548 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



all circumstances, require a free ventilation and 

 pure air. Why this should not be afforded 

 them, in such structures as those we have else- 

 where described, is strange, as ventilation and 

 light are so abundantly provided, that under good 

 management otherwise they enjoy as much of 

 both as if grown against an open wall. In the 

 economical orchard-houses constructed by Mr 

 Rivers, possessing by no means the same advan- 

 tages of light and ventilation as those we have 

 recommended, that cultivator has produced 

 excellent crops for several years past ; and 

 although his structures are intended for ripen- 

 ing the fruit by solar influence only, the whole 

 routine of his practice in selecting and preparing 

 his trees, is just that required for trees to be 

 forced into fruit at an earlier season, and by 

 the agency of artificial heat. With this convic- 

 tion on our mind, we cannot do better than 

 give his practice as detailed by him in his 

 "Orchard-House," pp. 11 to 14 : "The most 

 eligible trees for pot-culture — i.e. apricots, plums, 

 and cherries — are those that have been in pots 

 one or two years : if these can be purchased, so 

 much the better ; if not, trees that have been 

 removed and cut down one year in the nursery; 

 if neither of these descriptions can be found, 

 dwarf maiden-trees will do. Trees that have not 

 been in pots must not be potted till the end of 

 October; if omitted then, in November or Decem- 

 ber they may be repotted into pots of the size 

 selected for this description of culture. I have 

 named 11-inch pots, because they are portable; 

 but 15 or 18- inch pots may be employed if 

 larger bushes are required, and they may be 

 shifted into these large pots as they advance in 

 growth : 1 1 -inch pots will at any rate do well 

 to commence with. I have named three months 

 for potting trees ; they may, indeed, be potted 

 till March, but no fruit must be expected the 

 first season. If fruit- bearing trees that have 

 been in pots can be procured, they cannot be 

 potted too early in October." The compost 

 recommended by Mr Rivers for stone fruits is 

 " two-thirds turfy loam and one-third decom- 

 posed manure, to which some road or pit sand 

 should be added." In no case should the 

 materials be sifted, for the rougher and more 

 porous the better. Drain thoroughly, and in 

 doing so break away the greater portion of the 

 bottom of the pot, or have them made with an 

 opening in the centre 6 inches across ; lay large 

 pieces of broken pot over this opening, and 

 place on it some of the most turfy of the com- 

 post, upon which to set the tree, and fill round 

 the sides in the usual manner. To illustrate 

 his principle, Mr Eivers takes an apricot tree 

 from its commencement, " as its treatment 

 will serve, with slight modification, for nearly 

 every fruit tree under pot-culture in orchard- 

 houses. Well, then, if it is a bush with four, 

 five, or six shoots, and if it has been in a pot, 

 these will be short and well ripened : they may 

 be shortened when the plant is potted, whether 

 in autumn or spring, to about 8 or .9 inches, 

 and the shoots, whether three, five, or seven, 

 left so as to form the foundation of a nice 

 regularly-shaped bush. The first season after 

 potting, the tree will in May put forth from 



each shoot three or four ; all these but one on 

 each shoot, the leader, must be pinched off with 

 the finger and thumb to within an inch of their 

 base; they will then in time form fruit-bearing 

 spurs. Your tree will probably, if it has been 

 potted and grown under glass previously, bear 

 fruit the first year ; it will to a certainty make 

 a fine and healthy growth. Let us suppose the 

 summer over and October arrived ; the leaves 

 are yellow and falling, the tree is going to rest 

 — let us assist it as follows : Gently lift up one 

 side of the pot so that you can see the roots 

 that have made their way into the border during 

 summer ; take a sharp knife, begin on the side 

 next to you, and gradually sever every fibre and 

 root close to the bottom of the pot, then shorten 

 each leading shoot of this summer's growth to 

 about 9 inches. All the trees must be operated 

 upon in this manner ; they may then be placed 

 close together for the winter ; water must be 

 withheld, and the trees suffered to remain dry 

 and completely at rest during the winter. " The 

 severing the roots from below the bottom of the 

 pot shows a sufficient reason why the bottom 

 should be broken away ; or if made on purpose, 

 a much larger opening made than is usually the 

 case : the roots escape during their season of 

 growth, and collect nourishment which they 

 throw into the tree ; and at this season, when 

 their energies are stopped, they are cut away 

 altogether." Although, as we have already stated, 

 Mr Rivers' object is more to secure with cer- 

 tainty a crop of fruit at a later period of the 

 season, employing solar heat only, than to ripen 

 them so early as April or May, still his routine 

 is so replete with excellent practical instruc- 

 tion that we cannot do better than follow him 

 out in his second year's treatment, as the only 

 difference between late and early forcing consists 

 in greater care being taken in respect of ventila- 

 tion and the application of artificial heat in the 

 latter case than in the former. " I may now," 

 he says, " carry their treatment through the 

 second year. February is with us, and if the 

 season is mild, buds are beginning to swell and 

 flowers to expand ; the trees in the orchard- 

 house, are, however, dry, dusty, and stagnant : 

 place them in their stations; give each a small 

 quantity, say a pint of water; let them rest three 

 days, then give them a quart each ; in short, 

 gradually saturate the earth in the pots, and 

 afterwards water them regularly as required by 

 the state of the weather. The shoots, if the 

 weather is mild" — and the same will be the case 

 with slight artificial excitement — " will soon 

 begin to swell, and in March, or early in April, 

 if the season is late, they will be in full bloom." 

 By artificial excitement, the same state will be 

 brought about in January or February. " If 

 the weather is sunny, with sharp frosts at night, 

 as is often the case in early spring, the shutters 

 (ventilators) both back and front may be open 

 all day, and closed at night. During wind, frost, 

 and cloudy weather, they may be closed day and 

 night ; the ventilation through the crevices 

 where the boards join will be amply sufficient." 

 It should be remarked, that Mr Rivers' orchard- 

 houses are formed of boarding all round ; in 

 better houses, a diminution of ventilation will 



