m 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
{November  23,  1899. 
wariety. — First,  Mrs.  Taylor  ;  third,  Mrs.  Bowring.  Six  Chrysanthemums, 
incurved,  one  variety. —  First,  Mrs.  Taylor  ;  second,  Sir  ,J.  Kttson  ;  third, 
Mrs.  Tetley.  Six  Chrysanthemums,  reflexed  distinct. —  First,  Mr.  A.  T. 
Walker;  second,  Sir  J.  Kitson  ;  third,  Mrs.  Bowring.  Six  Chrys¬ 
anthemums,  Anemone,  distinct,  any  variety. — First,  Mrs.  Bowring; 
second,  Mra.  Tetley  ;  third,  Sir  J.  Kitson.  Six  bunches  of  Chrys¬ 
anthemums,  Pompon, distinct,  three  blooms  in  a  bunch. — First,  Mrs. Tetley; 
second,  Mr.  A.  T.  Walker.  Six  bunches  of  Chrysanthemums,  singles, 
distinct,  three  blooms  in  a  bunch. — First,  Mrs.  Tetley. 
Hull  Show  in  1900.— Mr.  E.  Harland,  one  of  the  Hon.  Secretaries 
of  Hull  Chrysanthemum  Society,  writes  : — “The  date  of  our  next  show 
has  been  fixed  for  14th  and  15th  November,  1900.” 
THE  YOUNG  GARDENERS’  DOMAIN. 
Chrysanthemums. 
(  Continued  from  page  414.) 
From  four  to  five  weeks  after  potting  the  plants  will  require  removing 
to  their  summer  situation,  so  prior  to  this  all  preparations  should  be 
made.  The  best  plan  to  adopt  is  to  have  some  stout  stakes  10  feet  to 
12  feet  in  height  when  driven  in  the  ground,  having  them  about  12  feet 
apart  with  three  rows  of  galvanised  wire  fastened  to  them  at  an  equal 
distance  apart  ;  place  ashes  for  the  pots  to  stand  on.  A  good  position 
for  the  plants  is  running  from  north  to  south  and  along  the  sides  of  walks, 
as  they  are  very  convenient  to  do  such  necessary  work  as  watering  and 
tying.  When  all  preparation  has  been  made  and  the  time  has  arrived 
the  plants  can  be  taken  out,  standing  the  pots  almost  touching  each 
other  and  tie  the  growths  to  canes  attached  to  the  wires.  They  will  thus 
get  the  full  benefit  of  the  sun  and  also  plenty  of  air.  Three  growths 
will  be  sufficient  for  each  plant  ;  tie  each  growth  to  a  separate  cane, 
which  will  favour  the  ripening  of  the  wood  as  growth  proceeds. 
Watering  must  be  carefully  attended  to,  never  allowing  any  of  the 
plants  to  become  thoroughly  dry  or  wet.  During  hot  weather  it  will  be 
necessary  to  look  over  them  twice  daily,  and  when  exceptionally  hot, 
three  times.  Chrysanthemums  require  constant  feeding,  but  this  is 
often  commenced  too  early  ;  always  let  the  pots  become  filled  with  roots 
before  giving  special  food.  Attend  to  the  syringing  of  the  plants,  as  this 
will  keep  pests  in  check. 
About  the  first  or  second  week  in  August  some  of  the  buds  will  be 
ready  for  taking,  that  is,  the  Japanese,  while  the  incurved  will  be  better 
lett  later  ;  of  course,  the  grower  must  decide  how  many  to  leave.  The 
plants  will  also  require  a  top-dressing,  and  the  following  compost  will  be 
found  suitable  :  four  parts  loam,  one  leaf  mould,  a  little  fine  lime  rubble, 
and  a  small  amount  of  dissolved  bones.  At  the  beginning  of  September 
the  house  which  is  intended  for  the  plants  should  oe  got  in  readiness  to 
receive  them.  Have  the  glass  and  woodwork  thoroughly  washed,  so  that 
all  pests  may  be  removed,  but  allow  the  house  to  become  dry  before 
staging  commences.  No  hard  and  fast  rule  can  be  made  for  the  time  of 
taking  in  the  plants,  as  this  depends  on  the  season,  but  all  of  them  should 
be  in  at  the  beginning  of  October.  When  the  plants  are  housed,  give 
them  full  air  for  a  few  days  unless  the  weather  be  very  rough,  and  a 
temperature  of  45°  to  50°  at  night.  Always  keep  a  little  fire  heat  on  day 
and  night  if  the  weather  is  damp  and  dull,  otherwise  the  florets  and 
foliage  will  damp.  When  the  sun  shines  brightly  after  the  buds  begin  to 
burst  they  will  require  a  little  shading.  Watering  must  be  carefully 
dene,  only  applying  it  to  plants  that  are  in  need  of  it,  and  always  be  care¬ 
ful  not  to  let  any  water  drop  on  the  paths  ;  a  little  weak  lime  water  once 
a  week  will  prove  beneficial. — P.  R. 
Manure  Fibre.  —  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  ordinary 
animal  manures  when  mixed  with  straw  in  a  state  of  semi-decomposition, 
and  especially  when  prepared  and  sweetened  for  application  to  the  soil  by 
frequent  turnings  in  the  same  way  that  manure  is  prepared  for  hotbed 
and  Mushroom  bed  formation,  constitute  plant  food  of  the  very  best 
description.  Not  only  does  manure  so  prepared  furnish  food  material  to 
crops  almost  instantly,  but  also  because  it  contains  so  much  of  fibrous 
matter  in  it,  that  whilst  not  immediately  soluble  yet  gradually  becomes 
so.  Fibre  in  soils  plays  a  valuable  part.  We  see  that  when  we  obtain  turfy 
loam  for  potting,  stack  it  for  a  time  to  promote  sweetening  and  partial 
decomposition,  then  employ  it  for  potting  whilst  still  full  of  root  or  grass 
fibre.  This  fibre  serves  two  important  purposes.  It  helps  to  keep  the 
soil  open,  porous  and  aerated,  so  that  it  is  sweet  and  roots  can  run 
through  it  freely  ;  but  also  as  it  gradually  decomposes  it  becomes,  as  all 
vegetable  matter  becomes  in  decomposition,  food  for  living  plants.  Did 
we  depend  for  potting  soil  on  that  which  is  quite  devoid  of  fibre,  very 
soon  it  would  in  the  pots  resolve  itself  into  a  bare  lumpy  impenetrable 
mass,  and  plants  in  it  would  gradually  die.  It  is  so  with  all  soils,  as 
every  gardener  without  the  aid  of  one  atom  of  scientific  teaching  learns 
by  common  observation,  and  that  soils  which  are  supplied  with  vege¬ 
table  matter  of  almost  any  description  capable  of  decomposing,  are  the 
ones  that  produce  the  best  crops.  Artificial  or  chemical  manures,  how¬ 
ever  good  they  may  be,  furnish  no  fibre.  Many  gardeners  have  to  supply 
it  alone  by  the  aid  of  leaves  or  garden  refuse,  having  no  animal  manure, 
but  even  in  such  cases  better  crops  result  than  can  be  obtained  from 
artificials  only.  Hence  the  value  of  fibre  as  manure. — D. 
iiisi 
WORK.F0KTHE  WEEK,.  ?S 
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HARDY  FRUIT  GARDEN. 
Cordon  Fruit  Trees  — One  of  the  most  interesting  methods  of  growing 
fruit  is  cultivating  trees  on  the  cordon  system.  It  is  the  best  system 
for  low  walls,  as  cordons  are  much  more  productive  than  other  forms 
possibly  could  be  on  such  restricted  space.  A  greater  variety  of  fruit 
may  be  grown  with  cordons  and  the  trees  are  simply  and  easily  managed. 
They  may  be  cultivated  on  espalier  fences  as  well  as  on  walls  and 
succeed  as  single,  double,  or  multiplex  cordons  in  the  upright  or  diagonal 
form.  Apples,  Pears,  Plums,  Cherries,  Gooseberries  and  Currants  may 
all  be  grown  on  the  cordon  system,  and  carefully  managed  will  prove 
profitable. 
Preparing  the  Soil. — It  is  undesirable  to  plant  cordons  in  poor,  dry, 
shallow  soil.  On  the  other  hand,  the  ground  must  not  be  made  rich  with 
manure,  as  this  will  be  conducive  to  a  strong,  unmanageable  growth.  The 
soil  must  be  worked  well  to  the  depth  of  2  feet,  and  should  it  be  rather 
poor  it  will  be  beneficial  to  enricn  it  with  good  loam  rather  than 
manure,  but  a  little  decomposed  manure  may  be  added,  with  wood 
ashes  or  burnt  refuse.  The  width  of  the  ground  prepared  ought  not  to 
be  less  than  3  feet.  Cordons  do  not,  as  a  rule,  root  deeply,  but  there  is 
considerable  advantage  in  having  the  ground  worked  well  so  that  the 
roots  may  descend  to  a  reasonable  distance. 
Planting  and  Training  Cordons.  —It  is  not  desirable  to  plant  cordon 
fruit  trees  either  too  closely  or  too  wide  apart.  In  the  former  case 
the  branches  will  not  receive  sufficient  air  and  light,  in  the  latter 
the  roots  may  have  more  room  thau  necessary,  which  will  cause  an 
over-vigorous  growth,  and  training  space  is  wasted.  In  planting 
cordons  to  be  trained  on  high  walls,  say  6  feet  to  10  feet  high, 
plant  18  inches  to  2  feet  apart.  On  walls  and  fences  4  feet  to  6  feet  high 
the  distance  may  be  2  feet  to  2  feet  G  inches.  On  an  espalier  wire  fence 
18  inches  or  20  inches  apart  is  a  suitable  distance.  The  above  refers  to 
single  cordons  of  Apples,  Pears,  Plums  and  Cherries.  The  best  method 
of  training  is  the  diagonal  at  an  angle  of  40°  to  45°  for  high  walls,  and 
45°  to  50°  for  low  walls  and  espalier  fences.  Trees  with  double  or  more 
branches  require' planting  wider  so  as  to  admit  of  the  branches  being 
trained  at  the  distance  named.  Gooseberries  and  Red  and  Wnite 
Currants  do  well  as  cordons  on  north  walls  and  also  on  espalier  fences. 
They  are  best  trained  upright  and  may  be  planted  as  single  cordons. 
The  best  trees  for  planting  are  those  which  are  old  enough  to  have 
formed  some  spurs  or  fruit  buds  at  the  base,  and  are  well  furnished  with 
fibrous  roots.  Keep  the  roots  moist  previous  to  planting,  and  spread  all 
the  fibres  carefully  out  in  the  soil  to  their  full  extent,  pruning  away  any 
damaged  parts  with  a  sharp  knife.  Dispose  them  in  layers,  covering  each 
layer  by  spreading  fine  soil  over  them  from  the  stem  outwards.  When 
the  planting  is  finished  tie  the  branches  loosely  to  the  wires  for  a  time  to 
admit  of  the  trees  and  soil  settling  together.  Afford  also  a  light  mulching. 
The  leader  may  be  trained  in  without  auy  shortening,  but  reduce  the  Bide 
shoots  to  one  or  two  buds.  Very  short  side  growths  with  a  fruit  bud  at 
the  end  should  remain  untouched. 
Wiring  Walls  and  Fences. — For  cordon  training  the  walls  are  best  wired, 
this  giving  more  room  for  the  development  of  spurs.  The  wires  should 
be  fixed  to  stout  uprights  at  each  end  with  straining  bolts  and  nuts  to 
make  them  tight.  The  wires  may  run  3  inches  from  the  wall  and  be 
placed  12  inches  apart.  For  fences  the  wires  can  be  the  same  distance 
asunder,  fixing  the  uprights  firmly.  Fences  ought  to  be  well  painted  before 
trees  are  trained  upon  them.  If  not  convenient  to  fix  wires  Gooseberries 
and  Currants  may  be  nailed  to  walls. 
Strawberries. — The  moist  autumn  weather  has  caused  weeds  to  grow 
thickly  in  beds  which  were  cleared  some  time  since.  The  soil  ought  now 
to  be  hoed  over  on  a  dry  day,  and  the  ground  between  the  plants  covered 
with  a  mulching  of  manure.  Beds  which  have  not  had  the  autumn  clearing 
of  runners  and  weeds  should  be  dealt  with  at  once,  mulching  afterwards 
between  the  rows  with  rich  manure  for  old  plants,  little  if  any  being 
required  for  young  and  vigorous  plants  in  good  soil,  though  a  dressing  of 
wood  ashes  or  burnt  refuse  will  prove  beneficial  in  supplying  to  light  soils 
mineral  matter  and  potash. 
Mulching  Bush  Fruit. — Fork  up  the  strong,  deep  rooting  weeds  in  the 
Gooseberry,  Currant,  and  Raspberry  quarters.  The  smaller  and  seedling 
weeds  can  be  hoed  down.  Then  mulch  the  ground  thickly  with  farmyard 
manure.  Digging  between  the  trees  is  not  advisable,  as  the  ground  cannot 
be  disturbed  without  injuring  fibrous  roots,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  bury 
the  manure.  Laid  on  the  surface  of  the  soil,  the  rains  will  wash  the 
virtues  out  of  the  manure  down  to  the  roots,  and  the  remains  may  be 
raked  off  in  spring,  giving  the  summer  mulching  in  May  or  June  to 
conserve  the  moisture  in  the  soil. 
Artificial  Manure  for  Fruit  Trees  and  Bushes. — The  manures  which 
ought  to  be  applied  at  the  present  time  of  the  year  are  those  which  require 
some  time  to  dissolve  in  the  soil.  Fruit  trees  and  bushes  needing  support 
will  be  benefited  by  the  application  of  basic  slag  and  kainit,  at  the  rate  of 
a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  basic  slag  to  one  ounce  of  kainit  for  each  square 
yard.  This  mixture  may  be  applied  in  a  mulching  of  vegetable  matter. 
