484 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  22,  1S98. 
market  growers,  and  if  carried  out  systematically  produces  good  results. 
It  should  be  done  in  August,  cutting  back  lateral  growths  to  five  or  six 
'buds,  doing  half  the  tree  at  one  time  and  the  remainder  a  fortnight  later. 
On  no  account  cut  back  the  leaders,  as  those  will  take  1  p  the  superfluous 
sap  that  was  intended  for  the  laterals.  Summer  pruning  is  best  done  on 
very  luxuriant  trees  because,  compared  to  winter  pruning,  it  his  a 
weakening  effect  on  trees,  as  growth  is  cut  away  that  has  not  fulfilled  its 
work  according  to  natural  laws. 
All  pruning  is  best  done  with  a  strong  sharp  knife.  The  cuts  must  be 
shom  and  clean  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  branch  to  which  the  bud 
■is  situated.  Th*  standard  tree  pruncr  is  very  efficacious  in  its  work  and 
is  useful  for  large  trees.  It  will  cut  branches  2  inches  in  thickness  ; 
any  above  that  thickness  are  best  sawn  off.  and  afterwards  pared  with  the 
knife.  Secateurs  should  not  be  used  for  Apples  and  Pears  as  they  of  en 
leave  a  rough  surface,  which  is  conducive  to  insects  and  canker. — F.  K.  D., 
Cheshire. 
St.  Bridget  Anemones. 
After  the  frost  of  November  19th  and  22nd,  when  we  registered 
8°  and  18°  of  frost  respectively,  outdoor  flowers  were  more  highly 
appreciated.  On  the  30th  ult.  wo  picked  a  f<  w  fine  flowers  of  St. 
Bridget  Anemones  from  a  sheltered  border.  Considering  that  the  e 
hard}-  p’ants  are  so  easy  to  cultivate  it  is  surprising  they  are  so  seldom 
seen  in  garden?.  The  wealth  of  flowers  they  supply  f  r  tutting,  besides 
the  show  they  make  win  n  planted  in  beds  or  borders,  should  insure  them 
greater  popularity  than  they  at  present  enjoy.  They  are  very  graceful 
tor  dinner  table  decoration*,  especially  the  scarlet  colours.  As  a  rule  they 
carry  a  little  foliage  well  up  the  stems,  which  completes  the  effect  and 
saves  any  “  foreign  foliage”  being  used  in  the  arrangement. 
We  grow  these  Ancmoms  extensively  and  they  thrive  luxuriantly. 
Our  soil  is  very  stiff  and  clayey,  and  as  a  rule  the  rainfall  is  cxcessiie, 
this  year  being  no  exception.  ’As  the  seeds  are  woolly  they  must  be 
■mixed  with  sand  to  separate  them  when  sowing.  A  bed  of  seedlings  sown 
on  March  26th  lias  proved  valuable  in  supplying  sr  mo  fine  bunches  of 
flowers  for  about  two  months  before  the  wintry  weather  came.  The 
seeds  were  sown  broadcast  on  a  bed  of  the  ordinary  garden  s*  il  and 
covered  with  light  sandy  soil.  They  germinated  freely,  and  the  light  toil 
kept  any  surface  cracks  fibed  up  dining  dry  weather,  thus  kocj  ing  the 
main  body  of  soil  always  moht.  We  ilo  not  disturb  the  seedlings  the 
first  year.  We  then  life  then  in  clumps  and  plant  them  in  mixed  borders. 
After  flowering  and  ripening  again  they  can  be  lifto  1  and  separate  1 
singly. 
1  have  seen  in  a  seedsman’s  catalogue  that  the  tub  rs  are  not  worth 
saving,  but  I  would  pr<  for  to  retain  the  old  roots  Wo  plant*  cl  a  largo 
Border  of  them  in  rows,  18  inches  apart,  about  the  litter  end  of 
September,  for  spring  and  early  summer  flower.  Between  the  rows  a  late 
sowing  of  Shirley  Poppies  is  made,  and  bv  the  time  these  nerd  the  room 
the  Anemones  can  be  lilted  and  dried  With  a  few  plants  a  good  supply 
of  seed  may  be  saved  from  selected  sco-'s  in  dry  weather,  and  by  til's 
means  the  stock  may  be  rapidly  increased. — S.,  Junior. 
-  West  Australian  Flora. — At  a  meeting  of  tho  Linnean 
Society  on  the  17th  November  Mr.  S.  I.e  M.  Moore,  F  B.S ,  read  a  paper 
entitled  ‘  The  Botanical  Besults  of  a  Journey  into  tho  Interior  of 
Western  Australia  ;  with  some  Observations  on  tho  Nature  and 
Relations  of  the  Desert  Flora,  and  on  tho  probable  Origin  of  tho 
Australian  Tlora  as  a  whole.”  The  author  bricly  skolched  the 
physical  and  botanical  features  of  the  West  Australian  dcs*rf, 
indicating  the  parallel  of  30°  S.  ns.  at  least  in  the  Coolgardio  district, 
the  dividing  lino  between  two  sub-floras.  Statistics  of  the  desert  flora 
were,  says  a  contemp  wary,  then  given.  Those  comprise  867  known 
species,  of  which  860  are  phanerogams,  referable  to  319  genera,  dis¬ 
tributed  among  seventy-three  natural  orders.  Of  the  Flora  58  per  cent, 
consist  of  species  ranged  under  eight  orders,  with  Composite  and 
Leguminasfo  heading  the  list,  leaving  42  per  cenL  to  he  shared  betwein 
the  remaining  sixty-five  orders.  Tho  author  disbelieved  the  current 
theory  of  Scandinavian  predominance  ;  and  the  prevalence  in  Eastern 
Australia  of  forms  of  Inilo-Malayan  facies  was  held  to  he  due,  in  great 
measure,  not  to  immigration,  but  to  descent  from  the  primitive  tertiary 
h  iora.  Moreover,  tho  balance  of  exchange  between  Indo-Maluya  ar.d 
Australia  in  favour  of  tho  former  area  was  considered  as  coming  under 
rhe  doctrine  of  chances,  and  not  as  implying  any  inherent  superiority 
of  the  one  I- lora  over  tho  other.  While  in  Europe  the  Australian  i.e., 
file  xcrophilous — element  was,  owing  to  change  in  climate,  eliminated  in 
favour  of  the  present  hygrophileus  vegetation,  in  Eastern  Australia  tie 
conditions  remained  as  they  were  in  earlier  tertiary  times  until  do.-ieoa- 
tion  set  in.  He  held  that  this  desiccation  dates  from  an  earlier  period  in 
Western  Australia;  and  that  this,  together  with  tho  isolation  of  the 
western  portion  of  the  continent  in  secondary  times  by  a  s  a,  and  later 
by  stretches  of  desert,  explains  tho  floristic  difference  between  the  two 
halves  of  Australia. 
TRADE  CATALOGUES  RECEIVED. 
L.  Botelberge,  Mello,  Gand.—  Plants. 
J.  Carter  &  Co.,  High  IIol horn. — Seeds. 
Dicksons  &  Co.,  Waterloo  Place,  E  iinburgh, — Foresl  T/  ccs. 
C.  Lorenz,  Erfurt. — Seeds. 
Otto  Putz,  Erfurt. — Seeds. 
•T.  Iv.  1  earson  &  Sons,  Chilwell,  Notts. — Chrysanthemums. 
■Sutton  &  Son?,  Reading.—  Seeds. 
IIARDY  FRUIT  GARDEN. 
Winter  Pruning  Raspberries. —The  old  canes  of  Raspberries  having 
now  completed  any  service  they  may  render  to  the  stools  during  autumn, 
can  be  cut  down  level  with  tho  soil.  At  the  same  time  the  com¬ 
paratively  vviak  canes  of  the  current  season  may  also  be  dispensed  with, 
leaving  four  to  six  of  the  strongest  for  tying-in.  These  will  furnish  the 
succeeding  year's  crop.  There  is  no  advantage  in  crowding  in  a  number 
of  canes.  Six  is  the  largest  number  w  hich  even  the  strongest  and  most 
vigorous  of  stools  are  able  to  support.  The  extreme  tips  of  the  canes, 
where  the  wood  is  weak  and  comparatively  unripe,  may  be  shortened  to 
the  height  of  the  stakes  or  trellises. 
Gooseberries — The  pruning  of  Gooseberries  is  often  deferred  until 
spring  owing  to  the  ravages  of  birds  among  the  buds  during  winter. 
There  is,  however,  a  method  of  preventing  their  attacks.  This  consists 
of  syringing  the  trees  or  bushes  with  a  solution  formed  from  quassia  chips 
and  softsonp,  then  thoroughly  dusting  them  with  lime  or  soot,  which, 
adhering,  renders  tho  buds  di-tasteful  to  the  birds.  Tin  dressing 
has  aRo  the  advantage  of  benefiting  tho  bushes,  cleansing  the  bark  of 
insect  pests  or  mossy  growths,  which  frequently  become  established  on 
i he  lower  limb*.  Goosebrrries,  as  free  growing  bushes,  should  not  be 
spur-pruned,  but  have  a  fair  proportion  of  young  wo  id  retained  every 
year  all  over  the  bushes.  'The  winter  pruning  consists,  therefore,  in 
simply  thinning  out  branches  and  shcots  which  have  become  inter¬ 
mingled,  crowding  the  centres  and  growing  low-  down  to  the  ground. 
This  regulation  of  the' growths  will  secure  shapely  tree*,  and  ought 
to  bo  more  or  less  practised  each  year.  Good  crops  will  result,  as  tho 
Gooseberry  bears  freely  from  young  and  vigorous  wood. 
Gooseberries  as  cordons  in  the  open  or  trained  against  walls  require  a 
formal  arrangement  of  branches,  which  mu-t  1c  spur-pruned  each  year. 
Originate  the  blanches  a  foot  apart  if  one  plant  is  to  carry  several,  or 
place  single-stemmed  plants  the  same  distance.  Grow  them  as  upright 
cordons.  Summer  pruning  must  be  resorted  to  for  the  admittance  of 
light  to  tho  fruit  for  perfecting  it.  At  the  winter  pruning  shorten  tho 
summer-pruned  shoots  to  two  buds.  Tne  leading  grow  th  of  each  cordon 
must  also  be  slightly  shortened  until  the  full  ext*  lit  of  space  is  filled  up. 
Bird*,  as  a  rule,  do  not  attack  these  trees  to  the  same  extent  as  bushes, 
but  should  they  do  so,  the  same  methods  of  prevention  may  be  adopted. 
Red  and  White  Currants.— In  whatever  form  those  are  grown,  as 
bushe*,  or  cordons  on  walls  and  trellises,  the  same  stylo  of  pruning  is 
required  bv  them— namely,  spur  pruning.  Mai  i  bran  lies  must  bo 
originated,  five  or  six  to  each  bush,  or  a  foot  apart  as  cordons.  Practising 
summer  pruning  reduces  the  foliage  and  benefits  the  fruit,  also  plumps  up 
tho  basal  bud*.  The  winter  pruning  may  be  commenced  as  soon  as  the 
loaves  fall,  shortening  or  spurring  each  shoot  to  two  or  three  buds.  Leave 
the  lea  lev  about  10  inches  long,  but  w  hen  the  space  is  Ailed  closely 
shorten.  Sucker  growths  from  the  base  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to 
remain  unless  new  branches  are  requred,  when  a  few  of  the  strongest 
may  bo  u  ilised  for  that  purpose  in  the  case  of  bushes.  Same  bushes, 
however,  are  clear  stemmed  and  do  not  throw  up  suckers.  From  these 
new  branches,  when  needed,  must  be  originated  as  low  as  possible. 
Black  Currants. — The  priming  of  B'ick  Currants  is  simple  if 
thoroughly  well  understood.  Spur  pruning  is  not  permissible.  T  he  best 
crops  are  secured  from  young  wo  id.  The  stronger  this  is  the  better  if' 
well  ripened.  As  a  general  rub1  the  old  bearing  branches  may  be  cut  out 
annually,  together  with  any  old  wood  encumbering  tlm  bushes.  The  aim 
must  be  to  secure  an  ample  supply  of  young  wood  with  a  well  regulated 
bush. 
The  greatest  enemy  to  Black  Currants  is  the  mite,  which  attacks  the 
interifir  of  tho  bud*,  causing  them  to  swell  unusually  large.  Shoots 
containing  such  ought  to  be  cut  off  and  burnt  as  one  means  of  freeing  tho 
bushes  of  the  pest,  but  badly  attacked  trees  must  bo  dug  up  and  burnt. 
Plant  fresh  clean  stock  in  another  part  of  the  garden. 
Manuring  Fruit  Trae3. — The  majority  of  trees  and  bushes  which  are 
in  constant  bearing  require  frequent,  if  not  annual,  dressings  of  natural 
or  artificial  manures.  Good  deeompised  farmyard  manure  cannot  well 
bo  dispensed  with.  As  a  top-dressing  for  Raspberries,  Currants,  and 
Gooseberr  es  it  is  invaluable.  The  virtues  in  it  are  washed  down  to  tho 
roots  and  become  available  as  food,  which  tho  young  roots  can  absorb. 
As  it  enriches  the  surface  soil  the  roots  will  ramify  therein  for  the  food 
and  ineisuire  they  require,  instead  of  descending  into  the  subsoil  and 
making  gross  grow  th. 
Young  trees  making  woo  l  and  not  yet  arrived  at  a  fruitful  stage  do 
not  nce*l  additional  food  in  the  soil.  Older  trees  well  established  and 
productive  may  well  be  assisted  judiciously  to  maintain  their  character  by 
applying  some  suitable  top-dressing,  aecoiding  to  the  demands  which  tho 
condition  of  the  trees  indicate.  It  is  not  necessary  to  apply  nitrogen 
specially-  at  this  season  of  the  y  ear,  but  two  parts  of  steamed  boncmeal  with 
one  pait  of  kainit  forms  a  good  mixture  to  apply  now.  The  bonemeal  will 
supply  the  phosphate,  and  the  kainit  potash.  Spread  the  mixture  over 
