Atlgust, 1913 



THE GARDEiN AJ^D FIELD. 



105 



whilst all soil should be in a (.lanip 

 I'oiulition during wiiUcr, it siiouUl 

 never remain saturated for any Icngllj 

 of time, as it so the roots will be in- 

 jured, and the tree damaged more or 

 less, either in its strength or bearing 

 powers. Surface draining can be 

 easily arranged for by means of the 

 plough, and possibly the use of a 

 spade or scoop here and there where 

 any ridges occur to hold up water. 

 Water should neither rush over land 

 nor stagnate upon it. Careful thought 

 of the actual requirements of various 

 trees during winter months should 

 furnish a clue to the safest method of 

 working and arranging the svirface 

 soil. 



— Burgundy Mixture. — 

 Burgundy Mixture is a good sub- 

 stitute for Bordeaux, is easily made, 

 easily applied, and is inexpensive. 

 The formula recomended is: Sulphate 

 of copper (bluestone), 4 lb.; carbon- 

 ate of soda (washing soda), 5 lb.; 

 w^atcr, 22 gallons. Dissolve each in- 

 gredient separately in 2 gallons of 

 water. When dissolved, add water to 

 make up 22 gallons. Add the soda 

 first, then keep the solution constant- 

 ly stirred whilst adding the bluestone 

 solution. The spray sticks better 

 than Bordeaux, but it is advisable to 

 add about J4 lb. of treacle to the 

 mixture before use. 



— Tree Stumps. ■< — 



The following is recommended for 

 destroying tree stumps without blast- 

 ing: "Bore holes in them i inch in 

 diameter to a point somewhat beyond 

 the centre. The holes should be three 

 parts filled with saltpetre and then 

 filled up with water and tightly cork- 

 ed. After three months have passed 

 remove the corks, fill the holes with 

 kerosene and then set on fire. By 

 this means they will gradually smoul- 

 der away." 



— Vine Pruning. — 



There are two points to remember 

 in vine pruning. Too early pruning 

 may induce the buds tti prematurely 

 swell and break into leaf, with the 

 risk of the damaging of the young 

 growth by subsequent frost. This 

 danger cannot, of course,- be altogeth- 

 er avoided, but it is increased by too 

 early pruning. On the other hand, 

 too late pruning will lead to bleeding 



and exhaustion of the vine. 



— Arsenic. — 



Some orchardists think that the 

 accumulation of arsenic in the ground 



at the foot of a tree which has been 

 lre(iuently sprayed, must tend to in- 

 jure its roots; but the analytical ex- 

 amination of such soil does not reveal 

 a trace of the poison. 



— Bordeaux Mi.Kture. 



The Bordeaux spray, though it has 

 been in use for so long, is somewhat 

 uncertain in its action, and scorching 

 cannot always be avoided. Many are 

 under the impression that the addi- 

 tion of more lime is a preventivQ, but 

 experiments show that every extra 

 gallon of lime-water added above the 

 minimum required for the precipation 

 of the copper of the bluestone means 

 loss of efficiency, and lime in itself 

 will cause scorching. A method of 

 testing the mixture is to dip into it 

 half the blade of a bright, but not 

 greasy knife, or a wire nail. A de- 

 posit of copper appears like a stain 

 on the steel if the precipitation is not 

 complete. 



— Grafting. — 



All grafting, to be sucessful, is de- 

 pendent upon the close conection of 

 the two cambium layers and the finer 

 and closer the cuts the more success- 

 ful the operation. Woods themselves 

 never unite; the .cambium layers are 

 what do the work. Plants that have 

 been grafted for years, when split 

 downwards, show that although the 

 cambiums unite and grow around 

 them and form a perfect outside ap- 

 pearance the small part of the woody 

 tisue inside is never changed. 



— Trees Injured by Spraying. — 



Some varieties of apples are more 

 susceptible to the action of arsenic 

 than are others. Bismarck is very 

 likely to be damaged, and so are 

 Sturmer Pippin, Emperor Alexander, 

 and Stone Pippin, whereas Five 

 Crown is one of. the most resistant. 

 Therefore, an orchardist using arsenic 



sprays for the first time does well to 

 spray a tree of a susceptible variety a 

 few days before the general spraying, 

 to ascertain what is a safe strength 

 of arsenic to use. Damage is often 

 due, too, to defective mixing. Per- 

 haps too little water is used to dis- 

 solve the lead, and, as a result, there 

 is insufficient of it to render the ar- 

 senic insoluble. 



♦ 



Season for Tree Pruning. 



DeCurs in his admirable work trans- 

 lated by Professor Sargent, states 

 that "a tree can be pruned at any sea- 

 son of the year and the best is that 

 when it can be dCne the cheapest and 

 the most convenient." 



While attaching, and justly, great 

 importance to the method of making 

 necessary amputations, he attaches 

 none whatever to the season at 

 which this should be performed and 

 which is certainly of equal if not par- 

 amount importance. 



There is a well-established axiom 

 that a continual struggle is going on 

 between growth and decay; one of 

 which will eventually gain the rtias- 

 tery. 



Thus, when a surgical operation is 

 to be performed the patient is pre- 

 pared so that he may be in as healthy 

 and vigorous condition as possible — 

 vitality being necessary to a speedy 

 and complete treating of the wound. 



Reasoning by analogy, writes "Hor- 

 ticulture," a tree is in the most per- 

 fect state of vitality when its sap is 

 in the process of elaboration and as- 

 similation and then it will be in the 

 best condition to produce the new 

 tissue required to cover and heal the 

 cut which may have been made. It 

 is a well-established fact that sap has 



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