26 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Sept. 13th, 1884, 
FRUITS. 
Classification of Peaches. —The floral cha¬ 
racters of the tree have long been used in the 
classification of Peaches and Nectarines, but the 
result was not always satisfactory, for as, pointed 
out by M. Carriere in the Revue Horticole, in an 
article we here give in a condensed form, what 
would be small-flowered for one person would be 
medium-sized for another, or vice versai, and the 
medium-sized of one would be large-flowered of 
another. All this he proposes to remedy by making- 
use of other characters in the flowers not hitherto 
employed. He then goes on to say :—When one 
examines the flowers of the Peach it is at once 
seen that they present two general forms; in the 
one form the flowers are long and attenuate at the 
base, and, in general, but slightly expanded at 
the tip, which rather gives them the shape 
of a little bell—whence the term campanulaceus; 
these are the “ small flowers ” of horticulturists. 
In the other group the flowers are spread out, and 
have a relatively short base, the broadly aboval, 
sometimes broadly subelliptical, petals meet or 
overlap by their edges in such a manner that the 
whole almost exactly recalls a small single-flowered 
rose—whence the term rosaceous ; in this class also 
the stamens are more spread out, and much more 
rumpled or confused; this class corresponded to 
those called “large flowers.” There is still another 
intermediate group with medium-sized flowers* 
but these do not form a section properly so called, 
but by their general characters fall into the cam- 
panulaceous division; in these the petals are always 
distant and acute, and at their extreme expansion 
form a sort of star ; while the stamens have the 
filaments straighter, and form a sort of brush in 
the centre of the flower. 
Although it may not be possible to establish 
absolute limits between these groups, one can, after 
a few practical comparisons, distinguish the two 
large groups : campanulaceous and rosaceous, in¬ 
cluding the intermediate forms, which by their 
general characters, attach themselves to the cam- 
panulaceous group. We do not claim that this 
classification is perfect, bu; experience has pointed 
out to us, that, the difficulties are infinitely less than 
by all other systems employed up to the present. 
If one adds to these characters taken from the 
flowers those derived from the leaves, it will be easy, 
even for a person completely ignorant of botany, to 
class the varieties of Peaches. To distinguish the 
latter from one another is rather more difficult, 
since for that it would be necessary to make use 
of a third series of characters derived from the 
fruits. 
The characters to be applied in a complete classi¬ 
fication, then, form three series, the study of which 
cannot be simultaneous—first, that of the flowers, 
then that of the leaves, and, finally, that of the fruits. 
In the spring, when the Peaches are in flower, each 
tree must be examined, and marked with a 
number; then its flowers must be noted exactly 
—the form or shape first; then, as secondary 
characters, the relative dimensions, which will 
serve later on to distinguish the varieties from 
each other. These notes ought to be entered 
into a book, so that none may be mislaid. During 
the summer, when the leaves are well developed, 
an examination of these latter in the way already 
explained should be made, analogous to that of the 
flowers; and later on will come the study of the 
fruits. The study will thus be relatively complete, 
a whole whose judicious application will lead on 
easily from the general classification of Peaches to 
the distinguishing features of the several varieties. 
—Florist and Pomologist. 
Peach Leaves Cubling. — A correspondent,, at 
p. 10, complains about the leaves of his Peach and 
Nectarine trees curling, and suggests that it might 
have been caused by the fogs, when the leaves were 
form in g in the spring. In an unheated orchard house 
this might happen, if the atmosphere was very 
damp, and the ventilators not open sufficiently; 
but even in an unheated house the leaves would 
not be injured by any fogs if the trees were in good 
health, and the atmosphere, as it ought to be in 
cold foggy weather, was kept comparatively dry. 
The usual reason of the leaves curling is, that they 
are attacked by the Peach aphis. It will cause them 
to curl badly, and if allowed to have its way will 
destroy the leaves near the points of the growing 
shoots altogether. It is best to fumigate the trees 
just before the flowers open, and this will perhaps 
rid them of the pest for the season. If there are 
only a few trees attacked, dipping the shoots in soft, 
soapy water will kill the insects.— J. Douglas. 
Transplanting and Benovating Fruit Tree8, 
—Autumn is again upon us, and with it comes the 
season of fruit tree planting, which work cannot 
now be taken in hand too soon, nor that of starting 
to renovate any that are weakly or decrepid, which 
may, if the proper course were taken, be often 
brought round, instead of which, in the majority of 
cases, they are grubbed up and destroyed. The 
first preliminary towards the re-establishment of 
health in trees that are sickly, is to open up the 
ground immediately around them in s^ch a way as 
to lay bare the principal roots, which should be 
examined, and, if found cankered or diseased, cut 
towards their extreme ends that they may be lifted 
and laid in afresh in new soil. If this is done at 
once, while there are plenty of green leaves on 
the plants, feeders will quickly form, and these 
vcill get good hold of the soil before winter 
sets in. The best soil for very old trees, and 
the same for the planting of young ones, is 
virgin loam, such as may be dug from old 
pastures, or obtained from waste places by the 
roadside, choice being made of that which is 
yellow and full of fibre, and if it is inclined to be 
stiff the more suitable will it be for all except stone 
fruits, which like a little grit and chalk or other 
calcareous matter. In preparing the loam it should 
be well chopped up and mixed, the rough with the 
fine, and in that state used for laying in the roots, 
which ought to be spread regularly out, at different 
levels, according to the part they emanate from, 
and their inclination in pointing. This done, and 
the roots well covered with the fresh stuff, the sur¬ 
face may be finished off with the old soil, when it 
should at once be mulched by having a thin layer 
of half-rotten dung, which vill keep all uniform as 
to moisture and warmth, and greatly aid the plant 
in making new fibres. In starting with young- 
trees, too much care cannot bo exercised in picking 
them out, as it is useless planting any with bad 
stems, which only give disappointment, as, instead 
of swelling as they ought, and feeding, or 
allowing the top to be fed, they send up suckers, 
the very name of which bespeaks the great harm 
they do. To be healthy, and for the tree to grow 
satisfactorily, the stock must be free from these 
robbers, and where there are many trees to be 
planted it pays well in the end to go and select 
one’s own, which I now make a practice of doing. 
With the trees home, a point that should be strictly 
attended to is not to let them be out of the ground 
any longer than can be helped, as they suffer great 
harm if there is any drying or shrinkage of the 
bark, the contraction of which closes the sap vessels 
and leads to the starvation of the buds up the 
shoots. This being so, the thing is to have all ready 
by getting the holes dug and the fresh loam placed 
in to stand the plants on, with sufficient lying by, 
or close at hand, for covering the roots and fiuishino- 
off each before they are left. It is not long ao-o 
since gardeners used to head back their young trees, 
but it is to be hoped that, like bleeding and cupping, 
the days for such mutilation and barbarity have 
gone by, for it was equally hurtful, and yet operators 
were slow in learning the lesson that ought to have 
been plain to the most casual observer of nature. 
Instead of cutting back, every branch should be 
laid in, if they are not misplaced, and there is room 
for the same; for it ought to be borne in mind that 
the more top and leaf, the more root will a plant 
make, and the quicker a wall or trellis be covered, 
the sooner will a full crop of fruit be had from the 
tree, which the load will not harm, as the tree will 
be strong and fully established. As to breaking 
and furnishing, any healthy plant will do that, and 
none require the shortening to make them, if they 
are well cared for and properly planted. This I 
have proved again and again, and I have now Peaches 
and Nectarines, two years from the bud, that fill a 
large surface of wall; and the same with plums, 
many having made shoots five feet in length,— 
Alpha. 
FLOWERS. 
Lagerstrcehia indica. —I have often wondered 
why this handsome greenhouse shrub is not more 
generally grown than it is, especially in gardens, 
where there are large conservatories to be kept 
furnished. For such a purpose it is invaluable, its 
graceful panicles of rose-coloured flowers being 
always admired, particularly when the plants have 
attained to a large size. Indeed, I have not seen 
it very satisfactory in a small state; which may 
account for its being so seldom seen. Where room 
can be found for it in the stove, it will do better 
than in a greenhouse, causing it to show out its 
beauty to the fullest extent. I have successfully 
giown it by starting it in an early vinery, and, 
before the house became too densely shaded, removed 
it into a greenhouse, giving it as sunny a position 
as possible, which I find absolutely necessary to do 
it well. A plant treated in this way is now in full 
beauty here. If grown in a stove, it will flower in 
June. After the flowers have died away, I remove 
the plants to a sheltered, sunny spot out of doors, 
to thoroughly ripen the wood, and take them 
indoors again before frost comes. During the 
winter it will require but little water, only just 
enough to keep the wood from shrivelling. For 
the benefit of any who may not know the plant, I 
may state that it is deciduous, and should be pruned 
close soon after its leaves have fallen. I grow it in 
three parts of loam and one of peat, and do not 
pot oftenerthan every two or three years, excepting- 
in the case of small plants. I have heard it can be 
grown out of doors in the West of England.— E. 
Dumper, Summerville, Limerick. 
Tuberous Begonias. —In reply to Mr. Cameron, 
p. 11, allow me to say that Turberous Begonias may 
be propagated from cuttings any time through the 
season that the cuttings can best be obtained, but 
it is not always easy to get good cuttings, especially 
from the strong-growing sorts. It is quite necessary 
that they should be taken from shoots that have 
not flowered, and the shorter the cuttings are the 
better. I cut them off just below a joint and do 
not remove any leaves, and only put them in the 
pots far enough to keep them firm, or where the 
cuttings are a little top-heavy a stick is necessary 
to keep them up. They strike most readily where 
there is a little bottom-heat, but should not be kept 
too close and only be watered very sparingly.— H. 
Tuberous Begonia Cuttings.— -Mr. J. Cameron’s 
failure (p. 11) with these, most likely, arises from 
putting his cuttings into close cutting cases. It 
may also in a measure be due to his cuttings not 
being sufficiently ripened by letting the sun in on 
the plants from which they were taken. From this 
cause, cuttings taken out of a shady conservatory 
rarely strike. I am very successful with these 
plants, and I keep putting in the cuttings all 
through the season whenever I can get them, my 
last batch being put in this week. These will just 
have time to bulb, and will then be put away on a 
greenhouse shelf with the others, and left in then- 
pots until starting-time next spring. I take the 
cuttings off with two or three leaves as I can get 
them, and put them in round the edges of GO and 48 
size pots in sandy loam, and simply stand them in 
some quiet nook in the greenhouse, without the 
protection of either cutting case or bell glasses; 
and I find they always strike freely and bulb well. 
— A. McLeod. 
Bedding Violas. —In your first number of the, 
Gardening World, you notice a new Viola raised 
at the Chelsea Botanic Garden and named "Chel¬ 
sea Belle,” and describe it as an improved Blue 
Bell. We long since obtained that desideratum 
for although Blue Bell is a valuable variety for 
masses, it was wanting in blue colour, and Dean’s 
True Blue, raised by myself, has superseded it. It is 
a very early and continuous bloomer, of compact 
robust habit, and a very free bloomer. We have cut 
our plants up for stock, but I enclose you a few 
poor blooms and growth from the ground to give 
you an idea what it is. Will you please to tell us 
through your colums if Chelsea Belle is different 
