246 
JOURNAL  OF  ITORTTGULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  17,  1898. 
plant  and  inserting  with  a  heel  ;  in  fact,  similarly  to  propagating  Carna¬ 
tions.  The  cuttings  should  be  covered  with  a  bell-glass,  which  must  have 
the  moisture  wiped  from  it  twice  daily.  A  half-spent  hotbed  is  found  to 
answer  the  best  for  rooting  the  cuttings. 
Seedlings  are  easily  raised,  and  we  find  them  come  true  to  character. 
A  few  old  plants  were  selected  last  year  and  planted  m  an  open  and  sunny 
position,  where  they  flowered  and  seeded  freely.  The  seed  was  gathered 
as  soon  as  ripe  and  sown  at  once,  and  we  now  have  a  number  of  healthy 
plants.  Although  they  have  not  grown  very  large,  we  shall  find  them 
Invaluable  for  edgings  to  smaller  beds  for  the  summer  months.  Then  by 
the  autumn  at  lifting  time  they  will  make  excellent  plants. 
We  raise  a  number  of  seedlings  annuall}'  for  potting.  The  plants 
may  be  utilised  in  the  greenhouse  or  conservatory  with  excellent  effect 
during  the  dull  winter  months.  This  Centaurea  is  very  impatient  of 
excessive  watering,  therefore  we  allow  the  ])lants  to  become  almost  dust 
dry  before  applying  water  in  the  winter  season. — H.  T.  M.,  Stoneleigh. 
CHOICE  ANNUALS  FOH  CUTTING. 
Never,  perhaps,  in  the  history  of  the  floral  world  has  there  been  such 
an  increasing  and  popular  demand  for  cut  flowers  as  at  the  present  day, 
for  there  is  no  function  however  small  in  which  floral  decorations  do 
not  form  an  important  i)art.  It  is  essential,  therefore,  in  making  our 
selection  for  the  ensuing  season  to  choose  annuals  not  only  for  their 
bedding  qualities,  but  for  their  peculiar  gracefulness  and  beauty  and  their 
enduring  properties  as  cut  flowers. 
There  are  undoubtedly  frequent  failures  through  hurrying  seeds  into 
cold  soils  before  the  season  is  advanced  enough  for  them  to  germinate  and 
grow  freely  ;  it  is  therefore  necessary,  in  order  to  get  plants  as  far 
advanced  as  possible,  to  sow  under  glass  in  a  moderate  heat.  Shallow, 
well  drained  boxes  filled  with  light,  rich  sifted  soil  are  suitable  for  this 
purpose,  the  compost  consisting  of  equal  parts  of  loam,  leaf  mould,  peat, 
and  sand.  Sow  thinly,  cover  the  seeds  Init  slightly,  and  place  in  a  tempe¬ 
rature  of  about  55°.  Should  the  soil  be  in  a  proper  condition  for  the 
reception  of  the  seed  very  little  watering  will  be  required  till  the  seed¬ 
lings  appear,  when  shading  from  the  midday  sun  and  a  slight  watering 
occasionally  will  be  all  that  is  nece.ssary.  As  the  seedlings  progress  give 
more  light  and  air,  and  when  large  enough  prick  them  out  in  light,  rich 
soil  in  cold  frames,  giving  air  during  the  day  and  slight  protection  at 
night.  By  this  means  strong  plants  may  be  expected  for  transplanting 
into  their  flowering  quarters  in  May. 
Of  course,  in  all  lists  of  any  pretensions.  Asters  and  Stocks  hold  a 
foremost  place,  but  those  who  have  not  yet  tried  the  beautiful  single  Aster 
Callistepbus  sinensis,  would  do  well  to  include  it  in  their  lists  this  year. 
It  is  a  beautiful  Margueritc-like  flower,  having  a  most  charming  effect  in 
loosely-bound  bouquets  and  other  cut  flower  work,  while  its  varied  colours, 
its  lightness  and  gracefulness,  make  it  exceptionally  valuable.  Stocks  are 
splendid  bedders,  and  a  good  strain  of  Ten-week  yields  every  shade  of 
Colour  with  a  good  percentage  of  double  flowers  ;  but  among  these  the 
pure  white  variety,  “  Princess  Alice,”  should  hold  a  prominent  place.  This 
IS  a  large  and  bold  sweetly  scented  variety,  and  most  useful  for  cutting. 
Cosmos  hybridus  is  not  so  generally  grown  as  its  merits  deserve,  as  it  is  a 
most  charming  annual  of  very  easy  culture.  The  flower  very  much 
resembles  the  single  Dahlia,  being,  however,  smaller  and  more  graceful, 
while  its  elegant  Nigella-like  foliage  greatly  enhances  its  value  and  beauty. 
The  seeds,  which  are  rather  large,  germinate  quickly,  and  as  the  plant 
grows  to  about  3  feet  in  height,  it  forms  a  valuable  addition  to  the  flower 
border,  blooming  continuously  until  cut  down  by  the  autumn  frosts. 
Sweet  Sultan,  or  Centaurea  suaveolens,  should  become  more  exten¬ 
sively  grown.  It  is  delicately  scented,  and  for  cut  flowers  is  becoming  a 
great  favourite  in  the  market.  White,  yellow,  and  purple  are  the  colours 
usually  grown.  The  Salpiglossis  is  among  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
annuals,  its  varied  and  brilliant  colours,  so  delicately  veined,  making  it 
exceedingly  attractive.  A  group  of  this  superb  annual  is  a  sight  to  be 
remembered.  Phlox  Drummondi  grandillora  has  been  wonderfully 
improved  during  the  last  few  years.  It  is  a  most  profuse  bloomer,  and 
if  the  seedlings  are  pinched  back  they  make  well  branched  plants  by 
bedding  out  time,  and  flower  continuously  until  the  autumn.  Verbenas 
are  easily  grown  as  annuals,  and  the  many  new  hybrids  added  recently 
have  greatly  increased  their  value.  By  growing  yearly  from  seed,  the 
mildew  which  frequently  attacks  old  plants  when  grown  through  the 
winter  for  cuttings  is  avoided.  The  Marguerite  Carnation,  if  sown  early, 
will  bloom  profusely  in  the  autumn,  either  in  pots  or  in  the  open  ground. 
Calllopsis  grandillora  is  a  brilliant  golden  flow’er  which  will  soon  become 
popular.  Sow  the  seeds  in  spring  and  prick  out  as  soon  as  the  seedlings 
are  strong  enough.  This  is  a  continuous  bloomer,  and  a  gem  for  cutting. 
The  New  Star  and  Little  Gem  Antirrhinums  with  their  fine  blooms 
are  admirably  adapted  either  for  pots  or  bedding  purposes  if  sown  in 
spring  on  gentle  heat  and  planted  out  in  June. 
Many  other  annuals  might  be  enumerated  as  worthy  of  culture  for  the 
purpose  of  supplying  cut  blooms,  among  them  being  Chrysanthemums, 
Scabious,  Sweet  Peas  (Eckford’s  new  varieties  being  worthy  of  a  place 
in  any  garden),  and  Mignonette  ;  but  it  is  unnecessary  to  refer  to  them 
in  this  paper,  as  I  have  endeavoured  to  bring  to  the  notice  of  your  readers 
only  those  which  seem  to  me  not  so  generally  known  as  their  i>eculiar 
merits  deserve  ;  and  all  gardeners,  where  cut  flowers  for  decorative  w’ork 
form  an  important  feature,  would  do  well  to  add  those  enumerated,  and 
in  doing  so  I  can  assure  them,  as  one  in  practice,  they  will  not  regret 
their  endeavours. — W.  R,  Gott. 
THE  SCIENCE  AND  PIIACTICE  OF  FORMING 
•  FRUIT  TREES. 
{.Continued  from  page  207.) 
Last  week  reference  was  made  to  different  methods  and  times  of 
shortening  the  branches  of  young  bush  or  standard  trees,  planted  either 
during  the  last  autumn  or  the  present  spring.  The  illustration  on 
page  207  represents  the  practice  of  not  cutting  back  all  the  branches  at 
the  time  of  planting,  or  when  the  buds  are  dormant,  but  waiting  tilt  the 
buds  towards  the  extremities  of  the  branches  are  bursting  into  growth, 
then  shortening  the.  long  and  strong  branches,  leaving  for  a  time  the 
short  and  weak  shoots  to  develop  early  leafage  for  the  purpose  of 
influencing  root  formation.  Th6  practice  is  also  shown  in  the  present 
illustration  (fig.  53,  e),  while  another,  and  more  commonly  adopted 
method,  of  shortening  the  whole  of  the  branches  when  dormant,  is 
represented  in  F.  A  few  remarks  pertaining  to  both  may  be  elucidatory. 
Pyramids. — All  trees  may  be  suitable  for  bushes,  but  not  all  for 
pyramids,  some  naturally  forming  these  with  little  trouble,  and  the 
primer,  who  acts  in  accordance  with  natural  principles,  effects  the 
greatest  good  at  the  least  expense.  The  tree  (e),  shows  this  character, 
having  a  central  shoot  or  leader  (o),  and  four  larferal  growths  or  side 
Fig.  53. — Pruning  Recently  Planted  Fruit  Trees. 
Heferenten. — B,  shortening  the  strong,  and  leaving  the  weak  shoots  intact : 
0,  leader  ;  p,  strong  side  shoots  ;  q,  short  and  weak  shoots.  F,  shortening  all 
the  shoots,  r,  to  the  cross  marks  ;  s,  to  basal  buds.  Q,  uncallused  root  for 
fibre  productiou  ;  H,  jagged  and  dying  back  root. 
shoots  (p)  little  less  vigorous,  with  some  shorter  and  weaker  {q).  Pruned, 
as  indicated  by  the  lines  across  the  shoots,  strong  growths  will  issue 
and  the  pyramidal  habit  be  retained  without  much  need  of  manipulation  ; 
the  tree  becomes  well  established  on  leaving  the  weaker  parts  intact 
till  the  new  growths  above  q  are  extending  freely. 
2,  The  Cut-all-shoots-back  System,  -f  represents  the  principle. 
This  course  certainly  results  in  plenty  of  growths  when  the  root  system  is 
good,  the  tree  having  been  transplanted  in  the  autumn.'but  when  the  roots 
are  meagre  little  can  result  but  weakly  growths  both  above  ground  and 
within  it.  The  late  planted  tree  will  neither  have  callused  at  the  roots  nor 
have  the  buds  nearly  so  forward  as  the  early  planted,  especially  if  lifted 
whilst  dormant  and  moved  from  market  to  market.  This  is  an  exceptional 
case,  and  I  am  not  disposed  to  question  the  close  pruning  system  in  such 
case.  The  root  (G)  shows  fairly  what  has  to  be  done  for  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  fibres  as  shown  in  D  (page  207),  before  there  can  be  free 
growth,  which  cannot  be  expected  from  an  injured  root  (ll),  as  it  will  die 
back  more  or  less  through  decay  at  the  point  of  damage. 
(^uite  apart  from  these  considerations,  and  the  tree  being  a  fac-simile 
of  the  one  figured  last  week,  and  planted  at  the  same  time,  the 
question  is  whether  we  get  as  good  growth  by  pruning  it  at  the  time  of 
planting  or  before  the  growths  have  started,  as  in  the  early  spring.  That 
the  pruning  would  be  best  deferred  until  the  terminal  buds  had  commenced 
to  grow  accords  with  the  safety  from  frost  principle,  and  in  effect  favojrs 
the  view  that  the  roots  will  be  in  advance  of  the  top  when  the  pruning  is 
done  to  practically  dormant  buds.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  law 
of  reciprocity  comes  into  force,  as  it  does  undeviatingly,  top  and  root 
