212 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 7, 1893. 
in ashes, and it is desirable to allow them to make a year’s growth 
outdoors before they are placed under glass for fruiting. When 
trees two or three years from the bud or graft, and especially in 
pots, can be had, it is better to purchase such than to rear them, 
and being furnished with blossom buds a crop of fruit may be had 
the first year. 
If the trees are placed outdoors each winter (after the fruit is 
gathered in the case of early varieties), they should be returned to 
the house before the buds are so far advanced as to show colour, 
allowing plenty of room for the development of the growth, and 
standing each pot on two or more bricks on the flat a little distance 
asunder, so that the roots will not pass into the soil, whilst insuring 
a free passage for the water. Such trees can be moved at any time 
without prejudice to the growth. When the trees are kept under 
glass constantly the ventilators should be wide open during the 
winter whenever the temperature is above freezing point, but when 
frost prevails they ought to be kept closed. The trees also 
should be placed close together, so that they can be protected from 
frost by a covering of dry hay or straw between and over the potsj 
standing them apart in the spring. Similar remarks apply to planted- 
out trees in respect of ventilation under fixed roofs in winter, but 
the better plan is to remove the roof lights when the leaves have 
fallen and keep them off until the spring. 
Under the circumstances indicated the trees will start naturally 
in the spring, and from this time forward a circulation of air, except 
in severe weather, should always be maintained by leaving the 
ventilators open more or less day and night. Abundance of air 
and a dry atmosphere is the only way to secure a proper set of 
fruit. By the time the fruits are set and swelling the sun will 
have considerable power, and may be taken advantage of to 
accelerate the growth by reducing the ventilation in the afternoon, 
yet leaving some, airing early each morning, and when the wind 
is sharp and cold ventilate on that side opposite its direction. In 
the summer the ventilators should be kept constaEtly open. 
The trees must never be distressed for lack of a supply of 
water ; one flagging ruins the crop for the season, and trees in 
pots are successful in proportion to the watering and nourishment. 
The soil must always be kept moist. Trees in pots require water 
twice, sometimes three times a day in the summer ; also top-dressings 
of rich compost, preferably pieces of turf, to encourage plenty of 
surface roots, which can be fed to any extent by liquid manure and 
sprinklings of chemical fertilizers occasionally. Trees in borders 
will require water less frequently, that depending on root area, the 
spread of the top and the crop, but there must not be any deficiency 
of moisture or want of food. Over-watering and over-feeding must 
not be indulged in, for the Plum is impatient of extremes, but 
liberal treatment should be accorded if the trees are expected to 
produce full crops annually. As the fruit advances in ripening 
lessen the supplies of water and withhold liquid manure, but the 
foliage must not be allowed to become limp or to flag. 
From the time the fruit is set until it begins to ripen the trees 
should be syringed in the morning, also in the afternoon, except on 
dull cold days, when a genial atmosphere may be secured by damp¬ 
ing the paths and borders when they become dry. Syringing the 
trees must cease when the fruit commences to ripen, and the 
atmospheric moisture be gradually reduced, but a little of the latter 
will not do any harm provided the air is not stagnant, and it is 
necessary for the perfecting of the fruit and the health of the 
foliage. Hexagon netting over the ventilators, and frame doors 
covered with it, are necessary to exclude bluebottle flies and wasps, 
otherwise use the thinnest muslin over the trees or enclose the 
fruits in bags of that material. After the fruit is removed recourse 
must be had to syringing, watering, and proper supplies of nourish¬ 
ment for the perfecting of the wood and buds for next year’s crop. 
Early varieties in pots should be placed outdoors as soon as the 
fruit is gathered, assigning them a sunny position, and duly 
attended to in watering and syringing. Midseason varieties may 
be treated similarly, also the late sorts as they are cleared of fruit. 
Repotting or top-dressing is best done before the leaves fall. The 
object to be kept in view is to secure fresh roots in new material, 
therefore remove as much old compost as possible without exces¬ 
sive root disturbance, not carrying the reduction too far, and 
ram the soil firmly. In top-dressing trees in borders the old 
mulching should be removed, and fresh supplied after loosening 
the surface. If the trees are growing too luxuriantly a few of the 
stronger roots may be severed and removed. When the trees 
grow exuberantly they should be carefully lifted and root-pruned, 
replanting with the roots near the surface, and well firming the 
soil. If the trees are unsatisfactory or weakly lift them, remove 
the old soil, and replant in fresh compost over good drainage. 
Training and pruning are the next points to consider. Bush, 
pyramid, and round headed trees on stems are best for pots or 
planting-out. Standard trees are unequalled for the latter purpose, 
and are easily formed by heading at the height required. Pyramids 
merely require the side shoots pinched and the leader stopped to 
secure them. Summer pinching may be practised twice or even 
three times on the leader, and the side shoots once or twice to four 
or ^x leaves, avoiding overcrowding the growths, otherwise the 
fruits are deteiorated for lack of air, and many of the spurs will be 
too weak to produce fruit, the numerous dead spurs on Plum trees 
being due to this cause. Pruning may be performed in the spring, as 
the buds are then easier distinguished by the inexperienced, but as 
soon as the fruit is gathered is the best time. As a rule Plum 
trees under glass should be trained for fruit first and form after¬ 
wards, that is, pinching, disbudding, and thinning must not be 
carried too far, for growth is necessary for the production of fruit, 
its development, and perfect finish. Trees on trellises or walls 
require the usual summer and winter pruning, but the spur system 
is not by any means the best for the Plum under glass. The trees 
being on front or roof trellises are best treated on the alternative 
system, in which the shoots are allowed to grow up to the glass, 
only keeping them just clear, these being stopped and kept mode¬ 
rately thin. By thinning out the fruited branches annually, and 
encouraging shoots to take their places, the trees are maintained in 
youthful vigour, and the fruit produced is abundant and very fine. 
Old trees that produce little beyond breastwood and leaves will 
often yield enormous crops by laying-in young wood, which in the 
second year will form bloom buds throughout its length and give 
some fruit, and in the third year a good crop.— G. Abbey. 
PROPAGATING BEDDING PLANTS. 
The work of propagating bedding plants has perhaps this year 
been delayed longer than usual, for the sake of preserving the full 
beauty of the beds. It should, however, now be pushed on as fast 
as possible, in order to get the cuttings well rooted before the dull 
short days come. Judging from the appearance of Pelargonium 
cuttings, there is every reason to suppose that fine plants, with a 
small per-centage of losses, may be anticipated, as they are hard, 
short-jointed, and entirely devoid of the soft sappy growth which 
predominated last year. These favourable conditions should be 
taken advantage of by making the cuttings somewhat shorter than 
usual, so that the plants resulting therefrom may be sturdy from 
the first. Cuttings with two or three joints will in the majority of 
instances prove the best. 
When placed in shallow boxes a couple of inches asunder large 
numbers may be wintered in a limited space, but where there is 
plenty of house or pit room during the winter I would strongly 
advise inserting the cuttings at once in 3-inch pots. The labour 
of potting at a busy time in the spring is then avoided, and plants 
of the dwarfest habit are obtained. One crock only need be 
placed over the base of each pot, a little rough leaf soil being 
excellent material to cover this with: Whatever compost is used 
for filling the pots with, it should be made somewhat light and 
sandy by the addition of leaf mould and road sand. It is, how¬ 
ever, a mistake to use old and exhausted potting soil when this 
pot system is practised, or the plants will not make progress in 
the spring. A good proportion of fresh loam or moderate rich 
garden soil should therefore be incorporated with the compost. 
A sunny position on a bed of coal ashes in the open air is a capital 
position in which to place the pots after the cuttings are inserted. 
Should boxes be employed I like to place these on thin strips of 
