May 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
85 
Another matter must receive attention: the root 
suckers must be thinned out. We need scarcely say 
that no more of these are to be retained than are 
necessary to fill the vacant spaces on the wall, or to 
tie down on the older branches. And here, the 
whole question assumes a wider bearing ; for, on look¬ 
ing over our notes as to past proceedings, we find 
that although we have several times suggested the ty¬ 
ing down of young spray of a fruitful character on 
the stems of all the spur fruits, yet we have not 
hinted at the same course with the fig. We may 
here advise, then, what we consider to he the very best 
points of practice with this tree. 
Firstly.—To train it, if possible, perpendicularly, in 
order that the main shoots running in parallel lines 
may always remain in the same position, and be equi¬ 
distant at all points. 
Secondly.—To keep those permanent “ leaders ” a 
greater distance apart than is usual; say 10 inches 
in the small-leaved lands, and 15 in those of the large- 
leaved section. 
Thirdly.—To commence, as early as possible, a 
system of tying down the short-jointed young spray 
before alluded to; observing to tie down no two 
young shoots side by side. 
Fourthly.—To encourage no root suckers beyond 
what are requisite for the above purposes. 
We may here state what our reasons are for this 
course. In the first place, we are decidedly of 
opinion that, with regard to all trained trees natives 
of warmer climates, it is of the utmost benefit to keep 
a portion of the wall totally unshaded, in order that 
by absorbing freely a portion of the solar rays, it 
may prove a reservoir of heat; giving its heat out 
again gradually iii the neighbourhood of the fruit. 
N ow, the fan system is not complete in this respect; 
indeed, is not thoroughly adapted for a tying down 
system. It would scarcely be possible to keep the 
leaves equally divided by this system; for it is evi¬ 
dent that the point from whence the branches di¬ 
verge, and which form a letter V, as before observed, 
would be more crowded than some other parts ; in¬ 
deed, on the fan principle, the further the branches 
extend, the wider they are apart. If, therefore, the 
tying down be admitted, and the propriety of getting 
the wall itself heated be also allowed, we conceive 
that the parallel training follows as a matter of 
course. 
If, however, old and well established trees, which 
answer well, are fan-trained, our advice is, “ let well 
alone this is another affair. We speak of starting 
young trees on a settled system. For the present we 
leave the fig and pass on to miscellaneous matters. 
Apples. —The American Blight .—In the course of 
the month of May this tremendous apple-pest will 
begin to reappear, unless fairly exterminated during 
the winter. We have some trees which were infested, 
and which we fairly bathed, as it were, in the liquor 
before adverted to, by means of hand syringing, 
several times repeated. We are almost inclined to 
Hatter ourselves that the enemy is departed ; if, how¬ 
ever, he return, we shall apply train oil or gas tar 
by means of a painter’s brush; for, although a whole¬ 
sale application of these powerful things is very 
injurious to the bark of the trees, yet we have often 
used oil, in light cases, without any perceptible in¬ 
jury. When, however, the tree is much infested, oil 
is out of the question. Nevertheless, mere hand- 
brushing is a great disturber, even with a dry yet 
coarse brush. Still it is safe practice to use some 
daubing mixture, which will at least cause them to 
suspend operations, even if it does not lock them up 
in their dens. For such a proceeding, we would 
suggest another eligible application at this period. 
Beat up three ounces of soft-soap in a gallon of warm 
water, add three handsful of flowers of sulphur, and 
then add half a gallon of strong urine from the sta¬ 
bles; beat the whole well together, and keep add¬ 
ing pure clay until the whole is a thick paint. This, 
daubed into their holes, will wedge the insects up in 
prison long enough for them to be destroyed with the 
caustic powers of the mixture, and will not injure the 
trees like oil. Towards the end of the month the 
apple-trees in fruit will want hand-picking oarefully, to 
free them from the caterpillars. Those amateurs who 
have only a few dwarf trees ought not 'to leave on 
them one of these depredators. Such operations will 
surely form, at times, a recreation for the female 
members of the family. 
Cherries. —The cherry aphis or black fly (Aphis 
cerasij may he expected at the end of the month. 
Tobacco-water is the best remedy, and they may 
either be dipped in a bowl, like the plums, by bend¬ 
ing the young shoots forward before they are nailed; 
or the whole tree, if much infested, may he syringed 
with the mixture. 
The disbudding of cherries, or thinning out, may 
stand over for a couple of weeks or more. The 
operations necessary with the cherry, with the excep¬ 
tion of a clearance of the aphides, are by no means 
so urgent as with some of our other fruits. 
The Filbert. —’The ground suckers will shortly 
make their appearance. Let them be stripped clear 
away, according to previous advices. 
The Black Currant. —Here, again, the aphides 
frequently create serious depredations. Preventive 
measures are the best; and such consist, in the main, 
by supplying a permanency of moisture to the root. 
When the shoots become much infested, tobacco- 
water, according to our plum and cherry recipes, 
should be applied; and, although rather expensive, 
it will assuredly pay for the application, inasmuch 
as not only the current year’s crop but the perfect¬ 
ing of the future year’s wood depends on cleanliness. 
R. Errington. 
THE ELOWER-GARDEN. 
Pillar Roses. —There is no kind of shrub, how¬ 
ever beautiful, that is used to ornament a garden 
scene, so well adapted to take various forms as the 
rose. It can be used as a dwarf tiny plant to fill the 
smallest bed; as a bush to plant amongst other 
shrubs; as one to plant in beds of larger dimensions 
in groups; as a tall standard, to form avenues of 
roses on each side of a noble walk; standards can 
also be planted in groups on a lawn. These, also, 
are often planted in the centre of a large circular 
bed, with half standards around them, and dwarfs in 
front, thus forming an amphitheatre of roses, which, 
when in bloom, is one of the finest sights in the 
floral garden. It can also be used to cover naked 
banks and dry rocks, and as a climber to orqament 
the amateur’s villa, or the more humble abode of the 
cottager; also to plant against naked walls or palings, 
and to form drooping shrubs when grafted on high 
standards, to wave gracefully their boughs, laden 
with fragrance and bloom, in the warm gales of 
summer and autumn. All those forms are very 
beautiful; but amidst them all, elegant though they 
are, there are none that show oft - the beauty and 
grandeur of the rose with such effect as training 
them up pillars. We cannot too strongly recoin- 
