November 24, 1888.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



603 



specimens can be rapidly raised, if treated liberally, 

 in large pots with rich loamy soil and an abundance 

 of heat — indeed, large plants are only too easily 

 grown, which often renders them unlit for ordinary 

 decorative uses. Some of them can, however, be kept 

 down to a small size for a few years by occasionally 

 making cuttings of the tops. In doing this strip 

 the leaves off the stem so far as it is firm, and then 

 cut clean across. Put the cuttings into as small- 

 sized pots as possible, using sandy loam for a com- 

 post. If they are now stood in a dry part of the 

 propagating-house, and occasionally be-dewed with 

 the syringe, they will soon root, and should then be 

 shifted into the size of pot finally required. I have 

 found them do remarkably well placed near or over 

 the hot-water pipes. Two of the best known— P. 

 utilis and P. Vandermeeschii — in a small state, can 

 in this way readily be kept for a year or two. They 

 are both best, however, when propagated from seeds, 

 which germinate readily. P. utilis is the more 

 graceful of the two plants, the leaves being nicely 

 recurved, and of a pleasing green colour. P. Van- 

 dermeerschii is more rigid, and stronger in its habit, 

 with a whitish, glaucous bloom on the leaves, and 

 both are densely armed with short red spines. The 

 old stocks of the plants which have been cut down 

 may be thrown away, as they do not readily break 

 into fresh growth. Another broad green-leaved 

 species is P. ornatus. Quite different from 

 these is P. graminifolius, an elegant, narrow, 

 recurved-leaved species, which branches freely, 

 and is very useful for table decoration. Of 

 the variegated form the two best are P. Yeitchii 

 and P. javanicus variegatus. The former, although 

 not the best coloured, is, nevertheless, the most 

 serviceable plant; but javanicus is so formidably 

 armed with spines that not only is it difficult to 

 handle, but it is very liable to tear the leaves of 

 other plants with which it may come in contact ; 

 both are striped with white on a green ground. 

 The last-named three are easily increased from 

 offsets, which may be put in at any time of the year 

 and treated in the way advised for "the other cuttings. 

 If grown in plenty of light and heat they will after- 

 wards stand a very low temperature without injury, 

 provided they are dry at the root. Under these con- 

 ditions we have successfully wintered them in a 

 temperature not much over 50° ; P. javanicus, being 

 more tender, must be kept in the stove. F. Boss, 

 Pendell Court, BUtchingley. 



Fruits Under Glass. 



Figs. — The earliest trees which are to supply 

 fruit in April will now be ready for the start. 

 These early trees, which should be in pots and tubs, 

 may be stood on a solid foundation, with a good 

 depth of fermenting leaves surrounding them. This 

 may be thought to lessen the need for the cus- 

 tomary syringing, but it will be as well to con- 

 tinue it, in order to keep the trees free from 

 red-spider and other insects. A slight syringing 

 once or twice a week with rain-water at a tempera- 

 ture of 90°, with a little petroleum added to it, will 

 keep matters right in this direction. The house 

 should be started with a night temperature of 50°, 

 increasing it to 55° during the day when there is no 

 sun-heat, and to 60° when the sun shines brightly. 

 All successional houses should be cleansed, and the 

 trees scrubbed with a brush and soapy-water con- 

 tuning a little quantity of petroleum, being careful 

 not to iDJure the embryo fruit in the operation. 

 Where it is found necessary to increase the stock, 

 short stocky shoots may be detached with a heel, 

 about the middle of January or beginning of February, 

 and placed in sandy loam in 48's, plunging them in 

 bottom-heat, and in all other respects treating them 

 as Vine eyes. Any plants struck last year may now 

 be shifted into 2Vs and stored away in a cool 

 house until the turn of the year. 



Melons. — Where fruit is still swelling a steady 

 temperature of 75° should be maintained, and when 

 the fruits show colour a dry and genial atmosphere 

 is required. 



Cucumbers. — A night temperature of 65° to 70° 

 will now be sufficient for these ; allow a little venti- 

 lation on all favourable nights. Do not pinch the 

 point so much as previously recommended, but rather 

 encourage a slight extension of the bine. Be careful 

 not to overcrop, and continue to supply slight, rich 

 top-dressings. If greenfly appears, fumigate slightly 

 on three successive nights, and well syringe with 

 tepid water the first thing in the morning. Syring- 

 ing the plants overhead generally should now be 

 discontinued. 



Strawberries. — Where ripe fruit is in request in 

 February no time should be lost in getting the ne- 

 cessary quantity of plants in readiness. The best 

 method of starting these probably is to insert a 

 quantity of 4-inch diameter drain-pipes into a bed of 

 leaves in a pit with a rather flat roof, standing each 

 pot within the pipe — the heat ascends the pipes 

 around the roots and hastens the forcing process. The 

 pots may also be plunged to half their height in a bed 

 of leaves : bat this plan results in the loss of roots, 

 which soon make their way outside the pots. No time 

 should now be lost fn storing the whole stock for the 

 winter, and I find no system better than standing 

 the pots on a good depth of cinder ashes and packing 

 them all round with leaves. I consider this superior 

 to wintering in frames. Wm. M. Baillk, Luton Hoo. 



The Hardy Fruit Garden. 



Plums.— Plum trees will succeed in all districts in 

 any suitable soil, and may be grown as standards or 

 pyramids, or against walls, with the exception of the 

 north aspect. Pyramids may be planted from 6 feet 

 to 8 feet apart, and to keep them in a fruitful state 

 they should be lifted every four years. A few of 

 the choice kinds, such as Jefferson's, Coe's Golden 

 Drop, Golden Gage, and others, should be grown 

 against a wall with a north-western aspect, as the 

 fruits from trees in this position are valuable late in 

 the season. For the earliest crop Rivers' Early 

 Prolific is undoubtedly the best variety, grown either 

 as a standard, fan- trained against a wall, or as a 

 cordon. For growing as pyramids, bushes, and 

 against walls the following are the best, viz. : — 

 Rivers' Early Prolific, Early Orleans, July, Bryanston, 

 Golden and Green Gages, Angelina Burdett, Belle de 

 Septembre, Autumn Compote, Prince of Wales, 

 Coe's Golden Drop, Jefferson's, Denver's Victoria, 

 Orleans, Belle de Louvain, Black Imperial. Kirk's, 

 Pond's Seedling, Red, Yellow, and Purple Magnum 

 Bonura, Late Orleans, and Coe's Late Red. For 

 standards, the three varieties of Magnum Bunums, 

 Orleans, Victoria, Prince of Wales, Prince Englebert, 

 Early Prolific, Gn-en Gage, Pershore, Belgian Purple, 

 and Monarch. Damsons are best grown as standards 

 or bushes. I have tried them in a pyramidal form, 

 but without success, for the few fruit they bore did 

 not compensate for the trouble taken in the way of 

 root-pruning and other measures to induce them to 

 bear. The best varieties of Damsons are Mitchel- 

 son's, King of Damsons, Farleigh Prolific, and the 

 Prince or Shropshire. 



Cherries. — These like a well-drained open soil, and 

 succeed when grown in the same way as Plums, 

 with the exception of the Morello, which, in midland 

 and northern counties should be accorded a wall, 

 and for late crops one facing north. For private 

 gardens the most profitable method of growing 

 Cherries is as bushes. Grown in this form they bear 

 excellent crops yearly, and moreover the fruit is 

 easily protected from birds. In forming a collection 

 half-a-dozen trees of the Kentish Black should be 

 included, as it isa very useful fruit, continuing in use 

 until the Morellos a're readv for gathering. For 

 growing against walls the following are well proved 

 varieties, viz. : — May Duke, Werder's Early Black, 

 Rivers' Early, Elton, Black Eagle, Bigarreau, 

 Governor Wood, Downton. Bigarreau Napoleon, 

 Florence, Royal Duke, and Late Duke. For north 

 walls, Kentish and Morello. As standards and 

 bushes, Black and White Heart, Belle Agathe, 

 Kentish, the Bigarreaus, May Duke, Downton, and 

 Elton can be recommended. 



Apricots delight in a deep, rich, and well-drained 

 loam, and they succeed only in this country outdoors 

 when grown against walls facing south, south-west, 

 and west. As the trees require a great deal of 

 water during the various stages of growth, it is most 

 essential that the borders should be well drained. I 

 find maidens are the best for planting ; they grow 

 away more rapidlv, and are not so subject to gum- 

 ming and losing their branches when they become 

 established, as on the two and three year old trees. 

 It is always best to plant the trees where they are 

 to remain, for they are very impatient of being lilted 

 after they get bevond a certain size. Of sorts, the 

 following are the best:— Moor Park, Hemskirk, 

 Kaisha, and the Large Early ; the latter is an excel- 

 lent variety, and the individual fruits can be grown 

 as large as Peach by judicious thinning and careful 

 attention to watering the border. 



Peaches and Nectarines require to be grown on the 

 same aspects as Apricots. The soil should consist 



of a good mellow loam, with an admixture of lime- 

 rubble if of a heavy nature. The following is a 

 list of good varieties, viz. :— Alexander, Belle Beauce, 

 Barrington, Noblesse, Grosse Mignonne, Royal 

 George, Stirling Castle, Bellegarde, Alexandra 

 Noblesse, Prince of Wales, Walburton, aud Late 

 Ad mil able. 



Of Nectarines, Balgowan, Elruge, Hardwick Seed- 

 ling, Lord Napier, Downton Improved, Newton, Pine- 

 apple, River's Orange, Violette IL'itive, and Hum- 

 boldt are a few of the best varieties. A. Ward, Stoke 

 Edith Park, Hereford. 



Transplanting and Managing Young Fhuit 

 Trees. — The season of the year has now arrivtd 

 when the transplanting of fruit trees should be taken 

 in hand and carried out with all the expedition pos- 

 sible, as it makes a great difference in the welfare 

 and speedy establishment of the plants whether the 

 operation is conducted now or later, for at this time 

 of year the roots soon get to work again, and when 

 the buds start they will do so strongly ; whereas if the 

 removal of the trees is left till the spring they must of 

 neces-sity break weakly , and make slow progress after- 

 wards. In gardens where there are many wall trees 

 to maintain in a fruitful state, it is a good plan to 

 keep buying in, or working up a few young plants 

 every year, so as to get them trained and grown on 

 to a suitable size and shape for filling gaps as such 

 occur, or take the place of others that are not doing 

 satisfactorily, as by managing in that way there is 

 little loss of time in tilling up vacancies, and little 

 difference in the supply of fruit, as trees of the stamp 

 referred to soon come into full bearing, for being on 

 the spot, they cau be lifted and replanted with 

 but little check to the plants. In starting with 

 maidens, or two-year old stuff, it is not neces- 

 sary to have walls to train on, as any fence, hurdles, 

 stakes, or rails, answer for a backing or support very 

 well, and most of the trees obtained from nurseries 

 are put into shape on the one or the other. The 

 first act of gardeners on receiving fruit trees from 

 the raisers, after unpacking, used to be to cut them 

 back, but this barbarous system is now only prac- 

 tised bv the few, and cannot be too strongly con- 

 demned, as it serves no useful purpose, instead of 

 which, the plant beheaded has to do the same work 

 over again, and is little, if any, better or bigger at 

 the end of a season's growth than when brought in 

 [The tree must have a basis of shoots to the number of 

 4 to 5 on each side.] With plants treated more natur- 

 ally there is none of this, and all that is needful is 

 to cut out any misplaced shoot that will not be re- 

 quired for a main branch, and then all the rest may 

 be laid in to the right or left, keeping the middle 

 portion of the tree clear and open, as the ohing is to 

 get the sides filled up first, for the centre is sure to 

 furnish easily after, the tendency of growth being 

 towards that" part where the chief rush of sap sets in 

 and flows, causing strong shoots to emerge. In 

 preparing for the planting, it is very important 

 that the ground be trenched or well broken up to a 

 good depth, but on no account should manure of any 

 kind be used for stone fruits, as it only forces rank 

 shoots, which in the case of Apricots, Cherries. 

 Plums, Peaches, and Nectarines is to be avoided, for 

 wood of that kind is apt to gum, and seldom gets 

 ripened. 



The safest and best help that the tree can have 

 is a little fresh turfy loam chopped up moder- 

 ately fine, and if of a calcareous nature all the better, 

 but if not, a small quantity of dust chalk should be 

 added and well mixed with the soil, as that suits the 

 trees when the fruit is stoning, and also assists in 

 consoldidating and hardening the wood. Appks and 

 Pears like rather stiff land, and where it is not 

 naturally of that character it may be much improved 

 by working in some clay that has been exposed to 

 the air and become pulverised, or a dressing may be 

 put on and left for the action of frost to shiver it, 

 after which it will mix in and do an immensity of 

 good to the trees. In planting these it is always 

 advisable to keep them above the ordinary level, and 

 it is essential to the well doing of Pears on the 

 Quince stock that th? junction or part where they 

 are worked be buried, as otherwise the swelling of 

 the stock is so slow that the tree on it is starved. 

 With the planting complete the next thing is to 

 mulch, and this should always be done with both 

 small trees and big ones, as the mulching is a great 

 protection against frost, and conserves the warmth 

 in the ground bv intercepting radiation of the heat, 

 and this uniformity of temperature assists materially 

 in the quick formation of roots and the re-establish- 

 ment of the plants after removal. /. S. 



