PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS OE THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
27; 
affected. The charcoal dust ought to be kept 
quite dry. I have also found that the appli- 
cation of charcoal dust effectually prevents 
the clubbing in the roots of cabbages, &c. 
I had been accustomed to use lime fresh from 
the kiln for that purpose, and always with 
considerable advantage; but since I have 
made use of the charcoal dust upon different 
quarters of the garden, and any of the Bras- 
sica tribe has been subsequently planted there, 
the clubbing has entirely disappeared. I once 
planted a quarter with cauliflower plants, 
which never arrived at maturity, being very 
much injured with the club. The following 
summer I had the same quarter prepared for 
onions, with charcoal dust upon it ; as soon 
as the onions were cleared off in October, 
I had it well dug over, and planted it imme- 
diately with early cabbages, which all arrived 
at maturity early, without the least appear- 
ance of clubbing. — Letter by Mr. T. Smith. 
[Charcoal is a very powerful agent in 
horticulture. Of its efficiency in striking 
cuttings, there can be no doubt; and as an 
absorbent, it has been found of the greatest 
use, even in preserving potatoes supposed to 
be affected by the disease. It is also of much 
utility in the cultivation of potted plants ; 
and the refuse of every kind incidental to a 
garden, when charred, forms a most valuable 
dressing for every kind of vegetable crop.] 
Covering the Naked Branches of 
Fruit Trees with New Wood. — It is a 
fact well known to horticulturalists, that the 
branches of fruit trees trained against walls 
and espaliers, after eight or ten years become 
naked for about a foot or two nearest the 
stem, which gives an unsightly appearance to 
the tree, especially when the branches are 
trained horizontally ; and it is in general diffi- 
cult to procure blossom spurs, or even wood 
shoots, in those situations, unless by training 
a new shoot from the main stem, which can- 
not always be procured. The idea struck 
me, that, if I interrupted the sap at a dis- 
tance from the main stem by ringing the 
branches, shoots might be produced between 
the ring and the stem. In spring, when 
the blossom buds were about to burst, I made 
a ring to the extent of one-fifth of an inch, 
in the usual way, at the distance of two feet 
from the main stem, round a branch of a 
Jargonelle pear tree, trained horizontally, 
which branch had for several years been 
entirely bare both of fruit spurs and wood 
shoots ; nor was there the smallest appear- 
ance of an embryo bud at the time of ringing. 
I soon found that a space to the extent of 
seven inches nearest the ring began to break 
into buds. The part of the branch nearest 
the stem, about seventeen inches, was without 
a bud ; I therefore concluded that six or eight 
inches should be substituted in future ring- 
ings instead of two feet. Another experi- 
ment has confirmed this opinion. About the 
same time I made that on the Jargonelle, 
I also ringed a branch of a Bergamot pear 
tree, at six inches from the stem, which 
produced me several prominent buds. The 
space which formed the ring is grown over in 
both branches. — Letter by Mr. Street. 
[The ringing of the bark to induce fruit 
bearing, has been a common though not 
always a successful practice ; but this opei - a- 
tion to produce young wood below it has not 
been so common. It will no doubt have the 
effect in some cases. Recourse to ringing 
fruit trees, either to produce wood or fruit, 
can however be only regarded as a barbarous 
evasion of a radical error in their manage- 
ment. Healthy trees, planted in proper soil 
and properly managed, will not require this 
speciesof mutilation toinducefruitfulness.] 
Peach Borders and Walls. — The peach 
borders should be carefully prepared, by form- 
ing them of a sweet fresh soil ; where the 
ground is not naturally such, the best pos- 
sible is the upper spit of an old upland 
pasture. The bottom should be drained, 
where requisite, to free it from stagnant mois- 
ture, and should be rendered impervious to 
the roots, especially if the subsoil be at all wet. 
The border should also, where that sacri- 
fice can be made, be left in possession of the 
peach-tree alone, and worked with forks only, 
to avoid injuring the roots ; but as devoting 
so valuable a portion of the garden as the 
south borders to no other purpose, may not in 
many cases be expedient, it would be advisa- 
ble to leave apertures at the bottom of the 
wall, through which the roots of the peach- 
tree may penetrate to the outside, and be 
there suffered to range unmolested. Brick 
walls are preferable to those formed of any 
other materials, as they are not only drier 
and possess a more equal temperature, but in 
consequence of their colour absorb and retain 
a greater portion of heat than most others. 
Copings proportioned to the height of the 
wall should always be laid on its top, as they 
not only protect the bloom, but keep the wall 
dry and warm, and so facilitate the ripening 
of the fruit and wood. Little or no manure 
should be given to the peach-tree while vigor- 
ous, or until weakened by age or bearing, and 
the object in pruning should not be to pro- 
duce strong luxuriant shoots, but such as may 
be kind and fertile, which, completing their 
growth early in the season, will be well 
ripened. Such course of treatment, steadily 
pursued, will rarely fail to render the peach- 
tree healthy and productive. 
Culture of the Wild Potato in the 
Horticultural Society's Garden. — The 
t 2 
