101 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, May 18, 1858. 
like an aged and infirm human being, they do not 
prosper when subjected to very harsh treatment. A 
I young healthy member will undergo a surgical opera- 
) tion which would be death to an older one, hence the 
impropriety of expecting to make an old tree into a 
; young one again ; but as careful prunings seem neces¬ 
sary for the tree, as medicine does for the human 
i being, let it be gradual, and not all at one season ; they 
are young trees that I more particularly call atten¬ 
tion to, these being most operated upon, and with 
varied success. The general practice here being to 
plant standard trees, six feet high, and with but 
very little heads ; these heads consisting, perhaps, of 
less than half-a-dozen shoots of a foot long or more 
each, are allowed to remain uncut the first year, in 
order to let the root get well established, ere the top 
undergoes amputation. The same treatment, I may 
observe, is given to a Quickset hedge. The tree, being 
secured to one, or sometimes two stakes, does not grow 
much the first summer, and is very freely cut back, the 
ensuing winter, after which a vigorous growth usually 
takes place ; and the winter following is the one which 
gives rise to so much difference of opinion on the sub¬ 
ject of pruning ; the tree being then supposed to con¬ 
sist of numerous shoots, a yard long and more, and 
sturdy in proportion. 
The practitioners of the old school insist that the 
centre of the tree should always be kept open, or, in 
fact, cut out, to enable the sun to shine into it and on 
the north side; but this practice, like many others, 
may often be carried out to a fault. A gentleman of 
my acquaintance, who has spent a long life amongst 
the fruits of the neighbourhood, and cultivates them 
very largely, is of opinion, that cutting out the centre 
of an Apple tree is in direct variance of the laws of 
Nature. Much cutting, while the tree is in a very 
vigorous growing state, he also forbids, and grounds 
his practice on the well-known fact, that cutting out 
the centre of a tree gives rise to a multitude of useless 
spray wood in that plan; to be repeated when the 
same is done again. He, therefore, allows the centre 
to grow as well as the side, and a nice uniform-shaped 
tree is the result; a little thinning is done, and some 
cutting back, but not much ; he being of opinion, that 
such undue checks are the sources of premature old 
age, as the plant must find vent in some way for its 
I surplus sap. He thinks it best to allow an open 
standard tree full scope to grow, and when Nature 
checks its farther advancement, by throwing it into a 
fruitful state, the tree is then a full-sized vigorous one, 
capable of bearing the best fruit, and a store of 
health laid up for years to come. 
The above remarks apply more especially to Cherry 
trees, which suffer most of any from the knife. Plums 
also dislike it, but even Apple and Pear trees, if ex¬ 
pected to grow large and fine, ought to have something 
like fair play in their younger days ; and we all know 
j that trees, headed down repeatedly in a nursery, rarely 
make good trees ; their efforts being so often thwarted, 
constitutional vigour declines. The gentleman men¬ 
tioned above is particular, on all occasions, to have 
young healthy trees; very often those which have 
I never been cut at all, as he is by no means an advocate 
for root pruning of open standards; as he justly ob- 
j serves, “ if the right sort of tree be planted in the 
right place, and in a right manner,” it will be sure to 
prosper ; it is hopeless expecting a good result under 
contrary circumstances, as an open standard tree,unlike 
one on wall, or in a hothouse, is influenced solely by 
natural causes, over which cultivation has but little 
i control; and if you allow the top to assume a large 
growth, the root must keep pace with it; the case, of 
course, is different when trees are dwarfed for some 
! purpose ; in this case a reciprocity must exist between 
the top and root; Nature, not man, holding the ba" 
lance. 
Before drawing the above remarks to a close, I may 
mention one often received erroneous opinion we hear 
daily expressed, that moss on fruit trees is the conse¬ 
quence of a superabundance of water in the ground; 
this is certainly not the case, as I can point to several 
trees suffering so, where water is not to be obtained by 
digging less than eighty or one hundred feet deep; 
that it is more prevalent in moist districts may be 
admitted, but is certainly not confined there. Like 
other parasites, this unsightly pest grows where cir¬ 
cumstances favour it most; and when a tree becomes 
sickly, or diseased, or lacks that vigour necessary to 
resist it, there it plants itself. A liberal application of 
quicklime will check it considerably, and perhaps a 
renovating at the root by manure will be of service; 
but to entirely remove, or prevent it, is a problem not 
yet solved, and it is an undisputed fact that (in this 
neighbourhood at least) its growth has increased very 
much of late years ; trees being now infested with it at 
an earlier age than they used to be, and, consequently, 
one of the opinions advanced by elderly people is, that 
some change is going on in the atmosphere w r e move in 
less favourable to the growth and perfection of fruits 
than it used to be : of this I am not old enough to give 
an opinion, but the idea is not confined to old, unlet¬ 
tered, working men; but some of those w T ho have 
studied the sciences, which carry their researches back 
to the antediluvian period, assert that such changes are 
going on; but whether so rapidly, as to be appreciable 
within the lifetime of even a Methuselah, is very un¬ 
certain. J. Robson. 
NOTES EROM THE CONTINENT—No. 23. 
HANOVER. 
Early in the winter business rendered it necessary for me 
to make a journey through Hanover, into the Rhine provinces 
of Prussia, and thence into Belgium; but the shortness of 
the days, and the hurried manner I was obliged to go from 
place to place, made it difficult for me to see much of the 
horticulture of the districts through which I passed. I saw, 
however, as much as I could, and it is possible that my 
notes, though doubtless imperfect, may interest your readers, i 
I reached Hanover late in the day, but started as soon as 
possible afterwards for the Royal garden at Herrenhausen, 
of which I had often heard glowing accounts. It is about i 
two miles from the town, the road being perfectly straight; 
and, as it is planted with a double avenue of Lime trees, 
must make a magnificent drive in summer. Upon the right 
I passed Mont Brilliant, the summer residence of the blind 
King. Herrenhausen speaks w r ell for the patronage horti¬ 
culture receives from the hands of Royalty in Hanover; in- j 
deed, the King takes great interest in gardening, and has 
lately sent a collector to tropical America, in order to enrich 
the hothouses of this garden; and, although debarred the 
pleasure of seeing the plants that may be sent home, yet he 
listens, with a smile upon his countenance, to the collector’s 
letters, and a description of his plants. 
I have no hesitation in saying, that this is decidedly the 
best royal garden in Germany, and very much in advance of 
some which make greater pretensions. Its general features 
are those of a botanic garden, but it has not degenerated 
into a nursery like those of Saxony, nor is it in such a dis¬ 
gracefully neglected state as some of those in Prussia. Here 
everything was clean, and order everywhere apparent. 
The principal point of attraction is the Palm house, a noble 
structure, and the plants in every way worthy of the building. 
1 n the centre stands a plant of Livistonia Australis, twenty- 
three feet high, and throwing out its large fan-shaped leaves 
on all sides. Around it many other members of the regal 
family of Palms are arranged, and whether seen from the 
walks below, or the gallery above, the effect is quite im¬ 
posing. Among the more remarkable of the plants, I noted 
a fine Flectocoma Assamica, one of the half-climbing section 
of the family; the mid-rib is extended some ten or twelve 
