46 
overtake the shoot next ahead, nor even then if hut a 
weak shoot, for it will be necessary to sutler it to ramble 
in order to draw sap into it. Old gardeners m our 
younger days were wont to say, “ stop it to strengthen 
it;” than which there could scarcely be a more vulgar 
error, for the strength of a tree may be speedily reduced 
by mere “ stopping ” alone. 
Once more, then, the Unger and thumb of the operator 
may rest for a week, and afterwards the whole of the 
tree must be looked over, and a somewhat general 
thinning out or disbudding may take place. 
As, however, it is not easy with trees which produce 
much spray to ascertain precisely what shoots, and wliat 
only, should be reserved at this period, all of a doubtful 
character, instead of being stripped away, may meiely 
have their tops pinched off, that is to say, provided they 
are overtaking their neighbours aud tending to con- 
About this period, what are termed robbers will begin 
to develop themselves in certain portions of healthy 
trees; these may be readily distinguished from the true 
bearing wood of the next year by their evincing betimes 
a tendency to branch into side spray; these should all be 
pinched, or stopped, when about six inches long, lor it 
must be understood that these greedy monopolists are 
fattening at the expense of all the subordinate shoots in 
their neighbourhood; added to which they call into 
being an undue root action, thereby lessening that 
amount of control which will always be possessed by 
the cultivator when trees are planted on sound princi¬ 
ples, and the dresser knows what he is about. Indeed, 
it is entirely through errors in these matters that a ne- 
' cessity so frequently arises lor root-pruning, and other 
| such expedients to promote fruitfulness ; we would have 
i trees so managed as to be under the most perfect con- 
I trol, in spite of the waywardness of seasons; and this we 
| know to be quite possible and comparatively easy—all 
I that is wanted is a sound knowledge of the constitution 
and habits of the tree in question, together with well 
digested ideas of the character of soils, especially their 
mechanical texture. 
The “robbers” being stopped, the last of the principal 
spring dressing will have been carried out, and all this 
will bring the operator up to about the end of May, by 
which period the fruit will require thinning; but of 
this more shortly. 
Let us remind our peach growers, once more, to give 
no quarters to the aphides, not even for a couple of days 
if possible. R- Eiuungton. 
THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 
Bedding Plants ( Pink Colour). —We have a great 
variety of bedding plants of this colour, of which the 
often-talked-of Saponaria calabrica is the best for small 
and moderate-sized beds. This, as most of our readers 
know, is a hardy annual, but comes into bloom sooner if 
reared in a moderate hot-bed in the spring ; and it has 
the good quality of being easily removed from the re¬ 
serve-garden, where it may be kept until some of the 
May annuals have done flowering. Although it has 
been in cultivation for many years it is always scarce, 
for it ripens its seeds with us late in the autumn ; and 
when September is wet we can hardly get enough of them 
to continue the breed. Notwithstanding all my care, I 
am often obliged to purchase the means of propagating 
this pet; and I have more calls for a pinch of its seeds 
than for anything else I grow. Therefore, when any one 
has grown it, the seeds should be carefully looked after. 
There are three kinds of Catchflies ( Silene ) which 
make good masses of pink, but they do not last out the 
whole season. The lowest of them, and, indeed, the 
lowest pink bedderwe have, is one called Silene Shqftce; 
named, 1 think, after a person of that name. The 
[April 25. 
herbage of this Catchfly spreads on the ground; and the 
flower-stems do not rise above three or four inches. 
Like all of them, it seeds abundantly; and may be had 
from cuttings as freely as anything. It is, also, one of 
the nicest rock-plants we can select. 
Silene pendula is the gayest May-flowering annual we 
have; and, in rich soil, ought to be transplanted three 
times in the reserve-garden before it is planted out for 
flowering, as the herbage is apt to come too coarse unless 
thus checked. It seeds itself about the borders in the 
autumn, so that we hardly ever lose it. When sown in 
the spring, in the reserve-garden—and it may be sown 
as late as the middle of May—and planted out in the 
flower-garden before midsummer, it will bloom until the 
frost overtakes it. For a pink edging round a large bed 
it is as well adapted as the Virginian stock, for when it 
spreads beyond its bounds, it may and should be clipped 
on the sides, and on the top also, as often as seed-pods 
appear, just as everybody manages the Virginian stock. 
If either of them are allowed to make seeds they go oil' 
the bloom directly. 
Silene compacta is the next best of them, but is not so 
manageable as to cutting; but when sown late in April, 
or between that and the middle of May, it will bloom 
for three months—that is, in July, August, aud Septem¬ 
ber. But, if the latter month be dry, it will go off 
sooner; and that is the worst time of tbe season for 
flowers to fail us, as very few can then be had to fill up 
their places. The height of it is from 18 inches to 
two feet, according to the richness of the bed. The last 
of them is not quite so good as compacta, but is about 
the same size, and requires just the same management; 
its name is regia. The last three are very suitable for 
autumn sowing; and they have such a quantity ot little 
roots that we can move them from place to place easy 
enough through the winter or spring, when the beds or 
borders are being dug or dressed. 
The Geranium furnishes three sizes of plants for pink 
beds—very low beds—beds from 12 to 20 inches high, 
and some a yard in height. The Pink Ivy Leaf is the 
best and the oldest of them. It has a thick, smooth, 
green, shining leaf, trails on the ground, aud is alto¬ 
gether a fine bedder. The Ivy Leaf puts me in mind 
that I missed a nice purple bedder of them—one in all 
respects similar to the common white ivy leal, but with 
purjile flowers, and a horse-slioe-marked leaf. The next¬ 
sized pink geranium is the green form of Mangle's varie 
gated pink ; and any one having this line variegated gera¬ 
nium may soon have the green-leaved form ol it irom 
branches of the variegated one, which often sport into 
the green-leaved with a well-marked horse-shoe. If cut 
off as they appear, and preserved by cuttings, this makes 
really a fine bedder. Another recommendation of both 
varieties is that they never produce seeds, which much 
disfigure many kinds of geraniums. The tallest is one 
called Salmon, which is rather too light for a pink, yet 
comes in for a light shade of pink, and is one of the very 
best bedders of all the race of geraniums—that is, for a 
large bod ; aud it is one of the easiest to keep over the 
winter. Another good shade of reddish-pink is produced 
by the Pink Nosegay geranium. It is a fine tall bedder, 
but not quite so strong as the Salmon, which some 
nurserymen call Salmon Nosegay, but it does not belong 
to the Nosegay section at all. There are only three 
kinds of Nosegay geraniums: this pink one, a scarlet, 
and a lilac variety." The pink one has a peculiar bluish- 
gray tint in the leaf—nearly what we call glaucous, and 
a horse-shoe mark ; the Salmon has also the horse-shoe 
form, but the rest of the leaf is light green. 1 reared 
many thousand cross seedlings, endeavouring to procure 
a good pink variety out of the scarlet section of gera¬ 
niums without much success— Cherry cheek being the 
best one I obtained, and it is too sparing a bloomer for 
these days, but is beautiful for a pot variety. I have 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
