59 2 
sible for making the first crown in some 
cases appear rather earlier than it should 
do. In that case, it was almost inevitable 
that the damp weather we have had lately 
should cause the plants to pass into a second 
and vigorous state of growth. I hat is the 
reason why the buds have been cast by some 
of your plants. Possibly you could have 
preserved them if you had syringed the 
plants pretty frequently during the preva¬ 
lence of the hard, dry weather we had some 
time ago. In any case you will have now 
to take the next crown,, which would be 
equivalent to the second crown. We apply 
the term to the next bud that makes its ap¬ 
pearance, because that would be the second 
crown bud under the conditions.. As soon 
as you detect the next bud you should keep 
on the alert and have all the side shoots or 
leaf buds removed, so as to make sure of 
getting the next bud to produce the bloom. 
Be careful in removing the side buds, how 
ever, not to injure the flower bud « on the 
top. 
FRUIT. 
3 204. Victoria Plums Splitting. 
What is the reason for my Victoria Plums 
splitting just as they are about fit for use? 
Some of them also have lumps of matter in¬ 
side, not at all juicy, but tasteless. (T. 
Dugdale, Warwick.) 
The reason for the splitting of the Plums 
is, no doubt, to be found in the abundant 
rain which has fallen recently after the 
fruits had been subjected to a period of 
hot, dry weather. The skins got hardened 
and were unable to swell any more when 
the rain came, so that they have burst. The 
best remedy'is to gather the Plums as soon 
as they are anything like ripe and lay them 
thinly in a sunny position in a dry place 
to finish off. This will prevent them from 
splitting by avoiding the cause. The hard 
lumps in the interior are due to gumming. 
3205. Gladstone Apple Losing Flavour. 
A tree of the Gladstone Apple bore well 
this year, and 1 pulled the fruits some time 
ago and put them on a shelf to preserve 
them as long as possible, but they are now 
getting soft and are poor in flavour. Why 
is this? (W. West, Bucks.) 
Mr. Gladstone is a very early Apple and 
begins to be fit for use in July and should 
be entirely consumed by the end of August, 
or before, if the state of the weather hurries 
it on. Indeed, it is a good Apple to pull 
and eat from the tree and should not be kept 
long after it has been pulled if perfectly 
ripe. By using some now and again you can 
always tell the condition in which it is in 
and whether it should be consumed at once 
or whether its season can be prolonged by 
keeping it in a cool place. 
3206. Melons Dying Away. 
Could you tell me the cause of my Melons 
dying away just as they begin to ripen? 
I have had three lots go the same way. 
They grow splendidly until the fruit be¬ 
gins to net and then go in a few days. 
They seem to decay away up the stem where 
the laterals come away from the main stem. 
They grow in a Cucumber house and in a 
frame heated with hot water pipes, and 
they have died just the same as the others. 
Could you tell me the cause? (V. C., 
Wilts.) 
Judging from what you say we have little 
doubt that your Melons have been destroyed 
by eel-worms. We presume you mean to 
say that your Cucumbers have also died, the 
cause being just the same. These eel-worms 
are microscopic creatures you are not likely 
to see with the naked eye. They cause swel¬ 
lings upon the roots and lower part of the 
stem of Melons and Cucumbers, and if you 
dig them up you will be able to see whether 
HE GARDENING WORLD. 
there are club-like masses on the roots of 
your plants. In the case of the Melons, you 
might let the fruits hang until the leaves 
are getting withered, after which there is 
no hope of saving them. If the fruits are 
sufficiently advanced they may be cut off 
and laid upon a sunny shelf to ripen and 
some of them may become usable. Then lift 
all the plants, get out the roots as well as 
possible, and have them burned. Take the 
soil out of the borders and wheel it away, 
or cart it away some distance from the gar¬ 
den, and do not use it any mere for grow¬ 
ing anything. Proceed then to wash the 
interior of your Cucumber house and frames 
with soapy water, after which give the in¬ 
terior of the beds a good syringing with 
paraffin and water, using a good deal of 
paraffin, as we presume there is nothing else 
in the beds, except -the Cucumbers and 
Melons. You could also use a strong solu¬ 
tion of Condy’s Fluid about the seams, 
cracks or crevices where any eel-worms may 
harbour. By this means you may hope to 
destroy all trace of the eel-worms there. 
I he eel-worm is brought to the Cucumber 
house either in the soil, the manure, or in 
the water. You should, therefore, get fresh 
soil from another source before making up 
other beds for Cucumbers or Melons. If 
you suspect the water, then have the tank 
or reservoir thoroughly cleaned out before 
using any more water for plants. A very 
good plan is to sterilise the - soil before using 
it for beds, as that is usually the source 
from which the trouble comes. As you only 
require a moderate quantity for your Cu¬ 
cumber beds you could put a quantity of 
soil in a close box, then pour boiling water 
over it and let it stand for a time. If you 
are in a hurry -to finish the process, several 
boxes could be used at the same time. Bak¬ 
ing is another way of getting rid of insects. 
You could also mix with the soil some of 
the recently advertised remedies, such as 
“ Alphol,” “ Kilogrub,” and “ Vaporite.” 
3207. Planting Young Standard Apple 
Trees. 
Last winter I planted about a dozen 
leading sorts of Standard Apple Trees. 
Soon after planting I cut back three New¬ 
ton Wonders. to about three buds, leaving 
the others just as received. While the 
Newtons have made some good growths 18 
in. long, the others have made only leaves 
which now seem to be dropping off. The 
three are still looking green and strong. 
Please give detailed particulars of correct 
method of pruning these ; also bush Apples. 
(A. J. H., Essex.) 
We presume the trees you had were quite 
young. Before pruning trees of any sort 
you should have -some idea in view of what 
you are pruning them for. In the first place 
you should prune to get -three main branches 
springing from the top of the trunk or main 
stem. These three might Ih-ave been left 
about 9 in. long, instead of being cut back 
to three buds, as in the case of the Newtons. 
In the case of-there -being fewer than three, 
then your cutting -back the Newtons to three 
buds wo-uld -have been quite correct, as the 
trees when so cut usually give at least three 
branches. Provided, then, you have three 
placed about equal distances from one an¬ 
other, they should be cut back to q’in. or 
12 in. in length during winter, and each of 
the three would at least give -two, making 
six, so t-hat by continuing this process in a 
third season you would have a dozen leading 
or main branches, thus forming the founda¬ 
tion of a round-headed standard tree. Pro¬ 
vided you have two branches arising from 
each of the primary and secondary ones, 
other shoots less favourably situated can be 
cut back to -one bud. Although this is a 
good plan to work upon, you cannot always 
act up to it, as some sh-oots may give rise 
to a greater number than you really want, 
September 12, 1908. 
while others may only produce one shoot. In 
that case yo-u have to act with discretion, so 
that if three are suitably situated on one 
branch they could be left to form three of 
the branches of the tree. It is not necessary 
that the various divisions of the head of an 
Apple tree should arise wi-th such regularity, 
but you should keep them as near to that 
plan as possible, so as to lay the foundation 
of a good head during the early stages of 
the tree. When pruning these various divi¬ 
sions always cut to a bud pointing in the 
direction which you wish the young shoot to 
grow. The trees that were not pruned at 
planting time may have all the shoots cut 
away, except three arising at regular dis¬ 
tances fro-m -the top of the trunk. Cut these 
at a good bud, leaving about 9 in. to 12 in. 
of the base of the shoot. In the case of bush 
Apples, you may cut away the main stem at 
18 in. from the ground, so as to procure the 
first set of branches. Some growers prefer 
to allow the main shoot to lengthen and en¬ 
courage the production of side branches, as 
if it were intended for a pyramid. When 
pruning, in either o-f these oases, the main 
point to observe is t-o have vigorous shoots 
placed at regular distances round the tree. 
These can then be cut back for one-third of 
their length, and in the following year two 
leaders may be allowed from each shoot, pro¬ 
vided there is plenty of space for them. As 
you get acquainted with Apple trees you will 
find there is some exception to this method 
of pruning. Some of t-h-em, like Irish Peach, 
produce most of their flowers and fruit at 
the tips of the previous year’s shoots. To 
shorten those would mean cutting away the 
best trusses of flowers in those particular 
cases. Some of these points you will have 
to learn by experience, but if the trees are 
not pruned till well into winter you can see 
where the flower buds are situated. If these 
bush trees are getting crowded at any par¬ 
ticular part, then your duty is to cut back 
weak or useless shoots that serve to crowd 
the tree. 
3208. King: of the Pippins Apple Grow¬ 
ing Rampantly. 
How best can I treat a King o-f the Pip¬ 
pins bush Apple that is making tremendous 
growth, but bears no fruit? It has been 
planted three years. I have been advised to 
take up and replant it. Is this advisable? 
(A. J. H., Essex.) 
It is a good plan to lif-t young trees occa¬ 
sionally and replant them, as this encourages 
them to get into a fruitful condition by 
checking rampant growth. When the trees 
are lifted, roots dipping deeply into the soil 
may be out back, as well as very long ramb¬ 
ling roots in a lateral direction. These latter ( 
of course, should be shortened at a certain 
distance from the trunk to encourage the pro¬ 
duction of small fibrous roots. Tread the 
soil firmly after replanting. 
SOILS AND MANURES. 
3209. Making Up a Hotbed. 
What is the 'best method of making up i 
hotbed? (A. J. H., Essex.) 
From the middle of February to th< 
middle of -March is a very good time fo: 
making up hat-beds, although there an 
various other times at which it can be don- 
according to requirements. What you hav 
got to do is to get together a quantity o; 
horse or cow manure, as well as fresh leaves 
if possible—that is, leaves that have not bee: 
fermented or rotted. The object of these i 
to mix with the cow or horse manure fo 
the purpose of keeping the -heat steadier 
preventin-g it from getting unduly hot an 
in helping to retain a steady mild heat for 
much longer period of time. The -manur 
should be shaken up loosely in a conical 
heap -and -over every -thin -layer place 
quantity of leaves and proceed until th- 
