288 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 27, 188*. 
For brevity I will finish my reference to that gentleman’s note with 
“two facts and a prophecy.” 1st, So far as I am aware, all the chief 
prizes carried away by nurserymen, and in numbers of cases by amateurs 
in the British Islands, were by Roses grown on Manetti stocks. At least, 
so I am informed ; but I should like to see the opinions of others who 
have had greater facilities for forming a decided opinion. I can, how¬ 
ever, speak definitely that this is true of Messrs. Dickson in Ireland and 
Scotland. Second fact. I want to know, would the nurserymen com¬ 
bine to disappoint their customers by continuing to grow and supply 
them with Roses that would practically last only one year? The 
insinuation is absurd, if not worse, the fact being that nurserymen con¬ 
duct their business on very different principles. Mr. Gilmour, or others, 
admittedly may have a soil unsuited to the Manetti stock, but this never 
follows ; therefore, “twenty years hence it will be unknown in the lead¬ 
ing nurseries.” Why, in my own experience, I can testify, though my 
collection is limited, I have Hybrid Perpetur.ls, Teas, and Bourbons, and 
a few" Hybrid Teas planted out, and not even regularly lifted for seven 
or eight years, flowering regularly and still alive and robust on the 
Manetti stock, and so of many others I know. Most certainly thousands 
of the Roses I saw and referred to in Messrs. Alexander Dickson & Sons’ 
nurseries at Newtownards were not budded last year, nor seemingly for 
many years. I am sure Mr. Gilmour would concede to me the same 
right to “ prophesy ” he claims for himself. The Manetti stock has 
been in use for twenty years ; it is still vigorous and popular both with 
nurserymen and their customers, and, borrowing Macaulay’s idea, it is 
very likely to be so when the traveller from New Zealand takes his stand 
on London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St. Paul’s.—W. J. Mubphy, 
Clonmel. 
THE MANETTI STOCK. 
I NOTE, page 262, that “ D. G.” takes very strong exception to the 
Manetti as a suitable stock for Roses, and I was somewhat surprised at 
the very emphatic manner in which he denounces it. I surely think 
“ D. G.” must have had inferior soil at his disposal or that his climate 
was bad. My experience with Roses budded on the Manetti extends over 
many years, and is totally at variance with the statements made by 
“ D. G.” I have under my charge here several thousand Roses, and all, 
with the exception of Teas, are on Manetti stocks, and I can without 
egotism say it would be difficult to find healthier, freer flowering plants. 
Quite one-half of my plants are over twenty years old, and are still 
vigorous and healthy, while the blooms are of good quality. The soil is 
somewhat heavy, and the garden is within 200 yards of the sea.— James 
Russell, Craw/ordsbvrn Gardens. 
ROSE HOUSES. 
Thanks for the fulfilment of Mr. Bardney’s promise as to the 
recruiting of early forced Roses. In the Journal of May 17th last, Mr. 
Bardney, speaking of the height of houses for Rose growing, says, “If 
the house was constructed specially for the production of blooms for 
market it would be much lower.” Now, will Mr. Bardney kindly say 
what width of house and what height he would advise for a house for 
growing early Roses for market ? When he speaks of a house being much 
lower if specially made for growing Rosts for market does he mean the 
“ pitch ” would be less, or merely that the side lights would be 
lower, the eaves coming nearly down to the ground ? If it would be at 
all interesting to the readers of our Journal, I have pretty largely grown 
the new Roses of this and last year, and could give some reliable account 
of them.—S. S. 
[No doubt many of our readers would be interested in any remarks 
our correspondent favours us with on the suhject named.] 
RENOVATING FRUIT TREES. 
In the course of our duties we must not only attend to fruit 
trees in a state of prosperity, but those of a less fortunate character. 
The gardener’s vocation somewhat resembles the physician’s in this 
respect ; he is called upon to control the exuberant, to assist the 
weak, and to renew, as far as possib’e, the shattered constitution ; 
and, to carry the parallel still farther, to perform surgical opera¬ 
tions where necessary. Very many fruit trees, especially in the 
ordinary orchard, perish, or fall into a state of premature vegetable 
decrepitude, for want of a little assistance rendered in time. The 
renewal of the vigour of trees thus situated has often been referred 
to, but the remarks have been principally confined to branch- 
pruning. We will now proceed to show that much may be done at 
the root ; and in our opinion the end of September is the most 
eligible time for the operation. Matters of this kind constitute a 
sort of extra in gardening affairs ; no man of any standing in our 
profession will leave any of these extras until spring if he can 
po=s'bly avoid it. Spring in these days comes laden with a burden 
peculiarly its own ; a burden which it is scarcely capable of sus¬ 
taining. Spring will do well, then, to borrow a few hours from 
sober-faced and lightly laden autumn. Borrow, did we say? it 
must bo stolen—shame to say so ; it will never be repaid. 
Not ODly is this good with regard to the case in hand as an 
expedient, but in our opinion the practice is right in principle. If 
early autumn planting is right in the majority of cases ; if the 
putting out cuttings of many deciduous trees is right; why then 
this is right, and for the very same reasons. The process is thus 
set forth in Lindley's “ The Theory of Horticulture.” “ As soon 
as a plant lias shed its leaves it is as much at rest for the season aa 
it will be at any subsequent period ; indeed, it is greater at that 
time, because its excitability is completely exhausted by the season 
of growth ; and it has had no time to recover it. If at that time a 
root is wounded a process of granulation or cicatrisation will 
commence, just as it does in cuttings, and from that granulation, 
which is a mere development of the horizontal cellular system, 
roots will eventually proceed.” Here, then, are arguments of a. 
scientific character, backed by the phenomena of everyday occur¬ 
rence. So then it will be seen that a granular process takes place, 
in cuttings, technically termed a callus, and this callus is the- 
producer of fibres. This will serve to throw light on the process, 
which occurs when roots are cut, as in the act of transplanting or 
root-pruning. Such injuries, then, if they must be inflicted, had 
best be perpetuated early in the autumn, inasmuch as the trees- 
have a longer period to recruit in ; and if the process take place in- 
the end of September granulations, if not actual fibres, will be 
produced by the coming spring ; Nature is latently making efforts,, 
slowly but surely, to repair these damages. Injuries arising from 
late spring planting, as to fruit trees, are very frequently produc¬ 
tive of serious aggressions on the part of the insect tribes^ 
Amongst these, the red spider and the aphides hold a conspicuous 
position ; also the scale family, or those bearing the generic title: 
Coccus. Having thus paved the way to a recommendation of an 
early procedure in these matters we will examine cases. 
Many trees are to be met with in all quarters failing betimes,, 
and evidently not through age alone, neither through what is' 
termed canker ; for although the extreme points of many fruit 
trees are apt to shrivel and die away, especially ordinary orchard 
trees, yet on examination it will be found that such is not in 
general the disease termed canker. Since ordinary orchard trees,, 
then, are more liable to be thus conditioned than those on prepared, 
soils in our kitchen gardens, how is it ? Why, because the: 
majority of our orchard trees have free liberty to range in ungenial 
subsoils. From the subsoil, in the main—whether as being too 
retentive of chilling moisture, or from the presence of deleterious- 
matter—proceeds most of the evils we have pointed to ; and such 
suggested to us, some years since, the general adoption of artificial 
substrata and the planting on higher levels. 
The wearing-out or weak trees alluded to, after their lower 
roots become paralysed or lost, are driven to seek sustenance by- 
means of the surface fibres alone ; and as all that portion next the- 
tree has been long robbed of its fertility, the very exterior points- 
alone are the only active agents ; and it is principally to these that 
we apply renovating materials. Where it is intended to carry out 
this renovating process a heap of compost must of course be pro¬ 
vided. A good sound loamy turf is the principal thing to obtain ;. 
and those who cannot obtain it should get some turfy material of 
some kind as part of the compost. One portion of this, one of old* 
manure, and a third of half-decayed litter of any kind, leaves, &c. r 
well chopped and mixed, will make a good compost. If plenty of 
a good sound garden soil of a rich character be at hand the mass 
may receive nearly a half of it. 
In commencing operations with a tree thus situated—say an 
orchard Apple tree, with a trunk of 6 or 8 inches diameter and a head’ 
corresponding—let the operator draw a circle around it with a. 
trammel about 7 feet from the bole ; this constitutes, in the main,, 
the boundary line inwards of his operations, and serves to keep the- 
spade from unwarrantable liberties. The operator may now pro¬ 
ceed to dig a trench two spades in width all round the tree ; and iix 
the course of his work he must take especial notice where the 
principal horizontal roots are, and where there is a comparative 
absence of them ; in the former case politely giving way, notwith¬ 
standing his circle, and in the latter advancing towards the bole of 
the tree. 
After excavating this one spit deep all round he must proceed, 
to take a second spit, or enough to gain quite half a yard in depth x, 
and if this second spit is an inferior material it must be wheeled on 
one side by itself. This done as before the operator will now know 
on which side of the tree the least roots are, and at that position he 
must bore for the tap roots—that is to say, he must dig under the. 
tree, and endeavour, without disturbing it too much, to cut all 
deep-descending and ill-looking roots away, filling the hole beneath 
full of weeds or any refuse stuff from the rubbish yard. This will 
induce some fresh fibres in due time, for there need be no further 
fear of tap-roots ; and now he may go round and fill in his trench,, 
cramming lumps of turf and manure into every crevice within the 
circle, and where, through the absence of roots, the spade has made 
extra advances. If the compost is tolerably dry, which it ought; 
to be, fee may tread it slightly as he proceeds. The whole being 
filled ip, and we ought to have said the wounded roots all cut with 
a sharp knife, the surface of the interior of the circle may be eased 
of all the loose soil thereon and a coating of the same dress ng 
