504 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 12, 1889. 
mere mulching of the ground will not have the desired effect. 
Bonemeal, lime, muriate of potash and superphosphate of lime 
are the kind of manures which produce fruit and fruitful trees of 
the highest excellence. Artificial manures based on these should 
have the preference to others when purchasing for this purpose. 
But there will always remain a few trees which do not come up 
to others in healthiness, in fruitfulness, or in the good quality of 
the fruit. The simple remedy is to head over, regraft with good 
kinds, or else destroy. Trees may be root-pruned with safety up 
till January, but October is the better month, and in some cases 
August and September would be preferable.—B. 
HARDY SHRUBS FOR FORCING. 
Viburnum Opulus. 
W here forced flowers are required during the winter and spring, 
the Guelder Rose cannot well be dispensed with. Large plants 
lifted from shrubbery borders and potted in autumn, certainly yield 
quantities of flowers. But we have not found shrubs of this 
nature the most useful for yielding a succession over a lengthened 
period ; in fact, large specimens are useless for any other purpose. 
This is not all, for unless large numbers are grown, the time comes 
when those in outside borders are unfit for forcing. After they 
are once dug up and forced, they need at least two years’rest before 
they are fit for forcing again. We strongly condemn robbing one 
part of the garden for the purpose of adorning another, when plants 
can be easily prepared that are more suitable, and can be used 
either for yielding cut flowers or for furnishing conservatories and 
other structures. 
The most suitable plants for forcing are those in 5 to 7-inch 
pots, with three to six shoots 18 inches to fifeet in length. When 
starting the culture of these plants for the first time, those anxious 
to have good specimens suitable for forcing next autumn should 
secure the requisite number of one-year-old plants at once—namely, 
those raised from cuttings inserted last autumn or winter. These 
on an average will have one strong shoot each and a quantity of 
roots. They should be placed into 5-inch pots ; one good crock at 
the bottom will be ample, and the plants will do well in good loam 
and one-seventh of manure. The soil must be pressed firmly into the 
pots. We have invariably noticed th.yt purchased plants never do 
quite so well as those raised at home. This is due mainly to the 
latter being lifted and potted while the foliage is fresh and green. 
With care in lifting, and attention in syringing afterwards, they 
make fresh roots and become partially established before winter. 
Purchased plants, even if bought while the foliage is upon them, 
are damaged in transit, and the leaves quickly turn yellow and fall. 
With care and good treatment purchased plants are useful the 
first season. If we had no old examples from which cuttings 
could be obtained we should purchase a double quantity of plants, 
potting the best and placing the remainder outside for lifting the 
following season. 
After the plants are potted they can be plunged outside, covering 
the surface of the soil and rim of the pot with ashes. They may 
remain in th:s position until the approach of severe frost, when 
they can be pruned close back, leaving the eyes at the base of the 
young wood, and stood in cool frames. In spring plunge them in 
a sunny open position ; if they can be covered with a frame for a 
time all the better. When once a stock of plants has been raised, 
cold frame treatment i3 unnecessaiy. 
Two-year-old shrubs are better, as a rule, than those one year 
old ; they generally produce a greater number of good shoots. 
When stock is raised at home, young plants or cuttings should be 
planted 15 inches apart between the rows, and 8 inches from plant 
to plant in the row. This gives them room to grow for two years 
without crowding. Any open sunny position will do for them ; in 
fact, during the time they are being prepared previous to potting, 
almost any place will suit. For years we have been in the habit of 
placing them between rows of pyramid Apple trees. When they 
are left two years they need cutting close back during the winter 
after the first season’s growth, and are lifted the following October, 
moderately early in the month—but this depends upon the season to 
a very large extent. When potted they aie plunged where they are 
to be grown, in an open sunny position. The pots are placed 
sufficiently far apart so that they can grow the whole season with¬ 
out being crowded. It is important that light and air play freely 
amongst their shoots. This time the pots are buried during the 
process of plunging, the surface of the soil and rim of the pot being 
covered. The advantages of this meth d are not only the pro¬ 
tection of the pots from frost, but labour is saved in watering. 
The plants may only need one or two soakings of water, unless 
the season proves an exceptionally dry one. In this case we have 
found it a good plan, after a thorough watering has been given, 
to mulch with old manure or half-decayed leaves. Pruning is 
done any time during the winter or spring before signs of growth 
are visible. 
Cuttings of ripened wood root freely enough if inserted any 
time after the end of October, but the earlier the better. The 
cuttings should be G or 7 inches in length, the top eyes being level 
with the ground after insertion. For some years we have practised 
rooting them in spring. Growing shoots are taken from plants that, 
are forced and inserted in boxes of light soil, composed principally 
of leaf soil with a little sand on the surface. The cuttings are- 
placed 2 inches apart, and if kept close and moist in the propagating 
frame they are not long rooting. They can afterwards be gradually 
hardened and allowed to grow in the boxes until autumn and them 
planted out singly. 
After plants have flowered they should be cut close back and 1 
allowed to break into growth in a cool house or frame. If the 
pots are well filled with roots, which they are certain to be, whether 
one or two-year-old plants when they were first lifted, they 
should be shifted into 7-inch, and if encouraged under glass to 
grow for a time, they will be ready by autumn for forcing again.. 
If they are hardened and placed outside as early as possible 
after flowering, very few of them will make strong well ripened 
shoots suitable for forcing, but they would do so the following 
season. When turned out after forcing they are severely checked,, 
and one year’s rest is necessary for them in which to recruit them¬ 
selves. All the plants after forcing do not thrive equally well, and 
those that display signs of lagging behind are either planted out 
or thrown away, hence the necessity of raising a few annually to 
insure a healthy stock. 
In some establishments a few examples in 10-inch pots may be- 
found serviceable, and these may be prepared by placing them into 
this size after they have been forced and have started into growth 
in 7-inch. When they become crowded with roots in 10-inch pots, 
so much so that they refuse to make clean stout growth, they can 
be induced to do so by reducing their roots after forcing, and allow¬ 
ing them to grow without being cut back until autumn. If they 
are then pruned and treated the same as young stock outside, they 
will make strong growth again by the following autumn. It is- 
much better to reduce their roots and give them fresh soil than to 
supply liquid manure. Only in exceptional cases would such a 
course be advised. As young stock is raised so easily and quickly,, 
it is much better to pot on young plants than reduce the old ones- 
and waste a season in recruiting them.—N. G. 
(To be continued.) 
c 
Cutting Down Chrysanthemums, &c. 
Now the Chrysanthemum season is over I should like the opinion of 
those who have tried the cutting down system, also the pinching system,, 
or rather taking out the points to get the crown bud at the proper time- 
for exhibition. 
When I first adopted the cutting down system six years ago it proved 
a failure for exhibition blooms. The plants were certainly dwarfer 
and better for decoration or grouping, and for those purposes I would 
recommend it if carefully done. What I mean by carefully done is the- 
plants should not be struck too early, or the wood would be hard and 
often wiry, and the plants should be well rooted in their pots, what 
would be ]ust ready for potting, but they shou’d not be root-bound p. 
and, again, the soil should not be wet in the pots, but just moist, and 
care must also be taken not to cut them too low ; there should be at 
least five or six good healthy leaves left below where they are cut off- 
I made mistakes in each of the above cases myself. 
At one time I used to insert my cuttings in November. At that 
time the plants often throw good strong shoots, which are very tempt¬ 
ing. But since I have left the propagation until the first week in 
January I have had more buds show naturally at the right time—that 
is to say, about the first week in September. Has the time of propaga¬ 
tion anything to do with it ? I think it has, but I will leave it for 
abler persons to decide, if any will be kind enough to give their 
experience on the question. 
When is the best time to cut down ? In this district from the 
middle of May seems the most suitable time, commencing with the 
latest sorts and those which have filled their pots with roots, and all 
should, if possible, be completed by the end of June. 
With regard to taking out the points of those which are not breaking 
naturally, I have tried some, commencing from June 20th until about 
July 14th, and the later date was too late.—J. L. B., Leicester. 
