48 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



Janitaby 20, 1912. 



manure — in 



southern counties oT England than was once 

 the case. Nevertheless, many stiU remain 

 and succeed admirably where good walls 

 with a south aspect can be afforded them. 

 Many object to peaches being classed as 

 hardy fruits, but if those who hold this 

 opinion were to see the perfection to which 

 some trees attain in tlie open, they would 

 hold less strictly to their olassification. To 

 ensure healthy growth the soil conditions 

 must receive special attention, otherwise the 

 roots, however hea.lthy when planted, will 

 go wrong, and I know no soil that will 



bring disaster to peaches than one 

 that is close and damp, and more especially 

 if overcharged with manurial ingredientvs 

 of a highly concentrated character. 



If the natural soil is a loam it can be 

 perfected by the application of lime on 

 brick rubble, together with a sprinkMng of 

 well-decompcscd farmyard 

 preference, iliat u liich has come out of a 

 covered vard. Soot and wood ashes are 

 al>o htsirlirial in the proportion of half 

 ii l)U.sliel to a <*art load of the mixture. The 

 whole secret of sut-eess is to provide a com- 

 post that will ret^iin its sweetness over a 

 long jjeriod, and r«\stt i( t tlie production of 



watery shoots, tluTchy giving place 



to firm and fruitful wood. 



Another source of barri'uncss in peachcss 

 is oftoii caused by aUowing the roots to 

 grt;w in loose open soils devoid of sun-heat 

 through being shaded by other crops, 

 planted, maybe, on tlie borders. Peaches 

 will endure less tampering at the roots than 

 :iny other fruits, and while it is necessary 

 to lift and examine them occasionally, such 

 operations must be conducted with the 



roat<^st possible care; and in replacing th 

 soil, a\nid giving rich mixtures containing 

 an excess of farmvard ma.nure. On no ai- 



fertilisers, 



su<li as nitrate of ^oda, sulphate of am- 

 monia, or the moi" v 



nitrofrcnous manures 



be addecL 



<ount slitnild any nitrogenous 



nitrolim 



hein'^ 



r ece n 1 1 y - i n trod uc e d 

 nitrate of lime, or 

 Bone-meal will con- 

 tain all the nitrogen necessary, ajid in ad- 

 dition, will provide the roots with phos- 

 phates in the best possible form for their 

 future benefit. If wood ashes cannot be 

 procured, give a few ounces or so of sul- 

 phate of potash ; say five ounces to every 

 square yard of the compost. I wou'd hero 

 repeat that if a too rich nitrogenous soil is 

 provide<l. it will be necessary to again 



lift tlu^ trees owiinj; to their un + ruitful von- 

 <]i:i(in, <lih' to tlit' roots having again estab- 

 li-ih<I I h( nix'lv^'s in this rich layer of soil. 



\U >yst('ni iti:- sto]i})ing of gross shoots 

 the bram-hes can r;isily regulated, and 

 so the use of a kniti- nriv be dispensed with, 

 except peril 'ips as reg-ii'ds the < uttinir hai-k 

 of a I < -u (\ss shoots a fter the si^asfsn's 

 growth has been (-.nipleted. <are 

 taken not tn !r-;ivc " -naggs,'' th'^ pre>ei!ce 

 of which indicates ni i.>uianagement or laek 

 of good training on the part of the opera- 

 tor. If removerl c'ose to the ma.in branch 

 all cut vsurfaces will heal over. 



With large gross-growing tre(\s. every at- 

 tempt must be made to control root action 

 and to encourage the formation of fibre.s in 

 preference to slashing away at- the branches 

 indiscriminately with a knif(!. Abundr.jK'o 

 of suns-hino is ah-oIute!y esMmtial for the 

 ripenino; of the weotl. imd it is owing to 



this hiek of siuisliine tlint sever;i-! v(vir> n?j:o 

 ]>e;u'lie. ;i> hardy fruits provtHl sueh f-iilure^ 

 th^ou^il^>ut the* South nt Kniiliuid. l.nst 

 year extreme cfiiHlitifHi-^ were experieneed 

 and thrrr cm 1m« no doul)t ;is to llie wnoi] 

 hi'iuis ripeu«-d ;;n<l .sound, ifoulv tlu^ toli;in;e 



was r^'tained in a healthy condition. Sprin 

 trusts contribute to the uncertaintv of 

 p. iu hes be<-omino; popular as hardy fruits, 

 ev(ui m tlie southern counties. There are* 

 however, .still many kitchen gardens which 



can boast of prorluctive trees that wil^ re- 



pay the labour a.nd expense incurred in 

 their cultivation. Excessive cutting of the 

 roots of peaches is a common source of 

 bark disease. 



Cherry Trees. 



Although it is advised to plant cherries 

 in deep mellow^ or rather sandy ^ soil, I 

 have seen some of the finest specimens grow- 

 ing in little more than stones and rubble. 

 Some of oui best varieties of cherries are 

 very subject to gumming, even where a knife 

 has never touched the tree, but this disease, 

 as most assuredly it is, can be averted to a 

 great extent by retaining the roots close to 

 the surface, thereby inducing a short 

 growth and the establishment of firm na- 

 tural spurs. In rich, loamy soils, some 

 varieties grow too luxuriantly, with the 

 result that the trees do not go early to 

 rest, and that -shortness and firmness of 

 growth so essential to fruit production is 

 not secured. 



Morellos as bushes grow very luxuriantly, 

 but unless the roots are induced to make 

 abundance of fibres by keeping well to the 

 surface^ and well away from an unhealthy 

 subsoil^ they often die off very rapidly. One 



often comes across old speicinien -cherry 

 trees which have not recei\^ed treatment of 

 any kind since the day of planting ; tree^ of 

 this class il have even seen growing in what 

 would appear little more than gravel, a.nd 

 into which, on examination, the roots w-ere 

 found to have penetrated with considerxib^e 

 zeal. The branches, by the way, were 

 thickly and regularly studded with clusters 

 of fruiting spurs. Healthy cherry trees are 

 also commonly met with in limestone dis- 

 tri{'ts, or where refuse from limestone qu^fr- 

 ries is incorporated with an open and well- 

 drained loam. Gumming in cherries, as in 

 plums, often takes p^ace after periods of 

 drought : the bark and sap vessels become 

 so contra :-t(>d that when rain softens the 



the roots take up a superabundance 

 of nourislnuent wliich the half-dried stem 

 cannot adequately deal with, and so gum- 

 ming]: results. 



cr 



ground 



Currants and Gooseberries. 



It is rarely that any special attention is 

 paid to the roots of currants and goose- 

 berrit^^. the usual practice being to regulate 

 growth from above rather than from below. 

 Too often, hard cutting back is adopted in 

 nurseries where the one object is to keep 

 tree^ that are inisohl from making too much 

 \wA(\ linuvih. In gardens, we come across 

 lar-e hii-hes that would benefit very con- 



the roots were a;iven a little 



^idera b' v 



li 



attention. :;nd, if need be. lifted and re- 

 planted in n(^w ground. 



In cottage ganlens and allotments, one is 

 continually coming into contact with old 

 bushes that have hvi^n ])i';H'ti< ally starved 

 for want of nounshnient and feeding, and 

 where sucih sptn-inien^ ;ire diseased and 

 dirty, the best retnedy may be to make a 

 bonfire of them, but if\'onstitutional weak- 

 ness is the only defect, and the surrounding 

 ground is not choked with weeds, much 

 good can be done by drawing away the sur- 

 face soil and placing a liberal miVching of 

 manure round the root^ 

 witli the soil that 



again covering 

 was removed. To still 

 further rejuvenate the plants, remove 

 reasfninble number of old bran:hes 

 cnhii lv tli(»se \ vn\u the centre 



a-s much ^iin 

 taininir the 



siirfaee. 

 la rl V 



an<l air 

 roots of 



a 



parti- 

 so as to admit 

 as p(;ssil)U\ By re- 

 a!] t r( (vs tn>ar to the 

 forms of disease particu- 

 :tn" warded off. While the 

 muti!:iti()ri of roots is to be dis- 



e<uiraged, there e:n he little doubt that 

 the <areful manau^enient and pruning of 

 roots with tlu^ oh je<-t of producing an abun- 

 danc(^ of fihr(\s is n step in the proper 

 direction, provided that such fibrous roots 

 are carefully fed. 



mi II V 



wanto!! 



A NUT WALK. 



The planting of nuts so as to form a 

 nut-walk affords an opportunity of coni' 

 bining fruit-growing with a charining piei-tj 

 of wild gardening. The prime necessity is 

 space, for, if the bushes or trees are p^^anted 

 at such distaiuces that the walk is well 

 grow^n together in two or three years, its 

 future will be disappointing, both as re- 

 gards the amount of fruit produced and 

 the opportunities for wild gardening. It 

 should be planned on a liberal scale in this 

 respectj or else left alone. 



The quesition of soil preparation need not 

 be entered into here, except so far as to 

 say that, as it will not be properly dug 

 again for many years, it shoidd be well 

 broken up to start with, and a good dre&s- 

 ing of quarter-inch bones applied at the 

 same time, say, at the rate of twenty 

 pounds to forty square yards, and, in ad- 

 dition, for the sake of the plants, farmyard 

 manure and refuse of all sorts. Twelve 

 feet between the bushes in the rows is a 



fair distance apart, or, with a view to early 



feet 



of 



SIX 



purpose 



effect, they may be planted 

 apart, with the unswerving 

 taking out alternate trees after a coup^-e 

 of years, or three at the most. The dis- 

 tance between the two rows, which will, 

 of course, include the path, must depend, 

 to some extent, upon the way in which the 

 trees are to be allowed to grow. If they 

 are to meet together at a fair distance 

 above the heads of those walking through, 

 a greater distance is necessary than would 

 be the case if they are going to be limited 

 to a height of six or eight feet, and the 

 walk kept open by cutting in the trees at 

 the sides. A fair average space to allow 

 would be a foot-path of three to four feet, 

 with a similar distance from the edge of 

 the path to the centres of the bushes. 

 This wi!l seem a great deal at first, but 

 if twelve feet are to be allowed between 

 the bushes in the rows, ten to twelve feet 

 is not at all too much between the rows, 



side of 



and 



each 



^ in fact, the border on 

 the path might well be increased by a foot 

 each side, if due regard is paid to the 

 future. AH the above distances are based 

 on the assumption that the kind of tree 

 to be planted will be the naturalH'-gi'o^vn 

 bush, and not the semi-standard with a 

 clean stem. If there is an}' 

 the position of the walk it should be laid 

 out from north to south, that direction ^ii' 

 suring the maximum amount of sunshine 

 alike for the nut trees and the borders be- 

 tween. 



The system c»f pruning adopted will Ae- 

 pend upon the character one wishes the 

 walk to take. If fruit is the main object., 

 which it will hardlv be when the trees ar^ 

 grown in this wa-v then a oood deal oi 

 cutting out of old wood will l»o prat t]>ea 

 and the trees kept open, a system wlu<'' 

 is, of course, fatal to the beauty of 'tht' 

 trees. If they are to be allowed to gi'^| 

 naturally within certain limits, then aii 

 that will be necessarv will be a car eful thin- 

 ning out of the branches tha-t will admit 

 sun and air into the trees without d^'' 

 figuring them, this method of thinning 

 giving the opportunity of regulating th^ 

 height as well as the spread of the branched 

 In practice, all cutting back of the bran^^hj'^ 

 h'-seiis the beauty of tlie trees, espeeia } 

 wIhmi the leaves "are ofF, and :is the t^f^^v 

 spring is the time wIhmi a !iut-walk 

 its fur<\st beauty, this aspect of the iuutt|^* 



slioukl roceive careful cnnsidrration. 1'' 



borne 



J. C. N. 



|)runin^; nuts it s]n>u!d nhvavs be 

 mind that tln^ temale b!o^M>m is almost i^"; 

 t:re]y polKnate^l by the action of the 

 carrying the poileii tf> it : n<l in order th:i 

 there may l>e as much ])ollen blown at>o^ 

 as possible, the pruning should not tat 



