900 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
November 5, 1904. 
fresh ashes put in, the pots could be plunged in this, and the 
plants would be little troubled with slugs until they are put 
in the open ground. By having them in pots, you could plant 
them out even after they have started to grow. When the 
young shoots are beginning to get firm, the slugs, even if they 
happen to be troublesome about the time, would be unable to 
dj so much damage as they would otherwise do if they com¬ 
menced their depredations when the young shoots were pushing 
through the soil. The plants would therefore have time to 
establish themselves during the course of the summer, and 
even if they were attacked on other occasions they could afford 
to lose a shoot or two without showing it, than if they were 
badly mauled when still quite small. 
Number of Apple Trees to an Acre. 
Would you be good enough to say what you consider a fair 
number of Apple trees for an acre of ground? The soil is a 
good deep loam, and we think it would grow good Apples. 
(A. H. I).) 
You do not say whether the trees are intended to be grown 
as bushos or standards, nor the stock, all of these being im¬ 
portant points in connection with the distance at which the 
trees should be planted. If you want to grow them as bushes 
or pyramids on the Paradise stock you would require 1,210 
trees to the acre. Even under these conditions, however, if 
the trees make good growth you would require to thin them 
out after a number of years, and before they get too much 
crowded. By planting them originally at 6 ft. apart each 
way you could, when they are getting crowded, transplant every 
alternate row, and every alternate tree iir the rows left. This 
would leave the trees standing at 12 ft. apart each way. You 
could so arrange it as to have the trees of every second row 
alternating with those of the first, and this would give them 
all the advantages of the space at command. At 12 ft. apart 
you would then have only 302 trees to the acre, so that those 
which are lifted could be transplanted to other prepared ground, 
and the plantation would therefore be more than doubled. 
Immediately after transplanting there will be sufficient open 
space between the trees for a few years to grow either vegetables, 
small Current bushes, or Strawberries. As the trees gain size 
and require the whole of the space you could cease growing 
other crops between them. If you want to plant standards, 
they should at least have 20 ft. of space each way. This would 
be sufficient for a number of years, unless in the case of very 
strong-growing varieties, which might have 5 ft. or 10 ft. more 
each way, according to their strength ; otherwise you would 
have to restrict their size by shortening and thinning as they 
require it. At 20 ft. apart you would require 108 trees to the 
acre. 
Rabbits and Hollies. 
Every winter we are more or less troubled with rabbits eating 
off the bark of Laburnum trees in the pleasure grounds. As 
these trees are much admired when in bloom, we do not wish 
them destroyed. Is there any way of checking the rabbits 
without the use of unsightly bundles of Gorse? (J. W.) 
If you are only troubled with rabbits in the winter time, you 
need only take precautions to save the trees during that period. 
Various prescriptions have been given for keeping away rabbits, 
but we do not think that much attention has been given to 
covering the base of the trunks with virgin cork. This is easily 
obtained, and might be fastened round the base of the tree 
to a height of 2g ft. or 3 ft. The pieces might be fastened to 
the trees by means of wire, or they could be attached to the 
trees by nailing on the cork, using nails just sufficiently long 
to attach the pieces without having to be driven far into the 
trees. The pieces might be patched on neatly, and the outer 
surface then painted over much the same colour as the bark 
of the trees to be protected. This would render them incon¬ 
spicuous at a short way off. The cork might be removed in 
summer and stored away in some shed, so that it could be 
utilised for a number of years. 
Pyrus floribunda. 
There is evidently more than one shrub under the name of 
Pyrus floribunda in gardens. One is a Crab Apple with rosy 
flowers like Apple blossom, but smaller and darker ; the other 
has white flowers of still smaller size. Can you tell me the 
correct names of the two? (T. H. W.) 
The true Pyrus floribunda of Nicholson is the Crab Apple 
you mention. The other must be the shrub named Pyrus or 
Aronia floribunda of Lindley. This plant has clusters of small 
white flowers, followed by small dark purple fruits, but it is 
now referred to as Pyrus arbutifolia by the Index Kewensis. 
Several forms were in cultivation about 50 or 60 years ago 
under the names of Aronia floribunda and A melanocarpa, but 
these, together with varieties attributed to them, have been 
placed under P. arbutifolia. Another shrub very closely allied 
to the last named has been named P. nigra, of Sargent. All 
of them belong to a distinct section of Pyrus, and not to the 
section Malus, which includes all the Apples and Crabs, to¬ 
gether with the true P. floribunda. 
Propagating Blackberries. 
Could you suggest an easy method of propagating Black¬ 
berries, as we have some in a position where we cannot conve¬ 
niently layer them? (Rraus.) 
You can readily propagate them by means of pieces of root 
if you can get at them so as to dig up some of the thicker 
pieces, say about one-eighth of an inch thick. These, if cut into 
lengths of 3 in., may be inserted in boxes of sandy loam, and 
stood in any convenient part of a greenhouse or Peach-house 
jus' started. This had best be done in spring. Even if you 
were to lift the roots now you would have to keep them under 
conditions that would keep them fresh and free from frost 
until spring. By doing this, however, they would callus during 
winter, and, that being the case, you could plant them in the 
open ground in spring. Probably, however, you would have 
even more success by leaving the operation alone till spring. 
A gentle warmth would be quite sufficient to encourage the pro¬ 
duction of fresh crowns on the pieces .of root. L T sually the 
houses are crowded in spring, but previous to the appearance 
of leaves above the soil, the boxes containing the roots might 
be stood* anywhere under the benches. As soon as green leaves 
appear the young Brambles must be hardened off in frames, and 
planted out at the earliest opportunity, if the state of the 
weather permits. 
Nicotiana affinis Annual or Perennial. 
There is a dispute here whether Nicotiana affinis is an annual 
or perennial. It is said that, if left in the ground, the plants 
will come up again in spring, but I have never seen this happen. 
Has anyone seen it come from the roots a second year? 
(C. W. C.) 
We have seen plants grow up again from the roots that had 
been left in the ground in an open garden in Devonshire. 
Plants in a cool winter-garden have also behaved in the same 
way. It cannot be guaranteed to come up a second time in 
every garden, as it might not be sufficiently hardy to live 
in the ground during winter. It is a question of temperature. 
The Night-scented Tobacco is, however, truly a perennial when 
placed under conditions where it can live. You may remember 
that Runner Beans and various Tropaeolums, such as T. major 
and T. minus, are perennial if kept in a sufficiently warm 
house. The first named often springs up again from the roots 
in the open ground. The Tropaeolums are, however, very 
tender, and readily get cut down with frost in the open air. 
Distances for Strawberries. 
Do you think that 3 ft. between the rows, and 2 ft. from 
plant to plant in the rows, a good distance for Strawberries? 
My opinion is that the distance is too great, and the plants 
get burnt up in summer. Any hints you may give would be 
appreciated. (G. W. B.) 
All Strawberries do not possess the same amount of vigour. 
You should also take into consideration whether the plants 
are to remain on the ground for one year or three, because i 
they get larger, and the more numerous crowns would tend 
to bring about crowding. For instance, the distance chat Royal 
Sovereign would require would be too great for such dwarf¬ 
growing varieties as Dr. Hogg or Keen’s Seedling. This should 
be a guide to you, and the distance you mention might, 
not be too much for Royal Sovereign. Two feet between the 
lines and 18 in. from plant to plant would be a more suitable 
distance for most varieties than that you mention. We should 
be guided in each particular case according to the vigour of 
the varieties to be planted, the richness of the soil, and the 
number of years the plants were to remain on the ground. 
For instance, many varieties might easily be planted at 1 ft. 
apart in the row for the first year, but, after gathering the 
fruits, every alternate plant might be removed, and thus pre¬ 
vent crowding, while at the same time having the ground suffi¬ 
ciently covered with foliage to prevent it getting baked or the 
plants burnt. , 
Paraffin Emulsion. 
We are much troubled with scale on various plants, and 
should be obliged for directions to make paraffin emulsion. 
(e. c.) ' ; 
A very good formula for the preparation of this would be 
that known as the Riley-Hubbard, in which kerosene is used 
instead of paraffin. The formula is two gallons of the oil 
