November 14, 1373. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



375 







WEEKLY 



CALENDAR 















Day 

 of 



Month 



Day 

 of 



Week. 



NOVEMBER 14—20, 1S72. 



Average Tempera- 

 ture near London. 



Rain in 

 43 years. 



Suu 

 Rises. 



Sun 



Sets. 



Moon 

 Rises. 



Moon 

 Sets. 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Clock Day 

 after l of. 

 Sun. Year. 



14 

 15 

 16 

 17 

 18 

 19 

 20 



Th 

 F 



a 



Sun 

 M 

 In 

 W 



Eclipse of the Moon. 



Mentzel died, 1701. 



25 Sunday after Trinity. 



J. Camerarius born, 1665. 



Entomological Society's Meeting, 7 P.M. 



St. Editond. 



Day. 

 48.5 

 49.0 

 48.9 

 48.1 

 47.9 

 48.9 

 48.7 



Night. 

 33.8 

 34.8 

 33.2 

 33.9 

 32.9 

 33.5 

 34.6 



Mean. 

 41.2 

 41.9 

 41.0 

 41.0 

 40.4 

 41.2 

 41.7 



Days. 

 21 

 19 

 14 

 19 

 20 

 17 

 14 



m. h. 

 18af7 

 20 7 



22 7 



23 7 

 25 7 

 27 7 

 29 7 



m. h. 



10af4 

 9 4 

 7 4 

 6 4 

 5 4 

 4 4 

 3 4 



m. h. 



3 4 

 26 4 

 52 4 

 28 5 

 13 6 



8 7 

 12 8 



m. h. 

 3 6 



24 7 

 41 8 

 52 9 



56 10 

 47 11 



after. 



Days. 

 13 

 O 



15 

 16 

 17 

 18 

 19 



m. s. 



15 20 . 319 

 15 10 320 

 14 59 321 

 14 47 322 

 14 34 323 

 14 21 | 324 

 14 6 325 



From observations taken near London during forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 48.6°; and its night temperature 

 33.8°. The greatest heat was 61°, on the 20th, 1866 ; and the lowestcold 18=, on the 15th, 1848, and 19th, 1868. The greatest fall of rain was 1.24 inch. 



WALL COPINGS. 



EEE evidence required to prove how little 

 the value or philosophy of wall copings 

 is understood, the want of replies to Mr. 

 Bartrurn's very pertinent questions on 

 page 109 would he ample. Yet the plan 

 is " old as the hills," and is noticed in 

 almost all standard works on horticulture, 

 but in none of those to which I have been 

 able to refer does there appear any grasp 

 of its real importance. Temporary copings 

 are recom m ended to protect the blossom in spring ; after 

 this object is effected, it is invariably advised that they 

 should be taken down, as they are supposed to obstruct 

 the light, air, and rain necessary to the health of the 

 trees. 



The object of this paper is to show the error of this 

 reasoning, as well as to draw attention to the value of 

 permanent copings ; and I may here observe that my 

 assertions are founded upon no mere theory, or even 

 entirely upon the results of my own practice, but upon 

 the broader basis of extensive observation, and the re- 

 markable success attending the application of this plan 

 for a long course of years by my father in the gardens of 

 the Earl of Romney. 



It may be well to describe this coping once more, for 

 I have seen none better, and it has the desirable qualities 

 of simplicity, cheapness, and durability to recommend it, 

 as I can venture to do most strongly to anyone who may 

 be induced to adopt it. The coping, then, is of elm boards, 

 each 21 feet long, 15 inches wide, and 1 inch thick ; it is 

 fixed at right angles to the wall, and is level with its top. 

 The ends of every two boards are made to lap over each 

 other, and are bolted together on to a stout iron bracket, 

 which is made to fit to the wall, passing over the top 

 downwards into a couple of staples driven in behind. 

 The middle of each board is fastened to another bracket 

 in a similar manner, and the coping is thus kept Securely 

 in position without any risk of damage from high wind. 

 At the time it was put up it was calculated to cost 

 Is. per foot run, including the painting, but exclu- 

 sive of the cost of the timber, which was grown upon 

 the estate. This coping answers so admirably that the 

 trees which it protects rarely fail to produce an abundant 

 crop of fruit ; and the fact of the trees, especially the 

 Peaches and Nectarines, having ripened a full crop of 

 even more than average excellence in the present season, 

 disastrous as it has so generally been, not only to the 

 fruit, but in many instances to the trees themselves, is a 

 greater evidence in favour of the system than anything 

 one could say. 



Turning now to the consideration of the value of 

 copings as a means of protection, it may be asked, Does 

 a Peach or Nectarine require protection only for its 

 blossom? for such appears to be the general opinion. 

 To this I may very safely venture to reply that the 

 foliage is equally tender and equally requires protection ; 

 so also in a measure does the wood, especially during 



No. 607.— Vol. SXin., New Series. 



the growing season when the sap is in full flow, and the 

 cuticle is so tender as to be susceptible of harm from 

 any excessive lowness of temperature : hence the so- 

 called mysterious canker, which has caused such an out- 

 cry from those persons on whose young trees, when appa- 

 rently in full vigour, branches have withered and died, 

 simply because the tissue of the frost-bitten bark has 

 ceased to exercise its functions. It is most probable that 

 the trees sustain this injiu-y from early aut u mnal frosts,, 

 especially in low-lying ground where the temperature 

 has a great range ; but places considerably elevated 

 are by no means exempt. In the kitchen garden here, 

 at an elevation of 460 feet above the sea level, the ther- 

 mometer registered 4° of frost at 6 a.m. on September 

 22nd ; it was equally cold on the following morning. On, 

 October 12th the frost was very severe, the thermometer 

 falling to 26° in the kitchen garden, and to 24° in a valley 

 about 100 feet below the garden level. It is worthy of 

 note that at the observatory at Crowborough, which is the 

 highest point of the Forest Bidge, and is upwards of 

 800 feet above the sea level, no frost occurred on either of 

 the above dates. More rain falls in October than in any 

 other month, and when its frequent storms alternate ■ 

 with sharp frosts, it is reasonable to suppose that tender 

 vegetation — under which category the Peach and Necta- 

 rine may justly be classed — is liable to suffer in propor- 

 tion to its state of exposure. 



These few statistics are given to show the necessity for 

 a coping to protect the foliage and bark from autumnal 

 frosts when the wood is still green, tender, or unripe ; 

 but there is another property which must not be lost 

 sight of, and that is its great value as an absorbent and 

 radiator of heat, and as preventing the escape of heat 

 radiated from the wall, thus contributing very materially 

 to the ripening process, of so much importance to the 

 young growth. 



To the oft-repeated argument that it is necessary to 

 remove the coping during su m mer in order that the trees 

 may enjoy the full benefit of light, air, and rain, I reply 

 that a permanent" coping projecting at right angles from 

 the wall, instead of being hurtful to the trees is of the 

 greatest use ; for, as was stated at page 1 of the present 

 volume, by slightly shading a few inches of the part 

 immediately beneath, it acts as a check upon the ten- 

 dency to excessive vigour in the highest branches, com- 

 mon to all trees ; thus the sap is more evenly distributed ; 

 the growth near the base of the tree, instead of becoming: 

 bare and old, is constantly renewed, and, consequently r 

 fruit is so freely produced that there is no wasted space 

 in any part of the tree. 



To render these notes as clear and practical as possible,, 

 it may be stated that — 



1. A. coping should be of boards 15 inches wide by 

 1 inch thick. 



2. It should have no slope, but should project its full 

 width at right angles to the top of the wall, and should 

 be bolted securely to stout iron brackets, so fastened to- 

 the wall as not to interfere with the growth of the branches- 

 it is intended to protect. 



No. 1259,-Vol. XLVIII , Old Series. 



