January  6,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
3 
prominence  given  to  the  Cactus  Dahlia.  I  hear,  however,  that  the 
Committee  has  done  a  curious  thing,  offering  a  prize  for  twenty- 
four  blooms,  to  be  shown  on  a  board,  like  the  Show  Dahlias.  The 
entire  merit  of  the  Cactus  section  is  that  of  suitability  for  decorative 
purposes,  and  how  this  can  be  gained  by  exhibiting  in  such  a  manner 
I  cannot  understand.  The  National  Rose  Society  has  now  come  of 
age,  having  been  established  in  1876.  Many  of  its  earlier  friends 
have  passed  away,  and  perhaps  more  than  any  other  Society  of  the 
kind  it  has  been  affected  by  what  the  witty  Dean  of  Norwich  called 
“Jubilitus;”  but  I  have  a  firm  belief  that  when  we  get  over  the 
“  temporary  chill  ”  that  it  has  sustained,  it  will  still  go  on  in  its 
prosperous  career. 
'I  do  not  think  that  any  great  change  has  taken  place  during  the 
past  year  in  the  taste  for  special  flowers.  Orchids  still  maintain  their 
pre-eminence  as  the  most  aristocratic,  highly  valued  plants  for  our 
glass  structures,  while  for  the  humbler  devotees  of  Flora  we  find 
the  Carnation,  Chrysanthemum,  Dahlia,  and  Rose  still  maintain 
their  position  as  the  greatest  favourites.  It  may  be  asked  on  what  do 
I  ground  this  assertion  ?  Simply  this,  that  they  have  secured  a  large 
number  of  “decorations,”  as  the  French  call  them,  for  new  seedlings, 
and  this  is  a  very  good  test.  A  tew  years  back  the  tuberous  rooted 
Begonia  was  very  much  in  evidence,  but  very  few  varieties  have 
received  any  award  this  year.  In  the  same  way  some  years  ago  single 
Dahlias  were  in  high  favour  and  received  numerous  awards,  but  now 
they  are  little  thought  of,  other  flowers  having  taken  their  place.  In 
several  instances,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Begonia,  the  limit  of  improve¬ 
ment  seems  to  have  been  reached,  and  such  good  flowers  can  be 
raised  from  mixed  seed  that  the  cultivation  of  named  varieties  has 
almost  ceased. 
There  are  three  families  of  Orchids  to  which  several  additions  have 
been  made  during  the  past  year — Cattleyas,  Lrelias  (under  which  we 
must  include  the  new  family  of  hybrids,  Laelio-Cattleyas)  and  Cypri- 
pediums.  Of  Laelias  there  have  been  twelve  ;  of  Cattleyas  twenty-one ; 
and  of  Laelio-Cattleyas  sixteen ;  a  pretty  good  addition  for  one  yeaf, 
and  I  am  afraid  Orchid  growers  are  running  into  the  error  for 
^^hich  they  have  been  amongst  the  first  to  decry  the  florists — namely, 
for  bringing  forward  a  number  of  varieties  which  are  not  distinct  from 
those  already  in  cultivation. 
% 
Great  complaints  have  been  made  with  regard  to  the  multi¬ 
plication  of  awards  to  other  flowers,  and  I  think  not  without  reason. 
Surely  it  is  going  “beyond  the  beyonts,”  as  Paddy  says,  to  give 
awards  to  sixty-six  new  Chrysanthemums  and  thirty-four  new  Dahlias  ! 
If  these  were  all  collected  together  and  put  before  a  grower  he  would 
be  ready  to  tear  his  hair  and  use  very  strong  language  if  he  were  told 
he  had  to  grow  all.  There  were  only  eight  Carnations  and  ten 
Roses  honoured,  and  therefore  it  is  that  in  the  two  former  flowers  that 
the  retrenchment,  as  far  as  rewards  are  concerned,  should  be  used. 
Our  home  raisers  of  Roses  have,  as  usual,  delighted  growers  with 
their  productions.  Messrs.  Paul  &  Son  of  Cheshunt,  Messrs.  William 
Paul  &  Son  of  Waltham  Cross,  and  Messrs.  Alex.  Dickson  &  Sons 
of  Newtownards  have  all  maintained  the  high  position  they  have 
acquired  as  the  raisers  of  new  flowers ;  and  whether  it  be  amongst 
exhibition  varieties  or  flowers  suitable  for  the  garden,  they  have  made 
us  practically  independent  of  foreign  raisers.  Time  was  when  we  all 
eagerly  scanned  the  French  lists  to  see  what  was  coming  out ;  now 
we  take  the  matter  very  calmly,  and  I  believe  very  few  amateurs  ever 
see  them.  Over  this  change  all  true  rosarians  must  rejoice.  And 
now,  my  friends,  farewell.  All  these  subjects  about  which  I  have 
written  suggest  higher  and  nobler  thoughts,  for  we  are  all  led  in  that 
Book  which  God  has  given  us  to  be  a  “  lamp  unto  our  feet  and  a 
light  unto  our  paths,”  to  look  from  things  here  to  things  above,  and 
let  us  never  forget  that  in  the  glowing  descriptions  to  us  of  the  future 
Kingdom  the  idea  of  a  garden  is  not  absent  ;  and  so  may  you,  my 
brothers  and  sisters,  while  tending  your  plants  and  admiring  their 
beauty,  be  led  to  look  up  from  them  to  their  Maker,  and  in  them  to 
realise  all  Ills  wonder  and  power,  who  causeth  the  “bud  and  the 
tender  herb  to  spring  forth,”  and  at  last,  when  time  is  ended,  may 
spend  a  glorious  eternity  in  the  Paradise  of  God. — D.,  Deal. 
NATURE’S  LAWS  AS  APPLIED  TO  TREES. 
Branches  Controlling  Certain  Roots. 
Although  I  have  no  scientific  knowledge  of  the  construction  of  a 
tree,  I  will  endeavour  to  prove  that  certain  branches  almost  solely 
control  certain  roots,  more  especially  in  trees  or  plants  of  quick 
growth. 
In  experimenting  with  trees  that  were  not  required,  and  intended 
to  be  cut  down,  it  has  been  an  easy  matter  for  me  to  select  a  branch 
which  would  be,  say,  one-tenth  or  one-twentieth  part  of  the  entire 
tree,  and  by  tracing  the  raised  bark  (which  can  generally  be  seen  in 
quick-growing  trees)  to  the  base,  it  will  be  seen  what  roots  the  branch 
derives  its  principal  supply  from.  If  the  root  is  severed  the  growth 
of  that  particular  branch  is  checked;  it  ha.s  to  depend  upon  support 
from  other  sources,  and  the  branch  is  not  likely  to  take  such  a 
prominent  position  in  the  tree  again. 
Should  you  sever  or  even  bruise  the  bark  on  the  root  selected,  and 
apply  poison  in  the  form  of  dissolved  arsenic,  if  the  tree  is  in  full 
vigour  it  will  be  seen  that  in  the  next  two  or  three  days  (according  to 
the  construction  of  the  tree  and  climatic  conditions),  the  branch 
will  be  perfectly  dead,  and  in  most  cases  it  will  not  appear  to  injui'e 
the  other  branches.  Should  such  trees  as  Poplars  be  operated  upon  it 
generally  causes  a  strip  of  bark,  extending  from  the  branch  to  the  root, 
to  die,  and  yet  in  many  other  trees  it  does  not  appear  to  affect  the 
outer  layer;  but  although  not  visible  to  the  eye  it  must  interfere  to 
some  extent  with  future  success.  Such  experiments  should  only 
be  attempted  where  trees  are  considered  to  be  of  no  value,  and  are 
intended  to  be  destroyed. 
I  think  the  above  will  assist  in  proving  that  trees  and  shrubs 
which  are  depending  upon  several  roots,  and  are  making  free  growth, 
are  built  up  in  sections,  each  leading  section  controlling  to  a  great 
extent  corresponding  leading  roots,  otherwise  one  branch  could  not 
possibly  be  killed  by  poisoning  one  root,  but  the  whole  of  the  tree 
would  suffer  accordingly. 
Should  a  tree  be  planted  within  reasonable  distance  of  water  or 
soil  that  is  more  favourable  for  quick  growth,  the  leading  root  is 
almost  certain  to  be  in  that  direction,  and  in  such  cases  almost  the 
whole  of  the  tree  can  be  killed  by  poisoning  that  root,  if  done  at  a 
time  when  it  is  depending  upon  it  for  its  principal  supply. 
Staking  Trees. 
This  is  work  that  is  too  often  done  when  it  would  be  better  if  the 
tree  were  left  to  Nature.  I  will  try  to  explain  the  good  and  bad 
effects  produced.  By  way  of  illustration  we  will  suppose  that  tree 
No.  1  is  planted.  It  may  be  an  Oak,  Elm,  or  Plane.  It  has  been 
growing  in  nursery  rows,  is  10  feet  high,  8  feet  showing  a  clean  stem. 
At  6  inches  above  the  ground  the  stem  is,  say,  inch  in  diameter,  at 
8  feet  high  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  the  roots  are 
well  regulated.  We  place  a  4  by  4-inch  stake  or  post,  to  stand  8  feet 
out  of  the  ground  ;  the  tree  is  secured  to  the  post  at  the  top,  and  at 
three  other  places  at  equal  distance ;  it  is  well  supplied  with  water, 
but  planted  in  rather  an  exposed  situation.  To  make  sure  that  the 
top  of  the  stake  or  post  will  not  move  we  place  three  or  four  strong 
wire  supports  at  the  top,  and  secure  them  by  strong  pegs  in  the 
ground.  _  _ 
At  the  end  of  three  years  under  ordinary  conditions  the  stem  will 
be,  say,  6  inches  trom  the  ground,  2  or  2^  inches  in  diameter,  and 
8  feet  from  the  ground  to  2J  inches  in  diameter.  By  close 
observation  it  will  also  be  found  that  the  roots  near  the  base  are  very 
small  for  the  size  of  the  tree,  and  the  largest  roots  are  generally 
not  so  near  the  surface.  Now,  the  cause  of  the  diameter  being 
reversed  is  controlled  by  the  artificial  support,  consequently  the  tree 
has  to  provide  for  the  greatest  strain  directly  above  the  stake,  which 
causes  it  to  be  larger  and  stronger  than  is  required  near  the  base. 
We  will  plant  another  tree;  this  we  will  call  No.  2.  It  is  a 
similar  tree  to  No.  1,  and  planted  in  the  same  soil  and  exposure,  but 
supported  only  with  three  stays  about  5  feet  from  the  ground,  each 
stay  fastened  to  something  that  will  allow  the  tree  to  move  with 
the  wind,  say  12  or  15  inches  in  either  direction.  At  the  end  of 
three  years  this  tree  6  inches  from  the  ground  should  be  about 
3  inches  in  diameter,  and  8  feet  from  the  ground  say  If  inch  in 
iiameter.  This  tree  has  not  had  any  unnecessary  support,  and  is 
proportioned  according  to  the  strain  placed  upon  it.  Ihe  leverage 
has  also  been  greater  on  the  surface  roots,  and  they  are  consequently 
the  largest,  and  would  continue  to  be  the  leading  roots  of  the  tree. 
Tap  Roots. 
There  is  a  diversity  of  opinion  as  regards  tap  roots.  The  largest 
trees  that  have  come  under  my  notice  are  almost  devoid  of  a  tap  root, 
but  are  invariably  composed  of  many  leading  roots  of  a  uniform 
character,  which  are  also  capable  of  penetrating  the  subsoil  to  probably 
as  great  a  depth  as  the  same  species  that  is  trusting  principally  to  a 
tap  root.  , 
