14G 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
November 27, 
Kitchen Garden Borders. —Beds of Lettuce jilants 
will require attention in mild weather, as the slug is apt 
to make sad havoc of the small plants which it is most 
desirable to save ; dusting with lime, or soot, will help 
to save them; in severe weather, bend a few rods over 
the bed, and throw a mat over them. See to other beds 
of seedlings, as Caulijiotcer, Cabbage, Spinach, young 
Onions, &c., the first-named requiring more protection 
than the Lettuce. Plant Shallot and Garlic, if wanted, 
and clear away all rubbishy crops; and, at the same 
time, prune and nail the ti'ees as directed in former 
numbers of The Cottage Gardener, the Peach and 
Nectarine alone excepted. And prior to forking the 
border for winter, a good dressing of dung will be of 
service, more especially among the Gooseberry and 
Currant trees which margin the quarters of the kitchen- 
garden. Gooseberries do not require much shortening, 
that is to say, the young wood that is left had better, in 
most cases, be left its whole length. Red and White 
Currants may be treated difierently, but black Currants 
require the same treatment as Gooseberries. 
Frame. —The plants housed here will require constant 
attention, to see that damp does not carry them off. 
Some of the most delicate ought, if possible, to be ac¬ 
commodated in the house, even if the place was not 
very light; the dry air will arrest that decay which 
Cinerarias and other plants are liable to when kept too 
long in cold frames; while such things as Fuchsias, 
Calceolarias, Myrtles, and most hard-wooded plants, 
will endure a great deal of damp without serious injury. 
Cover well up at nights, and give air on all favourable 
occasions ; an almost total exposure will not be too 
much in mild days, provided the plants have not been 
long confined beforehand ; in the latter case, a gradual 
inuring them to it will be necessary. 
Flower Garden and Rockery. — There being little 
now to interest the ordinary observer in the shape of 
flowers, a more than usual adherence to neatness will 
be wanted. The beds and borders may be all neatly 
dug, after having duly thinned and reduced the plants, 
and added a little manure. Shrubs of all kinds may 
yet be planted, but it is better if done sooner. See 
that tall plants are properly secured. This applies more 
especially to Roses, Irish Yews, &c., that may have been 
recently planted. If any alterations are contemplated, 
let that now be done; and all damaged turf may be at 
once repaired, by replacing it with better; and, in fact, 
everything should be done to give this otherwise dull 
season as cheerful an appearance as possible; and it is 
surprising how much ordinary neatness can accomplish 
that way, assisted by a few bright evergreens, of which, 
perhaps, Portugal Laurel, and Holly, with berries on 
it, stand foremost. Laurustinus, which will be in 
(lower now, is also useful; and the list may be further ex¬ 
tended by Irish and common Yew, Boxes, Phillyrea, and 
though last, not least, the somewhat despised common 
Laurel. J. Robson. 
FRUIT-TREES IN POTS versus THE SAME 
IN THE OPEN BORDER. 
Much as our craft has advanced during the last few 
years, its progress has not been entirely without some 
admixture of alloy. The attempt to upset the pedantry 
of the last generation has, in some cases, resulted in the 
introduction of theories, having as shallow a foundation 
as the other had, and now and then we hear of strange 
anomalies; 
Plant-growing, assuredly, has made great progress, 
and that, in most cases, in the right direction ; but plant¬ 
training has often assumed an artificial feature bordering 
on “ quaintness.” This, however, promises to be recti¬ 
fied in time ; public opinion having decided against the 
“ forest of sticks,” with which some fine plants were ' 
disfigured ; and a more “ natural ” way of growing and 
shewing them promises to be the order of the day. 
Fruit-growing has, in some cases, retrograded, rather 
than advanced. Apricots, Apples, Peaches, and Necta- j 
rines being quite as good fifty years ago as they are ' 
now, and, from all accounts, quite as plentiful. Neither ! 
has there been any advance in the culture of these fruits, i 
Pines and Grapes, have, assuredly, advanced; both being | 
fruits of gross habits, rich and stimulating food has been | 
administered to them at times when it was wanted, ■ 
and good results have arisen therefrom; but every | 
move in the direction of fruit-growing is not sanctioned 
by rational principles. Pines have been grown to great 
perfection in beds heated from below, the roots no 
longer cramped up into the compass of a flower pot, but 
allowed to ramify in all directions, through a compost 
enriched by applications of liquid-manure. This is all 
very well, and seems neither more nor less than a 
return to those natural principles which the plant en¬ 
joyed in its own native climate. But when we hear of 
parties who advocate the “ turning out ” (as it is called) 
of Pines, and the “ potting’’ of Peaches, Cherries, Plums, 
and Apricots, it seems an anomaly difficult to reconcile, 
on any known principle of horticulture ; a Pine being 
an herbaceous plant, yielding fruit in a much shorter 
period than the hard-wooded kinds above alluded to, it 
seems difficult to comprehend the meaning of such a 
wide departure in both cases from the usual mode 
Nature had intended each to pursue. The Pine being, 
in a certain sense, a short-lived plant, for that portion 
of it which bears the fruit does not do so again ; where¬ 
as, the trees above-named are all as long-lived as the 
human race, and very often much longer. Moreover, 
the constitution of the plant does not allow it to absorb 
and feed upon those rich and nutritious substances 
which fit the Pine and Grape for early service of an im¬ 
portant kind. Hard-wooded trees will grow faster by 
being impelled on with stimulating food, but their 
growth is at the expense of their fruitfulness. A certain 
space of considerable extent ought to be allowed them 
to feed upon, and their food ought to be sound rather 
than rich. In fact, it ought to be in accordance with 
the habits and wants of the species, which is widely 
different from that of the Pine or Grape, for these 
arrive at an early maturity, stimulated to a great extent 
by the means used. And although hard-wooded trees 
may, and do often, become useful bearing trees for a 
single season, it is rarely indeed that they continue to 
be so for a series of years; and, in spite of all that can 
be said or written on Orchard-houses, there are few 
places where they have given satisfaction. 
A nurseryman, having a large stock of healthy, young 
trees in his grounds, can easily select a few likely to 
suit his wants, and these trees, taken up with care, and 
potted on the spot, form, no doubt, good bearing trees 
for the time being, for the same reason that Hyacinths 
bloom well or ill as they may have been grown the pre¬ 
ceding season. In like manner, a Peach or Cherry may 
form good bearing buds, by its growing in a suitable 
medium out-of-doors, but after producing a heavy crop 
of fruit, when in such an artificial condition as must be 
in a flower-pot, the chances are sadly against it doing 
so again. I mention this, not as an unsupported theory, 
but as the result of practice, though not in every par¬ 
ticular the same as those who lay down laws for Orchard- 
house building and management; still, a tree in a pot 
must be a potted tree, whether in an Orchard-house or in 
any other place; and there are few places where these 
fruits have been grown to any extent with anything like 
the success the outlay demands. 
I well remember, some twenty-five years ago, there was 
a plan before the world of growing our hardy fruits in 
“(Miniature Orchards,” as they called them, intimating 
