406 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 24, 1370. 



the wind from drawing up the rows. Advantage must be taken 

 of every warm sunny day, and the covering should be taken 

 away, which will enable the operator to flat-hoe and earth-up 

 the rows if necessary, as well as harden and encourage the 

 growth of the young plants. In all cases the covering should 

 be put on while the sun is shining on the rows. 



The time for planting entirely depends npon the locality. 

 In the south and south-midland parts of England planting may 

 be commenced in March, but in the north and north-midland 

 counties planting must be deferred a fortnight or three weeks, 

 but in either case the time must be left to the judgment of the 

 operator. 



As the tubers ripen, which will be seen by the haulm or tops 

 becoming yellow, they may be forked up. Those which are 

 ripe about the beginning of June may be termed "first earlies ;" 

 then those which ripen about July, " second earlies ;" and those 

 ripening subsequently are "late" varieties. 



In examining the Potatoes, the large ones must not always 

 be considered the best, nor the small ones the worst, but in both 

 cases let a fair-sized, clear-skinned, shallow-eyed Potato be 

 chosen, and let each root which is deemed worthy of being 

 saved for culinary proof be kept separate from the rest, and let 

 a private mark by which it may be identified be put on it. 

 When the cooking is over, those which have a favourable 

 report and prove first-rate in all points may be brought out as 

 new varieties after a stock has been raised. It is a good plan 

 to detail the characters and different qualities of every such 

 variety, and whether it is a first early, Eecond early, or late 

 kind, for this prevents disappointment to the purchaser. — 

 J. C. Lewis, Gardener and Bailiff, Sudbury Eectory, Derby. 



CUTTING LAUREL BANKS AND HEDGES. 



An inquiry was lately made about cutting Laurels, and the 

 best time to plant them; and as in these matters many errors 

 have at times been committed, some further details than those 

 given in the reply may be entered into. Few plants bear 

 the knife and saw better than the common Laurel, but it is 

 advisable to point out when the pruning may be performed 

 with the least amount of injury to the plant, as well as to the 

 appearance of the shrubbery or group. There are but few 

 shrubs so accommodating as the common Laurel in regard to 

 the sites in which they are found to thrive ; in a dry sand or a 

 bed of the stiffest clay the plant equally continues in a healthy 

 growing state, so it does in the black peat of a moorland waste, 

 and in the decomposed chalk which overlies an immense depth 

 of that material. In all these soils it remains, unlike many 

 other plants, in a healthy state, and it will endure an amount 

 of rude treatment under which others would succumb. At the 

 same time it is certainly not the hardiest evergreen we have ; 

 on the contrary, some winters tell a tale on it in some places. 

 From injury in these winters it sometimes takes years to 

 recover, and sometimes it perishes entirely. 



Planting Common Laurels. — So much depends on the charac- 

 ter of the weather and other conditions, that it is difficult to 

 say with certainty which is the best time to plant ; for although 

 I have planted Laurels — rather extensively too — in, I believe, 

 every month of the year, the success and failure have been so 

 conflicting owing to circumstances, that it is no easy matter to 

 say what time is best ; but I may say that the time too often 

 chosen for the work is about the worst, and that is the dry 

 withering weather which often occurs in March. Eetter wait 

 till May ; the losses will then not be so great, as we then do not, 

 as a rule, experience the parching east and north-east winds so 

 prevalent in March. If showery weather occur in May, I would 

 as readily plant in that month as in any. September is also a 

 good time for the operation, and is better than later in the 

 season, provided the ground is moist enough, or made so arti- 

 ficially. The long heavy dews, so common towards the end of 

 that month, serve to moisten the foliage so well that the change 

 is then less felt than, perhaps, at any other season, if in trans- 

 planting an abundance of good roots haB been secured. But 

 so accommodating is the Laurel that it is often planted in mid- 

 winter, and, in fact, at all seasons, and in some districts it is 

 a common saying that if planted upside down it will still 

 grow. I recollect making many years ago a sort of fernery 

 with the roots of trees and shrubs of various kinds, including 

 those of Laurels, that had been grubbed-up. Many of them 

 after having lain about a long time, grew where they were 

 partly covered with earth; but it is not uncommon to witness 

 large bushes taken up from a shrubbery where they had luxu- 

 riated for years, and used to stop a gap or hide en vnsightly 



object, turn rusty and die off soon after planting. Yet the plant 

 does not always die when it puts on its red garb ; a certain 

 amount of life still lingers in it, and if treated patiently and 

 left alone it would often recover in time, but the knife is too 

 frequently called into play, and the plant dies farther back 

 than it would have done if left alone. Whenever the planting 

 can be accomplished in September let it be done then, and the 

 same may be said of April and May ; but, if possible, avoid the 

 dry north-east winds of early spring, as they do much harm to 

 all newly-planted shrubs. It is, however, frequently necessary 

 to plant at this time, and we must then be careful to secure to 

 each plant as mmy roots as we can, and let them be well 

 secured in the ground if that be at all dry and lumpy. 



Cutting and Pruning. — Cutting, I consider, signifies a more 

 extensive mutilation than pruning, as it now and then means 

 the total cutting down of the plant. This I generally try to do 

 in March, and sometimes as late as April ; not that I advise 

 doing the work so late, but as the shrubs operated upon are 

 often in conspicuous places and seen every day, whatever 

 may be the ultimate benefit, a severe cutting of evergreens 

 disfigures them for a time, and the later it is performed the 

 shorter time they are unsightly. With this object I seldom 

 cut them till the middle of April, and then rarely cut them 

 down entirely all at once, although the requirements of the plant 

 may render this desirable; still whenever possible, a branch or 

 two left on each plant will be of great service in securing an early 

 and healthy growth, even if the branch left must be cut at a 

 later period. As they act as nurses, their presence even if un- 

 sightly must be endured. I have on several occasions cut 

 down large bushes (almost trees), of Arbutus which had become 

 naked at the bottom, and by leaving a side branch or two a 

 good bushy head was soon formed again by the growth which 

 took place at the cut-down part, and Laurels are more prolific 

 in buds than the Arbutus ; but when the cutting down does 

 not involve such severe amputations, the work can be done at 

 another season if necessary. Much, however, must be left to 

 the judgment of the operator, and I must content myself by 

 saying it is rarely the plant is improved in appearance the 

 moment it is cut ; it is the better shape it is likely to assume 

 when it has grown again that prompts the cutting, as the grace- 

 ful character of the plant in its natural state cannot well be 

 improved upon excepting when it is made to conform to a 

 certain artificial arrangement. This brings me to another 

 feature of the plant's utility, but before entering into it I will 

 remark that those who have naked-bottomed overgrown Laurels 

 that no longer fulfil the purpose they were intended for, which 

 was to screen some unsightly object behind them, should cut 

 them down at the proper time, and the young healthy after- 

 growth will soon tSect the object the older ones have, in fact, 

 grown too old to do. 



Pruning Laurel Hedges, Banks, dc. — Although I am not an 

 advocate for much of this kind of work, it is, nevertheless, one 

 of the features in many places which it would not be easy to 

 improve ; and as we have here, perhaps, as much cut Laurel to 

 deal with as can be met with in most places, the experience of 

 a number of years has enabled me to perform the operation in 

 a more expeditions manner than was thought of at first, and 

 the result is satisfactory. We have sloping banks and upright 

 surfaces of Laurel to trim, as well as large breadths nearly flat. 

 We have found out that to get the operation done in the 

 quickest manner is better than taking more pains and letting 

 the job linger for some time. Instead, therefore, of cutting 

 over all the surface with the knife, we apply the shears, and 

 so get over a large breadth in a short time ; but it would not 

 do to resort to clipping at all times, and I do not affirm it is 

 better than the knife, but it is infinitely quicker, and it is im- 

 portant to get it all done in a short time. In our ease we begin 

 about the second week in July, and generally finish the same 

 month, the whole being sometimes completed by the 25th. 

 My object is as follows — Having an aversion to a closely-shaven 

 surface, I have the Laurels cut over in time to insure a short 

 growth afterwards of 3 or 4 inches or more, which growth hides 

 all rawness caused by the cutting, and at the same time conceals 

 the leaves that were cut in two by the shears. This cannot 

 always be depended upon in many places, but with us it 

 answers admirably, the second growth seldom exceeding the 

 above length ; and late in the autumn, when the growth is 

 finished for the year, it is easy to go over with the knife and 

 cut off very long pieces that stand above the general run of 

 short leafy shoots which clothe the whole for the winter; and 

 as these almost all ripen with us, the appearance is all that 

 can be desired, as fully formed leaves terminate every Bhoot. 



