THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
G9 
use to it except for the support and solidity which it gives it ? We 
see old piped trees flourishing away after all the heart is goue, and 
nothing left but a thin rind. True, the flourishing is not so vigo- 
rous as in a younger and more solid tree. No great sturdy arms are 
thrown out ; and the foliage is limited to a few clustered scrubby 
twigs. But it does not follow that this weakness of growth is due 
to the tree being piped. In such cases, we must remember, that 
tree has generally been growing in the same ground for, perhaps, 
hundreds of years, exhausting all the ingredients of the soil which 
are suitable for elaboration into its sap and fibre — and that if we 
remove the tree, and plant another of the same kind in its place, it 
grows no better than the old one, seeming to show, at all events, that 
it is not the mere absence of pith and heart-wood in the old tree 
which has caused the declension in its vigour of growth. 
The principles of physiology, therefore, would rather seem to say 
that in all those cases (such as fruit-trees, roses, etc.), where the 
acquisition of solid timber (whether for the support of the tree or 
for the uses of man) is not the principal object, grafting, although 
attended by decay, is not attended with consequences injurious to 
the purposes for which the tree is cultivated. But where timber is 
the object, as in forest-trees, the case is different. The decay im- 
bedded at the base of the stem gives an element of weakness to the 
tree at the very point where the leverage of the wind is strongest, 
and exposes it to be snapped off by the root. I do not think it can 
be said to be injurious to the growth of the timber in other respects ; 
for immediately above the graft the timber is deposited in a solid 
and continuous stream ; and I see no reason why the tree, in all 
other respects, should not be as good as an unworked plant. Still 
M'e all have a prejudice in favour of seedling trees ; and I think that 
the liability of grafted plants to breakage from wind is quite a suf- 
ficient reason why we should continue to retain it. 
NOTES ON WINTER GREENS. 
RUSSELS SPROUTS. — Universally as this fine vege- 
table is esteemed, many amateur gardeners make 
mistakes in its management, and hence produce buttons 
far inferior to those to be seen in the baskets of the 
London greengrocers. Now, although tastes differ, we 
can safely say that this is the best winter green we possess, and 
especially worthy of being extra well grown, because the result of 
good culture will be handsome produce in such plenty as to prove 
that the liberal system is the most profitable. A short essay will 
suffice for all we have to say, but we wish it to be understood that 
every word is of importance. 
The object of the cultivator should be to secure strong plants as 
early in the summer as possible. Therefore, the seed should be 
sown on a well-prepared seed-bed in February, or early in March, 
and the plants should be put out as soon as large enough to be 
March. 
