174 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



for it is by experience that we gain practical knowledge. 

 Although I avoid the details alluded to. cultivation must come 

 in, for after all the dwarfing system is but another phase in the 

 cultivation which shows the adaptability of the plant to all cir- 

 cumstances. To achieve the greatest success it is absolutely 

 necessary to have a good start with strong healthy cuttings, 

 struck in single pots, and repotted on in the usual manner into 

 4-inch or 6-inch pots. By the month of May these should be 

 standing out of doors in an open position, either on boards, tiles, 

 or a good bed of cinder ashes, with plenty of room between them 

 — strong, sturdy plants, with their pots full of roots. While in 

 small pots, whether before the first or second shift, or as soon as 

 the roots have reached the sides of the pots, they should be 

 watered at every watering with weak liquid manure ; some of the 

 grossest feeders will require it twice on some days. The pots 

 being full of roots, the wood becomes solidified, and the liquid 

 manure keeps them strong and robust, giving plenty of root 

 action, which constitutes the driving-power that is necessary to 

 produce the new wood and foliage, and subsequently the flower- 

 bud, in the three months that follow after having been cut down. 

 Water should not be withheld for any length of time either before 

 or after the cutting down ; if kept dry the root action would be 

 too much checked. One day is sufficient before the operation, 

 and they may be sprinkled or syringed the day after, and so on 

 every day until they break, when they will require more 

 water. 



Before cutting down one must have the object in view for 

 which he is aiming ; be it for conservatory grouping, the height 

 of the background from which he intends to form the group 

 should be considered, and some left taller accordingly ; if for 

 competitive grouping at exhibitions, the number of dwarf plants 

 required for the front, and the medium height and taller plants 

 for the body of the group, must be taken into consideration. But 

 let me observe that, if the whole collection were cut right down, 

 there is such a diversity in their habits that with the one break 

 you would get plants ranging from 1 foot G inches to G feet in 

 height. But if this were put into practice, it would bring the 

 sections and varieties too close together in the group, which is 

 neither desirable or necessary. 



From the 1st to the 14th of June is my time for cutting down. 



