July 18, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 









WEEKLY 



CAL 



ENDAR. 















Bay 



Day 





Average Tempera- 



Rain in 



Sun 



Sun 



Moon 



Moon 



Moon's 



Clock | Day ' 

 before 1 ot 

 Sun. 



of 



Month 



of 

 Week. 



JULI IS— 24, 1S72. 



ture near London. 



43 yearo. 



Rises. 



Seta. 



Rises. 



Sets. 



Age. 











Night. 





Days. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



Days. 



m. s 





18 



Th 





74.7 



50.2 



62.5 



21 



6af4 



6af8 



44 af 6 



13 af 1 



13 



5 57 



200 



19 



J? 





73.2 



49.9 



61.1 



22 



7 4 



•5 8 



54 7 



6 2 



14 



6 1 



2 1 i 



20 



S 



Crewe and Cleckheaton Horticultural Shows. 



73.2 



50.2 



61.7 



23 



8 4 



3 8 



43 8 



IS 3 



O 



6 4 



2U3 ! 



21 



SCN 





74.0 



50.8 



62.4 



19 



9 4 



2 8 



18 9 



38 4 



16 



6 7 





22 



M 





72.2 



51.4 



61.8 



24 



11 4 



8 



47 9 



9 6 



17 



6 9 



20.1 i 



23 



Tu 





740 



51.4 



62.7 



21 



12 4 



59 7 



7 10 



3S 7 



IS 



G 11 



2 1 . 



24 



W 



Spalding Horticultural Show opens. 



72.G 



51.7 



62.1 



14 



13 4 



57 7 



25 10 



3 9 



19 



12 



203 



Prom observations taken near London auxins forty-three years, the average clay temperature of the week is 73.4" ; and its night temperature 



50.8°. The greatest heat was 93', on the 23rd and 21th, 1868 ; and the lowest cold 32°, on the 23rd, 1863. The greatest fall of rain was 1.48 inch. 



THE HAPPINESS OF FRUIT TEEES. 



TRUE gentleman is one who, by a pleasing 

 refinement of manner indicative of high 

 breeding, whether innate or acquired, diffuses 

 happiness around him. Most gardeners de- 

 serve this honourable title, for they are al- 

 ways studying to make then - plants happy. 

 Old Adam in the play was a more finished 

 gentleman than either Oliver or Orlando ; 

 and although Shakespeare describes him as 

 one of the antique world, yet I would fain 

 hope many a hand made horny by honest labour still 

 belongs to Nature's gentlemen. Now, the manager of 

 every orchard house must act like a gentleman by his 

 trees ; he must treat them as though they had feelings, 

 consult their welfare rather than Ms own, and, in a word, 

 do all he can to make them happy. I use that adjective 

 advisedly ; for are not trees capable of happiness ? Are 

 they not susceptible of love ? Are they not extremely 

 sensitive to unkindness and neglect ? Is it not possible 

 to make them wretched ? I much like those epithets of 

 the Mantuan bard, felix, Iceta, ridens — i.e., happy, joy- 

 ful, laughing, as applied to trees, or corn, or flowers. As, 

 for instance — ■ 



" Exiit ad cosluni lamisfclicibus arbos." 



And again — 



" Quid faciat Icetas segetes ? " 



And once more — 



" Mixtaque ridenti Coloeasia frrndet Acantho." 

 Cognate to this is the language of Holy Writ : — " The 

 valleys are covered over with corn ; they shout for joy, 

 they also sing." Mr. Rivers also strikes the same chord, 

 where, on the 165th page of his " Orchard House," tenth 

 edition, he says, " The silvery covering of the Peach's 

 blossom bud, the beauty of its fully-developed flowers, 

 how fresh and happy they always look ! " I claim his 

 venerable authority for my assertion that trees, and buds, 

 and blossoms may be happy, and I will add that there is 

 a reflex benefit. A tree made happy by loving care im- 

 parts happiness also to its cultivator, and th© reverse of 

 that is likewise true, for I shall not readily forget the 

 woe-begone visage wherewith a neighbour of mine the 

 other clay submitted to my scrutinising gaze his most 

 miserable trees. 



With your leave I will just furnish your readers with a 

 few receipts for making Peach trees happy. 



First, Prepare a fit station for them, having, if possible, 

 a south aspect. It will be well, " ante debita quam sulcis 

 committas semina, quamque invitee propercs anni spem 

 credere terrtz," to provide for then hospitable reception. 

 Let me suppose that you intend covering the back wall of 

 your lean-to house with oblique cordons d ZaBrehaut — for 

 that is what I recommend — let a trench be excavated two 

 and half spits deep, and at least a couple of yards wide ; 

 see that it is well drained, pave it with rubble, then fill-in 

 with a stiff calcareous soil fresh from a pasture, and ab- 

 stain from defiling its virgin purity with manure. 



No. 500.— Vol. XXIII., New Series. 



Secondly, Select a tree that already looks happy in its 

 nursery, two years old from the graft, provided with 

 plenty of healthy spurs — for there cannot be happiness 

 without health — plant as soon as possible ; for a tree out 

 of the ground is like a fish out of water. Spread-out the 

 roots carefully in the shape of a fan, and tread the soil 

 firmly round the base of the tree. 



Thirdly, Make up your mind (no matter whether you 

 object to tobacco or not) to fumigate your house promptly 

 and thoroughly on the very first appearance of aphides. 

 Too much attention cannot be given to this most essential 

 point. Mr. Appleby, of Dorking, furnishes effectual fumi- 

 gators, and tobacco paper so very pungent that even my 

 man John Hankin cannot stand it, much less can the 

 green fly. Now mind ! the slightest delay in fumigating. 

 or in a'pplying soft soap and. quassia, if you prefer it, will 

 be fatal to the happiness of your trees and to your own 

 peace of mind. 



Fourthly, In the early part of the year make up a smalt 

 hotbed in your orchard house. It is wonderful how the 

 ammonia prevents the invasion of red spider — a pest 

 which, if tolerated, will soon render your promising trees . 

 the reverse of happy. 



Fifthly, Be careful to keep the oark of your trees free 

 from scale insects. You may hardly see them, you may be 

 ignorant of the harm they do, but when your fruit ripens 

 it will look more smutty than happy if you have failed 

 to exterminate both mealy bug and scale. 



Sixthly, Make it yom- pastime to hunt for thrips ; they 

 prey upon the extremities of the young shoots, and are 

 most pertinacious killers of joy. 



Seventhly, Obey needfully the directions given in the 

 books as regards pinching. Too much pinching cannot 

 well be conducive to happiness; if you think so, try it on 

 your wife, and mark well the result. Do not be in too- 

 great a hurry to pinch-back. Mr. Rivers's own trees are 

 not so severely pinched-in as his book seems to recom- 

 mend. I\ly own practice is to wait until the shoots re- 

 quire to be cut. 



Eighthly, Apply soft water to the roots of your trees 

 regularly. I find it a good plan to give plenty when they ' 

 ask for it, and not oftener ; but in very hot weather you 

 must look out, or else the happiness of your trees will be 

 impaired, if not entirely destroyed, by drought. 



Ninthly, Keep your trees syringed daily, but never 

 while the sun is on them, for blistering the leaves adds 

 not to joy; but on an evening after a sultry day then- 

 leaves, refreshed by the shower, resemble so many tongues 

 quivering with thanksgiving, they are so happy. I may 

 just mention that the effect of ammonia in preventing red 

 spider has emancipated me from the servile necessity of 

 daily syringing. 



Tenthly, Thm your fruit with a bold hand ; an over- 

 laden tree may seem happy, but it is not so really ; its 

 stamina is being undermined by your cupidity, and 

 call j'ou that gentlemanly treatment? Next year its 

 sad looks will chide you for your cruelty. Mark my 

 words, a few fine Peaches that show marks of culture 

 are worth infinitely more than the whole hatful of 



No. 1242. — Von. XLVIIL, Old Series,- 



