240 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ September 14, 1882. 
ing part of the process of conversion, it is very evident this is 
not much encouraged in a damp cold structure ; but at the 
same time rapid evaporation caused by either excessive heat, 
light, or strong currents of air is harmful, and may result in 
shrivelling and loss of quality. 
If we wish to improve the appearance of either Apples or 
Pears, as well as to hasten the ripening process, these are packed 
in hay in boxes and placed in heat as previously mentioned.. 
If near their proper time of ripening, Apples and Pears will 
bear a good heat and ripen in two or three daj's ; but if we 
endeavour to ripen them out of season the process must be 
gradual, or the fruit will inevitably shrivel. Artificial ripen¬ 
ing will sometimes convert examples thought to be worthless, 
and which but for the experiment would have remained worth¬ 
less, into delicious fruit. 
The commoner sorts, more especially of Apples, may be 
stored in heaps or thinly on the floors of the fruit-room, while 
the choicer varieties ought to be disposed thinly in single 
layers if possible on the shelves, the Apples stalk downwards, 
and Pears the reverse. Each sort should be divided with 
strips of wood and be properly labelled. If there is no pro¬ 
vision for keeping out the frost the latticed staging or shelves 
and the floor should be covered with hay or straw previous to 
bringing in the fruit, and more of the same material be at all 
times kept near in readiness for covering the fruit when frost 
is imminent. Frigi domo, canvas, and mats may also be 
utilised for the same purpose. For our room we have a port¬ 
able stove heated with paraffin, but should not depend entirely 
upon this, as I have seen much fruit spoilt by severe frosts, 
and now am always anxious to be “ on the safe side.” The 
less fire heat employed the better, however, for the simple 
reason it is certain to hasten ripening generally, whereas it is 
our aim to maintain the supply as long as possible. 
Apples and Pears must be handled carefully when picked, 
and at all times if they are expected to keep, and when tested 
as to ripeness should be pressed with the thumb only near the 
footstalk. If not soft there they are not at their best, and, 
besides, the slight bruises do not disfigure the fruit or greatly 
impair its keeping qualities, as would otherwise be the case. 
All should be frequently examined, as a few decaying fruits 
will spoil others that are in contact with them. Heaps espe¬ 
cially will be greatly benefited by being turned and sorted, 
and great care should be taken in the first instance not to 
mix any bruised or otherwise damaged fruit with the sound 
ones, or all may be spoilt. Fruit with small holes picked in 
them by birds will not keep. Blackbirds and tomtits are great 
scourges this season, and as the former only visit us when 
fruit is to be had we have no mercy on them. 
Filberts and Walnuts when gathered, the former before they 
shell out too freely, should be dried on the floor of the fruit- 
room, and then packed away in boxes or jars and placed in 
the darkest and coolest corner. They keep fresher in a cellar 
or in jars buried in the earth, but this deprives them of much of 
their sweetness, and in my estimation renders them worthless. 
—W. Iggulden. 
PROPAGATING EUONYMUSES. 
In January fast I pointed out the value of these variegated shrubs 
for decorative purposes, and notes on their propagation will now 
be seasonable and probably acceptable to some of your readers. 
All the varieties can be propagated by cuttings. The treat¬ 
ment of E. radicans variegatus differs slightly, as it is perfectly 
hardy, grows rapidly, and is often increased by division, yet 
thousands are annually produced by cuttings. This variety is too 
well known to need any comments from me. The cuttings should 
be taken if convenient during the month of September, the earlier 
the better, providing the wood is sufficiently ripened. Although 
the time mentioned is preferable, they can be inserted any time 
during the winter, and success will follow, as they root readily 
when judiciously treated. The points of the shoots should be 
selected, and the cuttings then trimmed 2 to 3 inches in length. 
The wood must be cut clean below a joint, and the leaves removed 
for about half the length of the shoots. Care must be taken 
not to let them wither before inserting them. Eight-inch pots 
are the best for the cuttings. These should be well drained and 
filled with sandy soil, with a good layer of sand over the surface. 
The soil should be pressed rather firmly into the pots. The longest 
should be placed in the centre, with the next size near them, 
the smallest being placed at the sides of the pots. In nurseries 
great care is exercised in this respect, not that the cuttings root 
any better, but they look neater and more workmanlike, and little 
if any longer time is required than by an irregular system. After 
insertion a good soaking of water should be given, and the pots 
placed in cold frames or boxes similar to those recommended for 
Conifers, only sufficiently large to hold at least a dozen pots. 
These frames or boxes must be placed between two span-roofed 
houses, or on the shady side of a hedge or wall where the tempe¬ 
rature will be uniform. The frames should be kept close, and but 
little other attention is needed, only to see that the soil in the pots 
does not become dry. After one good soaking the plants will not 
need water again for a long time, as evaporation is limited with 
the frame kept close. If the weather is sunny shading must be 
resorted to and the pots lightly damped occasionally with the 
syringe. The cuttings can remain in this position as long as the 
weather continues open—in fact if the winter is not severe, no 
better place could be given them. In severe weather the less 
hardy varieties should be removed to the close frame in the Conifer 
house. The green-leaved varieties, such as E. latifolius and the 
hardy E. radicans variegatus, can remain in the boxes, but must 
be protected with mats or other material to prevent, if possible, 
the cuttings and soil becoming frozen. I have known many 
deaths result from this cause, especially if removed when frozen 
to a warmer place. 
When they are conveyed from the cool boxes to the Conifer 
house some care is necessary for a time to prevent the cuttings 
damping. If taken late it is preferable to place them in the close 
frame in the house where a gentle heat can be given, or if they 
have been taken early they will be callusing, and will be some¬ 
what benefited by the change. In this stage the warmth of 
the Conifer house assists them to produce roots, after which 
they should be transferred to 3-inch pots, and if the close frame 
can again be spared them for about a fortnight so much the 
better. In nurseries generally there is abundance of pits or 
frames with one or more small hot-water pipes running through, 
where such plants can be kept close and properly treated for a 
time when first potted ; then the heat is gradually reduced and 
the plants finally grown on under cold-frame treatment without a 
check. 
Sandy loam and a little manure mixed with it suits these plants 
well. If the loam is good and rich the manure need not be em¬ 
ployed. When all fear of frost is past the young plants can be 
plunged outside in long narrow beds, the pots being entirely 
covered with the plunging material. The points of the shoots 
should be taken out to induce the young plants to become bushy, 
supplying water whenever they require it, which is all the attention 
needed until autumn. The green forms and E. radicans variegatus 
are treated exactly alike, only heat is not required by them. 
They are kept in pots for a time, and eventually planted out and 
lifted for transplanting during the same season as Conifers and 
other evergreens. 
I may add for the good of those who wish to grow them for 
window plants and increase their stock, if the cuttings are made 
as I have described, inserted in a pot, and a tumbler placed over 
them, a fair per-centage may be rooted even in rooms. 
In growing standards it is best to keep them growing in pots 
without stopping them, removing all side shoots as they appear 
until they attain the desired height, when they should be pinched 
to form a head. Standards are induced to grow most quickly by 
keeping them indoors.—W. Bardney. 
RENOVATING OLD PEACH TREES. 
To keep Peach trees in good health the roots must be well 
attended to, as if these are out of order the crop will be lost. 
Having had some experience with old Peach trees I will now state 
it, as it may be of use to those who may be placed in the same 
predicament as myself a few years ago. The trees were covered 
with red spider, the shoots very succulent, some of the branches 
dying, no roots within 2 feet of the surface, and those devoid of 
fruit-feeding fibres. My employer told me that he had not had 
a crop of fruit for seven or eight years. 
I commenced the work of improvement by cutting out most of 
the succulent shoots and well syringing the trees early every 
morning to keep the red spider in check, and employed a little 
fire heat, affording free ventilation to ripen the wood. When 
the leaves commenced changing I dug a trench 6 feet from the 
base of the tree and worked the old soil out with steel forks. It 
was very light, having been in the border for several years. When 
the roots were clean the drainage was rectified and the border 
filled with good yellow loam, lime rubbish, and charcoal dust, and 
