188 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 14, 1884. 
simplest, and those not ha ving rock gardens can grow this little 
gem to pei-fection. Place it in rich loam with plenty of grit, in 
almost any position, and the chances are in its favour. I have 
also found that it can be grown in any fairly good garden 
soil. I have grown it in small nursery beds and on slightly 
raised borders quite as well as in any other position, and hundreds 
of plants raised fi’om seed and transferred to the open beds far 
away from any roc!x garden have grown with the greatest luxuri¬ 
ance and have attained a height of 4 or 5 inches. At this height 
it is not less lovely than in its natural condition of its mountain 
home, and where it evidently delights to be jammed firmly 
between the rocks, struggling in vain to free itself.—J. H. E. 
ONIONS. 
We have just harvested our crop of autumn-sown Onions, and 
are reminded thereby that the time for preparing for next season’s 
crop is drawing near. There is this difference between Onions sown 
in autumn and Onions sown in spring—that in the latter case the 
ground can hardly be too rich in nitrogenous plant food, while in 
the former case it may. About the 20th of August is a suitable 
date for sowing autumn Onions, and at that time we have Potato 
ground ready for re-filling. No 2 :)reparation is required more than 
levelling slightly with a wooden rake, and firming the surface of the 
ground before and after sowing. It is generally preferred to sow 
in drills, but I am dubious as to any benefit in this case more than 
can be obtained by running a hoe down between the drills, and at 
the late season this can be done. I do not know that any benefit 
results to compensate the plants for the protection the^’’ reciprocally 
give to each other throughout the winter. After the seedlings are up 
the beds require to be hand-weeded, but if this is done in time it is 
not a large affair. Two of the best varieties to sow are, I think. 
Giant Rocca and Trebons. The Flat White Tripoli is, perhaps, earlier, 
but the others turn out a heavier crop. 
The time to plant-out in spring is just when it is noticed that the 
plants are beginning to grow awaj". This occurs with us about the 
beginning of March. Autumn sown Onions are nothing if not large, 
therefore we must prepare accordingly. The cheapest, and at the 
same time the best Avay to attain this end, is to put a layer of 
Mushroom dung 2 inches thick over the surface of the ground to be 
planted. Point this in loosely 3 inches in depth, draw drills 12 inches 
apart, and in these drills plant out the Onions, one at every 6 inches. 
After planting, if the soil is dry firm it well by treading. If in a 
wet condition wait until it becomes dry before doing this. The 
after culture is merely an occasional hoeing, and towards the end of 
April a slight dressing of sulphate of ammonia will cause the bulbs 
to swell to a great size. Kwj plants that shoot for seed are easily 
stopped by pinching-out the flowering stem as soon as it is noticed. 
The plants left in the seed bed are useful for drawing for use in 
spring and early summer, and the “ thick necks " among the trans¬ 
planted stock should be used as required. If properly harvested 
autumn-sown Onions keep well into winter. To follow these spring- 
sown Onions require to be grown as hardy as possible. The ground 
IS prepared in the same way as for those transplanted from the autumn 
beds. Lines are also drawn in the same way, and the seed sown 
thinly enough for the plants to grow without thinning. I do not 
care for the bulbs being large, but must have them well ripened. If 
ihey are thoroughly well dried in September and securely stored away 
in a cold dry room there is no fear of running short of a supply until 
the autumn-sown plants are in. Half a dozen small well-ripened bulbs 
can be grown on the same ground that one large bulb can, and the 
chances are all in favour of the small ones keeping. When so much 
thinned by the Onion maggot as to allow those that were left to grow 
to a large size, I have found it sometimes necessary to ripen up the 
bulbs in vineries before storing. Strong-growing plants can be checked 
considerably if the roots are slightlj' loosened with a fork. Like 
many other vegetables, the varieties of Onions are very numerous. 
If I were restricted to two kinds I think those likely to give most 
satisfaction would be James’s Keeping and the old Blood Red.—B. 
PRUNING VERSUS NON-PRUNING APPLE TREES. 
In the spring I stated in this Journal that I purposed leaving my 
standard trees unpruned and to watch the result. I ha^e sent you a few 
Apples, and especially a twig, to show the effect of not pruning, also a few 
details of the progress up to this time. When the blossom buits commenced 
swelling, and until they were set, the unpruned last summer shoots on the 
tree tops remained dormant. These then commenced to swell at the tip, 
many showing blossom. Now, of course, they are bearing fine fruits where 
I have not removed them by pruning, as I shall relate. The vrriety I 
have sent is a Pippin, but Stone Apple, Warner’s King, and Ecklinville 
Seedling have all done the same, but the twigs or shoots are many times 
larger. During the drought these seemed to draw up the sap which had 
almost ceased running, and to monopolise it solely at the tip, which became 
bushy at the expense of the lower part of the trees. Although all the 
fruit continued to swell, the lower foliage was badly infested with blight 
and vermin, and syringing had no effect until I flooded the roots with 
water. Ten days after the sap flowed freely, and the Apples which had 
been falling came off faster. Owing to the wind and the great length of the 
unpruned shoots much fine fruit was shaken down, so I resclved to prune 
at once. The matter was a puzzling one. To cut off the tips with the 
fruit on meant leaving no leaves to draw up the sap to the truit on the 
older spurs lower down, and to leave them on looked as bad, or worse. So 
I resolved to cut to the lowest eye showing a little life about the 21st July, 
and now the foliage is doing well and the fruit swelling satisfactorily. 
There has been quite a plague of blight and vermin this season, with 
many extreme variations in the weather. Several of my Apple and Plum 
trees lost nearly all their foliage, the fruit hanging in clusters, but after 
I drenched the roots with water all rapidly recovered and now look 
excellent. Apples are good ; Plums, Gooseberries, and Currants heavy. 
The Pear trees which have been root-pruned were too forward in bloom¬ 
ing, and although there was a very heavy set of fruit, the frost and hail 
destroyed nearly all, and the weevil is finishing the remainder. 
The foregoing teaches me many lessons as follows. The twigs show 
how an Apple tree is made lank and hare of fruit and foliage buds by not 
being pruned to a fourth part at least of its summer growth. This, also, 
shows how young trees are spoiled and unable to carry much fruit. Closely 
pruned trees carry much finer fruit, are much less liable to be affected by 
the wind, and more certain in bearing. Early autumn and summer, as 
well as winter pruning, is the chief cause of disease, as the wood is 
often not then ripe, and the spring often shows this remarkably late spring 
pruning is best, as having some tendency to retard the blossom and to 
escape severe frosts. It appears also to keep the roots more healthy, and to 
afford much protection to the tree itself.—J. E. Waiting, Grange-over- 
Sands. 
[The fruit received is good. We have seen many similar examples 
of naked spurless branches as the result of non-pruning.] 
AN AMATEUR’S GARDEN. 
The most healthful and enjoyable of occupations, whether for pleasure 
or profit, is gardening. Every week and year brings fresh recruits to the 
already great army of gardeners, especially amateurs who, as the term implie.", 
cultivate their gardens as a source of pleasure. This rapidly increasing 
love for gardening has exercised a most wholesome influence morally and 
socially over the great masses of people who inhabit the suburbs of our 
great cities and large towns. We refer specially to the artisan class ; but 
there is another and higher class, the enterprising business men of our 
great cities, who are developing a taste for gardening for higher reasons 
than the toiling masses just referred to. It is for the love of gardening in 
its noblest sense, the study of form and beauty in the vegetable kingdom, 
and the great enjoyment to be derived from cultivating Flora’s and Pomona’s 
richest treasures with their own skill. 
It is not every lover of gardening who, commanding wealth, cares to 
undertake the sole cultivation of very choice Palms, Ferns, and Orchids 
without the assistance of a skilled gardener. Undoubtedly the greatest 
enjoyment is to obtained by those who tend and care for their plants per¬ 
sonally. That there are those who do this we can vouch for, as we had 
the pleasure a short time since of inspecting the model amateur’s garden 
of F. N. Adkin, Esq., Tower House, Belmont Park, Lee. We had been 
promised a rich floral treat, and rich it certainly was on the date of our 
inspection. This garden is only of limited extent, but, although small, 
Mr. Adkin is certainly doing his best to render it a model one. Like 
most amateurs he makes one department of the garden a speciality, and 
in his case the speciality is stove plants. The glass houses are neatly 
built from Mr. Adkin’s own designs, and are in every sense externally and 
internally models of perfection. This is not unduly lavished praise. 
There are four pigmy span-roof stoves built together in a block. Each of 
these little houses does not measure more than 8 feet long and 12 feet 
wide and about 8 feet high in the centre. In each of these houses the 
stages of wood slope from the sides to the path, which is 2 feet wide. 
The front edges of the stages are tastefully adorned with virgin cork, 
thus hiding the objectionable edges of the stages and the hot-water pipes 
around the house from view. In the first house were growing plants 
which for health, vigour, and culture would do ample credit to tbe most 
skilled gardener; beautifully grown plants of Palms, Kentia Fosteriana 
rubra, Areca Verschaffelti, Calamus ciliaris, Orchids, Trichopilia tortilis 
well grown and carrying fine flowers ; a splendid plant of Nepenthes 
Morganise with fine pitchers. Marantas and other plants were quite at 
home and tastefully arranged. Ferns and Nepenthes were suspended in 
baskets from the roof, thus rendering this house most charming. 
No. 2 house, similarly constructed, contained a splendid specimen of 
Davallia Mooreana, Gymnogramma Laucheana (Gold Fern), Adiantum 
amabilis, Nothochlsena sinuata, among Ferns; Croton Lord Derby, 
Cytoceras reflexum, Phyllanthus nivosus, and others among general 
plants. Nos. 3 and 4 are devoted to Ferns. These are special favourities 
with Mr. Adkin, and he certainly thoroughly understands their require¬ 
ments in every way. Charming specimens of choice Ferns are to be 
seen here, such as Microlepia hirsuta, Lomaria fluviatilis, Didymochlena 
truncatula, Davallia Mariesi cristata, Nephrolepis philippinensis, and 
others too numerous to mention in these notes. Some are grown in baskets 
suspended from the roof, and are equally well grown. 
In addition to the four stoves there are two greenhouses of much larger 
dimensions. These are span-roofs, and contain a central path and two 
side stages. Both houses were filled with choice flowering plants, such as 
