THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 1898. 



NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS. 



siderable value for the purpose, and it has the advantage of being inex- 

 pensive At the Colombia Experimental Station the most suitable pre- 



rwin* to the continued increase in circulation, the " Gardeners paration for whitening the trees was a wash of lime with one-fifth of 



S u " skim-milk added to the water, and about one pound of salt dissolved in 



each pailful. The mixture is applied by means of a spraying machine 



dressing is repeated as frequently as the rains may render 



Magazine " will in future go to press earlier. No advertisement can be 

 guaranteed insertion, or altered, unless received before Four p.m. on 

 Wednesdays. 



and the 



will 



NOTES OF THE WEEK. 



necessary, but a wash properly prepared and carefully applied „„. 

 adhere for some weeks. In Missouri, four applications during the winter 

 and spring months were sufficient to keep the trees whitened sufficiently 

 to effect the object in view, and the first dressing is applied towards the 

 end of December or early in January, and the trees are then sprayed 

 twice to ensure their being thoroughly covered with the whitewash, 

 which is made of a consistency that will just allow it to pass readily 

 through the nozzle of the spraying machine. The buds of the white- 

 washed trees at Colombia remained dormant until April, while those 

 of trees not treated commenced, under the influence of 

 weather, to swell freely at the end of February, and The 

 beginning of March. As in the case of the trees shaded by boards, the 

 buds of those which had received a coating of whitewash suffered but 



mercy irom cnu agc . w o ^ 5 6 6 — * lUle * ™ 1 . he Seve ' e * eatI T' but not more than twenty per cent, of the 



past few years, and their effects have been perceived deeper down in the f xp ° S f d T* s Passed through the winter uninjured. It is also of interest 

 soil than is generally supposed. A planter informed us a few days ago that the w J.tened buds were about a week later in expanding 



A STARTLING STATEMENT. 



A distinguished horticulturist gave expression a short time since 

 to the apprehension that many of the large trees about the country, and 

 especially in and near towns, are slowly but surely dying from dryness at the 

 roots. There is too much reason to fear that the statement carries with it a 

 conviction as to its truth which raises it above the level of a mere opinion 

 of an alarmist. Even in the country, away from the impure atmosphere 

 which encompasses crowded districts, there are to be noticed indications 

 that many trees of great dimensions show signs of decay, and that not 

 merely from old age. We 



warm 



that two feet below the surface in the cases of various soils, there is much 

 dryness. Trees planted on mounds to secure picturesque effects appear 

 to be suffering severely in many instances. When we come to towns 

 and their suburbs, where sewerage works and elaborate artificial drainage 



than the others, and also set their fruit more freely, because this fact 

 appears to show that the whitening of the branches checks the swelling 

 of the buds in winter rather than retarding the development of the flowers 

 in spring, and suggests that no definite opinion on the value of whitewash 



misgivings. We 



anu men suuuius, wiicic scwcid^c wuiks aiiu. cmuuuiic tuiuiLiai uiauiatc • . j. • , , - 



are resorted to, there are indications of decay in trees that induce serious £ the development of the flowers should be expressed until it 



has been put to a practical test. To demonstrate the influence of colour 



roots are asphalted over, so that no surface water can reach the roots to , h f, at absor Ption thermometers were covered with purple material, 

 near the trunk ; happy is it if the extremities of their roots can find their ™ d re 8 lstered during bright sunny weather an average of fifteen 



way into or near some drains where they come into contact with 

 moisture. There are magnificent trees at Clifton, Bristol ; they line the 

 roadway on either side, standing up tall and strong against the everlast- 

 ing sky ; but it is seen many of them occupy the ridge of a slope down 

 which jain water runs to the channels at the sides of the roadway pro- 

 vided to carry off the surface water. What is true at Clifton is unhap- 

 pily true of many other places ; the London parks afford many illustra- 



degrees higher than did those covered with white material of precisely the 

 same texture. There is nothing new in this demonstration, for Franklin 

 and Leslie long since proved by experiment the great difference in the 

 absorptive power of black and white material. 



THE SCILLY DAFFODIL HARVEST. 



The harvest of daffodils that has been gathered in the Scilly Isles 



Before the close of last year it was seen that the crop would be consider- 

 ably below that of the previous season ; but few of the growers anticipated 

 such unsatisfactory results as have been revealed by the figures now at 

 command. During the first two months of 1897 the consignments of 



t.ons of the kind. We plant abundantly ; but do we sufficiently during the past season, has been so unsatisfactory as to fully justify the 

 recognise the necessity for feeding trees already established, especially complaints that are being made on all sides by cultivators of these flowers 

 such as are of large size, which we have reason to fear are living on too 

 scanty an income? In addition to lack of moisture, there is also to be 

 endured a worn-out soil, which means slow starvation. Trees that had 

 once been in the vigour of development, under whose boughs men and 



tun a £lv ITf ' and * aid P leasant things m their praise, are unfor- flowers from the islands to the metropolitan and other markets in the 



omethin 7^ ^ I A " f ,StreSS,ng '? Wltn , ess such falIin S awa V into United Kingdom, reached a total of three hundred and eleven tons, but 

 something like decrepitude ; trees into whose limbs the native strength 



of. the soil had passed, making them the pride and glory of a neighbour- 

 hood, visibly declining, and yet, not because they are old ; indeed, many 

 are quite in the prime of life. They appeal to us, though not in audible 

 speech ; but they seem to say, Give us something to sustain our vigour. 

 Here we are tied hand and foot to some spot, where we have been 

 feeding for many years, until we want food, and, above all, moisture, 

 winch is a form of food. If you wish us to salute you with a glorious 

 drapery of green leaves, the deepest, richest green, and start into an even 



in the corresponding months of the current year, only one hundred and 

 sixty-two tons of flowers have been sent to market, or rather more than 

 half the crop of the preceding year. This immense drop has, of course, 

 made a material difference in the returns of the growers, who are 

 indulging in some amount of speculation as to the cause of the check 

 which the industry has unhappily received. There is some difference of 

 opinion upon this point, but it is less than might have been expected, 

 and there appears to be a disposition among the majority to attribute the 

 failure to unfavourable climatic conditions. There may be some 



more liiYnrionf rv V T*~ ianure 10 umavourauic uinmut, tuuuuiuub. mere may oe some 



the sermon T «♦ ^ "I meaM ° f doing this - food - Such is justification for the opinion so generally held as unfavourable weather 

 Z ... gUeS ™ the trees " preach to thos e w ho will give during the season of growth or the ripening of the bulbs would seriously 



influence the production of flowers. But it may be that a thorough 

 investigation of the course of procedure followed by cultivators of 

 the daffodils in these favoured isles would reveal some weak points 

 arboricul- and we are strongly inclined to the opinion that it is desirable cultivators 



should carefully consider whether their practice will not admit of improve. 



h<»f>H t f u • - lvj muse wno will give 



erZ ° .^ eir prances. Corporations and urban district councils take 



and vf r ! n pIantin S> and in man X ^ses the selection of trees is good, 

 and the work well done ; but few of the members appear to be concerned 



+1 ' M^j^V#C*i t U\ 



furist/ Z th V, fter Wdfare ° f that th6y P lant Practical aruoncu.- 



know IZI ° n many ° f thC COUndls > or some nurserymen with 



Knowledge and needful —-*'■ ' 



such as an 1 P ertina city. Let anyone inspect a large tree, ment. We suggest this being done, for the results of our inquiries justify the 



~f . . . ' wmch has be en bowled over bv the irresistihl^ en^ro-v i«w *h~ rh\ P f ranse of the falling off in the sunnlv of flowers 



of a trpmo „j ' ~; " V - W1 "»««u v»« by the irresistible energy 



ness of T d0US ] ^' anditwiI1 bG f ° Und there isa " unimagined dry- 



belief that the chief cause of the falling off in the supply of flowers 

 during the past season was not untoward weather but indifferent culture, 

 no longer remain It would appear that the growers do not sufficiently appreciate the im- 

 portance of a well-devised course of procedure in the cultivation of 

 Means of irriga- daftodils for the production of flowers for market, and, in consequence, 



It 



SlyWind 'nd A W f! T r ^ ^ " P ° WCr ^ Tt ™ in 



hunger a nd f h f e f t0 ^ * at treCS are as ca P abIe in their way 



tj on are ready t h T ' ° attIe ln the homeste ad. Means of irriga- daftodils for the production 01 nowers ior mancer, ana, in consequei 



expected fa rJii ° , ; lf thou g htfulness can be aroused, action may be the plants do not attain sufficient vigour to ensure satisfactory results, 



at heart ' and t0 incite to these is the object we have so much " 



WHITEWASH 



PEACH TREES. 



appears to us that a more thorough preparation of the soil, a more 

 liberal use of suitable manures, and a frequent change of crop, are urgently 

 needed. The importance of a proper rotation is evidently not fully 

 appreciated in the Scilly Isles, and in consequence the daffodils are in 



Although -h' B appreciated in the bciliy lsies, ana in consequence tne dattodils are in 



Eventing the ab Item . n8 " the branches of Peach trees for the purpose of many instances grown for too long a period on the same land, with the 



flo wer buds is & 1 S ° rptl ° n . of heat and the P rer nature development of the result that the soil becomes exhausted, and the plants so weakened 



> ess effective than the shade of boards ; it is of con- as to readily suffer from adverse influences. Therefore it is absolutely 



