232 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ October, 
over-luxuriance in a natural way; the earlier, therefore, that young trees can be 
brought under its discipline, the less trouble will they be in the after-stages. 
At the winter-pruning in March, when entering on the third season of 
growth, each shoot must be shortened back to the fruitful wood, as before advised; 
and as soon as growth becomes active, the same process of disbudding must be 
followed up as before recommended, with this exception, that as we are expecting 
a little fruit, two of the best placed to each shoot may be selected, which will 
be as many as should be left the first season. If there is a young shoot grow¬ 
ing at the base, do not remove it, but pinch it back, leaving the lower leaves. 
With all else proceed as before, having regard to leaving only the terminal shoots, 
and the basal shoots on the upper side of the main radiating stems, and at pruning- 
time the following season, when pruned and trained, the tree should present an 
appearance similar to that represented in the accompanying figure (see p. 231). 
It will be seen that I have elevated the centre by carrying up a vertical stem for 
the first two years, in opposition to what may be called the universally-recognised 
rule for this kind of training, which forbids the vertical shoot altogether, and 
recommends all the main shoots to radiate from one common centre. I prefer to 
lift up that centre, as it may be termed, and to give the shoots more space at a 
part where, in after-years, it becomes an absolute necessity, thereby avoiding the 
over-crowding of branches and the swellings and excrescences which too often 
follow on the system of heading back to one common centre. 
Then, again, considering the space at disposal, it may be thought that there 
might be more wood laid in with advantage, but supposing the tree to continue 
a healthy development for some years, all the shoots represented in the figure 
will become the large branches, carrying out the bearing-wood to the extremities ; 
and if they are too crowded, it would tend very much to prevent any advantage 
being taken of any chance shoots which very often start from the lower parts of 
the large branches of healthy old trees, and not only help to keep them well 
furnished, and afford good wood to cut back to, as may sometimes be necessary in 
the best-managed trees, but also help to shelter by their foliage the larger shoots 
from the injurious effects of a hot, burning sun, which causes the bark to become 
contracted, thereby hindering the progress of the sap, and diverting it into other 
channels already filled, and which results in gummy excrescences wherever a 
bruise or wound affords an outlet, and also gives rise to numerous other evil 
effects.— John Cox, Redleaf. 
THE STRIPED FRENCH MARIGOLD. 
'UCH beautiful Striped French Marigolds as those shown at Bishop Auck¬ 
land and other of the great Northern exhibitions—so perfectly and regularly 
striped as to constitute models of fioral beauty, from the fiorist’s point of 
view—have almost ceased to be produced on exhibition-tables in the 
South. Whether it is because the taste for them has declined, or because the 
hot dry climate of the South during July and August, when the Marigold is at 
