.April 2, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
267 
from what I have seen of them in large nurseries I certainly should prefer 
oakum and putty to them. They are useless close to the boiler, for they 
very soon perish, and this, I am afraid, would be their condition on the 
mams constantly in work and frequently very hot; they would last for 
several years where the strain upon the pipes was not great.—W ji. 
Bardney. 
With due deference to Mr. William Bardney, you will perhaps allow 
me to express my surprise that anyone of his experience, referring to 
hot-water apparatus, should write as follows :—“ 1'he joints of all the main 
pipes that are buried in chambers and intended to remain permanent 
should be packed with iron filings, which will insure the joints remaining 
sound as long as the pipes last.” Now this happy result is in direct 
contrast with my experience, and I should have said if there is any one 
point above all others to be insisted upon in the erection of hot-water 
apparatus it is, that no single joint should be made with iron filings. 
Long past and quite recent experience leads me to believe that there is no 
worse or less. reliable method of packing a joint. Quite lately I have 
found several joints near together all burst by the expansion of iron filings. 
It may be said that if properly made such joints are perfect, and so they 
may be, but from what I have seen the best workmen are unable to ensure 
the conditions of success. I have in mind the work of a foremost firm, 
and I ask, if the work of this firm has failed in this respect over a series 
of years, can it be said that the method is anything but bad ? I never 
knew the joints of hemp rope and red lead to give way in anything like 
the manner that those made with iron filings have done from time to time. 
Mr. Bardney condemns the use of oakum with patent putty or cement, 
and perhaps he does not refer to hemp rope and red lead, which makes, 
according to my experience and according to all I have been able to 
gather, the best joint we know of for permanent fixtures. Joints made 
with iron filings, I know of, deeply bedded in brickwork, and when the 
leaks occur what trouble and labour and expense there is in finding them. 
This is the work of a firm of repute, yet surely it would seem no more 
than a common-sense precaution to leave the joints fairly within reach. 
In all cases of extensive work the firm employed should be caused to leave 
a plan, showing the disposition of the pipes and where the hidden joints 
are to be found. There must be many well able to speak upon the subject 
of my letter, and let them express their opinion.—B. Irwin Lynch. 
PRUNING AND MANURING ROSES. 
The former of these duties, as I write, is one of pressing importance. It 
should now be speedily finished as regards Hybrid Perpetuals, at least 
in most situations, and the weather of this month having been decidedly 
cold at night, and often by day, there will be less fear of bleeding. A 
note in the “ Rosarians’ Year Book ” on the matter of bleeding should be 
widely known, if it always prove successful, and I meant this year, if 
necessary, to put it in practice ; it was to dust the shoots with lime at 
the point of incision. This is said to form a cake over the cut. Last year 
I asked whether any Rose-grower had noticed that pigeons had a partiality 
for the young shoots of Roses and picked off the shoot as it started into 
growth. There was no reply that I have seen, but I think in my case 
these were the culprits, and I propose directly to dust the pruned dwarfs 
at once with lime in the hope that the pigeons also may be deterred from 
repeating the performances of last season by this addition to their dainty 
meal. 
I have seen “M.’s” suggestion of last week as to the long 5 feet 
shoots, acted on after a fashion—-viz., by tying some of these shoots to wire, 
and this answered fairly well, and in large gardens some such treatment 
at the north side of a bed devoted to exhibition hopes might serve two or 
more purposes. Firstly, being comparatively unpruned, thus giving 
earlier blooms not for exhibition; and, secondly, acting as a sort of hedge 
or shelter to the more tender varieties. It seems to me that the tying to 
the wire lines should be autumnal work. 
There is just one other point connected with carrying out this matter. 
“M.” has remarked that this growth at the time of ordinary pruning is 
several inches long. Now, if we lay ourselves out for utilising this earlier 
growth by either pegging down or tying to such a wire fence as I have 
suggested, it seems to me that we need also to give some protection to 
these shoots from late frosts. The acknowledged end of late pruning is 
to save the lower buds on which we depend for blooms from the April and 
May frosts. It will mar greatly the effect of a bed thus formed if the 
hedge thus intended as a protection be itself a disfigurement. The 
difficulty may be overcome by having an upper line of wire on which some 
Yew branches tied would probably save the early shoots, and later on this 
upper wire may be utilised for gradual tying down of branches. In order, 
also, to carry out this, it would be further necessary to remove each 
autumn or spring the growth of the previous season, and trust to the 
young growth. 
As to the varieties that would succeed, we need free-flowering sorts, 
hardy in constitution, and good growers. I think many of the following 
would succeed :—Charles Lefebvre, Jules Margottin, Madame Clemence 
Joigneaux, Baron de Bonstetten, Madame Victor Yerdier, Dupuy Jamain, 
Duke of Edinburgh, Marie Baumann (in some localities), Beauty of 
Waltham, John Hopper, Thomas Mills, Captain Christy (in some localities), 
and Cheshunt Hybrid. All of these are disposed to throw up strong 
shoots from the root, and therefore belong to tbe class favourable for the 
experiment. 
In the main, my pruning ideas coincide with those of “ M.,” but I do 
not quite agree with him when he says “ shy-growing varieties should 
never be hard pruned, as there is a possibility of crippling them.” In 
warm localities this treatment may succeed and may induce a shy grower 
to behave properly. The longer I live, and the more I watch my Roses, 
the more convinced I become that if a plant starts badly after planting 
and becomes shy in growth, so it will continue throwing up little 
delicate shoots year after year, rarely blooming at all, or nothing ap¬ 
proaching the natural size. It may receive the same treatment as its next 
door neighbour, but it never takes any note of it and makes no response. 
Such a plant I cut hard home, in the hope that one or two buds may 
receive all the benefit of the root and that a strong shoot may result. By 
so doing I may, possibly 1 do, cripple some plants; but I must say I 
rarely regret them. In Rose-growing a good start is half the battle.— 
Y. B. A. Z. 
THE PEACH AND NECTARINE. 
[An essay read before the Liverpool Horticultural Association by Mr. 
A. Jamieson, Haigh Hall Gardens, ’Wigan.] 
The Peach and Nectarine are, I may say, as far as cultiva¬ 
tion is concerned identical; it will, therefore, be understood that 
when I mention the Peach, the Nectarine is included. There are 
many points connected with these interesting fruits that might 
engage our attention. For example, I might mention their 
native country and when they were introduced to this country. 
The most suitable stock on which to bud them might be dis¬ 
cussed, or it might be asked, Is it really necessary to bud them 
at all? In the Peach-growing States of America they do not 
trouble themselves with budding, but plant the stones, and in 
three years, I am credibly informed, fine fruit is produced. 
Their cultivation in the open air in this country could also be 
considered, many fine Peaches have been so grown, 1 have for 
several seasons in succession had good crops in the neighbourhood 
of London, and the only protection they received was a covering 
of hexagon netting when the trees were in bloom. It is, how¬ 
ever, my intention to confine my remarks to the cultivation of 
the Peach under glass, as in the north this is the principal 
feature in connection with its cultivation, and I will endeavour 
to make my remarks brief and practical. 
Form of House. —I have no very decided opinion on this point. 
I have grown Peaches in span-roofed houses and in lean-to’s of 
various sizes, &c , but could not say there was much difference in 
the results. For exposed situations and early forcing, however, 
a lean-to with a southerly aspect is the best. I prefer rather 
large houses, say from 12 to 18 feet wide. 
Trellising. —A footpath usually runs along at some little 
distance from the back wall, and a curvilinear tre’lis extends 
from this to the front, in height proportionate to the house, not 
too high, or it will shade the back wall too much. The back 
wall should be wired, keeping the wires about 6 inches apart, 
and some little distance from the wall. I have seen a trellis run 
right up the roof at some 2 feet from the glass, and the back 
wall covered with such plants as Camellias. This is a pretty 
arrangement, but I prefer the former. 
Heating .—It is of great importance, and is, after all, the 
truest economy, to have plenty of piping so as to maintain the 
temperature without unduly heating the pipes, and, if possible, 
some of the pipes ought to be near the front ventilators so as to 
warm the air before it comes into contact with the tender 
foliage. 
Formation of Borders. — Having excavated the soil about 
3 feet deep, run a drain along the front, with cross drains at 
intervals of 2 or 3 yards; the bottom ought to fall a little from 
the back to the front. Place stones or broken bricks to the 
depth of 8 or 10 inches, the smallest at the top, on which place 
a layer of sods with the grass side underneath. It is important 
to drain the border well, the Peach is a moisture-loving tree, 
but does not like stagnant water at its roots. Now comes the 
question often asked, What is the best soil or compost for the 
Peach ? I often think we attach too much importance to this. 
I have found that the tree will thrive well in any soil sufficiently 
porous, and most of us find that we must be satisfied with such 
as we can get. Speaking generally, the top spit-not too deep— 
of good pasture land will suit admirably; if stiff and heavy add 
a greater proportion of lime rubbish or broken brick. For the 
ordinary houses I do not consider it necessary to have any out¬ 
side border, I prefer to keep the roots near home. It is not 
necessary to add any manure to the soil; that can be applied to 
the surface when wanted. 
Planting. —If there are no trees on outside walls available 
forplanting dwarf-trained trees, riders are generally planted 
alternately, the latter covering the top of the wall or trellis, 
while the former fills the bottom. Spread out the roots nicely 
and evenly, keeping them near the surface, and making the soil 
firm. 
Pruning and Training. —Formerly, by many of us, the young 
trees were cut back in many cases very severely. This, I am 
