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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



COMMONPLACE NOTES. 

 By the Secretary, Superintendent, and Editor. 



Balance of Roots and Branches. 



It is often said by gardeners that the small fibrous roots of a fruit tree 

 which are found fairly near the surface are those which nourish the fruit 

 bud and the resulting fruit itself, whilst the larger and less branching 

 deeper roots are those which promote and nourish woodgrowth and the 

 general extension of the tree. We are not aware whether any real proof 

 of this has ever been sought for or found, but the following case, though 

 it does not perhaps actually prove the relation (if any) existing between 

 fibrous roots and fruit bearing, yet distinctly suggests that the branches 

 of a tree are nourished principally, if not entirely, by the roots by and 

 immediately below them. 



A Fellow writes " There is in my garden a well-grown horizontal pear 

 — Beurre Ranee — from which for twelve years we had not one single 

 fruit. Two years ago we tried root pruning on one side. In the following 

 autumn there was one pear — last year there were three — whilst this year 

 the side root-pruned is covered with fruit, but there is none on the other." 

 It is almost impossible to imagine that this was simply an accidental 

 coincidence. We should like some one who possesses a fruitless tree to try 

 the same experiment of root-pruning half of the tree and noting whether 

 the effect is found above ground on the corresponding portion of the tree 

 to that pruned below, or whether both sides are affected (or unaffected) 

 alike by the treatment. 



Trees and Shrubs with Coloured Stems. 



We often hear of people planting clumps of trees in gardens and parks 

 for the sake of their beautiful foliage or flowers, but rarely do we see groups 

 planted with a view to obtain beautiful effects in winter from the stems 

 alone. We all admire the beauties of the red trunks of the Scotch firs 

 and their dark-green foliage with the sun on them in winter. The 

 common dog-wood, Cornus sanguinea, is frequently seen by lake and 

 stream margins, and very pretty it is ; but if a system of massing colours 

 were adopted, such as is in vogue in herbaceous borders, what a lovely 

 winter scene might be achieved. Amongst the plants available is the 

 beautiful white-stemmed bramble, Rubus bifloms, the scarlet, golden, and 

 silver-stemmed willows, the silver birch, and the red-stemmed maples, all 

 of which planted in bold clumps would be handsome when in leaf, and 

 still more attractive when the days are dull. In many positions it would 

 be quite impossible to plant big masses. One would have to be guided by 

 the size of the garden and its surroundings, but in small gardens small 

 clumps, or even single specimens, might be employed with advantage. 

 A tree of the silver birch, particularly the weeping form, is always an 



