JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 31, 1883. ] 
siDgle bud. What is the result ? As much growth is made from 
the single eye as the stock had it been left alone would have 
produced. There is, however, a vast difference between growth 
formed in three to six years and that made in one. In the longer 
period the growth is solidified as made through the reciprocal 
action of the part above and below ground, and the growth is 
moderately vigorous throughout ; but in the shorter period the 
growth, though moderate at the commencement and for the extent 
of a few joints, yet when the roots are called into activity by the 
increasing foliage the growth becomes robust—nay, gross and 
long-jointed, producing laterals as an outcome of the excessive 
food supply so readily attracted through the large sap channels of 
the scion, and the consequence is the wood is strong, soft, and 
remarkable for pith. What follows ? The scion is cut back to 
the firm short-jointed wood at the base, and four or more shoots 
issue to form the foundation of the tree. Thus far, however, no 
evil is done. The buds start and make shoots, if vigorous, with 
plenty of laterals. Now we must discriminate between trees that 
have short-jointed wood and are not so strong as to form laterals, 
and those that have made gross sappy growth, or between the big 
tree and the small. The short-jointed wood will probably be ripe 
to the points of the shoots and be all that the planter could desire ; 
but the other will have the wood unripe and be of no value, at 
least until it has been cut back to the ripe wood. But the vigour 
of the tree may be checked by lifting, and if this be not resorted 
to the two-years-trained tree will also be too gross ; and it is no 
use planting trees with unripe wood and trusting to coming sun 
to ripen it, for it can never solidify, whatever it may do in con¬ 
tracting the sap vessels and narrowing the pith. 
Another matter in connection with rearing the trees is often 
overlooked—viz., the fact that the Apricot is an exotic not hardy 
really in this country ; yet in rearing trees they are grown in the 
open just as if they were as hardy as Apples, Pears, Plums, and 
Cherries. Some of our principal nurserymen have walls or other 
means of affording shelter and warmth to their young trees of 
Apricots, Peaches, and Nectarines, and it must be obvious the 
young wood of such trees is better ripened ; in fact trees of one 
year’s training are not infrequently furnished with flower buds. 
I shall forestall any comment by anticipating the remark likely 
to be made in respect of walls not being necessary until of 
late years. Stocks were budded and the trees grown in the open 
until transferred to walls. This everybody knows, and the trees, 
no matter how old, had the growth of the past season cut back 
to firm ripe wood ; but of late years a new method of treating 
recently planted young trees has obtained—viz., they are recom¬ 
mended not to be cut back at all. This is very well if the wood 
be ripe, but what if it is not ? Upon this matter our advisers are 
silent. They do not practise it themselves, for their trees in the 
open are so damaged by the first severe weather as to render 
necessary a practice they condemn. The planter will be acting 
wisely not to have anything to do with trees that have soft unripe 
wood. It does not answer to plant such trees without cutting 
back the strong immature shoots. Strong growths are sometimes 
encouraged in a young tree to cover the wall quickly and sooner 
derive profit; but *the shoots, though they may form spurs and 
fruit splendidly, simply collapse in a few years, the branches die, 
and from the ripe wood—ripe in its first formation—strong shoots 
arise. When old branches die they are invariably those which at 
some time have been marked by vigour and unripened wood. 
The influence of the stock being so great as to induce in the 
scion an excess of vigour in the first few years of growth, it is 
obviously essential to the health of the tree to adopt means of 
counteracting that influence. The tendency to early luxuriance 
is common to all varieties, but the Moor Park is the most prone 
to gum of any ; and the method of checking the luxuriance which 
is not conducive to the early production of fruit is to root-prune 
the trees about the end of July or early in August, taking out a 
trench about one-third from the stem the tree has spread of growth 
and cutting off all roots there, and after filling up again give a 
thorough watering, and if necessary shade from bright sun for 
a few days until fresh roots are emitted. This will check the too 
abundant supply of sap, regulate the development of the growth, 
prevent its excessive production, and consequently tend to the 
ripening of the wood, which is less liable to injury from cold, and 
is fruitful in character. It is undue vigour in tender fruit trees 
which is the cause in most eases of canker and gumming. Coun¬ 
teract the tendency to over-luxuriance, and the wood will ripen 
and escape the ravages of frost. There is little gumming of trees 
under glass, but over-luxuriant trees do sometimes gum ; they set 
their fruit badly and stone very indifferently, the remedy for 
which is lifting, which the most successful practitioners resort to 
periodically. 
Not only is it necessary to resort to root-pruning in the case of 
443 
trees which in their early years of growth exhibit over-luxuriance, 
but it is absolutely essential whenever the trees from want of 
crop, adverse seasons, too rich soil, or other cause exhibit too 
vigorous growth which is not likely to ripen well. It is the only 
means of aiding trees of tender growth to perfect their growth 
short of artificial heat or the retention of natural heat, which will 
be considered at a later stage. 
Formerly, it may be stated, Apricots were not so tender as they 
are now. I do not entertain the idea, for the gardeners of the 
last generation never encouraged strong growth simply to be cut 
hard back in winter. They kept their trees close to the wall, had 
no useless spray, and the wood ripened well. Trees against farm 
houses and cottages had very little attention, only a trimming in 
summer and a pruning in winter by some jobbing gardener 
of the district, unless the gardener or his assistant at the hall 
could be prevailed on to trim the trees ; and it must be said the 
results were often more satisfactory on other people’s trees than 
those directing under their care. Why 1 In front of the farm 
house or cottage the Apricots had no rich border as in the hall 
garden. The trees grew less, ripened the wood, and fruited splen¬ 
didly, producing large if not yet good marketable fruit ; and 
better than all, to one limb lost of these trees ten went off in the 
richer border, and otherwise pampered trees of the gardener.— 
G. Abbey. 
(To be continued.) 
TOO-MUCH-ALIKE ROSES. 
The Committee of the National Rose Society would, I am sure, 
be very much obliged to your correspondent “Y. B. A. Z.” for 
his timely remarks on page 430, and for the suggestions he has 
made on the subject; and I can only express personally, what I 
am sure would be their wish had they an opportunity of expressing 
it, my thanks to him for it. He will, I am sure, however, be glad 
to hear that those suggestions have been already acted upon. 
The Committee felt that they had no power to enforce their rules 
on this subject; but they placed the matter before the affiliated 
societies and urged on them the adoption of the rule, and also, as 
far as possible, the desirability of placing the names on their 
schedules, so that their exhibitors could have no doubt upon the 
subject; as, although their own members would know perfectly 
well the rule they had adopted, and would by reference to their 
catalogues be able to see the names of the bracketed Roses, yet 
there were in each society a number of exhibitors who were not 
members of the National would be ignorant of it. I am happy to 
say that the societies have behaved very loyally in the matter; 
nearly all of them have expressed their willingness to abide by the 
decision of the parent society, and have placed the names of the 
bracketed Roses on their schedules, so that very generally it will 
be carried out this year. I have with this enclosed for him a 
copy of the Darlington schedule, which not only for this, but for 
the wonderful manner in which my friend Mr. Wliitwell has en¬ 
listed the aid of his neighbours, is well worthy of perusal, and, I 
may add, of imitation, by all who are interested in the getting-up 
of provincial shows. There are a few societies which have printed 
these names, but with an intimation that the rule will not be 
carried out until the season of 1884, so that I think, on the whole, 
as much has been done as one might reasonably expect. 
With regard to the question put by your correspondent as to 
trebles, and the showing of, we will say, Ferdinand de Lesseps, 
Maurice Bernardin, and Exposition de Brie in the same treble, I 
cannot see that there can be any objection to this, provided that 
only one name is used; for as the Committee have decided that they 
are one and the same thing, it matters little by what name they 
are called; and if growers keep the different varieties in their 
gardens they can of course show them as they wish, so that the 
rule is adhered to. There are still some growers who say that 
they can distinguish these Roses, and this might give an oppor¬ 
tunity, without infringing the rules, of seeing whether it were so 
or not. 
The Committee felt that, notwithstanding all the pains bestowed 
upon their catalogue, it was sure to have some imperfections in it, 
and they have been recently engaged in revising it for 1884, and 
are about to add to it a catalogue of garden Roses, comprising 
many of those old favourites which ought never to be lost sight 
of. Into this catalogue several of those which have had a place 
in the list of exhibition Roses will be relegated. 
Your correspondent has struck one of the notes which portend 
the approach of the campaign, and I hope next week to be 
able to say something on our prospects. I have lately been in 
several Rose gardens (amateurs’), and so may be able to give a 
general view of what is to be looked for. This, however, I may 
say, that notwithstanding all the jeremiads which some have 
