October 17, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



309 



year to a proper extent, the appearance of a strong bud at the 

 base, which will bring about the object of which we have just 

 spoken., is induced. 



It possesses a genuine utility in encouraging the develop- 

 ment of succession shoots on the Peach tree subjected to the 

 system of long pruning. The fruit-bearing properties of stone- 

 fruit trees, and particularly the Peach, are of such a nature 

 that the flowers appear upon the branches produced the pre- 

 vious year, and that each branch is unable to bring forth 

 fruit directly more than once. It is important, then, as in the 

 ■case of all our fruit trees, that the new fruit branches should be 

 produced as near as possible to the branches of the framework. 

 But if, after the winter pruning of the branches, they are 

 .allowed to assume a direction approaching the vertical, it is 

 plain that the wood-producing buds are especially borne at the 

 ■top, and these expand themselves to the hurt of those at the base, 

 which, however, are also essential. To compel the appearance 

 of the latter, the fruit branches must be submitted to winter 

 training, which tends to cause the sap to act with greater force 

 on the base of the branches than at the top. For this pur- 

 pose the fruit branches situated on each side of the branches 

 of the framework, and which prolong themselves vertically, are 

 ■depressed to a horizontal direction. As for those upon the 

 oblique and horizontal branches, the same result is obtained 

 by bending them towards their base, so as to train them in a 

 line almost parallel with the branch which bears them. 



It possesses genuine utility in establishing the balance of 

 the vegetation of a tree. It is well known how very important it 

 is that the vegetative power be equally distributed throughout 

 the various portions of pruned trees, to avoid the danger of the 

 early death of some of the feeblest branches. Now, among the 

 numerous ways that are capable of being employed for lessen- 

 ing the strength of certain branches to the advantage of those 

 to which the sap does not flow freely, one of the most effectual 

 is the depression of the too flourishing shoots, which must 

 be regulated according to the degree of exhaustion wished 

 io be induced. The depressed branch should be carried in a 

 straight line, or else it remains distorted, and shoots spring- 

 ing from the curve draw to themselves the sap intended to 

 promote the growth of other branches. — A. Du Beeuil (in 

 Jtevue Horticole). 



TAYLOB'S COMBINED WARMING, 



VENTILATING, AND VAPORISING PIPES. 



In noticing the garden structures and implements exhibited 



at the Royal Horticultural Society's Birmingham Exhibition, 



our reporter, in commenting on Mr. Howitt's house which was 



the ordinary hot-water pipes, cast on the pipes. This is 

 covered with a zinc cover, and a zinc pipe communicating with 

 the outer air is bent into the cover at one end , the farther end 

 of the cover being left open for the ah- to escape into the house 

 after passing over the length of heated water in the evaporat- 

 ing-pan, from which it would receive both heat and moisture. 

 For forcing houses and stoves this method of ventilating and 

 vaporising must be very beneficial, especially in winter time. 

 It would be very valuable, too, in propagating-pits." We have 

 now, through the kindness of Mr. Taylor, the pleasure of giving 

 illustrations of the pipes employed. Fig. 1 shows the connect- 

 ing tube for conducting the outer ah- into the air-ehaniber of 

 the pipe ; while fig. 2 is a transverse section of the pipe and 

 chamber. 



THE ANGULAB DIVERGENCE IN THE 

 BRANCHES OF PLANTS. 



Some grow quite prostrate, and others, though closely allied 

 species, might be strictly erect. Late in the autumn we may 

 note plants with prostrate leaves or branches, which in spring 

 will have them of a sharp upright angle. The Verbascums, 

 especially Verbascum Blattaria, had their root leaves so firmly 

 pressed against the ground, that on lifting they would fallback 

 with a spring ; as soon as the central axis grew, the leaves from 

 that would be almost upright. In some respects, erection or 

 prostration became almost specific characters. The Rubus 

 villosus usually grew erect even from infan jy, and the Rubus 

 canadensis generally trailed ; yet the last-named would some- 

 times throw up strong erect stems, which could scarcely be 

 distinguished in that stage from R. villosus. Again, the same 

 species of tree would often produce individuals quite erect, and 

 at other times very pendant, and hence we had in horticulture 

 the class of weeping trees. All trees seemed to have this power 

 of producing pendant individuals. The Oaks, Ashes, Poplars, 

 Elms, all furnished familiar exSmples. 



It was usual with botanists to pass these things over as 

 " weaknesses." But the term weakness explained nothing. 

 To say that these plants had lost the power of erection was 

 simply restating the primary fact. Moreover, some of these 

 prostrate forms had apparently more vigour than the erect 

 ones. Rubus canadensis was weaker than R. villosus, truly; 

 but, on the other hand, some of the Russian trailing Junipers 

 were far more vigorous than -any of the upright forms. The 

 Weeping Beech also was in appearance more vigorous than the 

 ordinary forms. All Beeches had their young growth pendant. 

 As the growth matured, the branches became erect ; but in the 

 weeping form erection did not come with maturity, and hence 

 it remained pendant. In the Ashes, however, there was no 



Kg l. 



awarded the gold medal there, remarked, " Mr. Howitt's house 

 was fitted-up with pipes with ventilating and vaporising 



Kg. 2. 



troughs, invented by Mr. Taylor, Walton],Villa, Aylesbwy, 

 Bucks. The system is to have a trough to]contain wate: ovtr 



pendency in the young growth ; but the'j Weeping Ash was 

 one of the most decided of all drooping trees. In such cases 

 as these, the law which governed the angles of divergence 

 must either be different in each case, or operate at different 

 stages of the development of the branches. 



Mr. Meehan,inhis late travels in the Rocky Mountains, came 

 on a tract covered profusely with one of the small creeping 

 Euphorbias, probably E. cordata, in which a large quantity 

 grew perfectly erect. Sometimes only a portion of the plant 

 exhibited this character, at other times all the plant was up- 

 right. The specimens he exhibited were of the erect class. In all 

 these cases the plant was attacked by a small fungus, iEcidium 

 Euphorbia (hypericasfolia of Schweinitz). He thought that 

 the fact that this little fungus should be able to make a usually 

 creeping plant, rooting from every joint, entirely lose this 

 character and become erect, was worthy of some notice by 

 students in this branch of botany. — T. Meehan. — (Proceedings 

 of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia). 



Desiboying Scale— Lapagebia eosea. — At page 262, " L." 

 tells us he has found out an easy _method_of killing scale ; I 



