])eckmi3er 23. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
219 
very useful, is more fitting, perhaps, as a summer appli¬ 
cation, especially at what is termed stoning-time, when 
fruit are apt to be cast with temporary droughts. Ifor 
general purposes, use a 'compost composed of equal 
parts sound loam and. rotten manure, well blended, 
whether for the extremities or the surface. In laying 
it on—and it may he six inches in thickness—let every 
portion of loose soil he scraped away from the surface, 
even working down a few inches occasionally between 
the roots. This is dono in the rest-season, say No¬ 
vember or December; and befoi’e appdying the dressing, 
use a few buckets of rich dunghill-drainings over the 
surface ; such cannot be too strong at this season, and 
when tiiis has settled, apply the casing of soil, and 
avoid treading over it until settled and dry: the 
pruning should have been done previously. In adding 
to the extreme points, of course the operator must 
throw out a trench at the extremities and fill it up with 
fresh compost. In pruning aged trees, let most of the 
small, inferior spray, closed in the interior, be pruned 
away, maintaining the prime leaders to the last, unless 
diseased; for from these channels will the most fruitful 
wood be produced, especially after inferior or choked 
spray has been removed. In addition to pruning, we 
would scrub the bark all over w-ith a coarse brush, 
using some stable-drainings, with plenty of quick-lime 
blended—thick as mud; indeed, it will be well to 
thicken it with clay. Now, it is but fair to observe, 
that we have never used the latter mixture precisely, 
but we have much faith in it. Wo were informed, a 
while ago, by a Cheshire rector, who is “ well-up ” in 
everything relating to gardening affairs, that Dr. Dar¬ 
win, of Shrewsbury, had found the stable sewage the 
best cleanser of the bark of trees, and that they wonder¬ 
fully improved in health on its application. 
2nd. Trees Worn with Bearing. —It might seem 
at first sight that this, and the former case, are nearly 
identical; there is, however, sufficient difference to 
require pointing out. A tree may be worn with bear¬ 
ing before it is seven years old, but it cannot bo aged. 
It may be exhausted in a temporary way, and perfectly 
capable of rallying in a year or so; but the aged tree 
can scarcely be said to rally, although it may prove of 
I immense service for many years by generous treatment. 
There is not occasion, in this case, to have recourse to 
the trench system at the extreme points; something of 
speedy action is best, and liquid-manure may be had 
recourse to, with a rich top-dressing; to this may be 
added a somewhat sharp amount of pruning, in order 
to limit the bearing powers of the tree for a season. 
3rd. Diseased Trees. —Another distinct class occa¬ 
sionally ; for a tree may be diseased, and yet in neither 
of the other classes, and may form a complicated case 
by a union with one or more of them. Now, as a 
knowledge of the disease is necessary, it becomes 
emminently essential to ascertain what it is, and its 
cause. Nearly all our fruit-tree diseases may be thrown 
into two broad classes, for which we beg to offer the 
i following titles, viz.. Constitutional and Adventitious; 
' each of which may certainly com])rise many cases. As 
instances of the constitutional, may be oft'ered such as 
canlier, gum, decaying points, corroded hark, &c.; and, as 
adventitious matters, wounds and injuries of any kind, 
blights, or corruptions of the system through insects, 
frost injuries, or those arising from a too low temperature 
during the growing season, &c. These may not be 
all, but they comprise the principal; and it is pretty 
evident, that the first class are by far the most difficult 
to overcome; as instance, the canker in apples, which 
no nostrum or recipe has yet been able to conquer, but 
which mere preventive methods may keep tolerably 
^ well at bay. One of the most important proceedings 
with trees not too old nor too large, is to take care that 
the roots are furnished with a pure soil; a loam neither 
clayey nor sandy. 
As this matter of loam appears so puzzling to many 
of our readers, we advise them in all cases of doubt to 
apiily to a first-rate gardener, who, although he may not | 
betake himself to chemical analysis, will yet tell cor- | 
rectly, in a few minutes, whether it be what is known 
as a general fruit-tree loam. People talk very learnedly 
about deleterious qualities supposed to exist in this 
soil or that; but this is, in the main, a mere bugbear. 
It is, for the most part, principally a matter of texture. 
Look at our nurserymen, the most knowing of them in 
such points, how often do they err in their choice of a 
loam? or, who hears them complaining about its 
chemical characters? Now, mere garden soil can 
never equal this loam; it is neither so rich in organic 
matter, nor so fresh, and it is this freshness, combined 
with excellency of texture, which renders a pure loam 
the fittest medium to recover or assist a diseased tree. 
In all difficult cases, we would plant or suiTound tho 
tree roots with this loam in its simple state, and if it 
becomes necessary to impart extra vigour to the tree, 
let it be by rich surface dressings; and by an occasional 
application of liquid manure. Of course, in cases of 
canker, something may be done by scraping the parts 
clean, and binding in a dressing; we have found a 
mixture of cow dung, fine loam, and a little lime a 
good application. Tlie adventitious diseases are too 
varied to be fully dealt with in a single chapter; and 
we may just point to the pruning-knife and patience 
as adjuncts in the case of defects consequent on the 
attack of insects, which sometimes cause distortions and 
perversions of the character of the tree. Wounds and 
injuries maybe treated similarly to canker; and those 
arising from low temperature, by trying to enhance the 
warmth of the atmosphere by which they are immediately 
surrounded; to etiect this, thin training, the removal of 
objects which impede the light, and on walls the use of 
liberal copings, &c. 
Rambi.ers —Here is a case for the root-pruner, or 
tho transplanter, we care little which. This much may 
be said—where any desire exists to renew the volume 
of the soil, transplanting is best, the tree not being too 
old or too large; and where there is no fault in the soil, 
root-pruning will he perfectly eligible. In addition, a 
liberal branch-pruning, thinning out, and shortening 
back freely. 
Shy Kinds. —There are some lands of fruits that are 
by nature shy, or, in other words, which do not grow 
freely ; these, of course, must be treated in a more 
liberal way. Stimulants may be had recourse to, and 
surface-dressings every two years will be very useful, 
and the occasional application of liquid-manure during 
the growing season. A compost composed of one-part 
free loam, one-part rich manure, and one-part leaf 
mould, the two latter three-parts decomposed, and the 
whole thoroughly mixed, will be found an excellent 
application in this case. In general, this coating of 
some three to four inches will become filled with fine 
fibrous roots, which will infuse an amount of vigour in 
the tree hitherto unknown. 
Gross Young Trees. —These are to be distinguished 
from the class “ Ramblers,” notwithstanding they may 
be rambling young rogues. It was doubtless inferred 
by the reader, that the former class signified established 
trees which show an apparently invincible coarseness. 
We now speak of that gross fitfulness which is so 
frequently met with in young trees, not alone through a 
particular habit inherent, but more commonly through 
a too generous patron, who perhaps may be a “ border 
maker”—a man of composts; and such men have fre- ' 
quently reminded us of those ati'ectionate animals termed i 
apes, which have been said to hug their young ones to I 
