751 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 5. 1903. 
of the year, provided the soil is in a workable condition. The 
layers take about two years to root, and when they are found 
to be well established, they should be cut off from the parent 
plant in autumn, but not be taken up until the following spring, 
when they will be found to 1 be nicely rooted and well able to 
take care of themselves. The old plant can be left to be layered 
again when it has made sufficient growth. J. C. B. 
Fruit Trees and their Management. 
With the planting season again fast approaching, and with 
a considerable number of your readers on the horns of a 
dilemma, with the correspondence which lias recently ap¬ 
peared in the columns of this journal regarding fruit growing 
and orchard planting, it has been remarked by a good number 
of people that a renewal of this absorbing question might with 
great advantage be conducted in your pages at this opportune 
moment. The question is one of no mean magnitude, and it 
apparently had been read with considerable interest by a good 
percentage of your readers, but from observations which I 
hear regarding it a great number are far from being satisfied 
with the conclusion it was brought to ; hence the request of a 
revival. 
A few weeks ago orchard planting had the appearance of being 
entirely revolutionised in this country, judging from the nature 
of the correspondence which was appearing in your pages, and 
as the assertions were made with perfect candour by their ex¬ 
ponents, a great number of your readers were in a state of 
extreme uncertainty as to whether any advantage could pos¬ 
sibly accrue from the adoption of this revolutionary measure. 
The method apparently is practised to a considerable extent 
in some parts of the country, so therefore a discussion conducted 
by a few capable and expert exponents whose opinions could 
be regarded as reliable and conclusive as to whether any pos¬ 
sible advantage does pertain to this 3ft. method of planting 
would be appreciated by your readers. The present is an ex¬ 
cellent and opportune moment for the merits and demerits of 
the case to be thoroughly propounded. 
The correspondence which appeared in previous issues con¬ 
tained little or no details as to what advantages the system 
does possess, but with the planting season again practically at 
hand the present is an opportune moment for the merits and 
demerits to be widely diffused, and the opinions of a few ex¬ 
pert and up-to-date exponents, to remove any possible doubt 
which exists in the matter, would be much appreciated by your 
readers. J. C. Peebles. 
St. Fort. 
A Garden Compound. 
The season of digging, generally speaking, will soon be round 
again, and the gardener will have to see about getting manure 
ready. In a great many places the manure from the stables 
(and' that only) is set apart or allowed for the garden, and as it 
often comes in the shape of litter, the gardener will have to 
make a strong effort to have it wet and fit for digging in. 
Where such is the case it is an excellent plan to have it put 
down, and throw in all grass cuttings, edgings, leaves, and all 
garden refuse (excepting, of course, peas, straw, and such-like 
material) and mix all together and turn a few times, taking 
care to turn the heap ere it gets overheated, or it will lose its 
goodness and spoil. At the last turning, if placed up square, it 
will soon rot and become a wonderfully good compost, and allow 
the manuring and digging to be proceeded with. 
In the course of a short time another supply of litter, like¬ 
wise leaves, will be forthcoming, and if mixed and turned care¬ 
fully another posey of good stuff will be on hand, and so on as 
long as litter and leaves, etc., are to be had, and it is surpris¬ 
ing how much very good manure can be had by so doing. 
I should also like to draw attention to that mound commonly 
called the “garden rubbish heap.” In some places it goes to 
a bare part on the farm, in others it costs the owner money 
for its removal hence, and in others it lies and increases yearly 
and is looked on as a worthless mass, but that is not so. At 
any rate, the gardener in all three cases would do well before 
commencing digging the various breaks and borders to see that 
none are unlevel or insufficiently sloped ; and where such is 
the case wheel on a lot from this “ rubbish heap ” and put it in 
the bottom of the trench when digging, and even should the 
ground be level, wheel on a goodly dressing all over. It will 
not injure, and keep on wheeling till a “ rubbish heap ” is a 
thing of the past. In future, put all “rubbish” (excepting 
cinders, which are common about gardens, although the sifted 
ashes should be added) by the manure depot, and mix it in 
with the manure, and any weeds that may be present alive will 
have a fair good time among the litter and leaves during the 
turning process. A few, no doubt, wfculd ill spare the time for 
turning and preparing the compost, but I can assure them it is 
time and labour well spent, and at this season we sometimes 
get weather when the turning and preparing of a good honest 
manure heap would come in as a very useful satisfaction-giving 
job. J- R- B. 
Heaths and Gentians. 
Mr. R. L. Praeger writes opportunely in “ Knowledge of the 
beauties of the moors at this time of year through the colour¬ 
ing and forms of these flowers. He says:—“ Heaths and Gen¬ 
tians, ! What pleasant pictures do the names bring before the 
mind! Beautiful plants, with graceful forms and brilliant 
flowers. Summer days amid the hot bee-filled heather. Wide 
brown moors, or alpine flower-starred pastures. In point of 
fact, the plants constituting these groups are, like the Saxi¬ 
frages, redolent of the wild open country; of rock, and sand- 
dune, and mountain solitude. The fertile plains yield but a 
scant few of them; about the murky town we seek in vain a 
single one. 
“ The Heath family, or Ericaceae, forms an assemblage of 
shrubs—or occasionally herbs—which have a wide distribution 
over the globe. They are generally found in rocky or boggy 
places in temperate countries, and especially frequent sub- 
alpine regions. The Cape of Good Hope is the home of an 
immense number of species of the typical and largest genus 
of the order Erica. This genus yields the numerous lovely 
Heaths that are found in cultivation, and which must be 
ranked among the most beautiful plants which our greenhouses 
can boast. The plants of this order have as their most re¬ 
markable character their beauty. Only a few possess medi¬ 
cinal or other properties. 
“ In the whole vast genus Erica, there is not a single instance 
of a medicinal species. A few members of allied genera, in¬ 
cluding the familiar Ling (Calluna vulgaris), and the Boar berry 
(Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi), are astringent. Some of the Rhodo¬ 
dendrons and Azaleas are strongly narcotic. The berries of 
some succulent-fruited species, such as the Cranberry, are used 
as food, but the list of economic virtues in the order is very 
short. But from the point of view of aesthetics, what a gold 
mine the Ericaceae furnish! Not only the myriad many-tinted 
Heaths, but the glorious Rhododendrons and Azaleas belong 
here; also the Kalmias, Andromedas, Ledums, and Arbutus. 
“ A. word is desirable as to certain features of leaf and flower 
which they display. In the flowers the stamens strike us at 
once as peculiar. Take the flower of the Bell-Heather (E. 
Tetralix) for example. The pendulous, egg-shaped blossom 
has a comparatively small opening. The style, occupying the 
axis of the bell, terminates in a stigma lying right in the 
opening. Surrounding this, and a little shorter than the 
style, are the stamens. The anthers are roundish, and, instead 
of splitting open, open by a, pore at what, in the inverted posi¬ 
tion of the flower, is the lower end. Attached to each anther 
are two curious spreading horns. The stigma and the homed 
anthers almost block the entrance of the flower. Honey is 
secreted at the further end, near the ovary. 
“ The flowers are visited chiefly by bumble-bees. The bee, 
alighting on the bell, pushes its forehead against the stigma. 
At the same time its proboscis, pushed into the flower in search 
of honey, comes in contact with the spreading appendages of 
the anthers, and the disturbance causes pollen to drop out 
through the pore on the bee’s forehead. Thus cross-fertilisa¬ 
tion is effected.” 
The prize last week in the Readers’ Competition waj 
awarded to “ J. C.” for his article on “ Hardy Heaths, 
pace 733 
