108 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ May, 
the fact that he recommends the soil to he placed sloping to the stem of 
the tree, so as to admit of the retention of water, I also infer that Mr. 
McBey’s soil or subsoil may he of a dry or porous nature. If all the cir¬ 
cumstances in his case are as here presumed, I am not sure that he really 
plants too deep. 
I agree that “we must either give up digging and cropping the fruit-tree 
borders, or else put the proper soil down, for the roots should be below in¬ 
stead of on the top.” However, I do not exactly see how by encouraging 
the roots to the surface we are thwarting Nature, nor why we should not 
mulch them when there with rotten manure, to prevent them from being 
withered with drought in summer, or killed with cold in winter. On the 
contrary, it is certain that Nature does entice roots to the surface, and 
guards them carefully when there against either of these catastrophes, by 
her general covering of shed leaves. 
More singular still, although “Plant deep, deep, deep,” is the constant 
refrain of Mr. McBey’s paper, it does not appear after all that he himself is 
a deep planter. He spreads his roots out horizontally on a firm, smooth 
foundation, within 1 foot of the surface. This is really the fleetest possible 
planting at all consistent with surface-cropping. He also seems to forget 
that roots will grow upwards as well, and possibly much better and faster 
than downwards. It is a misapplication of terms to call a root bed only 
12 inches from the surface a deep, deep bed. If, as this writer assures us, 
the ground is warmer at 2£ feet deep than at 1 foot, and warmth is so 
essential to the due discharge of the winter duties of the roots, why was not 
the warmest place chosen for their chief field of labour ? [As we under¬ 
stand him, Mr. McBey recommends placing a deep bed of good soil beneath 
the roots, to entice them downwards. —Ed.] 
If Mr. McBey will answer these questions, I may endeavour to show, 
that although we must as a rule (for there are many exceptions) dig deep to 
find the gold, we must plant, not deep but shallow to find heavy crops of 
luscious fruit. 
Hardwicke. D. T. Fish. 
a pansy man on pansies. 
« AM not about to write upon the culture of my favourite flower, as that 
has been done so often ; but an article on Pansies by my friend Mr. 
? J. Walker, of Winton (p. 87), being very apropos to some remarks on 
the exhibition of these flowers, jotted down by me a short time ago 
in connection with some suggestions for the consideration of a floral 
committee in Scotland, that I have thought my ideas might be appreciated 
by some readers of the Florist, of which, doubtless, many are Pansy- 
growers. I believe that Pansies are favourites with most florists, and 
generally with all classes of visitors at floral exhibitions, at which it will 
