Marches, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
421 
ROOT FIBRES IN WINTER. 
Much controversy is being carried on just now on 
this subject, as divers opinions are held regarding 
their action during the winter months. That those 
of different classes of plants vary in their action 
there can be no two opinions, but how, or in what 
way they are influenced by the variation of the 
weather or the position of the plants it is difficult to 
understand. All are more or less active at all times ; 
with some the greater part of the roots are made in 
the autumn after the heavy rains, with others the 
spring time is their most active period, while others 
make the principal portion in summer. But all are 
active even in severe weather, otherwise newly 
planted trees would not suffer so much through the 
severity of our winters. 
Let us for a moment or two look at the various 
classes and see how they 
are effected after being 
moved in the early autumn. 
If we transplant say a 
Sycamore in October, just 
as the leaves are falling, 
and take it up again " if 
the weather has continued 
open” in December, we 
shall find that it has made 
new white roots from two 
to three inches long. If 
allowed to remain in the 
ground undisturbed, these 
roots would ripen, that 
is turn brown, during the 
winter, except at their 
points, which are ready 
to start afresh with more 
vigour as the soil becomes 
warmer in spring. We 
will take a Spanish Chest¬ 
nut as another example. 
If a tree of this be moved 
in October, young roots 
are not so readily formed. 
Why ? Because in the 
first instance the roots of 
the two plants are quite 
different in texture, for 
those of this class are 
more firm in their young 
state; the wood is also 
harder, and on that ac¬ 
count the sap does not 
flow so quickly. If a 
tree of this class be 
planted at the same time 
as a Sycamore, and both 
taken up two months 
afterwards,it will be found 
that, whereas one has 
made a quantity of roots 
the other will only just be 
starting, thus showing 
that the fibres of all trees 
do not grow in the same 
manner. 
Now if we transplant 
some deciduous shrubs say 
in December, even if there 
has been no frost pre¬ 
viously, we shall find 
that they do not grow so 
rapidly in spring as those transplanted in October. 
How is this ? Well, a few observations made by 
myself may help to explain the matter a little. It 
has been my lot to move a quantity of large trees of 
various kinds at different seasons of the year. These 
have varied in height from twenty to forty feet, both 
evergreens and deciduous. When removing a large 
Juglans cinerea, "American Butter Nut Tree,” 
about twenty feet high, some years ago early in 
October, what I thought at the time a most 
remarkable occurrence took place. The weather 
was fine and warm, and continued so till the tree 
was got out of the hole. There was not the least 
sign of bleeding at the roots when they were cut 
through, neither did any take place till we had had 
a sharp frost. It was our custom at night after 
leaving work to damp the roots with a syringe and 
water, then cover them over with mats; this was 
done to prevent them drying too much. One night 
there came a sharp frost, but the sun came out 
bright in the morning, so we went to work as usual; 
no sooner had the sun thawed the branches than the 
sap commenced to run out of the roots that had been 
cut off, in such a manner that one would almost 
have thought that water was running out of them, 
this continued all day till the ground round where 
the tree was standing was as though it had been 
raining. Now if these roots had not been 
severed, the sap would have been driven down to 
their points there to have formed new fibres. 
Again, let us take evergreens. When frost comes 
how is it that the leaves of these droop ? is it 
because the sap is driven out of them down into the 
roots, or what ? We will see. Suppose, for example, 
we take a Rhododendron and common Laurel of 
large size, and cut them down to within a foot of the 
ground in very severe weather. The former has for 
the most part fibrous roots closely interwoven 
AnGRAECUM SESqUIPEDALE. 
together that the soil becomes one mass. The latter 
are more of a fleshy nature, and spread out further 
from the stem. The sap having been driven down 
to the roots by the frost and when in that condition 
they were cut down, it will be found that when a 
thaw takes place so that the soil becomes warmed, 
the sap of the Rhododendron will flow to such an 
extent as to run down the branch, so that if a vessel 
be put to catch it, some idea of the amount thus 
exuded may be gained. This is not the case how¬ 
ever with the Laurel, for though it may discharge a 
little, the wound will soon heal over and growth 
commence. Why is this ? because the roots of the 
latter were more active and took up a portion of the 
sap that was driven down. It will be noticed that 
these two shrubs commence growing at different 
times. The former not till late in the season, while 
the latter is excited by the first warm weather in 
February. 
Why is it that newly planted trees and shrubs 
suffer more than those which are established ? This 
in my opinion is because of the sap being driven out 
of them so that they are not able to recoup them¬ 
selves. Had the wounds on the roots been healed 
over and young roots formed these would have been 
able to furnish the stems with the necessary 
, sustenance. Let us return and examine a Vine root 
and see what we can find there. When the leaves 
fall, the long, white, flesby roots turn brown except 
at their tips, and these lose their outer skin or bark 
and attain a more solid form. But the points are 
always active, and the least excitement would cause 
them to push at a greater pace. The same may be 
said of Peaches and various other trees. Coniferae 
make a number of roots during the showery weather 
in the autumn, more especially the Cupressus and 
Retinosporas. Some plants we know make a fresh 
set of roots with the young growths, pushing them 
out of a rhizome. It 
would be better if we more 
perfectly understood the 
nature of roots, and their 
actions, for by so doing 
we should then be better 
able to attend to their re¬ 
quirements.-H.C. Princep. 
I THINK "W. P. R.,” in 
your issue of February 24, 
has very fairly alluded to 
the above subject, and as I 
gather from his few re¬ 
marks he bears out the 
view that Mr. Williams 
had enunciated in his re¬ 
cent paper read before the 
members of the Preston 
and Fulwood Horticul¬ 
tural Society. Of course, 
extremely opposite views 
may be stated, and 
opinions just as adverse 
may be held, when differ¬ 
ent subjects are taken into 
consideration, but in the 
case of fruit trees, bush 
fruits, forest trees, &c., I 
venture to think the pre¬ 
vailing opinion is that the 
small fibres do not annu. 
ally perish. This view I 
should hold, and not only 
so, but quite believe that 
during autumn and early 
winter the roots are even 
more active than in early 
spring. 
It seems to me that buds 
on slender shoots, and root 
action do not always com¬ 
mence activity simultane¬ 
ously. The early growth is 
pushed on and far ad¬ 
vanced ere much move, 
ment or extension has 
taken place at the roots, 
and so too, in autumn, 
when growth is finished, 
fruit ripened, and leaves 
shed, the roots are active 
for some time, securing, 
and figuratively speaking 
storing up a supply for the 
coming spring when top growth again commences. 
Local injury may cause the death of portions of roots, 
but that all fibres die of the class of trees I have 
mentioned I cannot imagine, and want further proof 
ere I can believe it.—IP. Swan, Exmouth. 
-- 
RHODODENDRON MULTIOOLOR OURTISII. 
This is one of the small leaved types of the Javan 
Rhododendrons, with oblanceolate, smooth, deep 
green leaves. The flowers are short and bell¬ 
shaped, that is, there is no long tube such as occurs 
in R. jasminiflorum and the hybrids, more or less 
directly derived from it. The five lobes of the 
lamina are imbricate, revolute at the tips, and of a 
shining dark red. The stamens and style are also 
red, but the ovary which shows itself is green. 
About three to six of these flowers are produced in 
a cluster. A plant has been flowering for sometime 
pasi in the stove at Kew. If it would be too much 
to describe it as conspicuous or showy compared 
with the larger flowering types of Javan Rhododen¬ 
drons, it is at least pretty. 
