204 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 12. 
not attain the size necessary for nse; and if too early, 
and a fine season follows, they attain a degree of ripeness 
and perfection which makes them little different from 
the ordinary main crop ; but as the young amateur may 
wish to have some guide how to act, I may say, that if 
he plants a late variety of Potato on a piece of fine, dry, 
warm ground, in the south of England, by the middle of 
August, he will stand a fair prospect of having Potatoes 
at Christmas, which some might mistake for new ones, 
they being, of course, allowed to remain in the ground 
all the time, only covered up in December, if very severe 
weather sets in ; but if he prefers an early kind, he 
may delay planting for a week or ten days longer. A 
better way, however, is to plant them at different times, 
and so ensure one or the other being right. The plan 
is certainly worth a trial; and to those not acquainted 
with the process of retarding Potatoes, a dish of half- 
ripened ones at the Christmas holidays will, with careful 
management on the part of the kitchen authorities, pass 
very well for new ones, which cannot well be obtained 
so soon; and as any kind of Potato will do for a trial, 
and it is probable that some unexpected one may turn 
out better than the crack-up kinds, it is well worth the 
amateur's while to give the plan a trial at the proper 
time. 
Young Potatoes obtained by forcing deserve attention, 
equally if not more so than the other, because the pro¬ 
cess ensures a better article; but 1 will enter on this 
next week. R. Robson. 
SELECTING FRUIT-TREES. 
“Well! but they are a very nice lot of trees,” was a 
remark made by a provincial dealer in fruit and forest-trees, 
to a purchaser; but, the purchaser being as well acquainted 
with trees as most men, knew no reason why he should 
accept the dealer’s “ ipse dixit ” as being all that was neces¬ 
sary to prove his assertion; and so he looked at them 
closely, and disapproved of them; stating, at the same time, 
his reasons for so doing. The subjects in question were 
“ Pear-trees on quince stocks”: they had been budded low, 
and had evidently made a very fine growth the first season, 
as maiden trees. This was proved by the appearance and 
evidence of the second year’s growth, which had been 
neglected; and from their having been shortened back too 
! closely the first season, some of the branches had taken an 
undergrowth much below the horizontal of the position from 
which the shoots proceeded from the stock, and these 
crooked branches had been pruned in such a manner, that 
the trees had become little, low, ugly, willow-stump-like 
looking trees, with a few stronger branches in the centre; 
and these were what the dealer ventured to call “ a very nice 
lot of trees.” 
It is a very injudicious plan to prune “ Pear-trees on 
quince stocks ” in this manner, as they are not like Peach- 
trees, which produce their fruits on the young wood : they 
should be pruned longer, so as to leave room for the forma¬ 
tion of fruit-spurs beneath the growing shoots, which need 
not be allowed to produce fruit in so early a stage of the 
tree’s growth ; but it would have the advantage of opening 
I the centre of the tree, and allow room for their development 
at a later period. I always like to see a Pear-tree stand 
clear off the ground, with the branches growing in opposite 
| directions, whilst the tree is young, as there is then a pro- 
| bable certainty of making a good tree of it later. 
Now, let us take a view of this venerable dealer’s opinion, 
i which was, doubtless, founded as well as the majority of 
opinions, any person, in the habit of meeting and con¬ 
versing with a great number of persons, belonging to all 
classes of society, has opportunities of hearing expressed 
in the course of a season. It is not at all unlikely that the 
motive which actuated our “ venerable friend,” was an igno¬ 
rant one— i.c., taking for granted that he gave expression to 
I a sentiment, conveyed from his mind to his tongue with the 
rapidity that sight conveys thought to the mind and it can 
be given expression to—or, as with, unfortunately, a great 
many men, it was one of self-interest; that predominant 
curse which causes all the strife and dissension so rife 
amongst men, and “ women, too.” Ah ! I was going to forget 
that, and waste half the value of the sentiment by omitting 
two words. But, we will suppose it to be the first, being 
willing to give mankind generally credit for being too honest 
to be willing to deceive his fellow-men for the sake of “ filthy 
lucre,” or his individual interest; and taking this view of the 
matter, will proceed. 
This vendor of trees, then, was ignorant of the business 
he was endeavouring to get a living by, in this particular; 
and as he was ignorant of it, and, consequently, did not know 
whether he was doing right or wrong in the style of pruning 
he adopted, as applicable to the different descriptions of 
trees; nor, after having adopted it, whether the result of it 
was likely to prove to the benefit of the subjects, or not; I 
nor, after the result was realised, whether it was a beneficial j 
or detrimental one: I say, that, as he was so thoroughly un- ! 
acquainted with the profession he was carrying on, he ought 
not to have been encouraged in it, but ought, instead of 
being allowed to deceive the gardening part of the com¬ 
munity, horticulturists, and the lovers of real science, to 
have been obliged to relinquish the business for want of 
custom. This is the punishment I would subject all 
“bungling pretenders and pragmatical agents” to, who 
oppose the true course of science, and who pertinaciously 
protrude themselves on the public liberality, without any 
merit to recommend them to its notice. 
But these remarks merely apply to this particular class 
of individuals. There are hundreds of persons in the 
j kingdom pretending to be gardeners, who know literally 
nothing about gardening as a science. In many localities, 
I provided a man pretends to know something about “ gurdnen,” 
! distorts, similarly, the pronounciation of a few botanical 
! names, or not knowing any of these, learns, through practice, 
to cut a hedging, to plant a few yards of box, to butcher about 
the shrubs, and to hoe, rake or sweep the front of a dwelling, 
screwing up his mouth in the most supercilious manner 
whilst giving “ spression to his pinion," and with all these 
qualifications, works for fourper.ee or sixpence per day less 
than a man really practical and proficient in his business, 
he is the man for many people, who set him down as 
being “ first-rate." They seem not to care whether he does 
right or wrong; they are not aware themselves what the 
result of his operations is likely to produce; they cannot, 
any more than the man himself, see into futurity; nor have 
they sufficient knowledge and judgment to be able to take a 
retrospective view, and thereby to calculate on the proba¬ 
bilities of the future; so that the present is alone considered. 
The man has tidied up the garden as well, in their estima¬ 
tion, as a professional would have done it; and they are 
satisfied, “pro tem." By-and-by, the result declares itself; 
some better informed friend steps in, and “ blows the roost,” 
and the annoyance ensues. And so it is with the “ vendor 
of trees.” He can sell his trees as well as a respectable 
Nurseryman can sell a better description of trees, provided 
he meets with the same class of customers as the “ Tea 
Kettle Gardener” meets with; and this last worthy would be 
| likely to assist him in effecting the sale of them, as the 
; sympathy elicited from, and existing between, such indi- 
1 viduals, is often resolved, and amendments passed, as well as 
addendas made to it, in the style of, “ You stick to me, and 
I will stick to you,” over a pot of half and-half, or a glass 
of gin and water, as often as these worthies meet. 
But the respectable and scientific Nurserymen, and their 
employees, take a very different view of the matter. They 
show the trees which may be inquired for without saying 
any thing in reference to them but what is suggested by 
their genuine and real value. They, in fact, allow their 
articles to speak for themselves. Should they be forest-trees 
or shrubs, there are but very few difficulties to overcome in 
deciding whether they are suitable to the purpose they are 
requisite for ; size and form being the only requisites. The 
straightness of the stem, and the correctness of the forma¬ 
tion of a well-balanced head, is as desirable in a forest-tree, 
which is to stand by itself in any particular locality, and is 
as necessary for beauty, as in any other plant; but Nature, 
in her bounty, has so arranged the distribution of favours, 
that these descriptions of trees would acquire that, nolens 
volens, provided they are not too much crowded together in 
