142 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 1C, 1893. 
out by the day, receives 33. 6d., that man should be considered a pro- 
fesiional gardener, and, if employed only once a week, should yet dis¬ 
qualify a person from exhibiting in such restricted classes.—Y. B. A. Z. 
OALLISTACHYS LONGIFOLIA. 
A CORRESPONDENT Writes :—“ I cannot understand why so many 
of the beautiful hard-wooded plants have been allowed to slip out of 
cultivation,” and adds, “ Callistachys longifolia used to be a special 
favourite of mine, but I have not seen it for years. It should be more 
generally grown.” 
We have under the circumstances much pleasure in giving our 
correspondent another glance at his “ special favourite,” and agree with 
him that it ought to be “ more generally grown.” The accompanying 
illustration (fig. 26) pourtrays the flowers and foliage of this somewhat 
neglected plant, which, as a rule, blooms during the summer. The 
leaves are lanceolate, mucronate, some 6 inches long, smooth, dark 
green above. The standards of the flowers are yellow, and the wings 
purple. When properly treated the plants are extremely beautiful, and 
ought to be more frequently seen in gardens. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
E. Webb & Sons, Wordsley, Stourbridge.— Farm Seeds. 
Sutton & Sons, Reading.— Farmers' Year Book and Graziers' Manual. 
E. C. Notcutt, Broughton Road Nursery.— Chrysanthemums, Zonal 
Pelargoniums, S)e. 
M. Campbell, Blantyre, N.B.— Florists' Flowers. 
R. Owen, Castle Hill, Maidenhead,— New and Select Chrysanthemums. 
Barr & Sou, 12, King Street, Covent Garden, London.— Catalogues 
of Seeds, Herhaceous Plants, Bulbs, Sfc. 
H. Bobbie, Frettenham, Norwich.— Herbaceous and Alpine Plants. 
K^OKK.foiithe'WEEK.. ^ 
HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 
ilkprlcots, Peacbes, and Nectarines. — The season is now 
sufliciemly advancal to undertake the pruning and refastening of the 
trees to the walls. Apricots should be operated upon first, as they are 
the first of stone fruits to expand their blossoms. They are hardier, 
too, than Peaches and Nectarines, but not sufficiently so to withstand, 
without protection, all the rigours of adverse weather after the flowers 
have expanded. If efficient protection can then be afforded during 
that critical time, good crops of fruit will be secured. The same applies 
to Peaches and Nectarines. On well-managed wall trees the principal 
pruning is done immediately after the fruit is gathered. That practice 
is, however, not general owing to various reasons, and there is often much 
to be done to trees at this season. 
Main Branches. —It is assumed that the trees will, in order to prevent 
the buds swelling prematurely, have been loosened from immediate 
contact with the walls during the winter. It is important that the 
principal branches retained be in a healthy and vigorous condition, or 
gaps may occur in the framework of the trees which will spoil their 
appearance. Apricots are subject to the sudden dying away of branches, 
but not necessarily so when good culture and proper systems of pruning 
are accorded them at every period of growth. Any principal or sub¬ 
sidiary branches that exhibit any loss of vigour remove entirely before 
commencing to re-arrange. Branches of medium strength are the most 
satisfactory. The mam branches should be spaced out to equally cover 
the wall, the subsidiary ones being allotted positions accordingly, so as 
to leave sufficient room for the disposal of the bearing shoots. 
Mode of Bearing. —There are three distinct methods by which 
Apricot trees bear fruit. The most general method of culture is the 
training and laying in yearly of a number of the previous year’s shoots. 
The finest fruit is borne on these. After the fruit is gathered the bear¬ 
ing parts are cut out, their places being taken by succession shoots 
trained for that purpose. In addition to these, however, a number of 
shoots are produced either badly placed for laying in, or for which no 
room can be found. Many growths are rubbed off by disbudding or cut off 
annually in the early summer, but some are retained. Those not wanted 
for laying in as succession shoots are shortened when they have developed 
three or four good leaves, resulting growths that push afterwards being 
pinched to one leaf. The growths thus managed in summer and 
shortened to a few buds in autumn or winter develop in time into spurs. 
These, not too freely encouraged so as to crowd the trees, nor allowed to 
lengthen and become too large, will, when a few years old, produce fruit, 
furnishing the wall where it might otherwise be bare. Besides the last- 
mentioned there are the natural spurs, which Apricots produce freely. 
They are preferable to those produced by pinching, as they are closer to 
the wall, need less management, and are safer from injury in bad 
weather. Peaches and Nectarines will also fruit on spurs, but as a rule 
young wood annually laid in is the best. 
Management of Young Wood. —With free exposure to light [and air 
in the autumn, and a position away from direct contact with wall 
surfaces in winter, young wood becomes thoroughly well ripened. It 
then produces strong properly constructed blossom buds along the entire 
length of each shoot, interspersed with wood buds, the latter sometimes 
solitary, at others in company with one, two, or a cluster of fruit buds. 
It is generally necessary to shorten the bearing shoots or young wood 
when laying it in, doing so more or less according to their vigour, the 
position of wood buds, or the ripened condition of the shoots. It is 
useless to shorten a bearing shoot to a fruit bud, as extension cannot 
take place from it, but must proceed from a wood bud. It is necessary 
to have a growing shoot above the fruiting portion of a young branch, 
in order to attract sap to the fruit. Shoots immature at the tips shorten 
back to ripe wood, selecting a triple bud, and cut above that. The 
shoots retained should be from a foot to 15 inches in length, but if 
greater lengths of ripened wood are available, and can be accommodated 
without crowding, secure them. 
Cleansing Walls and Trees. —Before the trees are again permanently 
secured in position, take precautions that the branches are perfectly 
free from the eggs of insects, the crevices and crannies of the rougher 
portions of the bark often affording secure hiding places for them. It 
is the same with the walls. Old nail holes and spaces between the 
courses of bricks occasioned by the falling away of mortar, are fre¬ 
quently full of active and inactive insect life. Such spaces ought to be 
filled either with mortar or cement, but where nails have to be driven 
in the latter should not be used. Afterwards wash the whole wall 
surface with a strong solution of Gishurst compound, 8 ozs. to the 
gallon, or some other of the advertised insecticides. Paint the trees 
with a solution of less strength except for the rougher parts of the tree, 
such as the main stems and branches. Brush the mixture well into 
every angle, crevice, and corner of the wood, taking care not to dislo¬ 
cate or injure the buds. To facilitate the operation of applying the 
solution, slighly colour it with soot and sulphur. 
Nailing and Training. — In refixing the trees secure the main 
branches firmly and dispose the others equally, leaving space for 
the bearing shoots to be trained in 4 or 5 inches distance from 
