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THE CULTURE OF WALL-FRUITS.-CHAPTER II. 
51 
small fruitful wood, in preference to those which are larger, more showy-looking, 
and more freely-grown. 
All the above conditions are influenced by the soil in which the trees are 
planted, and must be taken into consideration when forming composts for making up 
fruit-borders. I shall have occasion to enter more at large on soils and composts 
as my subject advances. At present I merely wish to set out as a first principle 
that a pure and well-selected virgin soil, unmixed with stimulating manures, is 
most likely to influence favourably the after-cultivation of the trees. Circum¬ 
stances, however, may not always be favourable for obtaining a sound and good 
virgin soil. In such cases a compost must be resorted to, and I do not object to 
the admixture with such soil as can be procured, of substances which decompose 
slowly, such as burned clay, charcoal or charred refuse, and a few broken bones, 
none of which act as immediate stimulants like ordinary manures, and therefore 
do not contribute to the production of an over-luxuriant growth of wood. 
I have hitherto remarked upon the soil as the medium through which we 
endeavour to influence the growth of the tree, but it has also an equal, if not 
superior influence upon the roots; and here we find, at the outset, strong evi¬ 
dence in favour of the principle above laid down, as to its purity and freedom 
from stimulating matter. A well-rooted young tree may be defined as one which 
possesses the greatest number of small rootlets springing from moderate-sized 
roots, starting from what we call the collar of the tree, that is, the point of 
junction where roots and branches, the descending and ascending axes of the physio¬ 
logists, meet. I exclude the fibrous threads which proceed from the rootlets, 
because, until they acquire substance and themselves become rootlets, they are of 
little use in perpetuating the life of the tree ; in fact, a great portion of them 
perish annually. I have, indeed, sometimes thought that their action must be 
somewhat analogous to that of the leaves on the branches, and that as the 
dormant season comes on, their office as feeders being fulfilled, they perish in like 
manner. At all events, it is a fallacy to insist so much on the preservation of 
th e fibres in removing trees, because new rootlets emanate from small roots having 
substance, and these send forth the fibres to collect food in the same manner as 
branches put forth their leaves to elaborate it, and both alike perish in the course 
of time. 
Now, if we plant our fruit-trees in a sound virgin soil, or failing that, in a 
compost from which all stimulating matters are absent, we take the best means 
to ensure a tolerably equal and free development of those small rootlets, by which 
only we can preserve an equal balance between the roots and branches. But let 
us only introduce, either in close proximity to the roots, or at a little distance 
from them, some strong stimulating matters, which can be easily taken up by the 
rootlets, and the chances are that we shall have two or three large roots taking 
the lead, and absorbing an undue amount of food, which, reacting on the branches, 
will cause some of the central ones to start into luxuriant growth in like manner. 
In practice, however, before this could take place, the hand of the operator should 
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