



inclined to think that such objections must hsve reso 



from imperfection in the materials from .which th ?P£ 

 tery was prepared, in the arrangement of it wnen 

 or in the material used in connecting and "*'*"* ^ 

 parts together. My bouses and pits, of which P lan » 

 particulars are given at p. 428 1844. are £««'£- 

 sively by gutters of pottery and tanks of the same m 



