May 23.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
107 
of this to be regulated by the energies and age of the 
tree. If any young and choice trees set fruit before 
commencing a free growth, let nearly all the fruit be 
stripped off, merely leaving one or two to prove the 
kind. The exultation of some folks at seeing a dwindling 
| tree laden with fruit, prematurely, is dearly purchased in 
1 the end ; such trees are almost sure to be short lived ; 
and no wonder, the very foundation of their constitution 
is undermined before they have fairly acquired sound 
wood. 
Apkicots. —Much attention will he requisite at this 
period, both as to stopping, thinning the fruit, training, 
and hand-picking the caterpillars, the offspring of the 
red-bar moth, which has been fully described in Number 
71, page 252, of The Cottage Gardener. Stopping 
must be attended to most assiduously, not only in order 
that the resources of the tree be not drawn from their 
proper channels, but also that the true blossom-buds for 
the ensuing year be not shaded ; for, as we have before 
observed, the apricot, coming as it does from the 
brightest climes of the East, needs not the shade of su¬ 
perfluous spray in our murky climate. We know not 
how our neighbours have fared, but we have a capital 
: crop; and, perhaps, six times more have swelled off just 
| beneath the broad coping than on other portions of 
the wall. Indeed, almost every blossom seems to have 
j set in that situation, thus evincing the propriety of pro- 
i tection. Thinning for tarts, therefore, must have due 
j attention, withdrawing all the small or crippled fruit 
where to spare, or those lodged between the shoots and 
the wall. The thinning must be done by degrees, for 
after so severe a frost as we experienced in March, it is 
not improbable that much of the fruit which even appears 
to swell freely may have been wounded, and if so, will 
S turn yellow when the stoning process is proceeding, 
which is a severe crisis with most fruits, especially if 
unusual vicissitudes of weather occurred during the 
blossoming period. 
Training must be duly attended to. The apricot is 
rather precocious in its growth, and the pinching of 
robbers, and the direction of the necessary shoots, re¬ 
quire timely attention. 
In picking the caterpillars, there is no better plan than 
uncoiling the foliage, where the lodgments shew the 
enemy has established his quarters, and crushing him 
in his den. Those who think this too tedious, may just 
squeeze the coils llat with the thumb and two foremost 
fingers; a little practice will soon enable the operator 
to perceive at a touch where the rogue lies. This 
latter, however, is a sadly mutilating plan, and as “there 
are no gains without pains,” according to Dr. Franklin, 
let us advise our amateur friends to act like men of 
mettle in this affair. 
Black Currants. —Now is the time when, by a little 
perseverance, a crop of this useful fruit may be ensured. 
It has before been observed, that they cannot withstand 
drought, there is therefore no alternative but to water 
them liberally, on all soils not naturally retentive of 
moisture. 
A coating of half rotten manure, which gardeners 
term mulching, is of eminent service; indeed, were we to 
cultivate them extensively for market, we should make 
a point of applying a top dressing of this kind every 
blossoming season. The moment they are out of blossom 
a heavy demand takes place on the roots; and coincident 
with this, the aphides so manage matters as to be pre¬ 
pared to attack the plant at the very period in which the 
latter could best dispense with their services. Hence, 
if drought occurs, the sap by a higher amount of ela¬ 
boration becomes less watery, and the whole plant be¬ 
comes a prey to these devouring little pests, which in¬ 
crease in power and rapacity in proportion to the 
necessities of the plant. 
We have this week coated over the roots of our bushes 
three inches thick with a most economical material, 
being a mixture from old linings, composed of one-third 
stable manure, and tbree-parts of tree or shrub leaves. 
On this, immediately it is spread, we give a regular flood¬ 
ing of water; and we seldom take any further trouble over 
them, unless it be to syringe them with soap-suds, two 
evenings in succession, when just out of blossom. Indeed, 
but for this much pains, our land is so sandy that we 
should not gather a gallon from scores of bushes; as it 
is, we generally ensure a good crop. 
Strawberries. —Here, again, the water-pot must be 
active, if drought ensues; no fruit is more injured by 
continued drought, and none more benefited by a 
timely and liberal application of water. Previously to 
the commencement of watering, all weeds should have 
been carefully eradicated, for the runners will shortly be 
out. Again, mulching is very beneficial to the straw¬ 
berry, but such is not obliged to be rotten manure. The 
term mulching, we own, is an indefinite thing; let us 
hope that The Cottage Gardeners’ Dictionary, which 
will shortly appear, will pave the way to a universal 
language in gardening—a thing much wanted. Straw¬ 
berries should always have something put beneath them 
at this period, to keep the fruit clean, and to permit the 
air to circulate freely, in order to dispel all mouldiness 
and rot, should a bad summer occur. Clean straw (from 
the original application of which they perhaps derived 
their name) is most efficient for the purpose. Straw 
timely and properly applied is at once a protector of 
the fruit, and serves the purpose of a mulch, or, in other 
words, it is a screen, and has the effect of retaining mois¬ 
ture a long time in the soil beneath it. It intercepts 
the solar rays, and also prevents the radiation of heat, 
which latter not only carries off the ground heat at 
night, and at all periods when the soil is warmer than 
the atmosphere, but carries also moisture with it, thus j 
robbing at once the soil of its warmth and its moisture. ; 
Care, however, must be taken to guard against mice, 
especially if badly thrashed straw be used; for such we 
have known to attract a host of these rogues, before 
the straw had been down half a dozen days. It is best, 
therefore, to commence trapping or poisoning the mo¬ 
ment the straw is placed. This we always do. 
The Plum and Cherry. —The blue or purple aphides 
will soon be at work on the young wood. We have 
already adverted to syringing with tobacco water; the 
latter may be applied here just as with the peach. 
Where, however, time is no object, it is a very good plan ! 
to take a bowl of tobacco liquor and bend the youug ' 
shoots betimes into it, over head; this will clean them 
for the season. We have cleansed ours tolerably well j 
in former times, by syringing the trees with soap-suds, i 
and then throwing dust all over the trees until they j 
were encased in it, but it is a somewhat dirty plan. 
Disbudding and Stopping. —Nearly all kinds of fruits 
under a course of training will require particular atten¬ 
tion between this period and [Midsummer, as to these 
processes. We would strongly recommend every amateur 
to provide himself with a pair of Mr. Turners pruning 
scissors, which are the handiest and most efficient article 
we have ever seen. We carry a small pair constantly 
in the waistcoat pocket. His address is, “ Neepsend, 
Sheffield.” R. Errington. 
THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 
Miscellaneous Flower-border. —After saying so 
much about summer flower-beds in masses of one colour, 
and before resuming the subject with reference to mis¬ 
cellaneous and spring flower-beds, I shall give a me¬ 
morandum of plants in flower on a long border here, on 
the first of the present May; and I intend to kill two 
birds with one stone from behind this memorandum. 
In the first place it will prove, that a great show may be 
