114 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  8,  1900 
positions  such  trees  are  ornamental,  but  the  most  that  can  be 
said  about  them  is  that  they  are  cultivated  toys — gardeners’  and 
amateurs’  playthings.  For  practical  usefulness,  and  for  yielding  a 
substantial  supply  of  fruit,  they  are  of  small  value  in  comparison  with 
trees  that  have  not  been  crippled  by  the  “  skill  ”  of  man.  Trees 
managed  on  the  violent  restrictive  principle  alluded  to  are  at  ten  years 
of  age  of  no  greater  value  than  they  were  when  at  five  or  six  years  old, 
and  at  twenty  years  old  what  are  thev  ?  Answer,  Dead  or  dying.  If 
owners  of  gardens  desire  to  have  the  Japanese  style  carried  out  because 
of  a  certain  amount  of  pleasure  it  gives,  they  have  of  course  a  perfect 
right  to  that  form  of  gratification  ;  but  do  not  let  the  system  be  mis¬ 
called  a  “profitable  mode  of  fruit  culture,”  because  hundreds  of 
gardeners  know  that  it  is  not  profitable. 
Symmetry  versus  Fruit. 
Another  plan  of  managing  dwarf  trees  that  is  perhaps  more 
common  than  that  above  noticed  is  only  a  few  degrees  less  profitable. 
It  is  somewhat  as  follows  : — Dwarf  trees  are  purchased  that  are 
intended  to  be  grown  on  the  summer-pinching  principle,  but  not  on  the 
root-pruning  system.  They  are  intended  to  be  moderately  dwarf  and 
healthy,  not  extremely  dwarf  and  unhealthy.  The  idea  is  good,  but  is 
not  always  carried  out  properly.  So  far  as  the  roots  are  concerned  the 
prescribed  rule  of  culture  is  adhered  to,  for  they  are  left  unchecked, 
but  the  summer-pinching  is  not  thorough  or  persistently  conducted. 
For  the  first  year  or  two,  when  the  trees  are  new  and  small,  they  are 
“gone  over”  with  tolerable  regularity,  but  as  they  grow  larger  the 
novelty  of  the  system  wears  off,  and  other  work  presses  so  hardly  that 
the  necessary  pinching  is  not,  indeed  cannot,  be  done,  and  nearly  all 
the  pruning  is  left  until  winter.  The  trees  are  then  pruned  severely, 
and  properly  so  far  as  their  shape  is  concerned.  The  branches  are 
disposed  regularly  and  thinly,  and  after  the  work  has  been  done  the 
trees  have  a  professional  business-like  look.  A  “  lot  of  stuff  ”  has 
been  taken  out  and  preserved  for  flower  stakes,  and  the  work  is  viewed 
with  a  complacent  half  hopeful,  yet  half  doubtful,  feeling,  that  finds 
expression  in  a  subdued  observation  that  “  they  ought  to  do  some¬ 
thing.”  And  they  will  do  something — they  will  grow  another  fine  crop 
of  flower  stakes. 
Growing  Flower  Stakes. 
If  the  soil  is  good,  and  the  roots  are  unchecked,  young  fruit  trees 
that  receive  little  or  no  summer-pinching  form  long  and  strong  growths, 
each  shoot  being  from  2  to  4  feet  long.  With  the  object  of  imparting 
to  the  trees  an  agreeable  shape,  which  in  itself  is  commendable,  and 
also  with  the  object  of  forming  fruit  spurs,  which  is  again  commend¬ 
able,  the  breastwood  is  cut  closely  in,  and  the  extremities  are  very 
much  shortened.  The  object  is  good,  but  the  mode  of  attaining  it  is 
erroneous.  A  tree  thus  operated  upon  cannot  form  spurs.  The  “art  ” 
of  the  pruner  and  cultivator  renders  that  impossible.  The  system  is 
in  its  nature  fatal  to  the  formation  of  fruit  buds.  They  cannot  form, 
for  neither  time  is  afforded  nor  material  provided  for  the  accomplish, 
ment  of  this  desirable  object.  In  cutting  out  the  flower  stakes  the 
fruit-bud -forming  material  is  removed,  and  time  is  lost  in  the  trees 
attempting  to  provide  another  supply  for  that  purpose  by  another 
season’s  growth.  It  is  man  warring  against  Nature,  and  both  are 
losers.  Having,  as  a  plain  man,  laid  down  the  law  in  a  plain  way,  I 
can  fancy  some  such  question  as  the  following  being  asked,  with  an  air 
of  doubt,  if  not  of  something  more,  “  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  long 
shoots  ought  not  to  be  removed,  and  that  if  they  remain  they  will  form 
fruit  spurs  ?  ”  I  have  not  framed  that  question  so  that  it  is  easy  to 
answer,  nor  in  a  form  that  I  would  prefer  ;  but  have  put  it  as  a  natural 
question,  even  if  difficult  to  reply  to  categorically. 
Natural  Spurs. 
I  will  answer  the  latter  part  of  the  question  first,  by  saying  that 
if  the  long  shoots  are  permitted  to  remain  they  will  form  fruit  spurs, 
provided — and  this  is  an  all-important  condition —that  they  are  so 
thinly  dispersed  that  the  sun  and  air  can  act  on  every  leaf.  Natural 
spurs  will  then  form  the  whole  length  of  the  shoots.  It  will  take  two 
years,  or  it  may  be  three,  for  the  fruit  buds  to  thus  form  ;  but  foi’m  on 
Apples,  Pears,  Plums,  and  Cherries  they  will,  and  after  that  there  will 
be  little  trouble  given  by  breastwood.  The  flower-stake-growing 
period  will  have  passed,  and  the  blossoming  and  (weather  permitting) 
fruit-bearing  era  will  have  arrived.  If  man  will  just  aid  Nature  by 
thinning-out  superfluous  shoots,  and  prevent  others  forming  in  their 
places,  the  branches  left  will  become  clothed  with  fruit  spurs ;  but  if 
he  fights  her  by  cutting  off  in  winter  nine-tenths  of  the  growth  formed 
in  summer  (which  is  often  the  case)  he  will  have  to  wait  a  long  time 
for  fruit.  To  the  former  part  of  the  question,  as  to  whether  the  shoots 
ought  to  remain,  the  answer  is,  “No.  It  is  by  man’s  error  that  the 
thicket  is  produced,  and  the  error  must  be  repaired  to  give  Nature  a 
chance  to  do  her  work.”  The  lost  balance  between  root  and  branch 
must  be  restored.  Such  growths  that  impede  the  ingress  of  air  to  the 
tree  and  obstruct  the  action  of  light  on  the  foliage  must  be  removed, 
and  further  obstruction  must  also  be  arrested  at  its  source — the  roots. 
The  roots  must  be  partially  checked,  or  the  tree  must  be  wholly  dug 
up  and  replanted  according  to  its  size  and  vigour,  and  fruitfulness  will 
ensue. 
The  Balance  of  Root  and  Branch. 
Trees  which  have  received  little  or  no  pruning  since  they  left  the 
nursery  grow  naturally  thinly,  but  not  always  symmetrically,  and  in 
time  become  studded  with  natural  spurs  and  laden  with  fruit.  Where 
quantity  of  fruit  is  of  greater  moment  than  the  shape  of  a  tree  it  will 
be  well  to  only  prune  the  tree  very  slightly  after  it  is  five  years  old, 
but  merely  thin  out  branches  that  are  likely  to  cross  each  other  or 
cause  overcrowding.  If  a  symmetrical  tree  is  of  importance  then  it 
must  be  pruned  accordingly,  but  the  roots  must  have  attention  as  well 
as  the  branches,  or  fruit  will  be  sparse.  As  many  examples  prove, 
trees  both  handsome  in  shape  and  fruitful  in  nature  may  be  produced 
by  an  intelligent  system  of  manipulation,  but  this  can  only  be  accom¬ 
plished  by  preventing  the  power  of  the  roots  overbalancing  that  of  the 
branches,  while  at  the  same  time  root  action  is  sufficient  to  sustain  the 
tree  in  a  healthy  slate.  The  extremes  of  severe  restriction  on  tlje  one 
hand  and  natural  wildness  on  the  other  have  been  pointed  out,  and  it 
is  for  the  cultivator  to  adopt  the  mean  that  will  best  meet  his  require¬ 
ments,  but  if  fruit  is  the  main  object  let  him  put  much  trust  in 
Nature. — Fruit  Grower 
IRISH  NOTES. 
The  weather  during  the  past  week  has  been  very  unpleasant ;  the 
early  days  were  fine,  but  towards  the  end  we  have  had  snowstorms  at 
frequent  intervals.  The  schedule  for  the  guidance  of  exhibitors  at 
the  meetings  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  of  Ireland  has  been 
issued.  The  lists  of  prizes  are  similar  to  previous  years,  with  the 
exception  of  a  silver  challenge  cup,  value  ten  sovereigns,  which  has 
been  presented  by  Messrs.  West  &  Son,  College  Green,  Dublin,  which 
will  be  given  for  a  stand  of  eighteen  blooms  of  Roses,  comprising 
Teas  and  Noisettes.  The  dates  are  ;  The  spring  show,  Wednesday, 
April  11th,  at  the  Royal  University  Buildings,  Earlsfort  Terrace; 
the  summer  show,  Thursday,  July  5th,  at  Merrion  Square ;  the 
autumn  show,  Tuesday,  August  28th,  at  the  same  place;  and  the 
winter  show,  Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  November  6th  and  7th,  at 
the  Royal  Dublin  Society’s  Buildings,  Ball’s  Bridge.  Any  further 
information  can  be  obtained  by  writing  to  the  Secretary,  Mr.  W.  H. 
Hillyard,  61,  Dawson  Street,  Dublin. 
Not  a  Miniature  Rockery. 
To  those  persons  who  admire  the  form  and  outline  of  rooks  jutting 
out,  or  laid  on  a  sward  with  some  choice  Alpines,  shrubs,  or  towering 
trees  to  harmonise  the  whole,  the  natural  rockery  attached  to  the 
gardens  of  G.  Orr  Wilson,  Esq.,  at  Dunardagh,  Blackrock,  Dublin, 
would  have  attractions  untold.  This  extensive  rockery  covers  an 
area  of  close  on  two  acres,  and  is  one  mass  of  rocks  piled  one  upon 
another,  wherein  tortuous  paths  have  been  made,  and  disclose  many 
an  attractive  picture  when  viewed  from  the  gardens  adjoining  the 
residence.  Mr.  Hardy,  the  gardener,  has  only  just  finished  those 
winding  paths  and  formed  several  beds,  but  these  simply  await  the 
beneficent  touch  of  spring  to  transform  them  into  life  and  beauty. 
Owing  to  the  immense  area  to  be  covered,  it  will  take  this  experienced 
and  thoughtful  gardener  some  time  ere  the  rockery  will  be  quite 
complete. 
A  Useful  Fern  Wall. 
On  the  occasion  of  a  recent  visit  to  the  gardens  of  Talbot  Power, 
Esq.,  Leopardstown  Park,  Stillorgan,  my  attention  was  drawn  to  a 
wall  on  which  Maidenhair  Ferns  in  variety  were  growing.  It  formed 
a  veritable  sheet  of  Fern,  and  the  advantages. accruing  from  this  mode 
of  culture  are  evident,  as  it  places  at  the  disposal  of  the  gardener,  Mr. 
J.  Sweeny,  a  practically  unlimited  supply  of  the  indispensable  fronds, 
and  at  the  same  time  leaves  valuable  stage  space  f.ee  for  other  plants. 
The  arrangement  consists  of  grooved  tiles  running  parallel  from  the 
bottom  upwards,  and  the  space  available  in  the  grooves  is  quite  broad 
enough  to  cultivate  a  good  sized  plant.  In  the  same  house  some  noble 
specimens  of  that  handsome  stove  foliage  plant  Anthurium  crystallinum 
were  to  be  seen.  The  large  dull  green  leaves  and  the  prominent  silver 
veins  look  exceedingly  well  ;  the  specimens  are  placed  at  intervals, 
between  which  various  plants  are  fittingly  disposed. — A.  O’Neill. 
Orinum  augustum.^ — -The  genus  Crinum  is  productive  of  a  very 
large  number  of  handsome  flowering  species,  many  of  which  are  highly 
thought  of  by  the  horticulturist  for  the  decoration  of  stove  or  green, 
house.  That  under  notice  is  one  of  the  showiest  of  the  genus,  and 
deserves  universal  attention.  It  is  a  native  of  Mauritius  and  the 
Seychelle  Islands,  and  requires  a  stove  temperature.  By  reason  of  its 
foliage  alone  it  is  a  striking  plant,  the  leaves  often  being  from  3^  to 
4  feet  long  and  5  inches  wide,  occasionally  exceeding  those  dimensions. 
The  flowers  are  produced  in  large  spreading  umbels,  on  scapes  3  feet 
high,  from  fifteen  to  twenty  blossoms  being  often  contained  in  each 
head.  Individually  they  are  large  and  showy.  The  corolla  tube  is 
from  5  to  6  inches  long.  The  perianth  segments  are  long  and 
spreading,  making  the  open  flowers  often  7  inches  across.  With  the 
exception  of  the  inner  side  of  the  segments  and  the  anthers  the  whole 
flower  and  upper  part  of  the  scape  is  of  a  deep  red  colour.  The 
anthers  are  bright  yellow,  while  the  other  excepted  portion  has  a  white 
ground  deeply  stained  with  red.  The  plant  is  of  easy  cultivation, 
provided  it  has  good  loamy  well-drained  soil,  with  abundance  of  heat 
and  moisture  during  its  growing  season,  and  a  three-months  rest  in 
winter. — W.  D. 
