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THE GARDENING WORLD 
November 25, 1905-. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which may cover 
any branch of gardening. Questions should be as 
brief as possible and written on one side of the 
paper only; a separate sheet of paper should be 
used for each question. Headers are invited to 
give their fellow gardeners the benefit of their 
experience by sending supplementary replies—see 
Prize Competitions. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
Garden Plans .—Gardeners who would make 
the best use of this column are invited to prepare 
and forward to us a rough outline drawing or plan 
*r 
of their gardens, indicating the position of beds 
and lawns, the character and height of the fence 
or wall ; position of vegetable garden, orchard, 
etc. The north side of the garden and any over¬ 
shadowing buildings should be denoted. It should 
also be stated whether the garden is flat or on a 
declivity, and all large trees should be marked. 
Particulars of the nature of the soil will also 
help us to give satisfactory replies. When such 
plans are received they will be carefully filed, with 
the name and address oj the sender, and will be 
consulted by the Editor whenever an enquiry is sent. 
How to Prune Apple and Pear Trees. 
Kindly state How to prune Apple and Pear 
trees, and whether it is a simple job for a novice. 
(Novice.) 
The pruning of Apple and Pear trees depends 
greatly upon the manner in which they are 
trained and the age of the trees. You do not 
state whether they are standards, bushes, pyra¬ 
mid, fan trees upon the wall or espaliers. It would 
have simplified matters greatly if you had told 
us the shape of your trees, that is, the form of 
them. Standard trees after they have attained 
some size require thinning occasionally rather 
than pruning. Of course, if any of the shoots are 
growing too rampantly and making the tree one¬ 
sided they would have to be shortened back. It 
will also be apparent that all dead wood should 
be cut away. In other cases where the shoots 
are crowded, if they have crossed one another, or 
if they are weak and useless, all such should be 
cut away so as to let the light and air play freely 
upon those that are left. This also is a preven¬ 
tive against insects. The pruning of standards 
can best be done while the trees are in leaf, 
and might have been done in September. 
If the trees are upon walls the shoots that grow 
away at right angles should he pruned hack to 
two or three buds at the base. The leaders of 
the branches may he left at greater length if 
there is any wall space to fill, the badly ripened 
tops being pruned away or the shoots shortened 
hack to half their length if not very strong. If 
the Pear trees are grown in the form of pyramids 
you will have to prune so as to maintain the form 
of the tree, leaving about 6 in. or so to extend the 
leaders, and shortening back the side shoots to 
within two or three buds of the base for the 
production of spurs. In cases where there may 
be open spaces on any side of the trees you could 
leave a shoot of the side branches to fill up the 
vacancy, but always guard against crowding. 
When pruning, you should make it a point 
always to cut immediately above a bud pointing 
in the direction you wish next year’s growth to 
follow. These are merely a few suggestions in 
connection with the forms of trees we have just 
named, but if you could give us any information 
about the form in which your trees have hither¬ 
to been trained we could be more explicit, giving 
more details. 
Planting Carnations. 
Would you he good enough to tell me through 
the medium of The Gardening World what 
is the best' time to plant Carnations" that have 
been propagated by layering. (C. W. D.) 
The best time to plant Carnations depends 
largely upon the nature of your soil. ,If" it is 
very heavy, the best plan would he to lift and 
pot up the layers separately in 60-size pots, win¬ 
tering these in a cold frame, and then plant' out 
in March. On the other hand, if the soil is light 
and well drained, you could plant the Carnations 
at once with reasonable hope of success. Before 
planting you should tread the soil firmly, as 
Carnations dislike a loose and open soil. In a 
wild state they grow naturally upon rocks or 
old walls; but under such conditions, would not 
produce the large flowers which you desire. 
Therefore, while imitating these conditions by 
treading the soil firmly, you give the Carnations 
a better chance to pass through the winter with 
safety, while they have at the same time a rich 
and well-manured soil to make satisfactory growth 
and produce , good flowers. Yon will, therefore, 
have to decide whether your soil is sufficiently 
light and well drained to ensure success by plant¬ 
ing at the present time. 
Chinese Sacred Lily. 
I have got some bulbs of the Chinese Sacred 
Lily, hut feel uncertain about the best way to 
grow it. Does it require much heat, or can it he 
grown in a window or a room where a fire is kept 
burning during the day and evening? (Mildred.) 
No fire heat at all is necessary, as the Chinese 
Sacred Lily, being a variety of Narcissus Tazetta, 
is practically hardy or very nearly so. Indoors 
or under glass, however, it would get all the 
shelter it requires without having recourse to fire 
heat. The presence of a fire in the room would 
not, however, be objectionable, as the bulbs would 
he placed, in the window. Light is a more im¬ 
portant factor than artificial heat, and you can¬ 
not too fully expose the plants at all stages of 
their growth to light. Except in severe frost the 
bulbs may he stood close to the glass. You can 
either grow the bulbs in a light sandy soil in 
the same way as Hyacinths or you can place the 
bulbs in an ornamental basin of some sort, and 
place some fine gravel in the bottom with the 
object of keeping the bulbs steady. Sufficient 
water may also be put in the basin to cover the 
gravel, and into the gravel the bulbs will throw 
plenty of roots to keep them steady- when the 
leaves and stems become heavy. 
Wintering Dahlias. 
Last year we lost the greater part of our 
Dahlias during the winter. We have not a 
greenhouse to store them, and in an outhouse the 
tubers rotted away. Is it possible to keep them 
through the winter without heat. (C. W. 
"Williams.) 
It is possible to give the tubers too much heat 
in winter, especially if the atmosphere is of a dry¬ 
ing nature. The tubers would gradually lose 
their moisture under such conditions, and in 
spring would be as dead as if they had been sub¬ 
jected to damp under cold and moist conditions. 
The best plan would be to dig them up at once, 
if not already done, and place them in a house or 
structure from which frost is excluded until the 
roots have dried and lost a little of their super¬ 
fluous moisture. After this we have seen them 
stored in barrels and stood in a dry room of an 
outhouse, where fire heat was seldom used in the 
winter time, and the tubers came through the 
winter in perfect condition in most cases. During 
winter it is advisable to take out all of the roots 
from the barrels in order to observe their condi¬ 
tion. If any roots show signs of damp or rotting 
they should be removed before returning the rest 
of them to the barrel again. During the severe 
frost in such a place it would be an easy matter 
to cover up the barrel with straw. If there is 
any danger from rats or mice a lid should be kept 
on the top, but that might have some small holes 
to allow the escape of any moisture that may be 
generated in the barrel. If they remain sound 
under these conditions till the end of December 
you may conclude they are practically safe till 
you require to start them in heat in spring. 
Chrysanthemum Leaves Discoloured. 
i have enclosed some Chrysanthemum leaves 
which are affected with a disease of some kind. 
The disease starts sometimes at the top of the 
leaf, and works downwards, and sometimes at 
the bottom and works upwards. Would you 
kindly let me have your opinion what this is 
through your correspondence column? (Dum¬ 
fries.) 
We have examined the leaves you sent us, 
and failed to find any fungus producing disease. 
The leaves are punctured in places by some of 
the plant bugs, hut we do not think the wither¬ 
ing of portions of the leaves was due to this except 
locally around the spots. It is evidently some 
trouble coming from the roots due to the drainage 
being bad or to over-feeding, and most likely the 
latter. As a rule, Chrysanthemums are over-fed 
and over-watered, which is much the same thing 
by keeping the roots always in a saturated con¬ 
dition and preventing them from perform¬ 
ing their proper functions. The result is that 
the leaves turn yellow. When this happens it is 
seldom worth while keeping the plants showing 
this malady, so that they should be destroyed 
and only the good ones kept. It is a case for 
careful discernment in watering, so that no more 
should be given than the plants are capable of 
properly utilising. 
Apple Trees for Small Garden 
I propose shortly planting some Apple trees, 
and should be glad if you would advise me as 
to the best kind to have. I want a good crisp 
eating Apple. How many trees could 1 profit¬ 
ably plant on the ground shown in the sketch 
enclosed ? I should' want to use the ground for 
vegetables. What kind of slow-growing tree 
would you recommend ? (H. T. Gentry.) 
According to the plan, you could only grow 
seven Apple trees in the space so as to leave suf¬ 
ficient room to grow vegetables between them. 
You can only grow two rows of three trees each 
in the long way of the garden, running from the 
house down to the fowl house. The outer one of 
each row should be 3 ft. at least from the path, 
and the one in the middle would make the trees 
12 ft. apart. On the right-hand side of the plan 
another tree could be got in, making seven. If 
you decide to have the trees all of the same kind, 
as you evidently propose to do, we should recom¬ 
mend Cox’s Orange Pippin, which is the finest 
quality Apple all round for dessert purposes. Be 
careful to ask your nurseryman to have them 
grafted on _ the Paradise stock. The trees will 
then grow slowly and come into bearing the first 
or the second year after planting. If used not 
later than November, the fruit is quite crisp, and 
though it becomes a little softer towards Christ¬ 
mas, it is still in good condition, and may be used 
till March if properly kept in a cool fruit room. 
Ribston Pippin is more crisp and acid, but it is 
somewhat liable to canker, otherwise it would 
no doubt please you admirably. 
Beech Hedge Dying in Places. 
“M: B.” encloses a piece of old Beech hedge. 
Parts of the hedge have appeared blighted and 
withered this summer and autumn. She will be 
glad to learn from the Editor if he considers the 
damage has been done by lightning or if it is 
likely to be old age, or if there is any kind of 
disease that might be cured. The hedge looks 
more than twenty years old, and is about 8 ft. 
high, and until this year has always been beau¬ 
tiful. Every care lias always been bestowed on 
