A YEAR'S GARDENING 



The plum (of which the greengage is, perhaps, the most delicious 

 variety) does not do well on a cold or clay sub-soil, 

 The Plum j^^j. ^ ^ moist-laden climate. A poor soil really suits 

 it best so long as it has good drainage, for it has a tendency to make 

 a superabundance of wood if the soil be at all rich. As a conse- 

 quence, frequent root pruning is generally necessary, and it should 

 not be planted deep — a covering of 6 inches of soil is sufficient. 



The pear, especially when grown as a wall-trained tree, requires 

 _.. p root pruning or Ufting more frequently, perhaps, than 



" anyotherkindof fruit free, for its roots have a tendency 

 to go deep into the ground to obtain moisture. The better the sub- 

 soil, the greater is the inducement for this rampant root growth. 

 As a consequence, the tree becomes imfruitful, although in large 

 standard trees the results are, of course, not so disastrous, and it is 

 often more advisable, therefore, to adopt the dwarf-standard form 

 rather than the wall-trained. It is said of the monks of old, who 

 were by no means deficient in the art of horticulture, that in planting 

 their orchards — ^which, as we know, were generally on moist ground, 

 in close proximity to some stream or river — ^they used to lay a large 

 slab of stone some few inches beneath each pear tree, so cis to pre- 

 vent the deep ramification of the roots to which this tree is par- 

 ticxilarly liable. Summer nipping is imperative in pruning the pear, 

 as if aU the wood-buds be allowed to remain they wiU so drain the 

 strength of the tree that fruit-buds will not form — excessive wood 

 growth being characteristic of the pear. 



The apple, of all our fruit trees, is, perhaps, the most valuable, 

 Th A I ^^ ^*^ ^"^^^ accommodates itself to many purposes and 



* P*" can be stored for a prolonged time. Moreover, its 

 medicinal properties are not to be despised; the old adage asserts 

 that " An apple a day keeps the doctor away." There is no doubt 

 that the apple is useful as a brain and nerve tonic, containing, as it 

 does, a large percentage of phosphorus and malic acid in an easily- 

 assimilated form. It is also clciimed as a corrective for a sluggish 

 liver (whence the time-honoured custom of serving apple-sauce with 

 roast pork) and as a remedy for rheumatic and gouty troubles ; while 

 it is said that where cider is the common beverage the disease of 

 stone (calculus) is practicaJly unknown. The apple tree requires 

 good, deep soil — a rich, sandy loam is the best — and as the tendency 

 of its root growth is to run just below the surface it does not usually 

 require root pruning or lifting. 



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