6 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[January, 
When symptoms of grossness appeared, with 
strong, sappy shoots growing rapidly upwards, 
we should (during the growing season, if 
opportunity offered) search for the cause of 
this gross growth, and should, most likely, find 
some of the roots going down rapidly from 
the influence of sun and air. These, if possible, 
should be brought to the surface, or very 
probably must be cut clean off, and some lime 
rubbish mixed with the soil, and rammed firmly 
under the trees from whence they were re¬ 
moved, in order to keep others from going in the 
same direction. If the tree continued to mis¬ 
behave, further liberties would be taken to bring 
it to a standstill! If this were done, say, be¬ 
tween June and September, the roots would 
have plenty of time to heal, and probably, as 
has often been observed, would throw out a 
number of fibry roots, which would be con¬ 
ducive to the limitation of growth, and the for¬ 
mation of fruit buds. A mulching placed over 
the roots would then induce them to grow to the 
surface, where more sun heat would reach them, 
and the quantity, quality, and appearance of 
the fruit would be greatly improved. We 
have seen Apples and Pears entirely changed 
in character by such treatment, and their 
roots being kept in such healthy positions, 
canker and other diseases became unknown. 
When trees are well treated from the first, 
their constitutions are proportionately sound, 
and trouble in their management is proportion¬ 
ately less. It is not the roots which extend 
over the upper surface of soil one is afraid of, 
as leading to canker, unfruitful growth, cracked 
and badly-coloured fruit, &c. ; but those which 
strike downwards into cold, damp subsoil, or, 
it may be, into that which is poor, inert, and 
sandy, which is always a precursor of canker 
or barrenness. 
The system of manipulation of the roots 
which is too often adopted is a cutting of the 
best of the feeders all round at a certain dis¬ 
tance from the trunk, leaving the downward 
growers alone. Nothing could be more mis¬ 
chievous than such a practice, especially when 
rich, stimulating soil is thrown into the trench 
cut round the tree. The growth is again ex¬ 
cited, and the downward roots are driven harder 
to their work by the loss of the surface-roots, so 
that the last end of the tree is worse than the 
first. If, under such circumstances, the course 
of the tap-roots were diverted by their running 
against stones or other impenetrable substances 
(well described in a contemporary), little harm 
would be done ; but it is the doing of the one 
thing, and leaving the other undone, which leads 
to disappointment. 
Instead of dilating on the manner of how 
or how not “ to do it,” I will offer a few 
notes from practical observation, taken during 
the course of many years, and in districts 
widely separated. 
In a well-managed garden in Middlesex, 
where I was employed as under-gardener, a 
Plum on a wall was judged unworthy of a place 
among the other well-trained trees; but I 
thought by pulling the branches to the thin 
side to balance the tree, it might be worth its 
room. While engaged at this, by the help of 
another, the surface-roots were snapped from 
the under ones ; they were carefully covered, 
and the branches trained as a fan. In the 
course of time, this tree became very handsome 
and fruitful, and was greatly improved by its 
mishap at the roots, showing that by being rid 
of those down in the cold, it turned its surface- 
feeders to good account, where they could be 
encouraged to root upwards, and influenced by 
the warmth of the sun. 
In Wiltshire, I know of a garden which had 
been well planted with all kinds of fruit-trees, 
but in which, however, having found theirwayto 
cold clay subsoil, canker was appearing, along a 
with coarse growth, which never ripened. Most 
of the trees were very large, and scarcity of 
labour-power forbade the lifting of them ; but 
the tap-roots of many were cut off, the surface 
ones were well supplied with fresh* turfy soil, 
and the result was a cure of canker, and the pro¬ 
duction of plenty of fruit, instead of wood and 
leaves only. Some Pears, which were lifted from 
a wall, the roots extracted from the clay, and 
the whole laid out evenly into the well-pre¬ 
pared border, produced during the first season 
scarcely any wood or foliage,—in fact, some of 
them looked as if they were dead,—but the 
effect on them was that the semi-dormant fruit- 
buds revived, and became converted into healthy 
fruit-bearing ones, so that they paid well 
for the amount of labour taken with them. The 
border was 300 ft. long, or more, and to lift the 
whole of the trees, which had been established 
many years, was no trifling matter, with half- 
