180 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 8. 
and other hard-wooded plants, where the advantages of 
the division-of-labour principle are brought fully into 
operation, it will, in most cases, be found more econo¬ 
mical to purchase your plants from a tradesman who 
employs regular propagators, than to attempt to raise 
the plants from cuttings. Small, stubby plants, say in 
a sixty, or three-inch pot, should generally be chosen, as 
they are more obedient to the cultivator’s wishes than 
older plants that have become stunted in their pots. 
These, if the pots are very full of roots, should he 
shitted whenever they are received, unless it be for a 
couple of months in the dead of winter—disentangling 
the roots, so that they will work freely in the new soil, 
i _ 3 - Soil. —I have found nothing better than fibry peat, 
with about a third-part of silver sand, broken pots, sand¬ 
stone, and charcoal, from all which, except the sand, 
l dust was excluded, breaking the pieces into sizes pro¬ 
portionate to the size of the pot, mixing it so that the 
whole would be open in its substance, and yet admitting 
of going closely together when pressed. As the plants 
increased in size, a little fibry loam, mixed with the 
peat, had a tendency to make the shoots more robust; 
but the loam should, even then, not be above a fifth of 
the compost. 
4. Time of Potting. —If the plants are obtained in a 
small state early in spring, they may have two or three 
shifts during the first season, the shoots being stopped 
to prevent flower-buds being formed, and so as to secure 
a stocky plant; but the last shifting should not be given 
after the middle of August, so that the roots may cling 
a little to the sides ot the pot before winter. After the 
! first season s growth,—as then the plant may be allowed 
to produce its bloom,—the best time for potting will be 
after the plant has been pruned-in when done blooming, 
J and just when the young growth is showing freely. 
5. Pruning. —With the exception of nipping the points 
of shoots in a young plant, for the purpose of increasing 
j their number, little more pruning will be wanted in an 
| established plant than cutting back the longish shoots 
that supported the flowers. Every short, stubby shoot i 
then existing, and every one that breaks after this, will, ■ 
if grown freely, and moderately hardened in autumn, i 
produce its terminal flower-buds in spring and early | 
summer. j 
6. Watering. —With all the assistance of good drain¬ 
age, water must be given very carefully during winter; 
taking care that the soil is never thoroughly dry, and 
never soaking wet. The latter will be guarded against 
by keeping the plants in smallish pots. As the shoots 
elongate in spring, and begin to show the flower-bud, 
i 111010 water will be necessary, and a little weak manure- 
water, two or three times a week, especially if of a cool- 
J ing nature, such as from old cow-dung, will be of service. 
i During that period, and also when growing, a frequent 
; dash over head with the syringe will keep them fresh [ 
and vigorous. When the flower-stalks are cut back, it 
will be advisable to keep the plants cool and rather dry 
for a few weeks, until the fresh growth will demand more 
j water. 
i 7. Temperature and Position.— An average of 45° at 
night, with a rise of 10° from sunshine, and an open airy 
position, but free from sudden cold draughts, will suit 
them during the winter months. A similar position 
will be required in spring, and the higher temperature 
that the sun will give during the day, with abundance 
of air on the house. As summer approaches, it would 
be a great help to shade the pots , if at all full of roots, 
iiom the full force of the sun s rays. When the flowers 
arc pruned off the plants should be cooler, arid a little 
; shaded for a week or two, if the weather is very hot. 
By-and-by the young shools will hear the full force of 
the sun, and by the beginning, or, at farthest, the middle 
oi autumn, the plants would be best fully exposed in a 
cold pit, where the pot could either be shaded or plunged, 
putting on the sashes only in storms of rain, or as the 
cold nights approach ; but by the latter time, say October, 
an open place in the greenhouse would again be their 
most comfortable home. R. Fish. 
MR. ERRINGTON AND FRUIT GROWING. 
About three weeks ago, I met with one of our best 
gardeners, and, among other matters, he wished me to 
point out to him the numbers in The Cottage Gar¬ 
dener in which Mr. Errington described his peculiar 
mode of Pear culture. A variety of other matters drove 
consulting the indices of previous volumes out of my 
mind. Our brother chip had mislaid a letter he received 
on the subject, in the end of September, from a gentle¬ 
man who had visited Oulton Park, and who was quite 
delighted with what he saw. Singular enough, the day 
after I read Mr. E.’s article in our last Cottage Gar- 
dener, my iriend transmitted me the missing letter; 
and I do not think I am breaking confidence, if, with¬ 
holding names, I present you with a few extracts, even 
though they show, in the first place (somewhat unneces¬ 
sarily) that Mr. E.’s practice is the highest, because 
the most successful, authority; and because, in the 
second place, they will furnish an opportunity to Mr. E. 
to point attention himself to those articles that clearly 
unfold his system ; or, what would be better still, follow 
up the introductory article of last week with several 
fresh articles on the subject, describing the minutiae 
from the planting of the trees until they could stand 
alone, and be dubbed-in with the shears—taking Pears 
first, and other fruit afterwards; for such a tale is one 
that will bear repeating. 
The gentleman says—“ I was, yesterday, over the 
gardens at Oulton Park, where Errington is head gar¬ 
dener. His principle of training and cropping his fruit- 
trees is very superior to anything I have seen elsewhere, 
and so very economical, that before you carry out the 
plans you mentioned to me of planting your borders 
with fruit-trees, 1 should most strongly recommend you 
to go over to Oulton, and look at his method. Just 
now, the fruit on the trees is quite a sight. He told me 
he had already sent to Liverpool 1200 Peaches and 
Nectarines; and yet, after that, the w r alls were better 
covered with fruit than any I have seen. On these 
Peach walls there was not an atom of wall, from the 
coping to the ground, that was not so covered with 
wood that the walls were not to be seen; in fact, ‘ there 
was not a brick that did not pay rent.’ 
“ His Pears are trained round the walks in two w T ays. 
First, table-fashion. In this the trees are not allowed 
to grow more than two feet high, and about three feet 
wide, so that when you look down the walk,you only see 
a broad green table. I never saw trees so laden with 
fruit. I really think there were more Pears than leaves. 
His pruning is also done on a different system. The 
whole of the new wood is tied in and never cut; when 
the tree gets very old, they simply tie the shoots in twice 
a-year, and at other times take the dubbing shears, and 
prune the tables, as you would a quickset hedge ; when 
the wood is very old they cut out the old wood. 
“ -fhe second way is like one table upon the top of 
another. It would appear as if the upper table would 
keep the sun off the lower one, but from the peculiar 
way of training this is not the case. The peculiar 
benefits arising from this method are—immense quan¬ 
tities ot fruit—the very little space occupied—the trees 
being so low, no sun is kept from the rest of the garden— 
and no expense is incurred for trellis-work, there being 
not an atom ot trellis-work in the garden.’’ 
I he gentleman speaks in the highest terms of the 
cropping ot the kitchen-garden; the growing Celery in 
beds, and the modes of earthing-up, &c.; but these are 
