176 TH E PHILADELPHIA FLORIST. [Oct*. 



CALENDAR Of OPERATIONS, 



FOR OCTOBER. 



Written by Practical Gardeners, for the Philadelphia Florist. 



HARDY FRUIT. 



Planting Fruit Trees. — There is some difference of opinion among 

 cultivators as to the most suitable season for planting fruit trees ; al- 

 though we are inclined to believe that the majority prefer planting in 

 the fall. We decidedly prefer that period for this operation, hav- 

 ing learned from that best of all monitors, experience, the advant- 

 ages gained by it. We have seen numerous statements condemning 

 fall and recommending spring planting; but "facts are stubborn things," 

 and so far as our observation extends, we consider it nearly the gain 

 of a season in the establishment of a tree to transplant it immediately 

 on the fall of the leaves, or as soon as they change color and show 

 symptoms of having performed their allotted mission. It is quite pos- 

 sible, that in some cold, damp situations trees planted at this time 

 may make little progress in the formation of roots during winter, and 

 be in a worse condition for growth in the following spring than if they 

 had not been removed until that season ; but this is an extreme sup- 

 position — we opine few fruit growers would plant trees in such situa- 

 tions, either late or early. Some people reject the idea of roots ex- 

 tending without a corresponding action of leaves. These are princi- 

 pally that section of sap-circulafionists who hold that vegetable life, is 

 dormant during the time between the tall and renewal of leaves, who 

 consider that the sap moves up on the excitement of heat, gradually 

 finds its way to the top, and finally descends to the roofs where it re- 

 mains snug until spring again invites it to its periodical journey.- The 

 accidental neglect of a lew trees that were lifted in the fall, and 

 thrown into an out-of-the-way corner, with the roots carelessly cover- 

 ed, was our first u ocularly demonstrated" lesson on this subject. On 

 removing them in spring, w r e found a mass of young roots intertwined 

 to a degree which made them difficult of separation. 



In propagating choice plants by cuttings, gardeners place the slips 

 into the heated soil of a "hotbed" to stimulate the formation of roots, 

 while the tops are kept cool and apparently dormant. The same re- 

 sults attend autumn planted trees. The soil parts slowly with,, and 

 still retains much of the accumulated heat of summer, while the tem- 

 perature of the air is rapidly decreasing. From direct experiment we 

 have found the maximum heat of the soil to be in the month of Sep- 

 tember. During the month of October, 1851, we ascertained the av- 

 erage temperature of the air, at 7 o'clock a. m., as indicated by a 

 thermometer buried 18 inches in the soil, to be in relation as 49 to 60 

 — showing that the air was much cooler than the earth. Here we 

 have a natural hot bed, as it were, in which to plant trees. In spring 

 the reverse of this takes place, the air at that season rapidly increases 

 in temperature, while the soil absorbs heat slowly. Trees planted at 

 that season are early excited into leaf; each leaf acts as a pump, drain- 

 ing the juices from the plant, which as yet has no roots to supply the 

 demand. Hence we frequently observe spring planted trees pushing 

 forth shoots and apparently doing well, suddenly wither up and die 1 

 A-=.onthe approach of a few dry, warm days. Trees cannot be trans- £\ 

 (^planted in ordinary cases without cutting and exposing the roots y£ 



'msp^ ^os4 



k 



