356 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
October  26,  1899. 
Texture  of  a  Soil. — It  is  evident  that  the  structure  or  texture  of  a 
soil  ought  to  be  studied,  as  well  as  its  supply  of  plant  food  ;  in  other 
words,  the  physical  and  chemical  condition  of  a  soil  must  both  receive 
attention,  for  both  are  intimately  connected  with  the  fertility.  On 
this  point  we  may  state  that,  independently  of  the  liberal  supply  of  all 
necessary  constituents  of  plant  food  by  farmyard  and  stable  manure, 
their  beneficial  effects  are  in  a  considerable  degree  due  to  their 
influence  on  the  mechanical  condition  of  the  soil,  rendering  it  more 
porous  and  more  easily  permeable  to  the  surface  roots,  upon  the 
development  of  which  the  success  of  so  many  garden  crops  depend. 
— J.  J.  Willis,  Harpenden. 
(To  be  continued.) 
HINTS  FROM  OUR  GARDEN  OFFICE. 
Indispensable  as  are  the  tool  house,  potting  shed,  and,  in  some 
seasons,  the  fruit  room,  they  do  not  cover  all  the  requirements  of  a 
gardener  and  the  garden,  although  his  and  its  status  be  only  one  of 
middle  grade.  There  is  a  margin  left  for  that  muddling  up  of  things 
to  breed  little  worries;  very  little  ones,  perhaps,  like  the  “skelters,” 
but  equally  irritating  to  the  feelings  of  those  who  love  heaven’s  first 
law.  The  garden  office  covers  this  margin.  Our  first  garden  office, 
with  its  neat  fittings  and  polished  furniture,  was  almost  palatial 
compared  to  the  last,  left  behind  in  a  gardener’s  migrations,  which 
occupied  the  dark  end  of  a  damp  potting  shed,  and  was  certainly 
shady  in  two  senses.  It  is  with  the  present  we  are  most  pleased,  and 
wanting  better  illustration  would  fain  depict,  for  no  snapshotter  has 
ever  done  it  justice — probably  never  will — though,  in  fairness  to  the 
man  of  negatives,  it  must  be  added  that  he  has  never  tried.  It 
answers  all  purposes,  which  are  many  and  varied,  and  suggests  a  few 
hints,  sufficient,  perhaps,  to  warrant  its  intrusion  here. 
Step  in,  please ;  one  step  up  leads  to  the  inference  that  our  office 
lays  high  and  dry,  which  it  does,  and  afternoon  sunbeams  glint 
through  the  window  of  each  small  apartment  (there  are  two),  a 
decided  advantage  over  the  cold  north  position,  with  its  dim  religious 
light,  so  many  occupy.  However,  these  things  are  rarely  a  matter  of 
choice  ;  this  happens  to  be  a  legacy  of  the  good  (?)  old  diys  when  it 
was  the  bothy.  Ten  feet  square,  each  room,  one  wonders  how  the 
laddies  lived  in  such  a  tiny  home,  with  an  American  stove  staved  in 
one  corner  and  a  washing  sink  recessed  in  another,  which,  with  its 
water  supply,  is  a  comfort  in  our  office  ;  nay,  almost  a  luxury  com¬ 
pared  with  dipping  the  fingers,  which  have  to  be  in  so  many  pies,  into 
the  first  waterpot  handy  and  finishing  them  in  the  tails  of  one’s  coat. 
No  need  to  say  that  the  first  room  is  our  humble  workshop,  for 
the  bench  and  vice  attached,  as  well  as  the  paint-pots  all  of  a  row, 
with  tool-box,  store  of  glass,  cask  of  putty,  as  primary  features, 
proclaim  the  fact.  These  form  the  combined  kit  of  carpenter,  painter, 
and  glazier,  with  just  a  suspicion  of  locksmith  thrown  in;  each  of  the 
humblest  description,  it  is  admit'ed,  but  great  helps  where  tradesmen 
are  not  kept  in  the  establishment,  and  contractors  are  kept  out  as  long 
as  possible.  Here  tools  are  handled,  light  boxes  knocked  up,  or  old 
packing  cases  cut  down  to  suit  the  requirements  of  bulbs  for  forcing, 
cuttings  of  bedding  plants,  seeds  and  what  not ;  or  a  lock  is  cleaned 
and  oiled,  a  lawn  mower  adjusted,  shears  sharpened,  as  time  affords  or 
needs  demand. 
The  wooden  device  on  lanky  legs  is  for  holding  a  hand-saw  whilst 
being  sharpened,  and  the  harsh  music  of  the  file  is  often  heard  setting 
its  teeth  on  edge,  for  there  is  much  coarse  pruning  and  little  time  or 
temper  to  spare  over  dull  tools.  We  mix  our  own  paint  with  best 
materials  for  garden  use,  and  use  it  too ;  and  one  thinks  that  if  the 
time  spent  over  the  internal  winter  washing  and  scrubbing  of  our 
houses  was  devoted  to  an  annual  refresher  of  good  white-lead  paint  all 
the  effects  of  cleanliness  would  be  obtained  with  smartness  and 
preservation  to  boot.  Moreover,  it  is  a  capital  remedy  for  the  bug¬ 
bears  of  drip,  thrips,  and  red  spider,  not  to  mention  the  worst  bug  of 
all,  the  mealy  rascal.  A  garden  labourer,  as  a  painter,  certainly,  has 
not  the  touch  of  a  master-hand,  but  he  invariably  shows  more 
respect  for  Vines,  Peaches,  or  irremovable  plants.  There  is,  doubt¬ 
less,  a  little  difficulty  in  coaching  raw  hands  to  do  the  work  in  a 
fairly  workmanlike  manner;  they  are  so  eager  to  show  that  they 
know  all  about  it,  but,  alter  upsetting  the  paint-pot  as  a  preliminary, 
with  a  little  wholesome  admonition  and  explanation  they  go  ahead 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 
One  of  the  irritating  “skeeters”  of  the  garden  is  broken  glass, 
and  no  consolation  is  to  be  found  in  saying  it  should  not  be  broken. 
In  our  little  store  of  glass,  previously  mentioned,  with  a  diamond  to 
cut  it,  a  solatium  is  always  ready.  Truly,  every  hand  is  not  deft 
enough  to  handle  the  diamond,  nor  do  we  let  them  try  ;  our  own  has, 
fortunately,  acquired  some  proficiency,  after  many  years’ practice;  in  that 
is  the  reward  for  our  pains,  and  sufficiency  for  the  panes  that  are  wanted. 
The  inner  room  is  our  sanctum,  with  a  commodious  desk  filling  the 
window  space  and  stool  of  the  penitential  type  ;  suggestively,  more  for 
use  than  ornament.  A  peep  into  the  desk  reveals  a  representative 
collection  of  catalogues  useful  for  reference  in  garden  work.  On  it  is 
an  improvised  inkpot,  our  diary  of  doings,  and  that  number  of  ‘‘our 
Journal” — the  fruity  number — which,  by-the-by,  is  super-attractive  in 
its  clear-cut  views  of  the  grand  tables  set  up  at  the  Crystal  Palace. 
One  small  cupboard  press  is  utilised  for  seeds  ;  another, larger,  for  such 
stores  as  are  only  doled  out  as  required  ;  the  system  helps  to  enforce 
the  wise  motto,  “  Waste  not,  want  not.”  Self-complacency,  however, 
might  come  to  grief  if  “The  Missus,”  who  pens  so  placidly  and  sooth¬ 
ingly  in  “our  Journal”  her  deductions  drawn  from  the  bosom  of 
Nature,  were  to  peep  ic.  She  would,  undoubtedly,  be  shocked  at  the 
liberty  allowed  to  a  very  large  spider  who  has  woven  her  web  in  a 
corner,  and  now  daits  hither  and  thither  in  anxious  attention  on  a  big 
bluebottle  fly  singing  its  death  song  and  shaking  the  frail  fabric  to  its 
anchorage. 
Ranged  on  a  shelf  is  a  whole  battery  of  insecticides,  prominent 
among  them  being  half  a  dozen  clear  glass  bottles  of  what  might  be 
taken  for  fine  old  sherry.  To  prevent  any  such  catastrophe  it  is  legibly 
labelled  lime-sulphur  solution  ;  home-brewed,  of  course,  according  to 
Mr.  Molvneux’s  formula.  A  simpler,  safer,  cheaper,  or  more  effective 
antidote  to  mildew  could  not  be  found.  This  season  we  have  tried  it 
for  rust  on  the  Mums,  but  shall  give  it  further  trial  ere  feeling 
qualified  to  express  a  definite  opinion  on  its  merits  in  this  direction. 
Our  first  brewing,  some  years  since,  stored  in  a  gallon  tin  can,  quickly 
ate  out  the  bottom  and  taught  the  necessity  of  bottling,  an  “always 
ready,  keep  it  handy”  fashion.  Nothing  has  given  greater  satis¬ 
faction  for  the  short  time  it  has  been  in  use  than  a  sprayer  which 
seems  to  have  an  Italian  name  though  it  is  a  French  invention,  and, 
ns  au  economical  and  effective  distributor  of  insecticides,  would  be 
hard  to  beat.  The  difficulty  of  applying  an  insecticide  to  Vine  leaves 
infected  with  red  spider  is  entirely  overcome  by  this  portable  and  neat 
little  apparatus,  which  can  scarcely  be  overpraised  in  saying  it  is  a 
boon  and  blessing  to  gardeners  of  all  degree. 
A  keyboard  affixed  to  the  wall,  although  not  relevant  to  music,  is 
helpful  in  keeping  things  in  tune.  It  is  a  painted  and  varnished 
board  with  brass  hooks  screwed  into  it,  a  small  label  pasted  above  each 
hook  describes  the  key  which  hangs  below.  These  are  keys  which, 
being  only  occasionally  required,  are  by  other  methods,  or  rather,  wai.t 
of  them,  too  often  non  est.  All  duplicate  keys  are  also  boarded  here. 
There  are,  too,  amongst  this  omnium  gatherum ,  a  pile  of  trays  for 
storing  Tulips  and  similar  bulbs  when  lifted  from  the  flower  garden 
until  required  for  replanting.  All  these,  and  more  also — things,  in 
fact,  too  numerous  to  mention — comprise  the  visible  effects  of  this 
most  useful  little  sanctuary,  the  garden  office. — -A.  N.  Oldhead. 
ROOT-PRUNING. 
This,  though  a  useful  and  necessary  operation  in  some  instances, 
is  often  overdone,  and  the  need  for  it  is  very  frequently  brought  about 
by  faulty  culture  in  the  earliest  stages  of  young  trees.  Apple  and 
Pear  trees  are  planted  on  soil  too  rich  for  them,  and  the  gross  habit 
set  up  can  only  be  checked  by  pruning  the  roots.  The  evil  is  made 
worse  by  hard  pruning  of  the  branches,  an  evil  in  established  trees, 
but  a  far  worse  one  in  young  and  newly  planted  ones. 
Stone  fruits  as  a  whole,  and  Peaches  and  Plums  in  particular, 
are  planted  in  borders  much  too  loose  for  their  requirements. 
Growth  is  naturally  very  rapid  and  very  soft,  consequently  the  fruit 
fails  to  set,  and  the  superabundant  sap  finds  an  outlet  in  even 
stronger  growths  the  next  season.  In  order  to  right  this  state  of 
affairs  root-pruning  is  practised,  and  the  health  of  the  tree  is  some¬ 
times  endangered.  Had  the  trees  first  of  all  been  planted  in  a  very 
firm  and  not  a  rich  soil,  cut  back  to  mature  wood  only,  and  allowed 
their  head,  the  probability  is  that  the  growths  would  be  more  even, 
and  it  an  extra  strong  shoot  was  produced  its  vigour  can  be  checked 
in  various  ways,  such  as  pinching  early,  depressing  or  allowing  it  to 
break  laterally,  and  laying  the  lateral  in. 
In  wood  of  this  class  fruit  will  usually  be  produced,  and  if  a  fairly 
heavy  crop  is  allowed  to  swell  the  first  season  there  will  not  often  be 
any  need  to  interfere  with  the  roots.  But  the  fact  remains  that  there 
are  cases  when  the  latter  must  be  checked,  and  now  is  the  time  to  set 
about  it,  before  the  leaves  are  all  down.  The  wounds  made  will  heal 
more  quickly  and  successfully,  and  there  will  in  most  cases  be  little 
danger  of  losing  a  crop.  The  methods  of  root-pruuing  have  often  been 
described,  but  I  may  say  that  important  points  to  keep  in  mind  are  to 
avoid  injury  to  small  fibrous  roots  as  much  as  possible,  to  begin  far 
enough  away  from  the  bole  of  the  tree  and  work  gradually  inwards, 
to  do  the  work  expeditiously  so  as  to  avoid  drying  of  the  roots  by  cold 
winds,  and  to  use  good  cutlery. 
I  have  found  excellent  results  accrue  from  mixing  a  good  propor¬ 
tion  of  lime  rubble  and  burnt  refuse  in  the  soil  before  returning  it, 
but  menure  as  generally  understood  is  poison  to  the  newly  severed  or 
disturbed  roots.  In  case  of  bright  sun  following  the  operation  on 
large  trees  with  a  good  deal  of  foliage,  shade  lightly  for  a  day  or  two. 
The  check  given  by  flagging  foliage  is  not  the  kind  of  check  required, 
as  it  impedes  prbper  development  of  the  buds,  which  is,  of  course, 
inj  urious. — P  ractice. 
