January!?, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
293 
bright magenta corolla, with a deeper edge of carmine- 
red ; very stout, free and fine. "VVinnifred Glass, blush 
tube and sepals ; rich carmine corolla, shaded with 
magenta ; small, but very free, pleasing and effective. 
It is often said that a successful cultivator of any 
particular flower is one of the best judges of the value 
of seedlings. After making due allowance for Mr. 
Lye : s partiality to his own seedlings, there is quite 
sufficient margin for the public to place a general con¬ 
fidence in his mature judgment. I am certain that if 
some of the many gardeners about the country, who 
grow Fuchsias for summer decoration, w T ere to exchange 
some of their old sorts for the newer ones Mr. Lye 
has raised from time to time, they would be large 
gainers thereby.— R. D. 
-- 
TREES AND SHRUBS : 
PRUNING. 
Ik former papers we have dealt with the subjects, 
when, how and what to plant, and we laid down under 
these headings such directions as we thought likely to 
prove acceptable to the readers of The Gardening 
World. There is one more aspect of the subject 
to which some reference should be made, and it is that 
of pruning. This is a matter of great importance, and 
one in reference to which a great deal might be written, 
but we will content ourselves with throwing out a few 
suggestions likely to prove useful. 
One modem authority has said, “If you want 
hushes, not trees, do not prune ; if you want trees, 
not bushes, let them be trained to a single stem. ” This 
is expressing a good deal in a small compass, but this 
remark must be taken as applying more to deciduous 
trees than to conifers ; most of the latter only push 
out lateral branches from the lowest part of the stem, 
and are thus feathered to the ground, without throwing 
up more than one main trunk. But deciduous trees, 
especially where they have sufficient room, frequently 
throw up two or three stems which rival each other, 
or strong shoots from the lower part of the stems, 
which become large branches in time. If the rival 
stems are not all excised but one, and if the branches 
springing low from that stem are not lopped off, no 
tree will then be formed, but only a large bush. 
The following remarks are intended to apply to the 
pruning of ornamental trees. The pruning of fruit treesis 
based on quite different principles, andis directed towards 
securing the largest quantity and best quality of fruit, 
quite irrespective of appearance. The main objects 
sought to be secured by pruning are :—first, to develop 
a handsome and healthy main trunk, which is only to 
diverge into branches at a given height from the ground. 
When trees are grown in close proximity to each other, 
as in woods, nature performs the office of denuding the 
stems of their lower branches. When in such close 
contact, want of air and deficiency of light, combined 
with the mechanical effect of friction and the natural 
tendency of the sap upwards, cause the destruction of 
all but the upper limbs of the trees. But, whilst in a 
spacious forest a multitude of tall branchless trunks, 
canopied over by foliage high over our heads, possess 
a beauty and majesty quite their own, such a feature 
in isolated specimens or in small clumps would lose its 
charm. Second, the object in pruning is to obtain a 
symmetrical shape by lopping otf straggling boughs or 
branches, clearing part of the shoots that grow inside 
the head when they are too numerous, cutting away all 
dead wood and unhealthy growths, &e., &c. 
In pruning a tree, the operator should cut away the 
branch that is doomed close to the trunk, and the bark 
will soon “callus” over and cover the scar. In the 
case of forest-pruning, it is held that a branch should 
he amputated at a foot or more from the trunk, or else 
the excision will cause knots in the timber. However 
this may be as applied to forestry, it cannot apply to 
the pruning of ornamental trees ; for nothing can be 
uglier than these “ snags,” as such projecting old 
stumps are called. 
Then, in training young trees to a stem it should be 
done by degrees, year after year, till the stem has been 
denuded as high as is desired. Some at once cut away 
all the lateral branches of a young tree, except a few 
at the extreme top of the sapling. Others do still 
worse. With a view of forcing an upward growth, 
they cut away the side branches to within a few inches 
of the stem, leaving the ugly snags on to push a few 
weak twigs the next year. The result of this treatment 
is that the desired upward growth is obtained with a 
vengeance. The stem hardly grows in thickness, the 
sap rises to the few uncut boughs at the top, and there 
is obtained a tall, thin, weakly object that will never 
form a satisfactory tree at all. It is the development 
of the side branches which promotes expansion in the 
diameter of the main stem, and the lower ones must 
only be removed by degrees, when those higher up 
appear sufficiently numerous for the young tree to bear 
the loss of the lower ones with impunity. If a young 
bough shows a propensity to grow out of place, or to an 
undue length, so as to require repression, this may be 
effected whilst in a young stage of growth, by simply 
pinching off its extremity, thus arresting its further 
extension. 
The proper time to prune trees is between the ces¬ 
sation of their growth in autumn, and the movement 
of their sap in spring. The amputation during summer 
of the -woody parts is injurious to them in many ways, 
and in many cases produces a copious discharge of sap 
(termed “bleeding”), which considerably weakens 
them. But the process of trimming hedges or (where 
there is a fancy for such things) clipping evergreens 
into fantastic shapes, is performed in summer, as this 
promotes a second growth from the parts that are left 
untouched, which makes the foliage and spray denser. 
-- 
SANDERSONIA AU R ANTI AC A. 
The habit of this plant resembles that of the well- 
known Gloriosa superba, and both are, of course, 
members of the extensive Lily family. The persistent 
root-stock of the plant is a tuber, while the long slender 
nature of the leafy stems necessitates the plant being 
grown as a climber. The pendulous orange-yellow 
flowers are freely produced in the axils of the upper 
leaves, and bear little or no resemblance to those of 
Gloriosa, which have spreading and wavy or crisped 
segments. The flower is, perhaps, most readily com¬ 
parable to that of Urceolina pendula as to position and 
colour, but has no affinity with that genus. It may also 
be compared to a single yellow Tulip inverted, with six 
short spur-like processes at the base. Being a native of 
South Africa, in the vicinity of Natal, the plant will 
succeed in a much lower temperature than that required 
by Gloriosa. We have seen it grown in a greenhouse 
devoted to the cultivation of Heaths and Cape bulbs, 
and trained to the rafters as it grows. Being tuberous 
and deciduous, it requires a season of rest, when it may 
be kept almost perfectly dry. A mixture of two-thirds 
of fibrous lumpy loam, one-third of fibrous peat, and a 
quantity of sharp sand forms a suitable compost in 
which to grow the tubers. 
-- 
HEATING AND VENTILATING. 
Mr. R. Stevens asks, what would be the result to 
the plants in a house heated and ventilated on the 
principle advocated in No. 118, p. 213, during bright 
sunny weather? Now, I think, that your correspondent, 
when reading the article, did not pay sufficient atten¬ 
tion to the details of the proposed plan, or he would 
not have spoken of a house enclosed in a case of hot 
air. If he looks at the sketch and explanation again, 
he will find that by closing the ventilator B and 
in opening the one at D the external air will be admitted 
into the enclosed space, and provision having been 
made for its exit at the apex of the roof, a current of 
cool air will be produced, which, I think, will give a 
house on the suggested plan an immense advantage 
over those of ordinary construction. 
I must confess to a very limited acquaintance with 
the plan of double glazing. The one instance which 
I saw most of was put up by an enthusiastic amateur, 
who always spoke highly of the plan, and found his 
Orchids did much better under the double glazing than 
in his other houses ; less forcing being required, and a 
suitable atmosphere more easily maintained. His ver¬ 
dict was, that during hot weather he had less trouble 
to keep this house cool than the others. The utility 
of the proposed plan will, I think, be apparent to many 
having the charge of ranges of houses where, for a 
considerable part of the winter, the chief object of 
firing is to keep the frost out, and which, under 
existing arrangements, often proves an expensive 
operation. The bulk of water to be heated necessitates 
a consumption of fuel out of all proportion to what 
would be used under the plan proposed, which would, 
moreover, often enable the attendant to defer the 
lighting of the fires till a later time, because the small 
quantity of water in the lf-in. piping would take little 
time to heat ; and its manifest advantages in case of 
sudden, unexpected frost, will commend it to the 
judgment of many. 
I am of an opinion that in many instances vineries 
would be more easily and economically managed on 
this plan ; for oftentimes during bright weather, with 
a low night temperature, the fires have to be driven 
hard to keep up the requisite degree of heat. When 
the sun shines out on the glass, the thermometer will 
indicate a temperature above what is really requisite or 
desirable, and that arid condition of the internal air is 
generated, which is conducive to the production of red- 
spider, making the admission of cold air from the out¬ 
side by the opening of the top lights a disagreeable 
necessity. This, under careless management, is a very 
frequent cause of mildew by the production of a cold 
draught. Now, we will suppose a lean-to house—say, 
28 ft. in length by 16 ft. in width, the roof measuring 
20 ft. from front to top, at present heated by 180 ft. of 
4-in. piping, to which the foregoing remarks will 
apply—heated and glazed on the plan proposed at 
p. 213, with 7 rows of If barrel piping, shut up at the 
usual time with the sun on it. This would, in con¬ 
sequence of being doubly glazed, retain the sun-heat 
much longer, while the small quantity of water in the 
pipes could be readily raised to a great heat, and the 
temperature of the house maintained to the desired 
point with little or no assistance from any internal 
apparatus. As soon as the sun shone on the glass 
with sufficient power to render ventilation necessary, 
the lower outside ventilator and the upper inside one 
being opened, a current of air would pass between the 
two layers of glass, and entering the house warmed, a 
circulation of air would be produced without the 
creation of a cold draught. 
In very warm weather the admission of air in the 
usual way would sometimes be necessary. In houses’ 
heated on this plan, drip would be almost unknown, 
and less damping, syringing and watering would be 
required. There is an objection which occurred to my 
own mind, and I feel rather surprised that it has not 
been urged by your correspondent, namely, how far 
would it do to depend entirely on this plan against all 
