8 
THE ELORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
Now, root-pruning, lifting, and all the other manipulations attendant upon 
the artificial management of fruit trees have this very object in view, and are 
but so many means by which that condition of growth is brought about, because 
by those operations we disturb the tendency in young trees to excessive develop¬ 
ment of wood, and threaten, as it were, the life of the tree, which at once sets 
about the work of reproduction by seed. 
The means to be adopted for inducing this habit of growth are various both 
in mode and application, but all tending to the same end:—In one case severe 
root-pruning may be necessary; in another, it may be best to lift the tree 
entirely out of the ground and replant it in fresh soil; and in another, the dis¬ 
turbance of the action of the roots by defoliation, or the constant and continual 
removal of all superfluous growth may be resorted to, or, in other words, the 
system of stopping and pinching back the growth during the summer, by which 
the roots are greatly influenced, and in most cases a fruitful habit induced. 
I should also observe in passing, although I shall have to refer to the subject 
again, that excessive fruit-bearing has a very great influence on the roots and 
growth of the tree; and when by our operations we have succeeded in bring¬ 
ing the tree into a good bearing state, we possess in the fruit a most power¬ 
ful auxiliary in the work of maintaining the balance between the roots and 
branches. 
If a fruit tree is planted in generous soil, and is otherwise favourably 
situated, it proceeds forthwith to the development of a strong and vigorous 
growth, and if left unchecked it will continue to do so as long as the roots can 
find food in sufficient abundance, but when the store is exhausted the necessary 
check is produced, and fruit-bearing follows. But previous to arriving at this 
point, we often see such trees produce a fair amount of bloom, which ex¬ 
pands and to all appearance sets very well; but, except on the very weakest 
branches, it never advances further, but drops off abortive, because the strong 
shoots possess so great a power of attracting the sap to themselves, that it is 
diverted from the incipient fruit to the formation of more woody growth. 
Before these things came to be better understood, this state of matters was 
sought to be remedied by a resort to severe winter pruning ; the strong wood 
was cut out, and the weaker and apparently fruitful was left or laid in, as the 
case might be; and the result was very often a state of things worse than 
before, because of the great amount of sap which the strong growth of the 
preceding year had sent down in readiness for the future development of 
growth, and the result was the continued development of strong and vigorous 
wood, in even a larger proportion than before, because the effect of cutting 
back strong shoots is to produce a greater number of equally strong shoots; 
and this is a tendency of which we always take advantage when we wish to 
obtain a supply of young shoots to fill up vacancies. 
Redleaf. John Cox. 
THE NUNEHAM PARK ONION. 
This remarkably fine Onion was exhibited by Messrs. W. Cutbush & Son, 
of Highgate, at the recent International Show of Fruit and Vegetables at 
South Kensington, and it was fitly awarded a first-class certificate for its ex¬ 
cellent qualities. The bulbs are very large, and remarkably solid and heavy, 
and it has all the appearance of being an extraordinarily good keeper. From 
a small plot of ground a great weight of bulbs can be obtained. Those who 
claim for it an identity with Danver’s Yellow, must have been struck with the 
essential difference in the appearance of the bulbs; a s seen at South Kensington, 
