June 10. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
JO? 
the case. The leading branches, on which are tied 
down the young spray, are so far apart, that the sun¬ 
shine can readily penetrate at all times between the 
parallel lines of brandies. Under this mode of culture, 
there is no apprehension as to the natural spurs start¬ 
ing into wood ; if some should do so, it signifies 
little, when the system is once established, as there 
are always abundance formed from the young shoots 
of the former year which had undergone a timely 
stopping. Indeed, there was always too much fuss 
made about this “starting of the bud;” it occurred 
chiefly in pampered trees. Good gardeners, in these 
times, do not make rich borders for their Pears, they 
thereby, from the very planting, avoid the evil. Our 
practice will be, this season, to dub our trees about the 
third week in June; they have already had a disbudding; 
then suffer the trees to remain almost untouched until 
the dubbed shoots begin to shoot again, which will 
be about the middle of July, when we shall mako our 
final selection with the pruning-knife. On their 
beginning to shoot again, it will be perceived that some 
are in a hurry to shoot, others appear stationary, as 
though they had finished their growth ; the latter are 
the kind we principally reserve for the future year, the 
former indicating by their luxuriance that they have 
too great a tendency to make wood. 
Every care should be taken over young Pears at this 
period in a course of training; these will require a 
different course of management. Where young trees 
are starting luxuriantly, and it is desirable to increase 
their size, young, leading shoots may be pinched imme¬ 
diately; and if some liquid-manure can be afforded 
them they will soon produce young shoots, which can 
be trained into any desired form. 
Apricots. —We hope our readers have paid close 
attention to hand-picking the caterpillar; this should 
always be done the moment they appear. The early 
depredations of these is one of the chief causes why the 
blossoms set shyly the ensuing spring. These cater¬ 
pillars feed chiefly on the foliage attached to the 
blossom-bud of the future spring, now in the course of 
organisation, and by devouring the earlier foliage on 
which the early maturation of such embryo buds depend, 
those buds become incomplete, and expand in an im¬ 
perfect and crippled form in the ensuiug spring. 
It is of the utmost importance that all coarse shoots, 
not wanted to train in, be pinched as early in June as 
possible, when about four inches long, and that such 
pinching be repeated as often as a rambling tendency 
appears. There is no tree with which I am acquainted 
that requires so much light as the Apricot. If any one 
will pinch closely the foreright spray from one portion 
of the tree, and leave the- other unpinched, he will, in 
the ensuing spring, be for ever satisfied of this matter. 
If any of the Aphides appear on the points of the 
growing shoots let them be instantly dipped in tobacco- 
water. 
Plums require a course of management about inter¬ 
mediate between the Apricot and the Pear. Gross , 
shoots must be early pinched, and where trees are ; 
short of natural spur-shoots of moderate character j 
should be tied down on the branches. As to the 
Aphides, the Plum is particularly liable to their attacks, j 
and unless they are destroyed betimes a failure may be 
the'result. 
Cherries. —Beware of the Aphides on Cherries; no 
fruit tree is more liable to their attacks, and no tree 
suffers more from their ravages. 
Black Currants should have a little mulch spread 
over their roots to keep them moist, and water should 
be liberally given them if the least dry. We have 
mulched ours four inches deep with rotten leaves out 
of the park, and a week since, just before the rain came, 
we gave each bush at least twelve gallons of water; 
nothing ever looked finer than they do at this time. 
People complain of their fruit falling ; but this is 
simply from lack of moisture. No fruit requires moisture 
more than the Black Currant. 
Red and White Currants. —One of the chief points 
of summer management consists in dubbing or cutting 
back those watery-looking breast-shoots which are pro¬ 
duced in such profusion in June; these should be cut 
back to within four inches of their base. We use the 
shears for this purpose. 
Thinning. —The tliinning-out of fruits where in excess 
is one important matter at this time; not only is size 
thereby enhanced, but quality, and, moreover, keeping 
properties. It is to be presumed that there will be enor¬ 
mous crops of Apples, Pears, Peaches, Nectarines, 
Apricots, Currants, Gooseberries, &c.; at least we have 
never had such a prospect in our time; indeed, it is 
almost beyond prospect, it is hard upon realisation, for 
these things are already boldly swelling off, and the only 
rock-a-liead, as to ordinary matters, is the possibility of 
an unusual amount of insect enemies. 
Again, then, I say, let these three great maxims of 
summer fruit culture be at this period well carried out. 
Mulch and otherwise assist trees carrying heavy crops ; 
keep down insect enemies; and, finally, keep the finger 
and thumb busy during June and July. 
R. Errington. 
On the title-page of the Royal Academy’s Catalogue of 
Works of Art for the present year, appears this motto— 
“ The critic of Art ought to keep in view not only 
The capabilities, but the proper object of Art.” 
Now, if there be one object more than all others 
which ought to be aimed at by the artist it is Truth. 
Truth in all the details of his compositions; truth in 
all their minor accompaniments, as well as in their 
higher conceptions. 
So thinking, we could not refrain from testing, so 
far us gardening is concerned, some of the pictures 
now on the walls of the Royal Academy by this 
touchstone—truth; so we paused before the produce 
from the easel of one of the masters of our modern 
school of painting—D. Maclise, Royal Academician. 
The catalogue thus describes it. 
78 Sceue—lawn before the Duke's palace ; Orlaudo 
about to engage with Charles, the Duke’s wrestler.— j 
D. Maclise, R.A. 
Characters introduced, from the left to right of the 
spectator:— Dennis (a servant), Oliver, Charles (the 
Duke’s wrestler), Le Beau (a courtier), Duke Frederick, 
Celia, Rosalind , Touchstone (a clownj, Orlando, Adam, 
and lords and attendants. 
Orlando. “I beseech you, punish me not with your hard j 
thoughts, wherein I confess me much guilty, to deny so 
fair and excellent ladies anything. But let your fair 
eyes, and gentle wishes, go with me to my trial; wherein 
if I be foiled, there is but one shamed, that was never 
gracious; if lulled, but one dead, that is willing to be 
so. I shall do myself no wrong, for I have none to 
lament me: the world no injury, for in it I have 
nothing ; only in the world I fill up a place which may 
be better supplied when I have made it empty. 
Rosalind. “ The little strength I have, I would it 
were with you. 
Celia. “And mine to eke out hers.”— As You Like It, 
act i., scene 2.” 
We could bestow praise, well-merited, upon much of 
this picture; and could descend to commend the care 
bestowed even upon correctness in the costume of the 
