December 20, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
253 
small pot, according to the size of the plant, if well 
stimulated with manure water in the growing season, 
as it is a gross feeder and roots strongly. 
For growing into bush plants for placing in the 
open air in summer, it is very good. When residing 
in one place in North Hants for several years, I grew on 
two plants of this Cassia into large specimens in 
large pots, placing them in suitable positions by the 
front door of the mansion, which was built of red and 
white brick. Here, when in bloom, the effect was 
very good, contrasting well with the surroundings. 
Undoubtedly the plant is more hardy than many 
think. I remember some years ago seeing this Cassia 
growing against an open wall, full of bloom, covering a 
wall space of from 10 ft. to 12 ft. square, in a garden 
in Purbeck Isle, Dorset, and I was assured it had been 
there three winters, having nothing but a mat to 
protect it.— Con. 
-- 
TRAINING FRUIT TREES. 
The art of training fruit trees was rigorously enforced 
by some of our early teachers, and fortunate was the 
under gardener who was a pupil of one of those old 
masters. I may here remark, for the strict observance 
of my younger brethren, that it is rare to see such 
exact training in modern gardens as may be seen in 
numbers of the gardens whose fame as sites and centres 
of horticulture may be traced back for the greater part 
of a century. Happily there are still to be found 
members of the profession who not only possess the 
requisite training in this art, but who also put it into 
practice. Would that there were more ! To be able 
to train a fruit tree, be it for wall, espalier, or standard, 
was at one time considered a sine qud non, and it is still 
so in some instances, in a literal sense. 
What is more pleasing in a bare garden or orchard in 
the dull days of winter, than a number of well-trained 
trees of various forms ? However .absolutely dull and 
prosaic any one may be, it is usually observable that 
they can notice a tree, and also descant on its even 
proportions, its quaintness, or its unique formation. 
And were this all, it would be so far gratifying; but 
these are only points of quality from a spectatorial 
point of view. In many cases from a practical point of 
view one or other of the various modes find favour for 
the different varieties in the various classes of fruit. 
Take horizontal training as an instance, and it will be 
found that trees that have a tendency to be rampant 
are very considerably counterbalanced in that direction 
by this mode of training, as against fan, oblique, or 
vertical. In the latter three modes the growth has all 
its own way upwards, and naturally that goes to the 
points. 
For trees again that may not be well furnished along 
the branches, if brought down from any of the latter 
modes and trained as in the former, they may ultimately 
yield to the change and produce growth where there 
was no indication of it before. Another modification 
of the horizontal may be found in the bending of the 
branches towards the points downwards. I have known 
this to put trees into bearing very quickly, and continue 
ever afterwards. Procumbent training is very graceful, 
while it lends variety, and this mode is thoroughly 
adaptable in riders. Riders are generally planted to 
furnish high walls rapidly, and are only looked upon 
in such positions as supernumeraries ; but if found 
superior to the dwarf, or permanent trees, they may be 
re-trained, and trained in procumbent fashion, with 
decided advantage. These methods described are more 
generally adapted to the hardier fruits, such as Apples 
and Pears, but are nevertheless very ornamental, and 
frequently useful. 
Fan training is of all others the simplest, the safest, 
the most natural, and most economical, inasmuch as it 
suits the maiority of fruits. Not only does it suit the 
character of most trees, but its applicability is general 
from various standpoints. One of these, and that 
too the most important, is the facility with which 
a defaced tree may be rendered attractive, or an 
accidental occurrence in the loss of a branch or branches 
may in a short time, and with a minimum of trouble, 
be made good—indeed, quite as good as ever it had 
been previously. It may seem irksome—and probably 
it is so—to have to make recourse to substituting one 
branch for the destruction or decay of another, yet 
with such adaptability as this mode of training admits, 
mishaps, while minimised, are practically nil. 
Horizontal training, as I have already remarked, is 
very suitable for rampant growers, and has the 
advantage over most other modes in running the 
growth into a more regular channel, and at the same 
time affords the necessary applicability of adapting 
itself for espalier training better than the majority of 
others, while it is, to say the least of it, next in 
importance to fan training. Its applicability, however, 
is of a restrictive nature in some respects, and the first 
and most regrettable is the fact of it only being adapted 
in a general sense to the hardier fruits, such as Apples 
and Pears. To say that it cannot be applied to other 
fruits would be misleading, while to advise its adapt¬ 
ability for such as Plums, Peaches and Nectarines in 
the same way as the fan would be equally misleading, 
although I have seen splendid samples of Peach and 
Nectarine culture on a modification of horizontal— i.e., 
the main limbs were trained horizontally, while the 
bearing or young wood was trained obliquely betwixt 
the limbs. 
Pendent training may be introduced on trees that 
have been trained in either of the above modes, but it 
will be found most applicable on those with long, bare 
stems—riders-—and when, well done the trees have 
a graceful appearance, and more than that, they are 
frequently more productive thus trained. The latter 
acquisition, minus the former, is at times an induce¬ 
ment, and certainly one of primary consideration ; yet 
in any mode of training that may be accomplished, if 
due attention is paid to root-pruning as well as branch- 
pruning, the results may be calculated. 
Oblique and vertical training is most suitable for 
cordons, and these of themselves, where variety is 
aimed at in a circumscribed area, lend an interest in 
pomology quite interesting and unique. A few 
hundreds of cordons on walls or espaliers, or trained 
horizontally on wires within 1 ft. or 2 ft. of the ground, 
to form edgings to borders, quarters, &c., impart an 
appearance which enhances the beauty while it enriches 
the collection of what might otherwise be very meagre 
indeed. For small gardens, where collection versus 
selection is a desideratum, I would advise the use of 
cordons trained in any form, as affording at once a 
feature in training, while the interest they enlist is of a 
most pleasing nature, not only while in fruit, but also 
while leafless, in blossom, and in th3 varied tints of 
autumn. Frequently do we find Currants of sorts 
trained vertically on walls where little else would 
succeed, and in this way space is utilised that might 
otherwise be an obstacle—a positive eyesore. Doubtless 
many climbing plants are suitable for such positions, 
but I am writing in the interest of fruit culture, and 
may remark where Currants of any kind will succeed 
so also will Morello Cherries. 
Standard trees, too, deserve a word in passing, and 
while their training is simple it is at the same time 
interesting. We rarely see examples of fanciful training 
in these now as compared with those of a quarter of a 
century and more ago, nor do we find many advocates 
of the cup-and-saucer, the pyramid run to a point that 
would almost refuse rest to a sparrow, nor the balloon, 
inside of which the curious were ever prone to look for 
fruit and fine none. Yet we have seen on all these 
fanciful shapes good crops, indeed we have had hut to 
look on the exterior of the latter two to see fruit that 
would satisfy the cravings and likings of the most 
fastidious, while both surfaces of the former two yielded 
as a rule an even percentage of useful fruit. For Pears 
the pyramid is very suitable, while for Apples, Plums 
and Cherries there is nothing better than the good, 
open, equally-balanced bush form. We have also seen 
all of these in other forms, and notably the Apple and 
Pear, which we have seen subjected to contortions 
rendering them more like specimens of Hornbeam than 
anything else. Unquestionably in these days of speedy 
returns less attention is given to the subject of training 
than hitherto obtained ; still it is an interesting art, 
and one well calculated to suit the likes and the dis¬ 
likes of a numerous class. — J. Proctor, G-lenfinart. 
-- 
AMERICAN BLIGHT. 
The question of the American Blight formed the 
subject of conversation at a recent meeting of the 
Ealing Gardeners’ Society. The American Blight— 
aphis, as it is sometimes called—is Schizoneura lani- 
gerce, and the insect is deep purplish brown in colour, 
and the well-known bluish-white cottony material 
naturally exudes from the insects. It is said on good 
authority that, generally speaking, it comes first on 
trees that are grafted on dwarfing stocks, especially the 
bad forms of the Paradise Apple ; but it soon spreads, 
and the healthiest trees acquire the taint, and once 
affected it is difficult to restore them to health. 
Mr. Geo. Cannon, the manager at Messrs. C. Lee & 
Son’s Fruit Tree Nursery, at Ealing, related the mode 
he adopts to get rid of this pest upon Apple trees. He 
stated that most nurseries had a little of this blight, 
but the proportion in which they had it depended on 
the perseverance with which it was sought to be kept 
down. He did not know of any insect that increased 
faster than this blight would do if it was allowed to 
have its own way. A solution of soft soap, quassia 
chips, and paraffin, with water, was the method he 
adopted in the destruction of this pest; the difficulty 
to be dealt with was to know how to apply that solution 
in a manner which would destroy the insect without 
injuring the tree. Half-a-pound of soft soap should be 
added to four gallons of water (the soap having been 
previously boiled in one or two gallons of this quantity 
of water), and half-a-pound of quassia chips should be 
used. Some boiled the quassia, but his idea was that 
more of the bitter essence of the quassia was obtained 
from the wood by it being allowed to soak in cold 
water for a day or two than by boiling it. The quassia 
should be placed in a canvas bag, and deposited in the 
water with something heavy upon it ; in that manner 
the strength of the quassia was drawn out. The quassia 
water having been added to the water in which the 
soft soap had been dissolved, the mixture in its then 
state (without the addition of paraffin) would be suffi¬ 
cient where the blight was only in a mild form, and, 
on account of the tendency of paraffin to injure the 
trees, it was safer to use this mixture of soap and 
quassia alone, especially upon the young growth in the 
summer time. Should the paraffin be added, care 
should be taken, by constant stirring, that it was mixed 
as far as possible with the other solution ; otherwise 
the oil would float to the top, and if the brush with 
which the operation was performed was dipped into 
the top of the mixture, it was likely to carry away with 
it an undue pr oportion of the oil, and if that was 
applied to young trees, it would be like applying raw 
paraffin to them, which was very injurious. The pro¬ 
portion of paraffin to be used should be half-a-pint to 
four gallons of water. The mixture could be applied 
either with a brush or syringe. He warned his hearers 
that to effect the destru ction of this insect more than 
one application of the mixture must be resorted to, and 
that they were not to suppose that because they had 
apparently effaced all traces of it on a tree that there¬ 
fore they had got rid of it. This insect returned to the 
ground, and in the following spring, from the ground, 
invariably again found its way up the stems of the 
trees ; in fact, in the spring it must be looked for near 
the ground, rather than near the tops of the trees. He 
was told that the addition of milk (boiled) would cause 
the paraffin to mix more effectively with the other 
ingredients he had named. He had himself tried the 
effect of milk, and he certainly thought that with it 
the oil was better dispersed ; at any rate, the experi- 
ment could be cheaply made, and it was worth trying 
where tender plants had to be dealt with. 
One speaker stated that some varieties of the Appltf 
appeared to be more infested with this blight than 
others. As a cure he syringed the trees with a solution 
composed of half-a-pint of paraffin to four gallons of 
water; he applied that to trees in young leaf and 
making full growth, and found no injury to result. He 
was certainly able to keep the blight in check by that 
means, but could not say that he got rid of it. Mr. 
Cannon had pointed out that the blight returned to 
the trees from the ground : in connection with that 
matter, it was said that soot sprinkled heavily under the 
trees would prevent the insect rising again. He 
intended to try that plan in the ensuing spring ; at 
present he could not speak personally as to the efficacy 
of the method. 
In their useful book on the culture of vegetables and 
flowers from seeds, Messrs. Sutton & Sons have an 
instructive and interesting article on the “Pests of 
Garden Plants,” and under the head of American 
Blight they state they have seen affected trees which 
had suffered from the ravages of the blight restored to 
health by scrubbing them with dandy brushes dipped 
in hot brine, a dandy brush being one used in the 
dressing of horses. This must be done during winter, 
or before the trees come into leaf in spring, and mats 
must be spread to catch the splashes, because, if the 
tree is growing in grass, it will kill the verdure beneath 
the trees if allowed to drop upon it. A careful pruning 
should accompany the washing, and the prunings 
should be burnt. In the course of the summer the 
woolly pest will appear again, and should be extirpated 
by carefully washing the patches with methylated 
spirit—methylated spirit being spirit of wine five-and- 
a-half per cent, over proof, mixed with wood naptha 
or methylic spirit. The aphis wash is said to be a 
sure remedy for woolly aphis : and pure water will go 
some way towards cleansing the trees if well brushed 
into the wounds this destructive insect produces in the 
bark of the trees. A good paint for Apple trees it is 
also said may be made with Gishurst Compound, at the 
rate of 8 ozs. to 1 gallon of water, with a little fine 
clay added to make it adhesive. This should be 
applied before the trees begin to grow in spring. 
