1040 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS 



a perforated bottom formed by narrow 

 wooden battens crossing each other at 

 right angles. They are deep enough to 

 hold the largest Apple or Pear, and 

 possess the great advantage of storing a 

 large quantity of fruit in a very small 

 space. The trays can be placed on top of 

 each other, there being sufficient space 

 between them to remove the fruit from 

 the lower ones without having to lift off 

 the upper ones. The air circulates freely 

 round the fruits, and the trays have all the 

 advantages of a well-equipped fruit-room 

 as far as Apples and Pears are concerned. 



Ebnovating ok Restoring Neglected 

 Feuit Treks 



It often happens from one cause or 

 another that fruit trees which are neither 

 old nor diseased are brought into a state 

 of steriUty and overcrowding of branches 

 by sheer neglect. Each year they produce 

 masses of twigs and leaves, and gradually 

 pass from the iruit-bearing to the barren 



Fruit trees which have been neglected 

 in this way may be brought back to a 

 fruitful state with proper treatment — -that 

 is, if they are not too old and too diseased, 

 in which case it is better to root them up 

 for firewood and plant young trees in their 

 places. 



In restoring a neglected fruit tree, the 

 roots should first of all be properly root- 

 pruned in autumn in the way recom- 

 mended at p. 1031. Bioh fresh soil 

 should take the place of the old in the 

 trenches made, and a good heavy dressing 

 of manure may be placed over the surface 

 of the soil, or a dressing of artificial 

 manures as recommended at p. 1030 

 may be given. 



The head of the tree should then be 

 well thinned out of all weak and super- 

 fluous branches, and the tops of the leading 

 shoots may be shortened back a little. 

 When pnming or cutting out wood from 

 fridt trees the operator should always 

 have an intelligent eye on the branches 

 bearing the plump fruit buds or spurs, 

 and should take care that these are left 

 behind, and not the more slender buds 

 which simply form branches and leaves. 



If the work has been well and intelli- 

 gently done, it is possible that a fair show 

 of flowers and fruits will appear the 

 following spring and summer respectively. 

 By attending to the cultivation of the 

 soil, keeping the trees properly pruned 



and trained, and also free from insect 

 pests and disease, in two or three seasons 

 trees that had been neglected for years 

 may be brought back to a good and fruit- 

 ful condition by these means. When 

 once trees are in proper order, the labour 

 of attending to them annually is com- 

 paratively easy and should be performed 

 regularly. 



Feuit Teebs ik Pots 



Wherever a fairly large greenhouse or 

 conservatory exists in a garden, and suffi- 

 cient room is available, it may with great 

 advantage be used for the cultivation of 

 various kinds of fruit trees in pots, such 

 as Apples, Pears, Cherries, Peaches, and 

 Nectarines. Where such a house does not 

 exist, one can be easily and with httle cost 

 erected. There is no necessity to have 

 a boiler and hot water pipes attached, 

 especially if the house is placed in a good 

 sunny position, running east and west for 

 choice, or north and south otherwise. 

 The addition of hot water pipes, however, 

 will not be a drawback, but rather an 

 advantage. 



The great value of a glass structure, 

 even though unheated, is that it enables 

 one to protect the blossom, buds, and 

 young friaits on the trees from the spring 

 frosts, and causes the fruits to ripen 

 earher, besides which they have a pecu- 

 liarly refined appearance never obtainable 

 on fruits ripened out of doors. 



The kinds of fruit mentioned above 

 are most amenable to cultivation in pots, 

 Apricots not being often successful. 



Potting, soil Ac. — The small young 

 trees are best potted In October. At first, 

 pots 10-12 in. wide across the top are 

 quite large enough, and they will serve 

 for two or three years. The trees, how- 

 ever, are best repotted annually, and 

 should have any strong wiry or woody 

 roots cut away at the time, leaving only 

 the best fibrous masses. 



The soil best adapted for fruit trees m 

 pots is a rich yellow loam to which may 

 be added a Uttle well-rotted manure, a 

 little charred refuse, or burnt earth to 

 keep it open, and a good sprinkling of 

 fine bone meal. It is necessary to make 

 the soil richer for pot plants, as the I'oots 

 are restricted to a comparatively small 

 area. 



Good drainage is essential and may 

 be secured by placing a large piece of 

 broken pot over the hole at the bottom, 



