286 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 28, 1893. 
treatment, so as to cover the allotted space. In pruning the young tree 
leave the branches about 12 inches asunder. The leader must be cut 
back to the proper distance, then three shoots will be required, one for 
leader and two for side branches. The latter will not require much 
shortening, as it is desirable to cover the wall as soon as possible. With 
some varieties it is possible to take two or more courses in one year. If 
a bud refuses to break, it is, in my opinion, a good plan to make an 
incision in the bark over the bud, which will check the flow of sap and 
■cause the bud to start into growth. 
Peach Trees .—Assuming that a Peach tree haslbeen properly attended 
to during the summer, and only sufficient wood laid in to replace that 
wliich has borne fruit, the latter should be cut away with a sharp knife 
close to the base of the young shoot which is destined to take its place 
ior the next year’s crop. Shorten the young shoot to where there is a 
wood bud. On some shoots it will be found that there is no wood bud 
•except the terminal bud, in which case the shoot must be left at full 
length, as the fruit cannot come to perfection unless leaves are produced 
■beyond it. To distinguish fruit buds from wood buds is a very simple 
matter. The former are full and plump, whereas the wood buds are thin 
and pointed, and are generally found between two fruit buds. When 
this is so the shoot can safely be cut back to the length required. 
Young gardeners and amateurs will avert much disappointment by 
carefully observing this one particular point. 
Cherry and Plum Trees .—These will not require much winter pruning 
beyond cutting away dead wood or thinning spurs, and in the case of 
full grown trees spurring back leading shoots not pruned during the 
summer. The Morello Cherry should be treated similarly to the Peach, 
cutting away all the old wood that has borne fruit to make room for the 
young shoots. Standards are better if left to themselves. Plums 
require but little winter pruning if properly attended to during the 
summer. Figs should be treated like the Peach, as they fruit on the 
new wood, which must not be shortened except to induce young shoots 
for the coming year. 
Push Fruits .—Red and White Currants should be pruned hard back 
after the bush is formed, as the fruit buds form in clusters at the base 
of the young shoots. A young plant should be cut back to produce 
vigorous growth. Select four shoots to form the base of the bush, then 
at the next pruning cut them back, and from the young growths choose 
eight shoots, which will be found sufficient to form a bush. Keep the 
centre open. A good height will be from 4 to 5 feet. All shoots should 
be spurred in to the main stem. Black Currants require different treat¬ 
ment, as they fruit on the previous year’s wood. A good practice is to 
■cut out weakly shoots and encourage vigorous young growths, cutting 
away the old wood. Raspberries should be kept to four canes in a 
•clump ; if more have been allowed to grow they should be cut away, 
and the remaining four shortened back to 4 or 5 feet. 
Root-pruning .—All trees before they are planted should be examined, 
and all tap roots cut away with sharp knife. After these are removed 
•cut away the bruised parts of the other roots to encourage the emission 
of fibrous roots. The greatest attention should be paid to this part of 
pruning. It is a good plan to train the roots to grow straight from the 
stem of the tree. All the roots that cross should be shortened. In 
young plants the roots should be shortened to about 18 inches from the 
stem. The root-pruning of old trees is rather a difficult operation, and 
should not be attempted by amateurs. In the case of an old tree that 
has never been pruned before, it is better to operate only on one side for 
the first year. Dig a trench not less than 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep, 
the distance from the stem and also the depth must be in proportion to 
the size of the tree. The trench being dug, examine the roots, and cut 
the ends off those which are bruised with a sharp knife. Thrust a spade 
beneath the ball of soil around the stem of the tree to sever any tap 
roots. ^ The trench must then be filled in with fresh soil, and a good 
watering given. The following year the other side of the tree may be 
-treated in a similar manner.—A Working Gardener. 
SOFT VERSUS HARD COLD WATER FOR PLANTS. 
It would appear Mr. Dunn (page 271) has very little to advance in 
*the shape of argument to further his ideas on this matter, or he would 
have published them, instead of indulging in a mere play upon words, 
and suggesting that my training and observation have been so limited 
as to render me incapable of realising what can be grown in large 
gardens. Such is Mr. Dunn’s summing-up of myself. It seems he has 
•already had sufficient of the real question, and would fain turn the 
•matter into other channels. But that will not do. Your correspondent 
has on page 214, September 7th, described cold hard water as an 
^‘obnoxious drug,” and little better than “slow poison” for plants. He 
suggests that I do not understand the meaning of the word “ stubborn.” 
He will find if he looks in his dictionary that it means “ firm,” and 
the facts I adduced on page 239 are as firm this week as when they 
were recorded. Now, let him find, if he can, if pure hard cold water 
■is by any authority described as an “ obnoxious drug,” and he may 
also, with advantage to himself, endeavour to trace the meaning of 
“ poison.” Both those epithets, as applied by him, are, in my view, 
•grossly incorrect. He has committed himself to dicta, the truth of 
which he must prove before what he may say in other respects can 
have weight with intelligent readers. 
His references to drained and undrained soil are beside the question, 
for plants fail in waterlogged soil whether the water is soft or hard, and 
there is more soft water than hard in quagmires. The relative values 
•ot warm and cold showers are not in question. He made a positive 
statement that hard cold water is an obnoxious drug poisonous to plants. 
He must either prove, withdraw, or modify that statement, or stand 
self-convicted on its inaccuracy. That is the point, and all arguments 
around it will be mere word-spinning. 
I have given instances of the water so unequivocally condemned by 
Mr. Dunn, proving of enormous value in the profitable cultivation of 
Grapes, Cucumbers, and plants. Hundreds of persons have seen the 
examples, and Mr. Dunn may see similar results in scores of establish¬ 
ments, where the best Covent Garden produce is grown. The question, 
I repeat, is not of one kind of water being better than another, but of 
hard cold water being “ an obnoxious drug poisonous to plants.” That is 
Mr. Dunn’s astounding allegation. I have rebutted it with a narration 
of facts much too stubborn to be dissipated by any person who is so 
loose in his phraseology as Mr. Dunn has, to my mind, shown himself 
to be.—J. B. R. 
Much experience with “ hard cold water ” is my excuse for entering 
shortly in the discussion on the subject. If hard cold water were “ slow 
poison” our prospects here for the future would be miserable indeed. 
During the whole of this year the rainfall has been so light that “ warm 
soft water ” has been quite out of the question for plants of any kind. 
So dry has been the weather that, instead of having all our tanks full 
of warmed water, they have been quite dry when pumping day came 
round, and by the time the water entered them plants of various kinds 
were quite ready to receive a supply. The only source of water here, 
irrespective of the small amount of rainfall, is one well dug in the chalk 
250 feet deep. One would imagine the water drawn from such a depth 
is as cold as water can be in summer, and I think there is no doubt it 
is as hard as it is possible to obtain any. Within five minutes of the 
water being pumped from this well it has many times this summer been 
given to plants of various kinds, including Chrysanthemums and 
Calanthes. Grapes, Peaches, and Melons have also been refreshed with 
supplies of this hard cold water. He would be a bold person who would 
say any of these are being poisoned ever so slowly. While perhaps wishing 
that I could not only soften but warm this water before applying it to 
the roots and over the foliage, I find it is impossible to do either, so 
many are the calls upon our one well. We are thankful to take it as 
it comes, and will wait and see whether it proves to be “ slow poison ” 
or not. So far, I am bound to say, it appears to have had a distinctly 
nourishing effect.—E. Molyneux, Swanmore, Hants, 
EARLY PEARS. 
In the Journal of Horticulture Dr. Jules Guyot has been recom¬ 
mended as a good Pear. I have fruited this variety as a cordon on a 
south wall for the past five or six years, and I do not think it is ever 
likely to be so valuable as Williams’ Bon Chretien. It is, indeed, a 
prettier fruit, is sweet and good ; but I have never had it so delicious 
as the old “Williams” when in perfection. Souvenir du Congr^s has 
become very popular, no doubt on account of its large size combined 
with a prolific habit. Some wonderfully fine examples of this desirable 
Pear have been exhibited this year, and it is sure to be grown more 
largely than ever. My opinion is that a few cordon trees will yield a 
sufficient supply for most establishments. The old Beurr6 d’Amanlis is, 
I think, a more useful variety. Clapp’s Favourite as a cordon has 
yielded some delicious early fruits of good size. It possesses the 
desirable property absent in most early Pears, of ripening a few at a 
time, so that from one tree a supply can be gathered to bridge over 
several weeks. It seems to make way very slowly, but is bound to 
become a standard garden fruit. I have a cordon tree of a Bergamot 
named Dr. Hogg. It is delicious, and follows Beurr^ d’Amanlis, 
ripening about the same time as Louise Bonne of Jersey. Another 
delicious autumn Pear of the same shape, but larger, is Fondante 
d’Automne. This, with me, is later than Louise Bonne of Jersey. 
I have planted several trees of Marie Louise, the most useful of 
early winter kinds. It is seldom we have too many tof this, as it ripens 
slowly and its season is easily extended by a little care in gathering and 
by keeping the later fruit cool. Moreover, no Pear sells better, as it 
holds a high character in the market. I have a young tree of Beurr6 
Bachelier, a Pear which ripens earlier than the above, and is a most 
prolific variety. The flavour is, however, rather poor, and it is useful 
alone on account of its never failing to bear, and therefore of value in 
seasons when good Pears are scarce. Pitmaston Duchess produces 
enormous fruits, but it has the fault of the last-named without the 
redeeming quality of producing fruit freely. Where space is limited I 
should personally be inclined to leave it out. Hacon’s Incomparable is 
very good in some seasons, and bears freely every year. 
The time will soon arrive when any new trees that may be wanted 
must be purchased. On this point I may be allowed to say that it is 
necessary to keep a supply of young fruitful trees. In some soils no 
doubt old Pear trees bear fruit with wonderful regularity ; but in very 
many gardens the soil is so unsuitable that root-pruning and the best 
attention to the branches combined fail to produce trees worth the 
trouble they incur. I have some magnificent trees under my charge, 
but if I had not from time to time introduced young trees the Pear 
crop of 1893 in our case would have been a small one. With young 
vigorous trees, however, I shall have no difficulty in meeting current 
demands. I prefer maiden trees to those that are older. They can be 
purchased cheaply, and the trees may be grown in any form it may be found 
necessary to train them. As a last word, let me advise intending planters 
to order trees at once, so that they can be planted before thewinter.—B. 
