396 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ May 19, 1863. 



narrow, and placed so as to leave room for the emission of the 

 roots of the tree. Some rough stuff, such as pieces of decayed 

 turf, may then be placed on the crocks, and then some compost, 

 and made pretty firm ; and over that the tree should be placed, 

 ■just in the centre, care being taken to keep the surface roots 

 about 2 inches below the top of the pot. The compost should 

 then be put in a little at a time, ramming it firmly with a stick 

 as the work proceeds, finally filling up to within an inch of the 

 top of the pot. The whole should then receive a good watering, 

 and the stems (but not the bearing-wood) be washed with a 

 composition formed of one pound of soft soap, two ounces of 

 tobacco, and a little flowers of sulphur, to which must be added 

 as much boiling water as will form the whole of the consistence 

 of paint. 



Supposing the above to be done about the middle of February 

 — which is the best time for potting — the trees may be placed in 

 their summer quarters, and the young shoots cutback according 

 to the desired shape of the tree and the strength of the shoots. 

 After that they will require very little attention till the blossom- 

 bwds begin to expand. Watering must then be gradually in- 

 creased, and abundance of air given ; in fact, when the trees are 

 in bloom, the shutters need not he cloeed, except in case of 

 irost or fog. 



When the fruit is set, the treeB should be syringed with soft 

 water about 4 P.K., of every warm sunny day, at the same time 

 closing up the front shutters of the houses, but leaving an 

 -opening at the top of each end. As the weather becomes 

 warmer the houses must be left open longer, and after the 1st 

 of June they may be left open altogether. 



The Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots will most likely require 

 thinniDg, and supposing the trees old, eighteen fruit may be left 

 on each, these after the lapse of twenty days to be reduced to 

 nine on each. The following season double that number may 

 be allowed. The other hardy fruits seldom require thinning. 



When the young shoots of the Peaches and Nectarines have 

 made four leaves, every third shoot should be removed, and after 

 another fortnight every fourth shoot should be taken off with a 

 sharp knife, and the tips of the remaining ones pinched off, as 

 also the tips of Apricots and Plums. 



It is, however, quite impossible to give directions for thinning 

 the shoots in all cases, as sometimes the trees make very little 

 wood, and then allowance must be made. One important point 

 is, to get the fruit near to the leaves. 



The Peaches and Nectarines will soon be making fresh shoots, 

 and these must be pinched back to the Bixth leaf, and so on with 

 the next. I have found three stoppings quite sufficient for the 

 Whole season, as incessant pinching causes the tree to produce a 

 superfluity of blossom-buds, causing a scarcity of leaf- buds. 



One stopping of the shoots will generally be found sufficient 

 for Apples, Pears, Plums, and Apricots, except in very strong- 

 growing trees. I consider that cleanliness, plenty of air, light, 

 and moisture, are the chief points to be remembered, for the 

 absence of either of these will cause a failure. 



When the fruit is ripe and gathered, every attention must be 

 paid to the ripening of the young wood, by keeping the house 

 dry and warm and gradually withholding water from the roots. 

 When the wood is ripened the trees may be put close together 

 in a corner of the house, and the borders cleaned to receive 

 Chrysanthemums, Lettuce, Endive, Parsley, and many other 

 things that require a slight protection from the frost. 



In the latter part of February the trees may be arranged for 



the summer, and the stems be washed as before directed. The 



surface soil should then be removed, and the space filled up with 



a dressing of decayed dung. I do bo three times during the 



..growing season. 



I have not seen any " miniature fruit trees," such as Mr. 

 Rivers describes, but I intend to get some. In Japan the " art 

 of dwarfing trees " is one of the chief points in ornamental gar- 

 dening. When Lord Elgin was in that country, a box was 

 offered to him, in which were flourishing a Fir tree, a Bamboo, 

 and a Plum tree in full blossom. The size of the box was 

 4 inches long, 1J wide, and 6 high. The price asked was about 

 £100.- G. G, Wells. 



VIOLETS. 



The provincial gardener residing at a considerable distance 



from the great metropolis, and who visits it but seldom, cannot 



/ail being Btruck by the endless quantity of good articles in the 



gardening way which he will see around him in all directions, 



even in midwinter, or in the spring after an unusually severe 

 winter, when the outcry far and wide ib that everything in the 

 Broccoli and Cabbage line has been, destroyed. He will see cart- 

 loads of these vegetables wending their way into the centre of 

 the great city, while vendors of such things scattered all over 

 the town present the same in more or less profusion ; the price 

 rather than the seeming scarcity is the only thing that betokens 

 a limited supply. Other things as well as vegetables find their 

 way into town, and certainly not the least attractive of the varied 

 articles which form a considerable item in the trading, transac- 

 tions of street vendors is the flower which forms the subject of 

 my present notes, and one which is carried through as extensive 

 a period as any flower we are acquainted with. 



"Violets, sweet Violets ! " is an agreeable cry, the more so as 

 being heard when the weather and other surroundings ate any- 

 thing but pleasing. Violets have attractions which even in a dull 

 cheerless November day remind one that other senses as well as 

 the one which appreciates the beautiful may be brought into 

 operation. However fastidious the individual may be about 

 Bmells, and the writer of this is one of that class, Violets are of 

 the class of plants which every one admireB, and a nice little 

 knot of Violets is acceptable alike in a lady's boudoir and on the 

 mantlepiece of the humblest cottager : it is, therefore, needless 

 to make any apology for jotting down a few remarks on its 

 cultivation. 



Too often some out-of-the-way corner is the one assigned to 

 this plant. Presenting little that is gay at a time when the parterre 

 is a blaze of beauty, its merits seem forgotten at the time it most 

 deserves attention, so that when the season for flowering arrives 

 the result is not always satisfactory ; for though the plant is 

 very hardy, and will accommodate itself to most situations, there 

 are some more favourable than others, and it is to these that we 

 ought more particularly to direct our attention, and in a few 

 words detail the practice most likely to produce a good result. At 

 the same time it must be observed that eome situations present 

 natural advantages which it would be difficult to imitate, yet 

 much can be done, and the plapt, as stated above, is very accom- 

 modating. Nevertheless, it is not everywhere that it succeeds 

 satisfactorily, and a glance at those where it does prosper may 

 teach us how to manage it so as to prooure a Bimilar result ; 

 and, perhaps, the best way to consider the subject is to trace the 

 plant to its wild state — the original British one inhabiting dry 

 banks by the side of lanes and woods, where it blooms prohjaely 

 in early spring. 



The best situation both for the Neapolitan and double and 

 single Russian Violets are those rather stiff soils overlying chalk, 

 and where the plant has an opportunity of enjoying the free air, 

 and not overshadowed by trees, especially evergreens. I am not 

 sure but a slight shading with deciduous trees is berieficial 

 rather than otherwise, as the plant is so liable to red spider in 

 hot summers ; and a partial shading from the hot midday sun 

 induces the dew to.remain longer on the foliage, and, consequently, 

 renders the plants less injured by this pest. A -soil too rich is 

 more likely to produce leaves than flowers, so that manuring too 

 freely is not advisable. 



When a new plantation is wanted, it is best to make one aa 

 soon as ever the plants are rooted sufficiently to be taken pff. 

 The plant generally produces abundance of runners after it has 

 done flowering ; and to induce them to root freely, and quickly 

 become plants, it is very good practice to sift some leafy mould 

 or fine soil amongst the shoots, and, if the weather is dry, to 

 water once or twice. Generally it is the end of May ere the 

 young plants are sufficiently rooted to be taken off with advan- 

 tage, when, the ground being previously well dug and prepared, 

 they may be planted in rows about 18 inches apart, and allow- 

 ing about a foot from plant to plant in the row. This planting 

 ought to be done in damp weather if possible ; and the little 

 after-attention required during the summer is simply to remove 

 any runners or suckers that show themselves. It js better to 

 allow them to grow a little, and then cut them off, so as , to en- 

 courage the main plant to form a head or crown well set with 

 flowering-buds for the ensuing season. It is attention fcothis 

 that makes a plant tidy -looking, and retains it in a condition 

 fit to remove with a ball if wanted in autumn. Observe that a 

 too frequent stopping all laterals or runners is not such good 

 practice as letting them grow some length and then cutting them 

 all back ; for the pruning of the Violet is something like that of 

 the espalier Apple or Pear tree — to cut off every shoot as it is 

 found ia more hurtful to the tree than .allowing them to arrive 

 at nearly their growth, and then removing them, to enable all. the 



