GARDEN EXPERIMENTS. 



485 



the range of practical gardening. More success attends the spiral 

 twisting of the young laterals during the third or fourth week in June. 

 To do this the shoot must be held with a very firm grip of the thumb 

 and fingers of the left hand, just above, say, the third good bud, and then 

 with the right hand placed close to the top of the left, give the shoot a 

 third or half turn, so as to injure the wood (xylem), but not to com- 

 pletely break it, and certainly not cause the shoot to hang down, as is 

 usually done by those who have heard of the system, but apparently 

 know very little about it. Great care must be taken that the twisting 

 motion does not pass the left hand. One cannot too strongly condemn 

 the unsightly method of breaking, or even twisting, so as to hang down. 

 Many experiments are now being made upon this subject, and much 

 information will soon be forthcoming. 



Summer pruning of gooseberries and red and white currants is a 

 subject to which attention should be drawn. Many experiments have 

 been made with these, and show clearly the advantages accruing. It 

 may be noted that when gooseberries have been summer pruned the buds 

 are well formed and well ripened, and then as soon as the leaves fall in 

 autumn the bush may be tied up with a band in such a manner that all 

 the branches are brought as nearly as possible into an upright position 

 and held there until the buds begin to push in spring. This method of 

 tying has been found very effective in protecting buds from bullfinches 

 and othp.r birds. The operation is easily and speedily done in autumn, 

 preferably by two persons. In spring, when the band is removed, the 

 branches readily spread out again, and if there has been permanently 

 induced a slight upward direction it is no disadvantage, but rather the 

 reverse (see p. xxxii). 



Experiments with flowers must ever be fascinating. Hybridisation 

 certainly must claim its devotees ; and now that it can be pursued along 

 fairly well-defined lines we may expect great developments ; it is, how- 

 ever, largely a subject for the specialist. Wonderfully brilliant results 

 will doubtless be obtained and will be duly boomed, the failures of 

 amateurs, &c, will be many, but we shall hear little of these. Some 

 intensely interesting and useful experimental work may, however, be 

 done by all in development by selection of many of the plants we 

 already have. Our native wild plants give us an enormous field for 

 work of assured interest and usefulness. Time and space would fail to 

 tell of one's experiments with the pheasant's eye (flos Adonis). This 

 plant, with its finely cut green leaves, its crimson petals, and dark 

 stamens, claims admiration, whether its gorgeous brilliancy be seen in 

 May or from under the frozen snow at Christmas. It is a plant which 

 luxuriates in abundance of lime and phosphates, but an excess of 

 available nitrogen induces a thin, although large petal, which has very 

 little endurance. In this last respect it is wonderfully similar to the 

 evening primrose, a plant which one can admire when growing in 

 woody places, but scarcely when it is seen in cultivated ground with large 

 petals which lack solidity. 



In conclusion I desire to record the fact that my observations, 

 experience, and experiments incline me very strongly to the opinion 

 that improved cultural methods are the best safeguards against disease, 



