180 
THE FLORIST. 
cumstances is, however, a greenhouse plant ; even at Kingsbridge> 
whence it came, the climate is found occasionally to be almost too severe 
for it. Amphicome Emodi was shown by Col. Fairhead. It looked as 
if, when better grown and flowered, it might prove an acquisition. 
Of vegetables there were a considerable number, and among them 
tubers of the Chinese Yam (Dioscorea Batatas). When more common, 
these may be expected to form a useful addition to our winter vegetables. 
They may be cultivated with as little trouble as a Potato, and when 
properly cooked are said to be about as good. Care must, however, be 
taken not to boil them too much ; ten minutes are suflicient; in fact, 
they require very little cooking, which, as was stated, is in itself a point 
in their favour. 
Rooted Vine cuttings struck from laterals, in silver sand, were 
exhibited by Mr. Fleming, of Trentham, to whose ingenuity we are 
indebted for this important new mode of propagating the Vine. They 
were said to have formed roots in five days 3 inches long. New 
varieties of Vines may therefore now be increased with the utmost 
speed and facility. 
FRUIT CULTURE.—No. IV. 
BY MR. POWELL, ROYAL GARDENS, FROGMORE. 
(Continued from page 116.) 
Most fruit trees that are grown in a British garden require unre¬ 
mitting care and attention to keep them in a state of health and 
fruitfulness; therefore, in our climate, where we have so many sunless 
days in summer, we require the assistance of brick walls, glass 
structures, and trellises, &c., to make up the deficiency of solar heat; 
thus by growing the trees in a constrained and artificial manner, we 
bring fruits to high perfection that are natives of more favoured climes. 
There are various modes of pruning and training adopted for our different 
fruit trees, all claiming a share of more or less merit. The use of training 
is to modify the form of the trees, and for the more complete exposure of 
the leaves and branches to the full action of the sun, to facilitate the pro¬ 
duction of blossom buds, and bring the fruit to perfection, and to arrange 
the branches in such a manner as to preserve an equilibrium in the 
growth of each branch throughout the entire tree. The latter is 
partly accomplished by arranging the branches in a certain form, and 
partly by stopping and pruning, which will have a tendency to regulate 
the energies of the trees, by restraining the excessive growth of one 
branch and encouraging that of another. This will be considered when 
treating of the different fruits. At present we shall confine ourselves to 
the properties of training ; and to reduce all the different variations of 
training fruit trees to reasonable limits, we shall place them under the 
following heads : viz., the pendulous, the horizontal, the vertical, and 
the fan form. 
Pendulous Training is better adapted for the Pear than perhaps 
any other fruit; and no fruit tree is more accommodating, or will so 
easily succumb to the fanciful ideas of the trainer. This mode of 
