288 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
April 8, 1905. 
Winter pruning should, if possible, be finished by the middle 
of January, and in small establishments where there are only 
a few trees, there is no' reason why it should not be finished 
before Christmas, 1 prefer doing the necessary thinning of 
shoots as soon as the fruit is gathered, and also shortening 
back unripe wood, provided always we leave a sufficient 
amount of foliage on the trees. A novice can judge better 
when the leaves are on at what distance it is advisable to 
leave the shoots, for foliage shut out from the light does more 
harm than good, and, generally speaking, fruit on which the 
sun never shines is of inferior quality. 
One should always remember that the more upright the 
growths, the more chance they have of becoming vigorous. 
Cor this reason a strong shoot inclined to the horizontal may 
sometimes be allowed considerable freedom, while a similar 
shoot growing upright may need a great deal of curbing. But 
then again it depends much on whether the said shoot is 
furnished with an ample supply of fruit-buds, which in them¬ 
selves tend to check leaf-growth to a great extent. So much 
is this the case that, if we want a tree to fruit regularly we 
must not allow it to be overcropped in any one season, and 
must prune accordingly. - Limiting the quantity of fruit to a 
reasonable extent is#om* of the principal ways of improving its 
quality, and another way of doing so is that hinted at above, 
to admit light to every portion of the tree. 
In orchards and large gardens we need not be restricted to 
size. If the trees are too close together it is better to- cut 
some of them out entirely than to mutilate all. Where minia¬ 
ture trees are desired—and they make a. very pretty feature 
in a small garden—the best results are obtained by summer 
pinching; not what is called summer pruning, which is an 
abomination, as is the act' of defoliating any plant excessively 
while it is bearing fruit. Summer pinching, as applied to 
miniature trees, consists of stopping all growths to one or two' 
leaves whenever they are large enough to get hold of with 
the thumb-nail and forefinger up to’ the end of June; after¬ 
wards all growths, if the tree's are not very vigorous, may be 
rubbed ofl: as they appear, and the branches should be thinned 
where necessary as soon as the fruit is gathered. 
Wm. Taylor. 
The Swanley Horticultural College Cure 
for Spot. 
From far and near, at the time of writing, there is heard 
a cry of distress in gardening circles. Gardeners meet 
together and ask each other the well-worn questions: “ Are 
you going to grow ‘cues’ this year?” “Have you ever had 
the ‘ spot ’ 1 ” “ Do you know of any remedy ? ” 
At present, first one claims to' have made a discovery which 
will destroy the disease, and assesses his claim at so- many 
pounds, and then another steps forth and values his secret at 
a few pounds less, and' so' on. 
At this institution, after many exhaustive trials, we have 
made a discovery which thoroughly satisfies us, and also con¬ 
vinces others that by our recipe we can cure “ spot.” That is 
tO' say, in an infected house we can kill the disease and obtain 
satisfactory crops from the once diseased Cucumber plants. 
We place our method before the readers of The Gardening 
World, and do so entirely for their benefit. All we ask them 
to do is to give it a fair trial, and hope that they will derive 
the same amount of benefit from i,t as wm have done. 
It is extremely cheap, and the method of application could 
not very well be more simple. We give full instructions for 
its manner of using, etc., below : — 
The S.H.C. Cure for Spot. 
Mix together in any suitable vessel 1 pint of Calvert’s car¬ 
bolic- acid (No. 5) to 5 quarts of water. Of course, a larger 
or smaller quantity could be used, only see that the mixture is 
in the proportion of 10 of water to 1 of the carbolic. 
Remove all the infected parts of the plants immediately the 
spot, makes its appearance, and promptly burn them. Then in 
the evening, say about G p.m., apply the prepared liquid to 
the pathways of the house by a watering-can and through an 
extra, fine rose, giving them a light damp down. Care must 
be exercised not to allow the preparation to come into actual 
contact with the plants themselves or the Cucumber border. 
In frames, etc., saucers filled with sawdust and soaked with the 
liquid would answer the purpose equally well. 
We are at the present carrying on further experiments with 
a view to preventing the disease entirely, and we hope at no 
distant date to be able to report our further success in this 
matter. We would be willing to show any lady or gentleman 
round our market houses here in order to bear out the above 
statements. James Lawson. 
Himalayan Rhododendrons. 
Among the many species, hybrids and varieties of this 
class of plants we have a never-ending variation of flower, 
foliage, and habit, all three characters being, hardly without 
exception, of the highest merit, more particularly in the 
Himalayan section. Growing at an elevation of over 7,000 ft. 
in the Himalayas, Sir Joseph Hooker tells us of their 
gorgeous display. Rhododendron Dalhousiae, he speaks of 
growing upon Oaks, etc., as an epiphyte, a slender shrub, 
bearing three to six lemon-scented bells 4J in. across, and as 
many long, at the end of each branch. R. grande is a tree 
40 ft, high, with leaves 12 in. to 15 in. long, deep green and 
wrinkled above, and silvery beneath. “ I know of nothing 
of the kind that excels in beauty the flowering branch of E. 
grande, with its spreading foliage, and gorgeous mass of 
flower.” 
Of R. Falconeri, he says “in point of foliage the most 
superb of all the Himalayan species, with a trunk 30 ft, high, 
leaves 18 in. long, green above, and covered underneath with 
a brown dust ” (or to men turn). 
These figures no doubt excite and inflame our imagination, 
and tend to encourage us in their popularity and cultivation; 
but Rhododendrons are not everybody’s plant, for various 
reasons, and the principal is accommodation. It is almost 
an essential that a special structure be erected for them, with 
proper facilities for their ventilation, as this is important. 
It must be ever borne in mind that Himalayan Rhododendrons 
are practically hardy in their mature wood, but producing 
their flowering buds in early February, they would be liable 
to be damaged by frost if growing unprotected, consequently 
the more airy and cooler the temperature’is kept the better 
success will attend the efforts. If grown in pots, a good 
method is to turn them outside for the summer, brinmnsr 
them inside before the auttimn frosts set in, when a srood 
display may be ensured the following spring. 
Treated in this manner I have seen good results obtained, 
flowering such rare species as R. Falconeri, R. Nutallii, E. 
Thomsoni, R. grande, etc. Where planting out in prepared 
beds can be done, it well repays, for they can then be seen 
in their native luxuriance attaining their normal dimensions, 
producing their blossoms in comparison; they then can be 
appreciated to their fullest extent. The first to come into 
bloom of this section is R. barbatum, an exceedingly handsome 
plant about 15 ft. high, and as many through, producing 
flowers of a deep blood red colour, of a decided fleshy texture. 
The leaves are of a deep green 6 in. to 8 in. in length, and 
bearing at the base of the leaf on the petiole small, spiny 
trichomes. 
Besides this species there is also R. Shilsonii, in flower at; 
present, a hybrid between R. barbatum and R. Thomsoni. It 
is similar in dimensions, but has more of the habit and leaves 
of Thomsoni, although the flowers are very much under the 
influence of R. barbatum. Mack. 
Narcissus minor minimus.— The difference in size between 
this tiny Daffodil and King Alfred is immense, yet they are 
closely related, and would probably hybridise freely with one 
another. It would be interesting to make the experiment. 
