300 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY 
L. Fcenisecii is a distinct species, and not merely a 
varied form of L. dilatata. 
It is found in shaded, watery, sandy soils, or in moist, 
rocky woods, and is so common that no locality need be 
specified. 
Mr. W. Reeve observes to us that this, also, is one of 
those Ferns which are valuable for the adorning of 
rockery or shrubbery, and will be found to thrive 
where the Lastrcea cristata will not, being not so 
impatient of sunshine; not but what it will attain a 
greater size and more beauty, when grown in the shade, 
than when grown in a full exposure to light. It is, 
therefore, well adapted to the shaded side or base of the 
rockery; and as it will, when once established in a 
favourable situation, attain a heighth of three or four ( 
feet, forethought will be required in planting, so that it 
may not smother the smaller species. It prefers a moist 
situation for its abode, but will grow remarkably well 
upon an elevated position that is well shaded. If grown 
as a pot-plant, it must be allowed a moderate space for 
its roots; and with a compost of loam, peat, and leaf- 
mould, with a free admixture of silver sand and good 
drainage, not being potted too firmly, and afterwards, a 
moderate degree of shade and a good supply of water 
being given both at the root and over-head, it will be 
found to have had its wishes met. If grown upon the 
rockery or in the shrubbery, it will prefer more loam 
and less leaf-mould; and if placed in an exposed situa¬ 
tion, it must be shaded until established, when it may 
be gradually exposed to meet all weathers. It will not 
require any protection in winter, unless grown in pots, 
or upon very exposed parts of the rockery, where a 
slight protection will be preferable. It is not suitable 
at all for the Wardian Case, nor for in door culture, as 
the confinement makes it weak. The propagation may 
be pursued in a similar way to that mentioned for 
Lastnca cristata. 
HARDY FRUITS IN GENERAL THIS YEAR. 
I now approach a somewhat important subject, inas¬ 
much as fruit, on the whole, will be found deficient in 
most parts. I will, as a preliminary proceeding, state 
bow they are in this quarter (in Cheshire). 
Apples may he considered a failure ; the same may be 
said of Plums; Pears little better reported of; Cherries 
not much cultivated; Gooseberries abundant; Blade 
Currants much complaint of the fly; Damsons similar 
to other Plums. 
Thus much for our farmers and cottagers; I may 
now state bow things stand with myself. Apples a 
middling crop ; Pears very thin in places ; Plums pretty 
fair for the season; Peaches and Nectarines a most 
splendid crop, as usual, and the trees in singular health ; 
Apricots a middling crop; Damsons moderate; Black \ 
Currants a fine crop ; Bed and White the same ; Goose¬ 
berries most abundaut; Strawberries a very fair crop; , 
Cherries tolerable. Such is the character of things here. 
Tn the mean time I may observe, that the trees in 
general are particularly healthy, and very free from 
blight as compared with some seasons. The American 
blight gives us most concern. 
The causes of such failures must have been the very 
low temperatures we endured at critical periods. As for 
Pears , the defect is at once traceable to the scarcity of 
GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION.— July 99, 1850. 
blossom; I do not know that I ever saw the bloom so 
thin in my life. But the wood of the trees was not 
ripened so well last autumn as it ought to have been, | 
and herein lies one root of the evil. Now, with regard 
to our garden fruits which have failed, as to their crops, 
it will be found that young and fresh trees, especially, 
will have a tendency to produce a superabundance of 
spray; and I mention it in order to draw attention to 
the great benefits derivable from root-pruning, even in 
summer. It is really of little use dubbing or pinching 
the rampant spray of such trees as I have here alluded 
to, under the circumstances of such continued rains as 
we in these quarters have experienced during the last 
three weeks, without, at the same time, giving some 
check to the root. Nobody need be alarmed as to this 
proceeding if performed with caution. The mere open¬ 
ing a trench at the very extremity of the roots, and 
suffering it to remain out until the sides become dry, 
will do much. In cutting the roots, it will be quite 
sufficient if merely the extreme points are cut away, 
for it will not be well to use that severity which we 
sometimes practise in winter. 
However, root-prune or not, the spray will require a 
vast amount of reduction this growing period, especially 
in Pears. In regard of this it is not sufficient to merely 
pinch the whole of the spray ; neither is it expedient so 
to do. Every shoot not required, if it can be determined, 
should he totally stripped away, or so cut back as to 
neutralise its power for producing shade. In most cases, 
one-half of the grossest shoots may be removed at oiWe. 
This done, it will be easy to select aud tie down any 
fruitful-looking spray which is required to remain. Such 
done, the whole remaining portion ought to be pinched. 
This will confirm the habit, if inclined to fruit-buds, and 
bring on an earlier ripening condition. 
Many persons are timid as to this operation, fearing 
it may force the true blossom-buds for the ensuing year 
to burst; but this fear is groundless. Such may be the 
case when a severe stopping is exercised on a very gross 
subject in the early part of June; but there need be no 
fear after the middle of July. But, come what may, the 
fruit-buds in course of organisation must have light, aud 
sunlight too, acting directly on the foliage pertaining to 
such buds. If any one doubts this, let him note the 
north side of trees in general, or say, the north side of 
the beautiful saddle trellises we may see running east 
and west; the difference in the budding will be at once 
manifest. But the foregoing remarks apply to our other 
fruits, especially those which require training. 
And here let us speak of the Apricot. Whoever knew a 
Moor Park, if suffered to run wild, or to breast wood, a 
good fruiter? It is singular to witness the great suc¬ 
cess which attends the cottager’s Apricot in many parts 
of the country. As far as I have seen, the cottager, in 
general, is more successful than the gardener ; aud why ? 
The cottage Aprioot has a warm wall behind it, a house 
wall, and such is always warmer than a mere garden 
wall; it has a pavement, perhaps, over its roots, or, what 
is about equivalent, border-flowers planted, so that 
there is little of spade-work or manuring. Need I 
observe that the condition of the gardener’s Apricot is 
generally the reverse? The consequence is that the 
cottnger’s produces wood much slower than the other, 
and, indeed, seldom can afford to produce breast-wood 
If, however, the latter be produced, it is generally dubbed 
away without more ceremony than that employed over 
a hedge. Of course, Apricots should be so situated in 
regard of soil that they produce their wood moderate 
aud sound; and if coarse breast-shoots appear, depend 
it is the best policy to rub them clean away when a few 
inches in length. Every glimpse of sunlight is needed 
to act on the embryo fruit-spurs from June to October, 
according to my notions concerning the Apricot, which 
we may fairly term our most tender fruit next the Tine. 
