408 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 4. 
comply with the said law on them would be^ madness 
itseli. Many of them’wonld flower for six weeks longer, 
if they were to be exempt from the operation ol the pinn¬ 
ing clauses of the Act; therefore, we must except them, 
certainly; still,we must thin them, and not let the little 
shoots flower any more this season; for if we do, we 
shall never get rid of blight and what not. I recollect 
when the first Noisette Rose was a new Rose, and that 
was the very first plant I ever saw pruned so early as 
September—that was in 1827; the Rose was then some 
years old, and had filled the wall; but, after flowering 
all the summer, a large number of suckers began from 
near the bottom ; but without training them over the old 
oarts of the plant there was no more room for them, yet 
these strong shoots were all showing for blossom at last, 
and something must be done, for the place was well 
kept; then it was that a new system occurred to the 
gardener; he uuuailed the old parts ol the plant, and 
cut out, one, two, and three years’ old shoots down to 
the suckers, and nailed the suckers in their places, and 
you never saw anything answer better. That was in the 
Ivinoul Nurseries at Perth. After that, I saw running Roses 
pruned exactly in the same way in the Botanic Garden 
at Edinburgh, as soon as the bloom was over, early in 
July; one was the Dundee Rambler, then rather new 
at Edinburgh; and the White Bauksian Rose was 
always pruned there as soon as it went out of flower by 
the end of May; and I heard the substance of this 
letter discussed in Edinburgh the year before the Burk 
murders, between Dr. Niel, Professor Dunbar, and the 
Curators of the Botanic or Experimental Gardens there, 
aud much more besides, which is now all but new to 
many of the present race of amateurs. From those days, 
I never hesitated to prune a Rose any week in the year ; 
and if I do not know that wall Roses ought to be pruned 
early in September, I ought to be sent back to Edin¬ 
burgh ; and they say that would go much against the 
grain of a Scotch gardener. 
Yes, all wall Roses ought to have a regular pruning, 
training, and nailing, just about this time, to get rid ot 
old shoots altogether; to shorten or cut out entirely 
very weak shoots; to stop all shoots which are not to 
bloom in the autumn ; to make room for those that will 
bloom to the end of the season, and to let in daylight to 
all parts of the plant, so as to ripen the wood most 
thoroughly, and at the same time to get it brimful of 
active sap before the fall of the leaf; all of which are as 
easy to do and to understand as any process in garden¬ 
ing, except, perhaps, the value of having all the cells, 
or vessels, of a plant well-filled with sap ere the leaf 
turns yellow; for that is only known yet to some of the 
very best gardeners, although the practice necessary for 
filling a plant in the autumn, so to speak, is as old as 
this century. It was first pointed out and experimented 
upon by the late President of the Horticultural Society, 
T. A. Knight, Escp, the best practical amateur the 
country ever produced. D. Beaton. 
Price of Fruit in San Francisco. —The climate of 
California is said to be well adapted for most kinds of 
fruit, and the following prices of fruit per pound in San 
Francisco indicates that fruit growing there must be at 
least as profitable as gold digging : 
Cherries, 4 dollars ; Strawberries, 2 dollars to 2 dollars 
50 cents; Raspberries, 3 dollars to 3 dollars 50 c.; Cur¬ 
rants, 2 dollars 50 c. to 3 dollars ; Apricots, 1 dollar to 1 
dollar 50 c.; Gooseberries, 1 dollar to 1 dollar 50 c.; 
Blackberries (plenty), 50 c. to 75 c.; Pears (new crop), 
75 c. to 1 dollar 50 c.; Apples (new crop) 2 dollars to 2 
dollars 50 c.; Apples (old crop), l dollar to 1 dollar 50 c. 
Foreign Fruit, per dozen.—Oranges, 1 dollar to 2 
dollars; Lemons, 4 dollars to G dollars; Limes (scarce), 
3 dollars; Bananas, 1 dollar 50 c. to 2 dollars. 
PLANTS FOR AUTUMN AND WINTER 
BLOOMING. 
During the spring and summer months our efforts 
are chiefly directed to the growing of plants. Many of 
these flower aud grow as they go on, the excitement to > 
expansion, by the increase of temperature, being counter- I 
acted by the maturing and solidifying influence of the rays 
of the sun. These rays are still powerful, but we must 
soon use them as much as possible for maturing growth 
instead of continuing it; knowing that long months are 
before us, in which, whatever heat we may apply, we 
can have little of the sun’s ripening influence. Much, 
therefore, of the future success in flowering and forcing 
plants in the winter will depend upon the maturing 
and hardening of their buds at an early period in autumn. 
This can only be accomplished by giving them the 
greatest quantity of sunlight that can be commanded, 
with the smallest amount of water that will just keep 
the leaves from at all flagging. Plants that have been 
growing freely must receive this check as to water, and 
this freer exposure to sunshine, very gradually, or they 
will suffer from sudden changes. Many with small 
fibrous roots, such as Heaths, Epacrises, &c., will like all 
the sun and air that can be given them, as the best pre¬ 
ventive against sickly growth, mildew, &c., hereafter; 
but if the pots are at all full of roots, these pots must 
not be exposed to the full influence of even a September 
sun, or the points will be scorched and burned up. The 
protection of earth-pits,—plunging the pots,—or sur¬ 
rounding them with some materials to keep the sun off 
them, will thus be an advantage. For the same reason, 
though the heads of the plants should be exposed in fine 
weather, shelter should be given from rains at all heavy, 
as the pots would get so soaked, that to get rid of the 
extra moisture the plant would be induced to extend ra¬ 
ther than to ripen its wood. Hence, many amateurs, who 
keep their Azaleas, &c., in the shade, for the purpose of 
growing them rapidly and getting them to set their buds, 
fail in blooming them freely, because they continue the 
shade too long, and give not enough of unobstructed 
light thoroughly to ripen the buds. The same thing 
also takes place from shifting such plants into larger 
pots too late in the season. I have frequently shifted 
Azaleas in September, but the shift ought to be small at 
that season, as there is a risk of the plant growing on ; 
and if the pot is not well filled with roots by blooming 
time, the bud is apt to become deformed, or to drop. 
When the ball, however, is very much pot-bound, and 
there is no room for surface-dressings, it is better to give 
a small shift than risk starved blooms; though, if not ex¬ 
tra pot-bound in a small pot, it will be better to give a 
top-dressing, by picking away a little of the surface soil, 
and fresh potting earlier the following year. For mode¬ 
rately early blooming, the plants cannot now be got too 
soon out of the shade, and exposed fully under glass, or 
in the open air. If the latter, however, the change 
should be made gradually, choosing a dull day for the 
change, and even placing them in a somewhat shady 
place at first. 
Camellias that are moveable should also be treated in 
the same way, and the flower-buds will be stronger aud 
less liable to drop in consequence. Cold, heavy rains, 
however, are to be guarded against as well as the loss 
of sunshine, aud housing should take place before the 
plants are greatly chilled. Many of the tenderer Cape, 
and Australasian hard-wooded plants, should be housed 
before the middle of October, unless the autumn be mild 
and favourable; as many misfortunes, in winter and 
spring,—the drooping of foliage, the dying and mildew¬ 
ing of shoots are greatly owing to a cold saturating of 
the roots in autumn; and especially if clear nights 
should take place afterwards, as the porous pots admit 
of such a cooling of the roots as next to freezes the soil, 
