FRUITS FOR VILLA GARDENS. 



53' 



SIXGLE rOT PLUM. 



FRUITS FOR VILLA GARDENS. 



I PROPOSE here to confine my remarks only 

 to such cultural details as the possessor 

 of a small villa garden may have at his 

 command, and to a limited selection of 

 really useful trees, which with ordinary care and 

 attention will give a good return for labour 

 expended. 



In old and worn-out gardens it is really 

 fresh and loamy soil that is required more than 

 manure, as the land, from frequent working and 

 heavy manuring, at last becomes so porous and 

 light that fruit trees fail to find sufficient food 

 for their wants. Thus they get out of health, 

 and frequently fail to perfect the fruit which the 

 trees or bushes may have set. In other words, 

 the difficulty lies beneath the ground. In 

 starting, it will be as well to root out all cankered 

 and unhealthy large trees, and when a space of 

 ground is cleared the soil should be trenched 

 2ft. deep, and as the work proceeds sprinkle in 

 bone dust and kainit in the proportion of i gallon 

 to a barrow-load of soil. This will make the 

 soil more binding, and if very light and gravelly 

 some rock salt may be sprinkled in, say i pint 

 to a barrow-load of soil, while the trees that remain can have the top soil removed beneath 



them ift. deep, and some fresh loam placed on 

 the surface. This will cause roots to form, and 

 thus invigorate the trees. If it can be arranged 

 all new trees should have some fresh turfy 

 loam worked in at planting time. Plant all 

 trees so that the roots are near the surface 

 and each root and rootlet must be carefully 

 spread out. When the trees are planted, if dry 

 weather ensues a good soaking of water will 

 help them. These remarks also apply to wall 

 trees, espaliers, and standards, and to Goose- 

 berries and Currants. 



Should the soil prove heavy, some moss 

 manure used in trenching will open and lighten 

 it, and in such soil there is always a danger 

 of the trees rooting too deeply, so that all tap 

 roots must be shortened in before planting new 

 trees, and root pruning of the existing vigorous 

 unproductive trees be carried out, say, half the 

 trees can be root pruned the first season, and 

 the rest another season, as if the following 

 spring prove dry the fruit may drop; but if 

 regularly root pruned every two or three years 

 the trees will remain fertile and give a yearly 

 single pot pear. return. This root pruning is best done in late 



