506 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ December 27, 18G4. 



Tn fact, the grass abstracts all the moisture from the ground 

 at the time of the year when the tree requires it most, so 

 that the latter is left to starve, consequently it does not 

 grow. The gentleman, however, cannot see this, and blames 

 the nurseryman ; but if he will take a useful hint, and look 

 nearer home he will find the remedy. When the trees are 

 planted let the ground be kept bare of. herbage as far as 

 the roots extend, and this until the trees are thoroughly 

 established. 



In another case the trees are planted in gravel or sand, 

 and in this they cannot grow from want of nutriment. The 

 nurseryman cannot very well be blamed in this case, fcr the 

 cause of failure is obvious, and the want of success is at once 

 attributed to it. In consequence of this discovery the owner 

 orders the surface of sand or gravel to be removed, and two 

 spadesful of strong manure to be placed close to the stem 

 of each tree ; or he orders each to have half a pailful of good 

 strong liquid manure ; so they are poisoned, and eventually 

 succumb to their fate. Possibly the gentleman employs a 

 gardener, who well knows that liquid manure beyond a 

 certain strength will injure, perhaps kill, his Cabbages, and 

 he will possibly suggest that the stuff might be a little too 

 strong. Well, then, the gentleman will buy more trees, 

 and treat them to liquid manure in a weaker state; but 

 even then somehow or other they do not grow. Now, I 

 would suggest that newly-planted trees have neither the 

 mouth to imbibe nor the stomach to digest liquid or even 

 solid manure, and that trees require plain soil to fibre into : 

 consequently if a good-sized hole had been made in the 

 gravel for each tree, this filled up with common soil, and 

 the trees planted in it, they would probably have done well, 

 and, when established, pushed their roots into the gravel, 

 and derived a certain portion of nourishment from it. 



It must not be supposed that I have merely pictured ima- 

 ginary possibilities ; for I have seen instances of what I have 

 described, and have known gentlemen purchase valuable 

 shrubs and trees to plant on their lawns ; but, as a rule, the 

 practice has been to lay the turf close up the stems after 

 planting. Two-thirds of those which I have known treated 

 in this way have either died or barely existed, and this I can 

 ascribe to no more likely cause than replacing the turf over 

 the roots. I have frequently taken off the turf round coni- 

 ferous and i ther trees, removed some of the soil, and have 

 noticed th t in almost every instance, except after con- 

 tinued rains, the ground has been hard, dry, and seemingly 

 impervious to any amount of rain. It is evident that such 

 are not the conditions in which a tree could be expected to 

 grow and nourish; it is worth while, therefore, to take a 

 lesson from the fact, and in planting trees, especially those 

 which are valuable, to leave the surface of the soil bare for 

 a certain space round the stems when they are planted on 

 lawns. Let a neat circle be cut in the turf, and the appear- 

 ance will be quite as good as if the turf had been laid close 

 to the stems. This will go far towards insuring the safety 

 of the trees both by permitting rain and artificial waterings 

 to sink down, and saving the trees from the drying and 

 exhausting influence of the grass, which takes up the mois- 

 ture for its own support. 



There are other circumstances in connection with planting 

 trees and shrubs which it would be worth while to notice, 

 for it is astonishing how little attention is given to the sub- 

 ject by a large number of gardeners, young ones in parti- 

 cular, who apparently consider it a matter scarcely deserving 

 more than a passing thought. Numbers of trees are thrust 

 into the soil with torn and bruised roots ; others are buried 

 much deeper than they ought to be; many have the soil 

 thrown in solid lumps on the roots, this being often trampled 

 and trodden until it becomes as hard and solid as. it is 

 possible to make it, as though planting a tree were an 

 operation differing in no respect from setting up a post or 

 scaffold-pole. Then, again, fresh-planted trees are left all 

 the winter to sway and twist about with the force of the 

 wind, which alone would prevent the roots taking hold of 

 the soil. These and other shortcomings are not at all un- 

 common, and appear to result from a thoughtlessness that 

 in effect is as culpable as wilful carelessness or neglect. The 

 old axiom, that " what is worth doing at all, is worth doing 

 well," applies in all its force to planting trees ; for it is by 

 no means pleasing to the owner nor creditable to the ope- 

 rator when, after planting a number of trees or shrubs, a ■ 



large per-centage of them die, leaving ugly gaps, which must 

 be, and are, eyesores to all who behold them. The neglect of 

 such precautions as are necessary to insure success cannot 

 be excused on the score of taking up too much time ; for to 

 plant a tree well, and as it should be, does not take a minute 

 longer than to plant carelessly. There are, it is true, causes 

 of trees dying which are not always under the control of the 

 planter, and for which a certain allowance ought to be 

 made ; but, then, it is undeniable that careless planting is 

 productive of more failures than any other cause that I am 

 aware of, and this must be my apology for offering these 

 remarks. 



What I have said refers more particularly to that class of 

 gardeners who have no under gardener or other assistance, 

 and many of them perform such work as planting in a 

 manner far from creditable to themselves or the vocation 

 which they assume to represent. It is not too much to 

 assert that nothing can be of more consequence, as a rule, 

 than the success or failure of fresh-planted trees, since they 

 are ever before the eye, and criticised by employers and. 

 visitors. The character of the planter is, consequently, in- 

 volved, and it would be well for him to give his attention a 

 little, or, rather, much, to the art of planting, and not be 

 contented simply with relying upon the facts that a hole 

 must be dug, the root of the tree placed in it, and the soil 

 returned and trodden over. Any labourer knows that much, 

 and can do as much; and if the gardener desires, as he 

 should, to receive credit for a little more understanding, he 

 must show it in the way he performs his work. — F. Chttty. 



FLOWEKS OF THE PAST SEASON. 



GREENHOUSE PELAE-GONItTMS. 



When the objection is made that flowers are being con- 

 tinually brought before the public which are no improvement 

 on kinds already in growth, there are a few things to be 

 considered before condemning the raisers and distributors. 

 The perfection to which many of our most favourite flowers 

 have been brought is such, that a very slight improvement 

 is often all that we can hope for in the colour or form of the 

 flower ; but this improvement is often combined with an 

 improved style of growth, which greatly enhances the value 

 of the variety ; and this is a step greatly needed in some 

 of our best flowers even yet. Thus, one of the very finest 

 Pelargoniums of the past season — Achilles, has in point of 

 colouring reached a climax which can hardly be surpassed ; 

 but then its style of growth is such that it is impossible 

 ever to make a good plant of it. Raisers must, then, try if 

 they cannot get such a flower on a robust style of growth. 

 Then, again, some varieties are over-robust. The foliage is 

 so coarse, that, although the blooms are good, yet they are 

 either too sparingly produced or else smothered by the 

 foliage. When I make such observations I have not in my 

 mind the needs of exhibitors, but of the general^ grower. 

 A painstaking trainer can make an exhibition plant in course 

 of time out of almost anything, even as Sergeant Popkins 

 will, if you only give him time, convert the veriest Johnny 

 Chawbacon into a smart and well-set soldier; but amateurs 

 who never think of exhibiting, and yet who desire to havs 

 a good show of Pelargoniums, do want to know which are 

 those best suited for the home stage, and it is their wants 

 that I would ever bear in mind — exhibitors can and will 

 take care of themselves. 



As usual, Messrs. Hoyle, Foster, and Beck have supplied 

 the new flowers ; the productions of the two former going 

 to Mr. Turner for distribution, and of the latter to Mr. B. S. 

 Williams. I have had, thanks to them, the opportunity of 

 seeing their flowers in my own little greenhouse, and of 

 taking notes from day to day of their qualities. In this 

 way a more satisfactory conclusion can be arrived at than 

 from a mere cursory glance at an exhibition or in a nursery; 

 and although it is very possible there may be mistakes in 

 the following lists, yet the remarks are made according to 

 the best of my ability, and may, I th in k, be depended upon. 



MB. hotle's. 

 These deserve the first place, for -unquestionably he is the 

 best seedling-raiser that we have, and his flowers always 

 appear in large numbers in every winning set of exhibition 



J 



