April 4.] 
[The arrangement seems good, and the principle of 
Polinaise is correct, hut there are too many failures 
in its application for us to be justified in recommend¬ 
ing its adoption. Many thanks for the information 
about cedar cones, but we are aware that the axis of 
these is persistent in this genus; and, also, that Picea 
is distinguished from Abies by a like feature: what 
Mr. Beaton said was, that the “ Greek Courier ” re¬ 
marked, that the old cedars on Mount Lebanon did 
not exhibit the teeth-like remnants of the cones; and 
that no doubt is owing to the cones being so small, 
that the axis were hid amongst the foliage. We be¬ 
lieve it is still undecided if the two cedars are distinct.— 
Ed. C. G.] 
Spruce Fir. —In the G9th number of The Cottage 
Gardener I see that, in the answer which you give to 
an inquiry made by one of your correspondents, you say 
that a spruce fir, if the top be cut off, will not form a 
fresh leader; I think it probable that this will be gene¬ 
rally the case, but as a remarkable exception to the 
general rule once came under my observation I hope 
you will excuse me if I make you acquainted with it. 
You evidently do not mean, that a spruce fir if it lose a 
leader which is still in a growing state, or which is of 
only one year’s growth, will not form a new one; for I 
am sure you know that, in that case, one of the lateral 
shoots which is of the same age with the lost leader, and 
which surrounds its base, will usually, perhaps always, 
replace it by taking a perpendicular direction; you 
plainly mean, that you have never seen a fresh leader 
produced by a spruce fir which has lost not merely a 
leader of one year’s growth, but wood which is the 
growth of several years. It may, therefore, be not un¬ 
interesting to you if I state that, many years ago, I 
planted in a pasture some single trees, and among them 
a spruce, which when I planted it might be 12 or 15 
feet high ; its growth being checked by its being moved 
when it had attained this height, it bore, two or three 
years after I had planted it, a superabundance of cones 
upon the upper branches; the top being thus over¬ 
weighted, a strong wind broke off a considerable part of 
the tree, the growth of perhaps four or five years. The 
fir thus mutilated was no longer ornamental, and I had 
condemned it to be cut down ; how it came to be spared 
I know not, but I am glad that it was spared, for in a 
year or two I perceived that one of these, which were now 
the upper boughs of the tree, or rather of the stump, began 
to raise itself a little from its horizontal position, not 
forming itself into a curve, but apparently turning upon 
its point of junction with the trunk as its centre of 
motion. You may be sure that when I saw what was 
going on I no longer thought of cutting down the tree, 
but watched the progress of the ascending branch with 
some interest. It kept thus moving upwards year after 
year, while the rest of the branches retained tbeir ori¬ 
ginal direction (nearly horizontal), and at length it 
assumed a direction perfectly perpendicular, and united 
itself so accurately with the top of the stump that the 
place where it has joined itself to the stump is now 
hardly if at all discernible, nor are there any marks 
which would make the most attentive observer suspect 
that there is anything extraordinary in the growth of 
the tree. The fir is now a handsome and thriving tree, 
forming every year a leader a foot or 15 inches long. 
With this fact before you, you will perhaps think it right 
to advise your readers not to be hasty in cutting down 
an ornamental spruce because it has lost its top.— Hev. 
Edward Simons, Ovington, Norfolk. 
Stove Heating and Strawberry Cdltcre. — I beg to 
refer to my communication published in The Cottage 
Gardener (No. lx., Nov. 22nd, 1849), and to say that, 
during the very severe weather which subsequently 
occurred, the atmospheric heat was found to be insuffi¬ 
cient; or, rather, inasmuch as the atmospheric and bot¬ 
13 
tom heat were supplied from the same source, the en¬ 
deavour to increase the former beyond a certain point 
increased the latter to an injurious extent. I have since 
been enabled to remedy this defect, by putting up an 
Arnott’s stove at the end near the door, with a four-inch 
flue of galvanized iron, and an evaporating pan at top. 
This fully answers my expectations, and I can thus get 
up any degree of heat required at a very moderate cost 
of fuel—say, at the season of the greatest consumption, 
under three-fourths of a barrel of coals weekly. 
I lately perceived some queries in your “ correspon¬ 
dents” department relative to strawberries, and as I have 
had considerable success in growing this fruit, T take 
this opportunity to say a few words thereupon. My 
bed is a ridge, sloping to the east and west, and about 
100 feet in length, I have uniformly a good crop, pro¬ 
bably due to attention being paid to the following me¬ 
thod:—1st. Selecting the earliest runners only for propa¬ 
gation, and pinching off all subsequent runners. 2nd. 
Never injuring or removing any of the leaves unless 
decayed. 3rd. Planting at such distances as that the 
plants when fully grown will not touch each other. 4th. 
Sheltering the roots in winter by layers of haulm, or 
waste litter, along the rows (the British Queen is espe¬ 
cially impatient of frost). 5tli. Top-dressing in March 
(when the litter is removed) with very rotten dung, 
gravel, and leaf-mould, (ith. Never allowing the bed to 
become actually dry while the strawberries are in bloom. 
Lastly, as to tlie most important part, the soil : I 
believe strawberries will never bear a certain crop if 
planted in a deep soil, or so as that the roots can get 
down so far as to be subject to constant moisture; in 
such case they will grow most luxuriantly in so far as 
leaves are concerned, but yield little or no fruit. On 
no part of my bed does the depth of soil exceed six 
inches, with eighteen inches drainage of stones and 
bricks beneath. The soil should be rich and light, and 
as little retentive of moisture as possible. From many 
trials I find that mentioned for “top-dressing” is the 
best.—It. Green, M B., Youghal. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
*** We request that no one will write to the departmental writers of 
The Cottage Gardener. It gives them unjustifiable trouble and 
expense ; and we also request our coadjutors under no circumstances to 
reply to such private communications. 
Border in Vinery (H . B.). —You will find a paper in the present 
number which meets your case. In planting the vines from the pots, be 
sure to loosen carefully the ball of earth, in order to liberate some of the 
principal ones from their coiled and unnatural position. Strew a thin coat 
of littery manure over the surface after planting, to supersede the ne¬ 
cessity of watering for a few weeks. 
Double Azalea (IV. X. IV.).—We cannot tell whether it is a new 
variety from the two flattened and faded blooms we received. 
Hardy Climbing Roses (Ibid).— Six good roses for your pillars are 
Amadis, purplish crimson ; Elegans , crimson, streaked with white ; 
Wells's Garland, white; Belle Marie , rosy; Gloire de Rosomane, carmine; 
and Acidalie, blush white. 
Jasminum Nudiflorum (IV. P. T.).—This beautiful and fragrant 
winter-flowering plant is easily propagated by planting in August cuttings 
of the half-ripe young branches. It delights in a rich sandy soil. Your 
plant exhibiting flowers during the depth of the last winter, though there 
were no leaves, is an occurrence not uncommon in plants from northern 
China and Japan. The Pyrus japonica frequently does so. 
Bottom-heat for Potatoes (T. D. P.). —When forcing potatoes, a 
bottom of 80 ° is most favourable. 
Melilotus Leucanthus (A Subscriber). —Will some of our readers 
inform us where this correspondent can obtain seed of the Melilotus leu - 
canthus. Your mistletoe seed was sent in due course. 
Oleanders (IV. H. G.). —You will do right, as you propose, to shake 
all the old soil from these as soon as they start into growth this month, 
as they have been grown in very poor soil, and will not blossom this year, 
reducing their roots, and repotting them in more suitable soil. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
