JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
90 
[ February 2, 1882. 
11 With regard to snipping, I do not advise it to hasten decom¬ 
position, but, as will be found, to insure decomposition ; and I do 
this simply to avoid the risk of mixing, at lifting time, the old 
sets with the new tubers. This may be unimportant in small 
private gardens, but with growers for market especially—these 
lifting hurriedly—it is very important, as a few will spoil the 
sample ; and those not picked up are a nuisance. A snipped 
Potato with a strong sprout will not decay till all its starch has 
been converted into food for the use of the plant; and what good 
purpose will it serve if further preserved 1 Does “ Single- 
handed ” mean to say it acts in the same capacity as the stem of 
a tree or a Vine 1 If not, where is the analogy ? What is 
“Single-handed’s” reason for planting whole tubers in one 
case, and those much cut in another ? 
Were I to give snipping a fair trial it would not be with a 
variety so uncertain as Early Rose ; but even with this variety I 
have never had any difficulty, provided the cut or snipped sorts 
were sprouted. If I planted thirty snipped and thirty whole Ash- 
leaf Potatoes, properly prepared, I should expect to find no 
difference in the crops resulting ; only in one case sound old 
Potatoes would most probably have to be dealt with. How is it 
such a good gardener as “ Single-handed ” evidently is, still 
grows Early Rose ? I was under the impression cottagers only 
were clinging to it, and even these were gradually discarding it. 
It is the most variable variety I am acquainted with, and if good 
in quality at any time, according to my experience, the colour 
renders it unsuitable for a gentleman’s table.—W. Iggulden. 
TOP-DRESSING AURICULAS. 
As the period for performing this necessary operation has 
arrived it may be well to give a few simple directions for those 
w T ho are beginning to grow this lovely flower, and it is many years 
since we have had so favourable a time for it. Too frequently, as 
in the last two seasons, the plants at this season have been frost- 
bound. It has been quite impossible to get the earth away except 
where there is the convenience of a house in which to thaw them, 
and also to keep the compost until the operation is done. But 
this season all is different. There haR been very little frost; but 
although the weather has been so fine I do not, judging from 
my own small collection, think that they are unduly favoured. In 
top-dressing it is necessary to remove with a blunt stick (disturb¬ 
ing the roots as little as possible) all the earth to the depth of 
perhaps 2 inches, gently moving the remaining soil if it is all 
compact with a thin stick, so that the top-dressing may freely 
amalgamate with it, and not be simply fresh soil resting on a 
hard surface. If very dry it is also better to give the plant some 
water before adding the fresh soil. Remove all dead leaves, 
and examine the plant well to see if there are any aphides, and 
brush these away with a small brush. If any signs of decay appear, 
such as a black spot at the stem, let the affected part be removed 
with a sharp knife and the wound dusted with powdered charcoal. 
Various directions as to compost have been given by different 
growers, some advocating a very rich compost, indeed nearly all 
decayed sheep’s manure ; others going to the opposite extreme, 
recommending nothing but loam. I have used one composed of 
one part loam, one well-decayed cow manure, and a small quantity 
of leaf soil. This should fill the pot, and then it should be watered 
with a fine rose, not wetting the foliage, and the plants placed 
in a frame facing the south, covering them up at night so as to 
prevent frost catching them. After one or two waterings, when 
the soil has become consolidated, the rose may be dispensed with 
and the plants watered with a small-piped watering can. Green 
fly should be carefully looked for, and cleanliness is indispensable. 
—D., Beal. 
APPLES. 
PALMETTE VERRIERS. 
( Continued from page G7.) 
I TURN from sunny memories of trees with which many an 
incident of youth was closely interwoven—orchard trees of Seek- 
no-Farthers, Costards, Lemon Pippins, Catsheads, Greasy Coats, 
Quarrendens, and Nonpareils, huge old standards with mossy 
stems—to what may be termed garden trees. Palmette venders 
have ousted the horizontal-branched espalier from some gardens, 
and graceful pyramids have generally replaced the unsightly bush, 
I will first, however, refer to espaliers having the full benefit 
of rich soil and careful culture. 
About thirty years ago my father planted a considerable number 
of espaliers, all of which were trained horizontally with rigid 
precision. In due course they bore fruit, and continued to do so 
abundantly for many years. They were such remarkable examples 
of successful fruit culture that in 1869 I wrote an account of them 
in the Journal, telling of a Blenheim Pippin having a spread of 
50 feet, a Hanwell Souring of 30 feet bearing four bushels of fruit, a 
Dumelow’s Seedling of 45 feet, a Bedfordshire Foundling of the 
same size, and many others all in the prime of health, vigour, and 
fruitfulness. Subsequently they deteriorated, the lower branches 
becoming attenuated and the upper a thicket of huge useless 
6purs, for barrenness is the inevitable attendant of this stage of 
the existence of such trees ; and now the planter is gone to his 
rest, and the trees of which he was so fond are laid low. Since 
then I have planted some espaliers, but all of them are trained in 
the improved form of palmette verriers—a compound form, having 
the lower part of each branch horizontal at right angles with the 
stem, and the upper part vertical and parallel to the stem, so that 
the ends of the branches are all at the same height, thus ensuring 
an equal distribution of vigour throughout the tree, and rendering 
it impossible for one branch to assume an undue condition of 
vigour at the expense of another. I can confidently recommend 
these trees for kitchen gardens, especially where space is much 
limited, for although necessarily kept closely pruned and confined 
to a given space, the crop of fruit has gradually increased in bulk 
with the growth of the spurs from a few dozens to the very satis¬ 
factory maximum of two or three bushels on each tree. 
I submitted an example of this mode of training some years 
ago, and the method continues so satisfactory that, with the object 
of impressing its advantages on old readers and presenting its 
claims to the attention of new subscribers, I am sure the figure 
may be usefully reproduced. 
As a matter of taste, I must own to a preference for pyramids 
around the quarters of a kitchen garden ; but in very small 
gardens stern necessity compels a close attention to a rigid 
economy of space, every foot of ground being so precious that 
espaliers of palmette verriers should be hailed as a decided boon. 
They hardly ever exceed a couple of feet in diameter, and it 
should not be forgotten that every yard in length of an espalier 
5 feet high gives 10 square yards of the surface of fruiting spurs 
fully exposed to light and air, which is more than can be said of 
any other method of training. If necessary, crops of dwarf vege¬ 
tables can be grown near the espaliers without detriment to them, 
the high culture requisite for the production of good vegetables 
tending admirably to keep the espaliers safe from exhaustion. 
Of the Apples which I have tried as palmette verriers 
Golden Russet makes a handsome tree, perfectly healthy, the 
spurs well set with blossom buds now, and bearing a moderate 
crop of handsome fruit last year. The fruit is now in perfection ; 
it is crisp, yet soft, sweet and well flavoured, and is certainly 
much more juicy than its description in the “ Fruit Manual ” led 
me to expect; it is worthy of a prominent place among our best 
winter dessert Apples. Golden Reinette has suffered so much 
from canker that I must not recommend it, and yet its fruit is so 
handsome and good withal, that it should have a place in deep 
rich soil. Pine Apple Rus-et, though neither attractive in form 
nor colour, is a most delicious Apple. The fruit was above medium 
size, and was at its best in October ; it is singularly juicy and 
sweet, very richly flavoured and refreshing. It makes a fine tree 
with stout robust branches, and although it comes slowly into 
fruiting, I regard it as an indispensable sort worth waiting years 
for. Golden Pippin makes an excellent espalier, and I value it 
for its intrinsic worth even more than for old associations. The 
tree is healthy, and had an abundant crop of the handsome little 
rich yellow fruit. Pine Golden Pippin has become a fine healthy 
tree, its ruddy bark glistening with health, and its branches 
sturdy, stout, and strong, having spurs of proportionate vigour 
well set with buds. The fruit is handsome in form, of a bright 
golden russet, and is very juicy, sweet, richly flavoured, and has 
a pleasant refreshing acidity ; it is not small fruit, but is of a fair 
medium size and is in use now. Pearson’s Plate is an equally fine 
tree, having a moderate crop last year, and abounding with pro¬ 
mise for the future. The fruit is very handsome and keeps well ; 
it is now apparently at its best, and will doubtless continue good 
for another month or two. The flesh is firm, sweet, and crisp, and 
the flavour is excellent. Cox’s Orange Pippin is an espalier of 
remarkable size and vigour, but it has, strange to say, borne very 
little fruit as yet; while the pyramids numbering from one to two 
dozen have had plenty of fruit. I must therefore reserve my 
remarks about its fruit for the pyramids. 
Reinette Van Mons is a fine tree, but I am sorry to perceive traces 
of canker upon the spurs. The fruit is not handsome, but its deli¬ 
cious flavour makes us forget its poor appearance. It is an excellent 
winter sort, keeping well, and there was an abundant crop of it. 
Melon Apple is a healthy tree of moderate vigour, but with clean 
growth, which comes slowly into fruiting. It had an abundant 
crop of fine fruit, much of it above medium size. It was in use 
throughout December and is still good; the flesh is very juicy, 
