658 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



remarked, that, if the plants have sustained no 

 check, they will rarely show fruit until the 

 pot is full of roots, till they have ceased to make 

 strong roots, and have provided themselves with 

 a network of very fine white fibres, completely 

 covering the surface of the sides of the ball. 

 Or if they are planted out when even in a 

 much younger state, their roots will ramify 

 through the soil, and often do produce those 

 fine small roots, which is a certain sign of their 

 having arrived at a state ready to show their 

 fruit. Some argue, and we think rightly, that if 

 plants are not turned out until they have com- 

 pleted their root system, it matters little whether 

 they are planted out or retained in the pots, 

 and that it is quite immaterial into what soil 

 they may be placed, as the roots will extend no 

 farther than the original ball. In regard to the 

 process of planting out, it is of importance, if 

 the plants are young and have not completed 

 their full growth, that ample space be afforded 

 them in the bed, so that their leaves may have 

 plenty of room to admit of their taking their 

 natural curvature, and thus expose the greatest 

 amount of their surface to the direct influence 

 of the sun's rays; and this distance must vary 

 according to the natural size of the variety. 

 Globes require the least space on account of 

 their erect habit of growth, and Providences the 

 greatest, as they are the largest of all pines 

 in natural habit. During the process of plant- 

 ing the soil should not be compressed, and 

 therefore it is better to begin with the back row, 

 if in pits, or the front row, if in houses; the 

 smallest plants going into the latter, while the 

 larger ones should stand in the former. Set 

 whichever of these rows is first placed at proper 

 distances apart, and pack the soil lightly about 

 it before beginning with the next. When the 

 whole is planted, surface the bed over with tan 

 to the depth of 2 inches, which will prevent the 

 surface of the compost from caking by the wa- 

 ter falling upon it during the process of root- 

 watering, or of syringing the plants overhead. 

 It also prevents excessive evaporation, and, owing 

 to the tannin principle it contains, tends to keep 

 the atmosphere of the house or pit in a pure 

 and wholesome state. " If the plants have been 

 previously grown in pots," Mr Fleming remarks, 

 *' the roots should be carefully unwound, and 

 spread out into the new soil ; but we generally 

 prefer plants which have been grown without 

 pots from their infancy. With this object in 

 view, we devote a space along the front of each 

 pit for the growth of suckers, and this does away 

 with the necessity of succession-pits. This sys- 

 tem enables the pine-grower of limited extent to 

 keep a succession of fruiting pines and plants in a 

 single house or pit; and it is not less useful where 

 larger quantities are cultivated, as, by growing 

 young plants in the front row, it allows the en- 

 tire surface of the bed to be kept much nearer 

 the glass than would be admissible if the pits 

 were filled exclusively with fruiting plants. In 

 the soil for the suckers we mix a small por- 

 tion of rough new tan, which the roots delight 

 in, and it facilitates their being moved with good 

 balls. In this manner," he says, " we have not 

 the slightest difficulty ; indeed, the plants grow 



with the greatest vigour immediately after being 

 shifted ; and those which are moved with a ball 

 of earth have a decided advantage over those 

 which have been previously grown in pots, un- 

 less, indeed, the pots are much larger than those 

 which are ordinarily used for this purpose. 

 Those which are lifted do certainly get a few of 

 their points shortened, but they are always fur- 

 nished with a supply of young feeders, which are 

 ready on every side to strike into the new com- 

 post. To keep up a constant successional sup- 

 ply, we plant at all seasons of the year. As 

 soon as a fruit is cut the plant is pulled up, and 

 after removing a basketful of the old exhausted 

 compost, its place is supplied with an equal quan- 

 tity of new material. In this the finest plant, 

 carefully selected from the front row, is planted. 

 This practice of filling up vacancies as they 

 occur may be continued for several years, till it 

 is advisable to renew the soil in the bed en- 

 tirely. In such a case we choose a period im- 

 mediately after a rather large proportion of 

 plants have ripened their fruits; and during the 

 time that has been occupied by these in com- 

 pleting their maturity, we allow the vacancies 

 to remain unreplenished, in order that at the 

 time of clearing there may be fewer plants in the 

 way. Of the latter, we carefully lift those plants 

 which have not yet thrown up their fruits, and 

 set them in a close shed; but those whose fruit 

 is in progress we allow to remain, carefully clear- 

 ing away the soil from around them, as far as it 

 can be done without injury to their roots. 

 After the old soil and leaves are cleared out, 

 they are replaced with new materials in the same 

 order as at first; namely, the hot- water pipes 

 are laid in a bed of ashes or gravel, about 18 

 inches below the surface of the soil, and over the 

 pipes is a ridge of gravel, the crown of which is 

 12 inches from the surface; the intervals be- 

 tween should be filled with oak leaves to the 

 same level, thus having 12 inches of soil. In 

 replanting, of course, those which were lifted with 

 balls are planted in the back rows, and the re- 

 maining rows of fruiting plants are supplied with 

 the finest young plants from the fronts of the 

 pits. After planting, at any time, the atmo- 

 sphere for a few days afterwards should be kept 

 rather moister than usual, and the shading more 

 freely used than at other times, till the plants 

 have commenced to make roots into the new 

 soil." These excellent directions differ in no 

 respect from our own practice, except that we 

 grow our young plants in pots in separate pits, 

 and plant them out as vacancies occur in the 

 two fruiting-houses in which the planting-out 

 system is followed. Were we even more in fa- 

 vour of the planting-out system than we are, we 

 could not do so to a greater extent, as our other 

 fruiting-houses are planted with Muscat grapes, 

 and hence it is desirable to have our plants in a 

 portable state, to enable us to remove them when 

 the grapes are ripe. Not that we recommend 

 this removal of the plants, as they cannot be 

 lifted after they have attained their full size 

 without evident injury being done to them, 

 and it is only necessity that induces us to do 

 so. At first sight it would appear to many 

 that a house of pines planted out at the same 



