384 
October  24,  1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
for  their  reception.  When  I  write  proportionately  large,  I  do 
not  mean  just  large  enough  to  cram  the  roots  of  the  transplanted 
shrub  into,  but  large  enough  to  supply  them  with  a  free  root  run 
for  several  years.  Those  having  balls  of  earth  3  feet  in  diameter 
ought  to  have  holes  5  or  6  feet  across  prepared  for  them,  and  in 
cases  where  young  trees  are  removed  to  positions  near  old-estab¬ 
lished  ones  even  more  than  this,  otherwise  the  roots  of  the  older 
trees  will  rob  those  of  the  younger  ones  of  the  full  benefit  of  the 
prepared  soil.  It  is  also  a  good  plan  to  place  a  layer  of  manure 
in  the  bottom  of  the  holes,  but  this  should,  of  course,  be  covered 
with  soil,  so  that  the  roots  do  not  come  in  contact  with  it  till 
they  have  begun  to  grow  freely. 
Too  often  nothing  is  done  towards  enriching  the  soil  of 
shrubberies,  and  under  such  circumstances  good  growth  during  a 
long  succession  of  years  cannot  reasonably  be  expected.  In  those 
instances  in  which  large  roots  have  to  be  severed  when  trans¬ 
planting  shrubs,  some  of  the  top  growth  should  also  be  cut  away, 
to  restore  the  balance  between  root  and  branch,  and  secure  strong, 
clean,  future  growth,  instead  of  the  reverse. 
Turning  to  the  fruit  garden,  there  is  always  a  certain  amount 
of  re-arrangement  to  be  done.  Feeble  or  worthless  trees  have  to 
be  uprooted,  younger  ones  thinned  out,  or  perhaps  an  additional 
quarter  planted.  Many  good  fruit  growers  adopt  the  plan  of 
buying  annually  a  few  maiden  trees  of  Peaches,  Plums,  Pears,  and 
Cherries  for  growing  against  walls  wherever  a  vacant  space  may 
occur  between  the  permanent  trees.  In  a  couple  of  years  these 
are  converted  into  good  trained  trees,  and  are  ready  for  trans¬ 
planting  into  permanent  positions  ;  when  a  good  stock  of  suitable 
trees  of  this  description  are  always  at  hand  the  tendency  to  allow 
old  and  unprofitable  ones  to  encumber  the  ground  and  cover 
valuable  wall  space  is  greatly  lessened. 
When  preparing  the  sites  for  wall  trees  the  work  should  be 
done  thoroughly.  Holes  5  or  6  feet  in  diameter  should  be  made. 
On  light  soils  the  depth  may  be  2  feet  G  inches  ;  on  heavy  soils 
6  or  9  inches.  In  either  case  a  layer  of  broken  bricks  or  clinkers 
ought  to  be  placed  in  the  bottom,  and  covered  with  straw  or  other 
rough  material.  If  possible  the  whole  of  the  soil  taken  out  of  the 
hole  should  be  carted  away,  and  good  turfy  loam  substituted  for  it. 
Many  cultivators  are,  however,  not  able  to  procure  good  loam  in 
sufficient  quantities  for  this  purpose.  In  such  instances  burnt 
refuse  mixed  with  some  of  the  best  of  the  old  soil  will  do  for 
filling  in  the  bottom  half  of  the  hole,  but  good  loam  ought  to 
be  used  in  the  upper  layers. 
Wherever  it  is  intended  to  plant  fruit  trees  the  holes  should, 
if  possible,  be  prepared  at  once,  so  that  the  additional  trees  required 
and  ordered  from  one  of  our  many  reliable  nurserymen  may  be 
planted  as  soon  as  they  arrive.  By  forwarding  work  in  this  way 
the  energetic  gardener  is  often  able  to  do  the  greater  part  of  the 
necessary  planting  before  severe  weather  sets  in,  a  matter  of  vital 
importance,  especially  when  a  severe  and  protracted  winter  is 
followed  by  a  dry  spring  and  early  summer,  such  as  we  experienced 
last  year. 
In  planting  these  nursery  trees  the  greatest  care  should  be 
exercised,  because  it  is  of  course  impracticable  to  lift  and  dispatch 
them  with  good  balls  of  earth,  such  as  those  transplanted  from 
one  part  to  another  of  the  same  garden  would  possess.  Nursery¬ 
men  especially  prepare  their  trees  for  sending  long  distances  by 
frequent  transplanting  to  obtain  abundance  of  fibrous  roots,  but 
unless  the  purchaser  exercises  intelligence  in  planting  the  best 
results  cannot  be  obtained.  Assuming,  therefore,  that  when  a 
consignment  of  trees  arrives  everything  is  in  readiness  for  planting, 
this  should  be  done  as  soon  as  possible.  When  the  trees  are 
unpacked  if  the  roots  are  found  to  be  in  the  least  dry  they  ought 
to  be  soaked  in  tepid  water  for  an  hour,  the  damaged  roots  and 
points  of  the  others  being  first  cut  away.  The  holes  should  in  the 
meantime  be  partly  filled  with  the  prepared  compost ;  this  ought 
to  be  trodden  firmly  when  it  happens  to  be  rather  heavy  or  wet. 
As  the  trees  are  placed  in  position  it  is  important  to  see  that  the 
surface  roots  are  just  below  the  ground  level,  as  deep  planting  is 
the  cause  of  innumerable  evils. 
Each  layer  of  roots  must  be  spread  out  in  various  directions, 
covered  with  soil,  and  pressed  firmly  ;  in  fact  so  arranged  that 
every  rootlet  has  space  to  push  into  the  surrounding  soil  without 
being  forced  against  its  neighbour,  the  upper  layer  being  covered 
with  about  an  inch  of  soil,  which  surface  should  form  a  slight 
mound  above  the  ground  line,  so  that  when  the  usual  subsidence 
has  taken  place  the  whole  surface  will  form  one  level.  The  latter 
remarks  apply  to  medium  and  light  soils.  On  heavy  land  the 
upper  layer  of  roots  ought  to  be  above  the  general  ground  level, 
mounds,  of  course,  being  formed  around  them.  After  planting 
wall  trees  should  have  the  main  branches  lightly  fastened  to  the 
wall,  but  the  regular  training  must  not  be  done  till  the  spring, 
so  as  to  allow  them  to  sink  with  the  soil  into  their  natural 
position. 
All  newly  planted  trees  in  open  quarters  should,  on  the  other 
hand,  be  securely  staked  to  prevent  loosening  by  wind,  a  con¬ 
dition  under  which  they  cannot  succeed.  A  mulching  of  short 
manure  or  leaves  completes  the  operation.  Whenever  trees  or 
shrubs  arrive  at  times  when  they  cannot  be  planted  they  should, 
to  use  a  familiar  expression,  be  “  laid  in  by  the  heels,”  care  being 
taken  that  the  surface  roots  are  sufficiently  covered  to  prevent 
injury  by  frost.  Trees  treated  in  this  way  will  on  removal  in 
spring  often  exhibit  numbers  of  white  rootlets,  and  this  alone  is  a 
strong  argument  in  support  of  autumn  planting,  as  it  is  obviously 
a  great  advantage  to  have  the  trees  in  their  permanent  positions 
before  this  stage  of  root  development  has  been  reached.  These 
well  known  facts,  I  maintain,  serve  conclusively  to  show  that  every 
effort  ought  to  be  made  to  do  all  the  planting  possible  during  the 
autumn  and  early  winter  months.  This  is  a  golden  rule,  which 
cannot  be  too  strongly  or  too  often  impressed  on  the  mind  of 
the  British  fruit  grower,  a  class  of  men  who,  whatever  failings  they 
may  exhibit,  have  this  great  merit,  when  once  they  are  thoroughly 
convinced  of  the  soundness  of  a  practice,  do  not  allow  trifles  to 
deter  them  from  carrjing  it  out. — H.  D. 
HARDY  FLOWER  NOTES. 
Calm,  sweet  days  delighted  us  for  long,  and  day  by  day  the 
garden  seemed  to  grow  more  beautiful  as  the  Asters  came  into 
flower,  as  if  Autumn  had  been  striving  to  show  that  she,  like  the 
sister  seasons  which  have  passed  away,  had  grace  and  beauty 
enough  to  beguile  us  into  thinking  grey  days  would  never  come. 
Pleasant  was  it  to  sit  in  the  garden  arbour  or  to  stroll  along  the 
walks  and  admire  the  flowers,  that  appeared  to  delight  in  the 
warm  sunshine  and  the  calm  air  which  seemed  hardly  to  ruffle  a 
leaf.  But  the  dreaded  change  has  come,  and  with  it  many  flowers 
have  vanished  from  our  gardens  for  the  year,  although  some  may 
revive  should  frost  delay.  Not  as  we  expected,  however,  did  it 
come,  for  no  chill  north  wind  came,  as  it  is  wont  to  do  at  this 
season,  to  bring  frost  to  shrivel  and  blacken  leaf  and  bud  and 
flowers.  Instead,  fierce  western  gales,  with  heavy  rains  and  showers 
of  hail  have  wrought  their  unbridled  wills  among  the  garden 
plants.  The  taller  Sunflowers  and  Michaelmas  Daisies  have 
suffered  much,  and  now  these  delight-giving  plants  with  “  dripping 
boughs  beweep  their  beauty  lost.” 
In  the  bright  days  now  gone,  mayhap  never  to  return,  these  tall 
plants  were  pictures  of  beauty  and  of  grace.  In  our  lack  of  lan¬ 
guage  worthy  to  express  the  form  of  some  of  these  plants  we  call 
them  “pyramids,”  as  if  the  word  inseparably  associated  in  our 
minds  with  the  great  piles  of  masonry  on  the  Egyptian  wastes 
could  convey  any  impression  akin  to  or  descriptive  of  the  elegance 
of  form  so  many  of  these  plants  possess  naturally.  In  giving 
the  support  needed  to  enable  them  to  withstand  as  far  as 
possible  the  stormy  winds  it  is  necessary  that  they  should  not  be 
left  to  their  fate,  but  should  be  properly  staked  and  supported  in 
the  least  obtrusive  way.  With  this  carefully  done  their  beauty  of 
habit  is  not  destroyed  and  their  value  is  increased,  as  when  the 
storms  have  blown  past  they  will,  to  some  extent,  revive  and  flower 
for  some  time  longer.  The  old  English  name  is  more  attractive 
than  that  of  Aster,  which  reminds  us  more  of  the  annual  Calliste- 
phus  which  has  so  long  appropriated  that  name.  Although,  then, 
one  has  no  intention  of  confining  themselves  at  this  time  to  the 
