322 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 27, 1870. 



ing to grow this as a pot plant on its own roots — at least I 

 have not seen it in a satisfactory state when grown in that 

 way. It requires to be grafted, and on a stem from 6 inches 

 to a foot high it is very pleasing. It is best grafted on the 

 old sort, or Sweet Jasmine, and the operation may be performed 

 in spring when the stocks are beginning to grow, the scions 

 being kept back by catting them a month previously, and 

 keeping them fresh by inserting their lower ends in wet clay ; 

 or a Potato put in tho soil will do as well. Whip-grafting will 

 answer, but the continental growers practise cleft-grafting with 

 great success. After tying with bast matting, and covering with 

 grafting was, place the grafts in a gentle hotbed or a house 

 with a temperature of from 50° to 55°, and cover with a hand- 

 glass, so as to keep them close. The glasses ought only to be 

 taken off to Bee whether water is required, or to admit a small 

 quantity of air if likely to be damp. When the grafts begin to 

 grow admit air in moderate quantity at first, increasing the 

 amount as they advance, and hardening off by degrees. When 

 the shoots are about 6 inches long the plants may be moved 

 to the greenhouse, assigning them a light airy position. They 

 will flower in the course of the summer if sufficiently strong. 

 By autumn they will have firm shoots ; to insure their ripen- 

 ing, give them the lightest and most airy position the green- 

 house affords, keeping them dry at the root, but not so much 

 so as to cause the leaves to flag and fall prematurely. 



When the leaves fall place the plants in the coolest part of 

 the house, or in a cold pit or cool house, and in December cut 

 them back, so as to leave about an inch of last year's wood, 

 two or three joints being enough. If the plants are in small 

 pots transfer them to a larger size, using a compost of light 

 fibrous loam two parts, one part sandy peat, and one part of leaf 

 soil, with a free admixture of sharp sand. Good drainage is 

 necessary, also a moderate-sized pot. Six inch pots are quite 

 large enough for the next two or three years. After watering, the 

 plants may be placed in a house with a temperature of 45°, pro- 

 gressively increasing to 50° or 55°, and they will flower well early 

 in spring. They will, of course, be placed in the greenhouse 

 when in flower, and should have due care as to water, and in 

 a light airy position the wood will be ripened by May. Then, 

 or early in June, cut the shoots back to within a few eyes of 

 their base — two or three are enough — and keep them rather 

 dry at the roots for a fortnight, then place them in a light airy 

 position, watering as required, and occasionally syringing over- 

 head. The plants will form fresh shoots, and flower again in [ 

 autumn no to Christmas in a greenhouse with a temperature 

 of from 40° to 45°. 



Nice plants may be obtained at most nurseries, many of I 

 them in a flowering state ; indeed it is not practicable to grow 

 grafted plants without flowering. 



I may say that the Sweet Jasmine succeeds admirably in the 

 same way. Grafted plants are best for pots, though others 

 answer well, only they are more liable to put out long shoots, 

 which should be stopped at the third or fourth joint, being 

 careful to retain the short-jointed flowering parts. — G. Abbey. 



Canada, April; 11, Sturmer Pippin; 12, White Nonpareil, 

 March. 



All the above bear well as dwarfs and pyramids on the EDgliBh 

 Paradise stock, no matter what kind, for all the Paradise stooks 

 root freely on the surface, and form prolific trees. The French 

 Paradise forms very dwarf trees ; for pots or very small gardens 

 they are really curious and pretty, as treeB here in 4-inch pots 

 are like Japanese trees, so full are they of blosBom-buds. In 

 France this stock requires a heavy tenacious soil, as the heat 

 is apt to scorch their roots, always near the surface. 



Plums. — Kitchen — I, Victoria ; 2, Autumn Compote, which 

 succeeds it, and is much like it, but better; 3, Prince Engle- 

 bert, large and rich ; 4, Belle de Septembre, very late and large ; 

 5, Early Rivers or Early Prolific, July and August. This is 

 the most abundant bearer of all Plums, and, indeed, the best 

 culinary Plum known, for preserved without sugar it retains its 

 exquisite flavour for a year or more (I enclose my wife's receipt, 

 see page 342 — it is very old — for preserving Plums without sugar ; 

 it seldom or never fails if the bottles or jars are placed in a dry 

 roim). 6, Oullius' Golden Gage, very large, early in August, 

 excellent for preserving, a great bearer. The tree is almost too 

 vigorous for a small garden ; as a standard it is a giant — a 

 standard tree here ten years old bore six bushels of large fruit. 

 7, Mirabelle, as a bush only ; this charming little yellow Plum 

 is largely used in the east of France for jam and preserving ; its 

 perfume is sui generis and exquisite. 8, Early Orleans, early, 

 and a great hearer. 



Plums. — Dessert — 1, Angelina Burdett, hardy and excellent ; 

 2, Belgian Purple, earlier than the preceding, good for both 

 purposes ; 3, Jefferson, large and good ; 4, Bonnet d'Ereque, 

 one of the latest, hardiest, and richest of Plums ; its fruit, of a 

 bright purple, are still (October 18th) on the trees quite hard, 

 yet juicy and rich ; 5, Transparent Gage, the most noble Plum 

 known ; 6, Boddaert's Green Gage; 7, Early Green Gage; 8, 

 Reine Claude de Bavay, one of the finest of Gage Plums, very 

 hardy and late. 



All the Plums I have mentioned are perfectly hardy, and will 

 bear well as bushes and pyramids in districts south of the Trent, 

 and even farther north in sheltered places. I have thus far 

 complied with Mr. Abbey's request. There are, doubtless, 

 many kinds as good as those I have mentioned, but I have 

 given, according to my experience, the names of varieties that 

 everyone may plant with safety. — Thos. Riyep.3. 



A FEW APPLES, PEARS, AND PLUMS FOR 

 SMALL GARDENS. 



Pears. — 1, Beurre 1 Bachelier, December; 2, Bergamotte 

 d'Esperen, March ; 3, Beurre d'Amanlis, September ; 4. Beurie 

 Hardv, November; 5, Beurre Superfin, October; 6, Williams' 

 Bon 'Chretien, September ; 7, Doyenne dn Cornice, November 

 and December ; 8, Josephine de Milines, February and March ; 

 9, Louise Bonne of Jersey, September and October ; 10, Ma- 

 dame Treyve, August and September ; 11, Winter Nelis, Janu- 

 ary ; 12, Olivier de Serres, March and April. 



The above are all of first-rate quality, and bear in the west, 

 south, and south-east of England freely as bashes and pyramids 

 when grafted on the Quince stock. 



Apples. — Kitchen — 1, Blenheim Orange, November ; 2, Cox's 

 Pomona, December; 3, Dnmelow's Seedling, March ; 4, Goose- 

 berry Apple. May; 5, Hawthomden, August to November; 



6, New or Winter Hawthornden, Jannary ; 7, Rymer, Decem- 

 ber to Apiil; 8, Small's Admirable, December; 9, Lord Suf- 

 field, October ; 10, Warner's Eing, very large, November. 



Apples.— Dessert — 1, Cox's Orange Pippin, November; 2, 

 Dake of Devonshire, February; 3, Early Harvest, August; 

 4, Keddlestone Piopin, March ; 5. Lodgemore Nonpareil, 

 April and M»y ; G, Melon Apple, December and January; 



7, American Mother, October ; 8, Pitmaston Pineapple, De- 

 cember ; 9, Rsinette Van Mons, January ; 10, Reinette du 



ROOT-PRUNING FRUIT TREES. 



Ovef.-luxuf.iant trees being benefited by this operation, and 

 this being the season for so treating them, I would ask for more 

 attention to it. I am well aware that it takes time to root- 

 prune in a proper manner, but it is not an annual operation 

 needed by each tree. As many of the trees as can be root- 

 pruned in a year should be so treated, and then by working 

 systematically the whole may be compelled to grow in the 

 manner the cultivator requires. 



In root-pruning, by cutting hard back the coarse roots which 

 supply the tree with an excess of sap, a number of fibrous roots 

 will be formed, these being the kind required to produce fruit- 

 ful wood. In doing this, care is necessary lest the fibrous 

 roots already in existence get damaged, as injury to them would 

 most assuredly debilitate the tree operated upon. The points 

 of all damaged roots must be pruned back to wbere they are 

 sound, in order to encourage young roots ; but there are often 

 cises in which the whole of the tree is growing too rank, through 

 over-rich borders, or neglecting to cut back the runaway roots 

 at their origin, and these will require careful lifting, digging a 

 deep trench around them, and working the soil away from the 

 roots with a steel fork. The soil should be moist, so as to 

 separate readily from the roots, or these will be lacerated. Let 

 the soil be thrown out of the trench as the roots are freed from 

 it, keeping the ball undermined so as to get easily at the pert 

 pendicular roots, which must be shortened back and spread ou- 

 horizontally when the tree is replanted. 



With respect to young trees, it is by far the best plan to lift 

 and replant them every second or third year. By this means, 

 with the judicious use of the pruning knife among the roots, 

 fruitful trees, with an abundance of healthy fibrous roots will 

 be produced ; and if a few of the trees are found weak, some 

 fresh loam can be added at the time of replanting. Any coarse 

 shoots, which will usually be found unripe, will be best wholly 

 removed. As the trees become older, lifting them entirely 

 will not be necessary very often, but on the appearance of any 

 gross shoots iu the growing season these can be frequently 



