80 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  26,  1895. 
Roses  and  the  Weathee. 
One  thing  I  think  somewhat  surprised  visitors  and  rosarians  gene¬ 
rally — namely,  the  high  character  in  which  some  of  the  darker  Roses 
have  been  exhibited.  One  has  noticed  this  in  one’s  own  garden,  where 
not  only  Roses  but  other  flowers  which  have  continued  much  longer  in 
bloom  than  they  did  in  1893  ;  in  fact  we  have  to  be  careful  what  general 
statement  we  make  on  the  subject  of  Roses.  I  stated  in  a  former  article 
that  we  might  naturally  expect  that  the  Roses  which  would  stand  the 
test  of  the  exhibition  best  as  to  the  staging  powers  would  be  Roses 
grown  upon  stiff  soil,  but  I  have  a  letter  before  me  from  my  old  friend 
Mr.  B.  R.  Cant,  in  which  be  says,  “  My  best  plants  are  on  light  land, 
12  acres  just  brought  into  spade  cultivation  and  not  worth  10s.  an  acre.” 
We  have  but  one  more  of  our  three  great  contests  to  chronicle,  but  I 
hope  it  will  be  as  successful  as  those  which  have  preceded  it.  I  may 
perhaps  comment  on  the  Derby  show  in  a  future  issue. — D.,  Deal, 
SUMMER  PRUNING  FRUIT  TREES. 
The  present  is  a  seasonable  moment  to  write  a  few  lines  anent  this 
subject,  which  is  understood  by  all  practical  cultivators  to  be  a  great 
assistance  to  obtaining  a  full  fruit  crop  in  the  years  to  come.  Summer 
pruning,  or  as  some  prefer,  pinching  of  the  current  year’s  shoots,  is  a 
useful  aid,  but  even  this  practice,  no  matter  how  intelligently  it  is 
carried  out,  will  not  produce  a  fruit  crop  alone.  The  trees  thus 
operated  upon  must  be  satisfactory  in  every  other  way — roots  and 
branches  alike.  I  am  under  the  impression  now  that  there  is  some 
misunderstanding  regarding  the  value  and  effect  of  summer  pruning 
fruit  trees.  Too  many  persons  appear  to  think  that  pinching  the  shoots 
in  June  or  July  will  induce  the  formation  of  fruit  spurs  at  the  base  of 
each  shoot,  and  that  a  crop  of  fruit  will  follow  the  next  year.  My 
object  in  penning  this  note  is  to  controvert  this  idea.  Some  go  further, 
and  say  if  there  is  no  sign  of  the  formation  of  a  fruit  bud  in  September 
the  shoot  should  be  cut  off  again,  this  time  lower  ;  fruit  buds  will  then 
form.  The  main  object  of  summer  pruning  is  to  admit  of  the  free 
penetration  of  sun  and  air  to  mature  the  branches  and  thus  assist  in  the 
formation  of  future  bloom  buds. 
These  latter  are  quite  distinct  from  wood  growths  purely.  It  is 
difficult  indeed  to  induce  fruit  buds  to  form  from  purely  wood  buds. 
Anyone  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  a  branch  of  an  Apple 
tree  at  the  present  time  will  find,  even  now,  the  next  year’s  fruit 
buds  are  formed,  and  as  such  will  remain  in  the  embryo  state  for 
some  time.  The  object,  then,  of  summer  pruning  is  to  assist  the 
maturation  of  the  branches  by  the  additional  light  and  air  admitted 
by  the  removal  of  all  surplus  shoots.  Apart  from  assisting  the  maturity 
of  the  branches  by  the  aid  of  summer  pruning,  the  fruit  being  more 
exposed  to  sunlight  colours  so  much  better.  It  is  washed  and  made 
cleaner  and  free  from  honejdew,  dust,  and  dirt  in  general.  Take  for 
instance  Red  Currants  ;  there  is  no  comparison  in  the  appearance  of 
fruit  obtained  from  summer  -  pruned  trees  and  from  those  not  so 
treated.  The  colour  and  cleanly  appearance  of  the  former  is  well 
worth  the  trouble  involved.  An  acquaintance  of  mine  who  is  a  hardy 
fruit  tree  cultivator  of  some  considerable  experience  removes  wholly 
many  of  these  surplus  shoots,  cutting  them  away  as  near  to  the  base 
as  possible. 
His  idea  is  that  they  are  not  required  for  future  fruit  production,  and 
are  but  a  hindrance  to  the  maturation  of  the  wood  and  already  forming 
fruit  buds.  My  plan  is  to  cut  away  all  current  year’s  shoots  that  are  not 
required  for  the  future  extension  of  the  trees,  or  the  filling  in  of  any 
gaps  that  there  may  be  adequate  space  for  an  extra  branch.  These  I  do 
not  cut  at  all  during  the  summer,  at  least  not  until  2  or  more  feet  of 
growth  has  been  made.  Even  then  where  space  admits  for  an  extension 
of  the  main  branches  I  allow  them  to  grow  at  will,  knowing  that  fruit 
will  be  obtained  from  these  same  shoots  in  the  course  of  two  or  three 
years  at  the  most.  Surplus  shoots  I  cut  back  to  about  four  eyes  or  buds. 
If  they  are  cut  lower  there  is  a  danger  of  the  base  eyes  pushing  into 
growth.  The  bulk  of  the  shoots  pruned  in  June  make  another  start 
into  growth,  these  in  time  need  removal  also.  Not  only  does  the 
cutting  away  of  these  surplus  shoots  give  increased  light  and  air  to  the 
branches,  but  it  reduces  to  a  minimum  the  energy  of  the  tree  being 
diverted  into  useless  channels.  The  swelling  of  the  fruit  is  much 
accelerated  by  timely  summer  pruning  of  useless  growth.  Another 
advantage  gained  by  summer  pruning  is  the  wholesale  destruction  of  so 
many  insect  pests,  such  as  black  fly  in  particular,  that  infest  the  tender 
unfolding  leaves.  These  when  cut  off  and  burnt  are  prevented  from 
transmittance  to  other  trees. — E.  M.  S. 
TWENTY-FOUR  DEGREES  OF  FROST  IN  THE  MIDDLE 
OF  JUNE— A  DISCLAIMER. 
Your  readers  need  not  have  any  immediate  fear  of  the  return 
of  the  glacial  epoch.  Locally,  it  is  well  known  that  independent  of 
the  influence  of  varying  degrees  of  atmospheric  pressure,  the 
thermometers  under  the  care  of  “  Mr.  Thos.  Pitts  ”  have  previously 
performed  some  exceedingly  low  freaks,  yet  the  fact  remains  that 
the  most  tender  vegetation  surrounding  them  recovers  from  these 
scathing  ordeals  without  signs  of  serious  injury.  Your  Editorial  foot¬ 
note  to  “  York’s  ”  puzzle  (page  32)  queries  truly,  “  there  is  something 
wrong  somewhere.”  The  “  Paxton  Society,”  as  the  responsible  authority 
for  circulating  through  the  Press  such  slang  as  Mr.  Pitts’  readiness 
to  “  gamble  ”  on  the  accuracy  of  his  thermometers,  and  endorsing  it 
with  cordial  votes  of  thanks,  has  not — well,  we  will  say,  added  to  the 
dignity  of  the  Society.  Judging  from  the  numerous  communications 
addressed  to  myself  as  “  Secretary  ”  of  this  Society,  it  is  evident  that 
there  is  an  impression  prevalent  that  I  still  occupy  that  position.  By 
your  permission  I  take  this  opportunity  to  repudiate  any  connection 
with  a  Society  that  causes  the  circulation  of  such  rubbish.  — 
Thos.  Garnett,  St.  John's,  Wakefield. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Horsforth  Gardeners’  Improvement  Society, 
the  paragraph  from  the  Wakefield  Paxton  Society  in  your  issue  of 
July  4th,  where  Mr.  Pitts  states  that  he  registered  24°  of  frost  between 
June  15th  and  22nd,  came  up  for  discussion  on  the  unseasonable 
weather  of  the  last  few  months.  Our  Chairman,  Mr.  Jewett,  who 
is  an  old  Wakefield  Paxtonian,  got  rather  severely  roasted  about 
the  gullibility  of  a  Society  which  he  has  always  held  up  to  us  as 
a  pattern  to  c  'py.  He  tells  us  he  has  been  out  of  touch  for  a  few 
years  with  the  Wakefield  Society,  but  he  thinks  there  must  have  been  a 
great  change  in  the  Society  of  late,  and  does  not  believe  that  the  body 
of  intelligent  gardeners  that  used  to  sit  around  the  table  (and  some  of 
them  members  from  the  Walton  district)  when  he  was  there,  would  ever 
have  shown  such  fantastic  business  capabilities  as  the  taking  of  such  a 
startling  statement  without  something  more  than  verbal  proof  of  it.  I 
can  say  from  what  I  have  seen  since  he  originated  this  Society,  and  of 
his  chairmanship,  that  Mr.  Pitts  would  have  had  to  bring  very  demon¬ 
strative  proof  before  he  would  have  asked  us  to  give  a  vote  of  thanks 
for  such  nonsense  as  24°  of  frost  in  June  in  Yorkshire.  It  is  time 
Mr.  Pitts  gave  an  answer  to  the  courteous  letter  from  “York”  and  set 
the  matter  at  rest. — E.  Houlden. 
Having  read  the  report  of  the  Wakefield  Paxton  Society’s  meeting 
in  your  issue  of  July  4th,  where  Mr.  Pitts  makes  the  astounding  state¬ 
ment  that  he  registered  on  one  night,  between  the  15th  and  22nd  of 
June,  24°  of  frost,  I  passed  it  over  as  an  error ;  but  after  reading  the 
note  from  your  correspondent  “  York,”  and  the  footnote  added,  attesting 
to  the  accuracy  of  the  statement  being  made,  I  looked  forward  with  no 
little  interest  for  a  reply  by  Mr.  Pitts  to  “  York’s  ”  very  courteously 
worded  inquiries,  but  was  disappointed. 
Perhaps  Mr.  Pitts  is  unable  to  reply  owing  to  pressure  of  work, 
which,  after  24°  of  frost  in  June,  must  be  very  heavy.  Might  I  suggest 
to  him  a  way  out  of  his  difficulty,  namely,  that  he  should  ask  E.  Simpson, 
Esq.,  of  Walton  Hall,  to  send  us  confirmation  or  refutation  of  the  state¬ 
ment  ?  This  gentleman  has  kept,  I  believe,  a  meteorological  record  of  every 
day  for  upwards  of  twenty  years,  and  prior  to  1891  these  records  were 
taken  in  the  same  garden  where  Mr.  Pitts’  wonderful  frost  occurred.  I 
hope  this  suggestion  will  help  him,  or  perhaps  he  could  obtain  a  witness 
nearer  home — Dr.  Kendall,  for  instance. 
I  have  long  had  great  respect  for  the  Wakefield  Paxton  Society,  for 
its  sturdy  Yorkshire  integrity,  and  for  the  good  it  has  done  for  gar¬ 
dening,  but  after  perusing  “  The  Frost  in  Yorkshire  ”  paragraph  I  began 
to  think  that  there  must  be  something  wrong  somewhere,  when  an 
audience  will  sit  and  calmly  let  such  statements  get  into  the  Press.  It 
tempts  one  to  ask  if  the  old  hands  are  still  at  the  helm,  I  mean  those 
who  originated  and  brought  the  Society  up  from  its  infancy,  and  worked 
so  hard  for  its  success.  Have  they  gone  over  to  the  great  majority,  or 
have  they  been  superseded  by  novices  ? — J.  W.,  Yorkshire, 
HAWFINCHES. 
“  W.  S.,”  on  page  58,  asks  for  information  on  hawfinches.  Although 
I  am  fairly  well  acquainted  with  these  birds,  it  is  a  new  feature  in  their 
character  and  habits  to  hear  of  their  taking  Cherries,  and  I  imagine  it 
would  be  on  similar  lines  to  bullfinches  taking  or  destroying  Raspberries 
— viz.,  for  the  seeds  or  kernel  contained  in  the  Cherry  stones,  and  the 
bullfinch  for  the  seed,  and  not  the  pulp  of  the  Raspberry.  Perhaps 
“  W.  S.”  will  kindly  notice  this,  and  let  us  know.  Hawfinches  in  the 
winter  months  feed  on  the  kernels  of  Plum  or  Damson  stones  left  under 
trees  from  fallen  fruits,  their  massive  and  powerful  bills  enabling  them 
to  crack  them  as  easily  as  a  boy  with  good  teeth  does  his  nuts.  They 
also  crack  the  common  nuts,  and  may  be  often  met  with  in  woods  in  the 
winter,  searching  among  the  leaves  for  nuts.  They  also  feed  largely 
on  the  kernels  of  the  Hawthorn  stones,  from  which  I  suppose  they 
obtain  their  name  Hawfinch.  I  remember  some  vears  ago  seeing  quite 
a  number  of  these  birds  in  the  parish  of  Wooton-Wawen,  in  Warwick¬ 
shire,  feeding  under  large  Hawthorn  trees  where  the  ground  was  literally 
smothered  with  the  split  Hawthorn  stones.  In  passing  I  may  state 
that  some  of  the  fine  old  parks  in  Warwickshire  abound  with  these  large 
Hawthorn  trees  which  provide  the  fieldfares,  redwings,  and  other  birds 
with  an  abundance  of  food  from  the  fleshy  outside  of  the  haws,  which 
they  swallow  and  digest,  and  by  the  economy  of  Nature  the  stone  passes 
from  them,  and  afterwards  affords  the  hawfinch  food,  second  hand, 
as  it  were,  from  the  seed.  From  the  closeness  of  the  growth  in  the 
heads  of  these  fine  old  trees  they  afford  shade  and  shelter  for  numerous 
herds  of  cattle. 
I  have  frequently  remarked  at  the  classes  where  I  have  given 
technical  instruction  on  fruit  growing  in  Warwickshire,  that  had  these 
trees  been  grafted  or  budded  in  their  young  days  with  Medlars  or  Pears 
thousands  of  tons  of  fruit  for  man  might  have  been  grown,  and  Medlars 
afford  excellent  shade  on  similar  lines,  while  a  fine  effect  is  formed  by 
the  pure  white  bloom  set  in  a  cluster  of  fine  bright  green  foliage. 
