September 27, 1864. ] JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



259 



This will arrest mere growth, and hasten the maturation of 

 the buds and the falling of the leaves. It seemed chiefly 

 wanted with a few Cherry plants, and if not done, we believe 

 that some of the buds would ere long have burst into bloom 

 or into a young shoot instead. One plant was missed last 

 season by mistake, and was not moved until February, but 

 it yielded no crop in comparison with the others, though it 

 showed freely enough, but a great many flowers dropped at 

 the setting. There was hardly time for the plant making 

 up for losing these roots, and it would have been too vigorous 

 and rampant for us without the operation being performed. 

 There is, therefore, this advantage in having fruit trees in 

 pots, that you can make short work of the root-pruning. 



"We generally, when fresh arranging every spring, place 

 some rich compost at the bottom of each hole in which the 

 pots are placed, as we think the roots that go outside tend 

 to swell the fruit better when they have such material to 

 work in. The breaking or cutting offtkesejust now hastens 

 and helps full maturation, and the roots are forced, so long 

 as the green leaves remain, to work more energetically 

 within the pot. The quantities of Cherries and Plums that 

 may thus be produced is immense, and fine Peaches and 

 Nectarines may also be obtained if the fruit is sufficiently 

 thinned. The great drawback to such pot trees is the 

 question of water, where that is scarce. We were forced to 

 mulch the most of ours with old hay and stable litter, which 

 gave a rather littery appearance to the trees, though it did 

 us service as to keeping them in fair health with but a small 

 modicum of water. 



Top-dressing and Potting. — A number of our plants are in 

 8 and 6-sized pots, but many of the young plants are in 

 12's and 16's. The latter we will try and repot before the 

 leaves wither much. Those in the larger pots we shall, as 

 soon as possible, top-dress, by removing as much of the 

 surface soil as we conveniently can with the fingers and a 

 pointed stick, and filling up firmly again with rich fresh 

 compost. Large Cherry trees may be grown in 4 and 6-sized 

 pots, and may remain several years in the same pots if 

 duly top-dressed and supplied with something stronger than 

 pure water. When pots are much larger they are difficult 

 to move about. A time may come after a number of years 

 when the roots may become too stunted and too crowded ; 

 but in that case we would not hesitate to repot in similar 

 sized pots, but in fresh soil, after shaking away, pricking 

 away, or washing away all the old earth, root-pruning when 

 necessary, doing this after the fruit was gathered and whilst 

 the leaves were pretty green, and syringing or shading for 

 a few days until the roots were taking fast hold. Such a 

 tree we would expect to bear well the following year. 



_ Plants in good-sized pots will, however, be fertile and 

 vigorous enough for a number of years, with the aid of the 

 fresh top-dressing and a little stuff at the bottom of the 

 pots. We may mention, however, that some of our best 

 trees had scarcely emitted a root from the bottom of the 

 pots ; and but for the saving in watering, and saving the 

 pots from a bright sun, such a pot might have done as well 

 standing on a stone or plank as partly plunged in the 

 earth. 



Figs and Sewage Water. — Some pots of the Singleton and 

 other kinds in the orchard-house that were not ripening 

 kindly, we removed to a pit where they could have a closer 

 and a warmer atmosphere. Prom plants in pots of White 

 Marseilles, we had some very fine rich fruit, but some fell 

 before reaching maturity, and the leaves acquired a brown 

 appearance prematurely, which we attribute to giving them 

 sewage water rather strong, and not being able to dilute or 

 to follow with clean water. The sewage water contained a 

 good deal of soap, and no doubt several alkalies, and our 

 impression after watching the matter somewhat narrowly 

 is, that Pigs do not relish such nutriment, though they will 

 find no fault with liquor moderately strong that flows from 

 a farmyard or a dungheap. "We were forced to give all these 

 orchard-house pot plants more sewage than we liked, but 

 ■we do not think any other things showed anything like dis- 

 like except the Pigs. Even the Singleton has the little fruit 

 browner than they ought to be. "We like to see them light- 

 coloured, cracking, and the rich juice standing like honey- 

 drops. Would any correspondent give his experience of 

 house-sewage water as applied to Figs ? With us for two 

 months it was pretty well sewage or nothing. Our impres- 



sion is, that we should not like to use it so much in future 

 for this class of plants. 



Figs in the Fig-house, planted out, had the sewage more 

 rarely, and have nothing of the brownish tinge on the leaves, 

 though producing a heavy second crop, but which is coming 

 lighter in colour than that of May and June. "We shall thin 

 the leaves and shoots to give more light during this and the 

 next month, and then we will remove what fruit there is 

 left, rest the house by exposure, in order that the leaves 

 may drop, and then clean and fill with bedding plants for 

 the winter, as after the end of October we do not consider 

 a Fig worth eating. 



KOOT-PBTJNING OUT OP DOORS. 



This is best done with any luxuriant tree immediately 

 after the fruit has been gathered. The sooner it is done 

 the more powerfully will it act in hastening the maturation 

 of the buds, and thus producing fertility. The cutting of a 

 tap root, and a few of the stronger roots, will often do 

 wonders. It is best not to overdo at once. The operation 

 is better performed in September than October. If the leaf 

 is withered before the operation is performed, it is of little 

 consequence when it is done until the buds swell, as it 

 will tell little on the fruitfulness of the following year. If 

 done early, and some fresh soil is packed firmly against the 

 roots, and these roots begin to work kindly before winter, 

 not only will the fruitfulness of the following year be pro- 

 moted, but there will be vigour and energy enough to ripen 

 the produce. 



This will be the case with trees of moderate age, but 

 when over-luxuriance takes the place of over-productiveness 

 in trees ranging from twenty to forty years of age, the 

 results of root-pruning, as we have proved, are less certain. 

 Either if not enough done there is little improvement, or if 

 too much done the trees continue too long in a languid 

 state. In many such cases planting new trees in fresh soil, 

 or changing the kind of the tree is the best remedy. In 

 some cases raising the tree altogether, cutting the tap roots, 

 saving all the horizontal ones, and fresh planting care- 

 fully, have done wonders with old trees that had become 

 barren from over-luxuriance, or too deep planting, or from 

 the gradual rising of the soil above the roots in old gardens. 



Melons and vineries, &c, much the same as in previous 

 weeks. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



Moving and Planting Evergreens. — The change of the wea- 

 ther gives a first-rate opportunity for moving evergreens 

 and other shrubs by the beginning of the next month or the 

 end of the present. Any of these that require the reduction 

 or pruning-in of the head should be operated on without 

 delay, as the juices will be more concentrated in the stems 

 and roots, and. will cause roots to be sooner produced. Shrubs 

 root-pruned last season or in the beginning of spring will 

 be easily moved now, as the ball will be matted with roots. 

 "Without that preparation the roots should be traced as far 

 as possible whether a ball be obtained or not, and these 

 roots should be kept moist and shaded, instead of being dried 

 by the sun. When packed in their new position and secured, 

 the roots should be moderately moistened, and the soil well 

 _ firmed about them. This we consider of much more importance 

 'than inundating them with water; placing them, as it were, 

 in a quagmire sufficient of itself to destroy all roots except 

 those of marsh or ditch plants. The water will be most wanted 

 over the foliage in a very sunny day, and perhaps one good 

 watering with warmish water may be needed in spring. The 

 roots will be much better from the time of planting all 

 through the winter if the soil about them is just moderately 

 moist instead of being at all swampy wet. A little Utter 

 over the ground, when the weather becomes cold, to keep in 

 the heat will do more good than inundating with water. 

 When much planting is done the Uttering may be out of the 

 question ; but after moistening the roots, and firming the soil 

 weU about them, we may leave the surface rough and open 

 and as dry as we can. All that root kindly before arrested 

 by cold will feel but comparatively Uttle from the increasing 

 heat of the sun next season. All things considered, October 

 should be the great planting month of the year. 



Lawns. — These are now beautifully green, changed as if 

 by a miracle from a rusty brown. RoUed them weU and 

 machined them — almost the first time since the drought set 

 in ; and their carpet .softness and refreshing green make 



