208 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



dark instead of a light colour, yet the grafts 

 all succeeded, whilst scions cut off and grafted 

 fresh failed to a considerable extent, although 

 treated with the same care in every other re- 

 spect. Sometimes, in old trees of the May 

 Duke class, every bud on the scions is a blossom- 

 bud, with the exception of the terminal one; 

 this should therefore be preserved, otherwise 

 failure is certain. 



Cherries under Glass. 



The following directions for the cultivation 

 of Cherries under glass are taken, with the 

 author's permission, from a paper by Mr. H. 

 Somers Rivers, published in the Journal of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society, vol xxv. (1900): — 



The most convenient house for Cherries is 

 a span roof 24 feet wide, 44 feet high at the 

 eaves, and 12 feet to the ridge. Ventilators 

 18 inches wide, hinged at the bottom, run 

 round the sides; the top ventilators are 3 feet 

 wide by 15 inches, 7 h feet apart, on alternate 

 sides of the ridge. We used to fruit our 

 Cherries in a smaller house, 14 feet wide and 

 9 feet to the ridge. This scarcely allowed 

 sufficient head room for the large trees, many 

 of them fifteen years old. Certainly the}' seem 

 grateful for the increased breathing-space. 



As soon as their crops are finished, the trees 

 are taken out of the house and plunged nearly 

 up to the pot-rims in a bolder outside. The 

 reason for plunging is two-fold : first, the earth 

 which envelops them keeps the pots and their 

 contents moist and renders the labour of water- 

 ing less heavy; and secondly, the somewhat 

 top-heavy trees are thus in no danger of being 

 blown over. Water must be given to the 

 trees during dry weather, and occasional good 

 syringing helps to keep them clean and healthy. 

 In October the trees should again be brought 

 into the orchard-house for repotting, before 

 which process they must be under cover for 

 a time, so that the earth in the pots shall not 

 be sodden. This also applies to the mixture to 

 be used for repotting: a good loam with which 

 is mixed rotten manure in the proportion of 

 one load to two, and also broken-up mortar- 

 rubble, a barrow-load to a load. 



In repotting, the outer soil, filled with 

 fibrous rootlets, is scraped away, leaving a ball 

 of earth containing the larger roots; the tree is 

 replaced in the pot, and the new soil rammed 

 in firmly and evenly nearly up to the rim. 

 The surface is at the same level round the 

 trunk as before. Thorough repotting need only 



be done in alternate years. In intermediate 

 years the outer soil can be removed nearly 

 down to the bottom of the pot and replaced 

 by fresh without taking out the tree. A good 

 drainage, very necessary with Cherries, is pro- 

 vided for by a layer of crocks at the bottom of 

 the pot. In repotting the tree must not be 

 moved into too large a pot: an 11 -inch pot is 

 ample for a three-year-old tree, which may be 

 given one size larger at each repotting if 

 necessary; an 18-inch pot will contain the 

 largest tree. 



When this operation is finished the trees are 

 stood as close together as possible, in single 

 rows in the house, in one end of which is 

 heaped sufficient barley -straw to pack round 

 and over the pots, making a layer of about a 

 foot deep, when there is severe frost, and the 

 trees are snug for the winter. Water must be 

 given until the leaves are all fallen; from 

 about the middle of November to the end of 

 December the trees wall require none at all. 

 If January be mild they should have some 

 water again, and from then onwards occasion- 

 ally when necessary. 



Towards the end of February the trees must 

 be pruned — an operation rendered quite un- 

 necessary in some cases, where the older trees 

 in full bearing make no new shoots. The last 

 year's growths must be cut back to about 

 five eyes; with very strong shoots, or in the 

 case of strong growers, eight to ten eyes may 

 be left. Water will now be wanted about once 

 a week. The pruning finished, the house 

 should be set out, i.e. the trees placed in their 

 permanent positions for the summer; and this 

 should be done symmetrically and carefully, as 

 it makes all the difference in the appearance 

 of the house. A centre border 5J feet wide 

 takes two rows of trees, a path 3 feet wide 

 runs round it, leaving side borders 5J feet 

 w T ide. The floor of the house is firm and solid, 

 never being stirred, and the path is rammed 

 gravel and clay. A thin layer of fine cinders 

 over the surface of the borders gives them a 

 neat appearance and is kept raked and clean. 

 The pots may be plunged in the borders up to 

 about 3 inches of their rims, a bed of large 

 cinders being placed in the bottom of each hole 

 to allow the water to drain efficiently. The 

 trees should be grouped with regard to the 

 colour of their fruit. A good smoking with 

 tobacco paper now will lessen the number of 

 aphides hereafter, the trees being syringed 

 thoroughly the next morning. 



About the middle of March the trees are 



