320 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 18, 1896. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Pruning. 
There is no operation amongst all the many difficult 
ones that pertain to the domain of gardening that is 
so puzzling to the amateur as pruning. Why a 
certain branch should be cut out in one place, or 
shortened back in another, seems more than he is 
able to comprehend. Or perhaps he gets impressed 
with the idea that pruning is necessary each year, 
and straightway prunes away at his trees until there 
is very little of them left. Mayhap he calls in a 
professional gardener to manipulate his trees for 
him, thinking that by carefully watching how he 
does things he may be able to do likewise. Vain 
hope ! however, is this; for the movements of the 
man with the knife appear to be so eccentric that 
the amateur begins to despair of ever being able to 
master the difficulties and unravel the mysteries of 
pruning. 
It is a great pity that so much fuss should be made 
of so simple an operation. “ We don't doubt that it 
is simple to those who know how to do it, “ replies 
the chorus of amateurs,” but to us who don't it is 
positively bewildering.” Possibly a chat upon the 
subject may help to dispel, at least, some of the 
mystery surrounding it, and may be of service to 
some who are at present in a fix. 
Pruning may be very easily defined as the removal 
of useless or unnecessary wood. The object for 
which every fruit tree is cultivated is undoubtedly 
the production of fruit, and hence any cutting out of 
branches that is to be conducted must always be 
done with an eye to the main chance— i.e., the pro¬ 
curing of good crops of first-class material. Then 
consideration number two comes in—viz., the shape 
of the tree or bush—also an important point, but one 
which should not take precedence of the question of 
crop, although both may be worked together with 
the greatest of ease. We will not attempt at present 
to detail the use of the knife during the earlier stages 
of the tree’s existence, for that is a question that does 
not trouble many amateurs, although it is one that 
may very well form subject-matter for a chat at 
some future time. We have previously intimated 
that the object for growing a fruit tree is to obtain 
fruit. A glance round some places where such trees 
are planted is, however, apt to make one sceptical 
as to this, for many of the trees, alas, are like the 
Fig tree of old, bearing nothing but leaves. What is 
the remedy ? not to cut the trees down, but to give 
them that kind of treatment that shall lead them to 
see the error of their ways. 
Small Fruits. 
We will commence with these for several reasons. 
First of all they are very easy to manage, and their 
pruning is of the simplest possible character. Then 
they are such common objects in our gardens that 
everybody who possesses a garden of any size is sure 
to have a few Gooseberries, Currants, etc. ; and last, 
but by no means least, it is quite time that their 
pruning was taken in hand, as they start into growth 
before the majority of the other subjects have begun 
to think about it. Hence, if these hints upon the 
way to treat them are to be of any service this season 
they must not be delayed. 
Gooseberries. —It is a common remark made by 
some gardeners, Oh ! anybody can prune a Goose¬ 
berry bush.” To this we must give an emphatic 
denial, for anybody can not do this—at least, in the 
way it should be done. How often do we see Goose¬ 
berry bushes more like thickets than anything else, 
which, armed in all their panoply of spines, stand 
invulnerable to the attack of the fruit-picker with 
his basket. It is a bad thing to lose a good crop of 
fruit; it is a worse affair to lose one’s temper ; but 
it is worst of all to lose one's skin. And yet all of 
these calamities are brought about by a negligent or 
ignorant use of the pruning knife. 
With regard to tools, a strong sharp knife, or pair 
of secateurs, a small saw for severing thick branches, 
and a pair of stout leather gloves will be all that is 
required. The necessity of the last-mentioned 
article is apparent. First of all, by means of the 
saw, taka out any old branches that are observed to 
carry only a very few young shoots. After this has 
been done attention must be turned to the centre of 
the tree. After a year or two’s neglect this is sure 
to be filled up with a lot of sappy, sucker-like 
growths, which will never bear any fruit and will 
only monopolise room that is required by other fertile 
branches. These, therefore, must all be cut clean 
out, or, better still, broken out at the base. After 
this has been done the operator must proceed to thin 
out the branches that are left. The idea is to get a 
number of sound, well-ripened branches of the last 
season’s production, which will bear the fruit of the 
season now coming, distributed pretty evenly all 
over the tree. After enough of this thinning-out has 
been done, the shape of the tree must he taken into 
consideration, and, as a well-balanced head of nearly 
spherical outline is the goal for which to strive, 
some of the branches may be shortened back to 
obtain this. 
A note of warning against too much shortening 
back must be sounded. In many places bullfinches 
are a nuisance from their habits of picking out the 
buds. These, of course, may be shot; but sparrows, 
which are nearly as destructive, are far too numerous 
to shoot. It is advisable, therefore, to leave the 
branches fairly long, or it may be found that after prun¬ 
ing, the sparrows have stepped in, or, more correctly 
speaking, flown in, and picked out the whole of the 
remainder of the buds. What the result of this 
would be is obvious even to the most thorough-paced 
amateur. 
It is not advisable to leave any branches on the 
tree that are quite close to the ground, as the fruit 
borne by these only gets splashed with mud, and thus 
spoiled during heavy rains. A clear main stem 
destitute of branches for at least 6 in. above the 
surface of the soil should be aimed at. 
Cordon Trees.— Besides the bush method of 
training there also remains the cordon system, which 
is specially adapted for trees that are to be planted' 
against walls, palings, etc. A few plants of this kind 
against a north wall are invaluable for furnishing a 
supply of late fruit, as they can be netted over easily, 
and will hang in fairly good condition for a long time 
In this case several branches are taken up from near 
the bottom bearing at intervals lateral growths. 
These will now need to be shortened, or spurred 
back, as it is technically called, to within about an 
inch of the base. The leaders, that is to say, the 
topmost growths borne by the main branches, may 
be cut back to some 6 in. or 7 in., and this may go 
on y ear after year until the limit of space in a vertical 
direction is reached.— Rex. 
-—- 
Correspondence. 
Questions ashed by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have alreadv appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
“Amateurs' Page ” on the top of their letters. 
Replies.—Seeing that the planting time is now well 
on, we should strongly advise J. II’. B. to lose no 
time in ordering his fruit trees at once, and not to 
wait until the winter has further advanced. He says 
that the position they are to occupy will not be ready 
for them until another month at least, and that he is 
afraid that the trees would take harm if left out of 
the ground for a week or two till their places are 
ready. Of course they would ; but that difficulty 
need not deter either J. W. B ., or W. Smith, or B. 
The two last-mentioned correspondents also ask how 
trees sent from the nurseries are to be kept without 
injury to the roots till wanted for planting. Easily 
enough ! Just lay them in by the heels in a vacant 
plot of ground, or, in other words, cover their roots 
with a few inches of soil. Exmouth may serve the 
Roses of which he speaks in exactly the same way, 
but we may add here that the sooner these are 
planted in their permanent positions the better. In 
fact, planting of all kinds of subjects should be 
pushed on now with all speed, and thus T. should 
lose no time in getting his Clematis in. We should 
advise him to try C. Jackmanni. This variety 
possesses a very strong constitution, whilst its flori- 
ferousness is proverbial. A healthy plant, bearing a 
profusion of the large, rich, violet-purple flowers 
during the months of July, August, and September, 
is an ornament to any garden. Old Man’s Beard, of 
which our friend, C.G., makes mention, is the common 
name applied to Clematis Vitalba, from the fact that 
the seeds or carpels are furnished with along plume¬ 
like tail. C. G. is right in supposing that this is the 
only member of the genus which is represented 
in Britain. Apropos of British flowers, Wanderer 
comes up with the query as to the best paper to use 
to dry wild plants. Without doubt coarse blotting 
paper is as good as anything, and this has the 
advantage that it can be obtained anywhere. Strong 
bibulous paper expressly intended for such work will 
doubtless be supplied on order from the nearest 
stationer. 
Onions under glass.—Kindly give me a few instruc¬ 
tions as to the best plan to pursue to raise Onions 
under glass. I sowed in the open last year, but did 
not have good luck, and so I want to try another 
plan.— J. Ayres. 
Get two or three shallow pans, drain them well, 
and fill them nearly full of fine soil. The surface 
should be carefully levelled, and the seeds sprinkled 
evenly over its surface. Then lightly sprinkle 
enough fine sandy soil over the seed to cover it. 
The seed pans should be stood near the glass in a 
house or pit having a temperature of about 48° Fahr. 
by night. Ailsa Craig and Sutton’s Ai are both 
admirable sorts for treating in this way. 
Maidenhair Ftrn.—When may I pot my Maiden¬ 
hair Fern ? It was cut down last November, and has 
been standing on a shelf in the greenhouse ever since. 
— J. 0 . F. 
You should not attempt to disturb the plant until 
it commences to shows signs of breaking into growth, 
which will probably be in the course of the next 
month or so. Meanwhile it may be kept in the 
quiescent state it has been in since it was cut down. 
It will start away all the stronger presently for the 
rest now. Do not over-water. 
Washing a Peach Tree.—I have a tree that is 
infested with scale. What method would you 
recommend for cleaning it ?— Enquirer. 
The best plan will be to make up a wash of 
Gishurst Compound. Three ounces of this may be 
dissolved in a gallon of tepid soft water. All the 
wood of the tree upon which scale is observed may 
be washed with this, applying it with a soft brush. 
In dealing with the smaller branches, great care must 
be exercised, for the buds are very easily knocked 
out. 
A Variegated Abutilon.—I have a large plant of 
Abutilon Brilliant, with green leaves, planted out in 
a border in my conservatory. About a year ago it 
developed a shoot which was completely mottled or 
variegated. I took this off and struck it, and it is 
now a plant about 3 ft. high, with large, beautifully 
variegated foliage. Could you kindly tell me what it 
is, or if any nurserymen advertise any similar 
variety ? It has large red flowers like its parent.— 
A Novice. 
We could not give a name to your plant without a 
look at a leaf and flower of it, but from your descrip¬ 
tion there is nothing on the market exactly like it. 
The well-known variegated A. Thompsoni has flowers 
veined with red and heavily mottled with yellow. 
The variegation of the leaves in this case, however, 
is in a great measure governed by the circumstances 
in which the plant is placed. If it makes very 
luxuriant growth, the leaves very often revert to the 
normal green hue. We have noticed in other 
Abutilons occasional tendencies towards variegated 
foliage, but these freaks have never proved constant. 
Forcing House.—I want to put up a small, low 
house to strike cuttings and raise seeds in Which 
way should it face in order to suit my purpose best ? 
— Tomato. 
If you propose erecting a lean-to, the house should 
run from east to west and face due south. If, on the 
other hand, you prefer a span-roof, it should run 
north and south. The span-roof would undoubtedly 
be the best for the purpose, as it affords the maximum 
amount of light, which is a very important consider¬ 
ation in the early months of the year, when the 
putting in of cuttings, as well as the sowing of seed, 
has to be vigorously prosecuted. 
Worms in Flower Pots — Dion complains that worms 
have taken possession of the soil in his flower pots, 
and wants to know what he is to do with them. 
Why, get them out as soon as you can ! Knock 
the plants carefully out of their pots, and if you can 
catch a sight of the intruders pick them out with a 
pointed stick, after which the plants may be put back 
into the pots again. In another couple of months' 
time the plants should be re-potted and a good deal 
of the old soiL shaken from them, but it would not be 
safe to disturb them in this way now. 
Crataegus Pyracantha is the name of the shrub you 
send us, Felix. It is, as you say, an exceedingly hand¬ 
some plant, and a very conspicuous object on many 
a cottage and villa wall at this time of the year. The 
orange-scarlet fruits show up splendidly, and bang 
on the trees for a long time. The plant is hardy 
