38 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January IP, 1888. 
made ; but if there be, recourse must be had to careful root-pruning, 
which will never fail to preserve balance of the trees. Strong, 
unfruitful growth is ihe indication for root-pruning, for that proves 
there are a superabundance of strong wood-forming roots, which if 
well cut back will be converted into fibrous fruit-spur-forming 
roots. 
To form handsome pyramids it will be necessary to begin with 
maiden trees, and if for small gardens preference should be given 
to those grafted on the Quince stock. It should be cut back to 
within a foot of the ground, which will cause it to break strongl}". 
From four to six of the best p'aced shoots should be selected to 
form the future bottom branches, and one for a leader. These 
should be encouraged to grow as strongly as possible, allowing no 
furcations on any of them, but let each branch be considered as a 
simple cordon. It is of the greatest importance to get the bottom 
branches well advanced before more are started, so that if they 
have not made good progress the first season they should be allowed 
another year’s growth before more branches are formed ; indeed, 
this applies to all forms of fruit tree training. If the bottom 
branches are not thoroughly established when the tree is being 
formed, especially in trees with undivided stems, they will in after 
years gradually become weaker and in time die. This arises from 
the fact that the sap has a strong tendency to fly to the top of the 
tree ; but if while the tree is being formed it be made to flow into 
the bottom branches and thoroughly develope them before other 
branches are formed, the sap will ever after flow through and du'y 
nourish them. Should it be decided not to form new branches the 
second year the leading shoot must be shortened to within 3 inches 
of the previous year’s cut, and when it breaks in spring select the 
best placed shoot to form the new leader. Some gardeners cut off 
about a fourth of the branches, but they will give much less 
trouble and be clothed with fruit spurs in less time if left alone, 
for then the sap will find an outlet in lengthening the branches 
instead of producing a host of shoots along them, which requires 
very carefully handling, or it will be several years before they give 
place to fruit spurs. The third year the leading shoot should again 
be cut back to within 14 inches of the previous year’s cut, which will 
cause it to throw out numerous shoots, from six to eight of which 
should be selected for another set of branches and a leader, and so 
on from year to year until the tree be fully developed. 
Of course some shoots will be found on the main branches, but 
they will not be of a strong troublesome kind, all of which if they 
exceed 4 inches, shou’d be shortened to that length in August, and 
in winter all should be shortened to 2 inches. The tree being once 
formed can be easily kept furnished with fruit spurs by the simple 
method already described, but that, of course, owing to late spring 
frost, does not always insure a crop of fruit; but such a tree will 
always be of interest to a gardener, and generally so to his em¬ 
ployers, even if inclement weather does destroy the blossom, 
because it will bo seen that the barrenness is not the fault of 
cultivation, but of a calamity beyond the cultivator’s control.— 
J. H. W. 
HORTICULTURE IN 1887. 
I HAVE already taken one look backward in my retrospect of 
the Rose in the past year (to which, by-the-by, I wmuld refer your 
correspondent, Mr. Raillem as to my opinion of the new Roses), 
and now purpose taking a somewhat wider sweep, and looking at 
the past year in its bearing on our favourite pursuit, as I have 
been accustomed to do in previous years. I think that when we get 
to the threescore years and ten we are more concerned with looking 
forward ; the port seems nearer, while the long stretch of sea 
behind us seems more and more undefined. Still we must look back 
if only on this, as on other things, to encourage us to more vigorous 
efforts for the future. 
As far as the weather was concerned it was probably one of 
the most trying seasons for gardening that we have for some years 
experienced. The late spring frosts that have been so usual for 
some years came to us as usual, although we had hoped to have 
escaped them owing to the long severe weather in the winter ; but 
notwithstanding all this, we might have “ weathered the storm ” 
had it not been for the prolonged drought which was felt all over 
the country, and which sorely taxed the energies of the gardeners 
and the constitution of the f lints. Week after w'eek went by, and 
still no water. Happy wmre they who (like myself) had access to a 
plentiful supply ; but in many places it was deplorable to witness, 
the havoc wrought by it. Where bedding out was still the main 
chance the result was deplorable, the plants never seemed to move^ 
and had a miserably stunted appearance. In the vegetable garden 
Peas ware infested with mildew. Lettuces ran off to seed, Turnips 
were sown over and over again, and j’et came to nothing in tbe 
end. The small fruits were abundant, but Apples and Pears felt 
the drought very much. Nor was this all. We had in many parts of 
the country, and more especially here in Kent, on the last day of 
August, one of the most destructive gales we have experienced fca’' 
years—the flowers battered to pieces, and the gardens and orchardls 
were strewn with Apples and Pears. To such an extent was this 
the case, that in one celebrated fruit garden in our county the 
gardener told me that where he expected to have gathered 150 
bushels of King of the Pippins he should not gather one bushel'. 
We, however, anticipated a fine autumn. In this again we were 
disappointed. Not only did St. Luke not bring us his “ little 
summer,” but we experienced in the second week in October a 
severe frost that ate up everything, killed off our Dahlias, made 
our Fig trees shed their leaves, and utterly ruined the bloom of our 
out-of-door Chrysanthemums. Nowhere, I believe, was a decent 
bloom cut. To many this entailed a most serious loss. Where 
blooms are cut for the London market, and plants are grown exten¬ 
sively for that purpose, one grower in the neighbourhood of London 
growing two acres for that purpose, that frost causing him a loss of 
close upon £500. On the whole, then, I think that we must look 
upon the Jubilee year as about one of the worst for gardening 
that we have had for many years. 
The Jubilee year of Her Majesty’s reign has made itself felt 
amongst horticulturists as amongst other people, and Jubilee 
memorials have been established in many places. The most notable, 
as far as we are concerned, has been, however, the establishment of the 
Gaideners’ Orphanage Fund originated by Mr. Penny, gardener to 
H.R.U. the Prince of Wales at Sandringham, and very effectively 
piloted by Mr. George Deal. Everyone must wish it well, and it i.s 
earnestly hoped that it may not interfere with the efficiency of the? 
Royal Gardeners’ Benevolent Institution. There is fear of this, 
for it has been found that the gifts to Jubilee celebrations have 
interfered with ordinary contributions, and therefore we must hope 
that in this case Peter may not be robbed to pay Paul. 
The year has not been a remarkable one for new plants, whether 
introduced from abroad or raised in our gardens at home. Of course 
there have been novelties, for we could not live without them, but 
nothing very startling. Orchids, which have been the source from 
which we have had our greatest wonders of late years, do not seem 
to have supplied us with any startling novelties such as have marked 
previous years. Orchids have unquestionably not only held their 
own, but more, and increased in favour with those who have means at 
their disposal to indulge a somewhat expensive hobby, and which hasf 
oftentimes to be carried on with much inconvenience, the heated 
atmosphere of the East India and other Orchid houses inducing 
rheumatic twinges to mar the pleasure of the amateur. Every 
season brings forward some new growers who have joined the band 
of lovers of this most marvellous genus, while we may with justice- 
say that the two other most popular flowers are the Rose and the 
Chrysanthemum. Of the former I have already written, and of the 
latter one can only say that each year seems to add to its already 
widespread popularity. The number of Chrysanthemum societies 
has wonderfully increased, and as it is a flower within the reach of all, 
and one that will accommodate itself to the requirements of “ town 
life,” and comes to cheer us in the depth of our dark and drear}! 
winters, we may rejoice in its increased culture. Each year, I 
think, sees the incurved varieties decreasing and the Japanese in¬ 
creasing in favour ; indeed we are likely to be inundated with a 
quantity of worthless varieties, one grower, M. S. Dclaux, having 
announced a hundred, while Mr. Cannell and others have been import¬ 
ing from Japan, and others again from America, so that the revision 
of our lists will be a difficult matter by-and-by. I was going 
through my own small collection to-day, which does not comprise 
above 100 varieties of the different classes, and it was an exceed¬ 
ingly difficult matter to say which were to be eliminated. There is, 
especially in the Japanese, so much variety both of form and colour 
that it is difficult to discard them ; it must be done, however. The 
Begonia has advanced in size, but it is questionable whether this 
enhances its beauty, nor do I think it will ever rank as a popular 
flower in the sense that it will be grown in collections as Zonal 
Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, &c., are cultivated. They have been 
successfully used for bedding out. 
The favour with which herbaceous and alpine plants have been 
