Angaat 3, 1871. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



85 



point for the harvest. The Potato disease is likewise appearing 

 amongst the second earlies, and everything is favourable at 

 present for its fall development and virulence amongst the late 

 crops should August be wet and warm. — W. T. 



Potatoes in the Yale of Gloucester are going, I fear, very 

 ■last, by the disagreeable smell that cornea from the black- 

 spotted tops, and many are complaining of dry diseased ones 

 even now. — Thomas Gee. 



The Potato crop in Cornwall has thus far turned out exceed- 

 ingly satisfactory, the yield being larger than for some years 

 and the quality very good. Unfortunately, however, the disease 

 ds reported to be spreading rapidly in many localities owing to 

 the long-continued rain.' — {Devonshire Paper.) 



THE PROTECTION OF FRUIT TREES FROM 

 FROST. 



The most certain protection for wall fruits is to have the 

 Ibearing wood thoroughly ripened to insure a crop. 



It ia with great diffidence I enter on a beaten path. The 

 .remarks of Mr. Sutherland, extracted from "The Gardener," 

 and published in the Journal of July 13th, page 29, together 

 with the pointed remarks of Mr. Fieh in " Doings of the Last 

 Week," in the same number, on the firmness of fruit-tree 

 borders, have induced me to give my treatment of Peach trees 

 against the open walls without the slightest protection having 

 been ever afforded them for a period of eight years, daring 

 ■which time I never failed to secure a good crop of fruit, owing, 

 I believe, to the system of root-management I adopted in order 

 to secure short, hard, well-ripened wood. 



I think it proper to commence with the making of the 

 border, and I consider 8 feet to be a sufficient width, allowing 

 3 feet 6 inches from the wall for a path to nail, prune, disbud, 

 &o., leaving 4 feet 6 inches of a bed to the edging of the walk, 

 to be cropped as will be afterwards stated. There are very few 

 gardeners, I believe, but have often remarked the injarious 

 effects large heavily-cropped and highly-manured borders have 

 on the fruit-bearing qualities of trees planted against walls ; 

 the continual digging, manuring, &c , inducing the trees to 

 produce gross wood, water shoots, &o. Large roots running 

 'into the border and down into the subsoil, no fruitful shoots nor 

 ripe wood can be secured when the root? get below the influence 

 ■of solar heat. To correct the evil influence of planting in 

 borders treated and cropped according to old-fashioned ideas, 

 I adopted the following course of treatment. 



The site of the border was high and dry ; the soil was about 

 «qual pirts of decayed sods and old garden soil thoroughly 

 mixed, and in a healthy dry state. When filling-in, I had each 

 layer of 6 or 8 inches in depth well rammed, and thus pro- 

 •oeeded until I had 16 inches of soil firm and compact. I gave 

 a good slope to the border, planted the young Peach trees in a 

 half-circular space, out about 6 inches in depth out of Ihi solid 

 border, planted as shallow as possible, and put on a mulching. 

 I gave them the usual treatment young trees receive, and after 

 the first year's growth, I mulched the border in March with 

 very old hotbed manure, as recommended by Mr. Elvers many 

 years since for light soils, and rammed it firmly. I next 

 covered over the mulching to the depth of Ij inch with sods 

 and garden soil, and sowed in drills successions of Turnip 

 Sadishes, Early Dutch Turnips, and Ooions, but no other 

 vegetables. The hard manured bottom underneath the dress- 

 ing of earth jast suited such root crops, and never have I seen 

 them better, but not large in size. I took care to have all 

 crops off the Peach border by the Ist of September, in order to 

 allow the solar rays to penetrate the border, and assist in ripen- 

 ing the young wood for the next year's crop. 



The wood produced in the second year was in character and 

 hardiness more like the young wood of an Apricot than Peach 

 wood. The trees were studded over with fine triple-eyed, short, 

 stubby shoots, and there was not a single robber shoot on any 

 of the trees. The fruit were of a very large size. I measured 

 a few of them, and the following were their dimensions — one 

 Eoyal George Peach, 11 inches in circumference, one lOJ inches, 

 one 10 inches, and several — in fact, the remainder — were all 

 from 9 to 9i inches each. Of Noblesse there were several from 

 9i to 10 J inches in circumference. 



My treatment during the first year I repeated yearly. When 

 the border wanted water I gave a thorough watering. Pre- 

 VKMis to watering I went over the ground with a large-pronged 



fork, and drove it down in the border, moving it backwards and 

 forwards to give width to the holes made by the prongs, and 

 this was done closely around and over the roots, so as to allow 

 the water to sink in freely. The character of the wood every 

 year since has been the same as already described — as brown 

 as if varnished, hard, stiff, and so well able to bear up against 

 any rain storms, that instead of nailing or tying the bearing 

 wood for the ensuing year's crop, after the last disbudding 

 takes place, I allow it to grow from the wall in order to secure 

 a better ripening of the wood. It always ripened more tho- 

 roughly growing in such a manner than if laid-in, and I have 

 such proof of the practice being good, that I shall ever con- 

 tinue it. I have never had such crops of fruit (Peaches) as since 

 I adopted the foregoing treatment, which, however, may be prac- 

 tised by many gardeners for anything I know to the contrary. 



I should not omit stating that I protected the roots as in the 

 case of Vines and Vine borders, for I believe the roots should 

 be protected until the crop is set, and not protecting them at 

 the modt critical period for the safety of the crop causes many 

 of the failures of which we hear. Let failures arise as they may 

 from the many causes repeatedly stated in the gardening 

 world, I have been able without the least protection to secure 

 splendid crops yearly for the eight years during which I have 

 had the management of the trees. 1 have been a constant 

 reader of your Journal for the greater part of the time, and 

 have often read of failures of the Peach crop, even where pro- 

 tecting materials were in use, but every season I found my 

 crop qaite safe with the usual thinnings, and I have become a 

 firm believer in unripened wood being the chief cause of all 

 the failures that take place. Let me point out the case of the 

 wood in a vinery having been badly ripened — what follows ? 

 Why, a bad show of small bunches, and a very bad setting of 

 the berries, although quite safe from the influence of frost and 

 cold winds ; and I assert that what takes place in the vinery 

 from badlj ripened wood, happens likewise to the Peach out of 

 doors. I do not mean to assert that we can ever adopt a system 

 of culture that will make the Peach tree live in health to a 

 good old age ; but we can assist materially in prolonging its ex- 

 istence, and have the benefit of splendid crops of fruit without 

 the aid or expense of glass structures. In order to do so we 

 must give up the old-fashioned border cropped with vegetables, 

 but we can sow in succession the crops I have already named, 

 and in the manner described, without the slightest disturbance 

 to the roots of the tree. 



In making fruit-tree borders let us make them firm, and if 

 the compost is dry ram it hard ; then it will be unfavourable 

 to the formation of large roots, but will assist materially in 

 causing masses of small fibres to spring upwards, assisted by 

 the mulchings, to the surface, there to receive nourishment 

 yearly at our hands, and be within the influence of solar heat. 



I treated all the wall trees — viz., the Plums, Pears, Apricots, 

 &c., in a similar manner to the Peach trees. The Plum tree I 

 need not state requires taking up and replanting often, to make 

 it produce fruitful wood, and I found firm borders most useful 

 in causing the Pearon the Pear stock to produce freely at an early 

 age. Borders for the Pear worked on the Quince need not be 

 so firm. I have never resorted to any root-pruning, and the 

 production of fruit-bearing spurs and wood was beyond my 

 expectations ; the size of fruit and abundant crops equally so. 

 —J. McD. 



POISONOUS FUNGI. 



Having noticed accounts of large Mushrooms in two or three 

 of the last numbers of The Jouknal of Hokticcltuee, and 

 having gathered several in an old pasture adjoining the vicarage 

 grounds, I had the curiosity to measure one of them, the di- 

 mensions of which were as follow : — Diameter, 12 inches ; 

 height, 7J inches ; and weight, 1 lb. 6 ozs. I have gathered 

 several in the same ring or circle, but none of them, I think, 

 quite so large as this. 



As many species of Fungi are used as food, or rather as con- 

 diments, and accidents arise in consequence, it may not perhaps 

 ba out of place to give briefly the medical treatment to be 

 adopted in the event of poisonous Fungi being eaten. Vomit- 

 ing should be excited as quickly as possible by a solution of 

 sulphate of zinc or copper. A dose of castor oil or croton oil 

 should be administered, or, what is better still, a large dose of 

 spirits of turpentine. When the aperient has taken effect, 

 small but repeated doses of ether, or ether and opium, should 

 be given in some mucilaginous fluid. 



The symptoms produced by these substances are illustrated 



