September  16,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
261 
Provincial”  tritely  puts  it — be  enough  to  “make  their  hair  stand 
on  end.” 
So  “Melton”  would  have  us  believe  that  a  tree  trained  in  the 
perfect  style  of  the  old  masters  cost  a  good  deal  less  than  one  managed 
on  less  methodical,  though  not  less  productive  lines.  I  can  quite 
understand  anyone  stating  such  nonsense,  simply  for  the  sake  of 
argument  or  getting  to  know  “how  old”  somebody  is  ;  but  the  only 
conclusion  a  practical  man  can  arrive  at  in  regard  to  such  an  assertion 
is  that  the  writer  knows  little  or  nothing  about  training  fruit  trees.  1 
have  had  charge  of  splendidly  trained  trees,  not  for  one  season  only, 
but  for  many  years ;  in  fact,  some  of  them  were  once  written  of  in 
eulogistic  terms  by  the  guiding  spirit  of  this  journal.  I  always  liked 
the  work,  and  took  a  pride  in  it,  but  at  the  same  time  formed  a  strong 
conviction  that  in  the  majority  of  gardens  the  great  amount  of  labour 
involved  in  the  work  might  have  been  employed  to  better  advantage 
in  other  directions,  and  that  without  lessening,  but  rather  increasing, 
the  supply  of  fruit. 
To  show  the  shrewd  stylo  of  “  Melton’s  ”  method  of  criticism,  let 
me  quote  a  sentence.  He  says,  “  In  a  certain  ducal  garden  as  much 
money  was  made  from  splendidly  trained  trees  as  “  H.  D.”  will  ever 
obtain  from  an  equal  area  ot  surface  which  trees  are  made  to  cover.” 
It  should  have  been  much  more,  my  friend,  for,  thanks  to  improved 
methods  of  culture,  a  given  quantity  of  fine  fruit  will  not  command 
more  than  half  the  price  it  did  the  few  years  ago  when  I  was  in  “button 
clothes!”  This  is,  to  a  great  extent,  brought  about  by  “rushing” 
the  trees  into  bearing  a  year  or  two  earlier  than  formerly.  “  Melton,” 
in  his  abundance  of  years,  seems  tc  have  a  supreme  contempt  for  time ; 
to  wait  a  few  years  more  or  less  for  crops  is  to  him  as  nothing.  But 
he  attempts  to  go  one  better  by  asserting  that  fruit  from  young  trees 
have  more  core  and  kernel  than  flesh.  Such  an  assertion  I  defy  anyone 
to  prove,  if  the  trees  are  fed  in  proportion  to  their  crop.  “  Do  not  be 
vain,”  says  my  sporting  critic,  in  a  way  that  implies  that,  though 
vanity  may  be  pardonable  in  so  old  a  hand  as  “  Melton,”  it  is  not  so  in 
one  so  young  as  “  H.  D.” 
Beautifully  trained  trees  do  not  always  mean  poor  crops,  I  admit, 
but  I  know  also  that  many  trees  long  noted  for  their  splendid  training 
but  seldom  have  a  decent  crop;  what  little  fruit  is  produced  is  generally 
at  the  extremity  of  the  branches.  Well-trained  trees  are  satisfactory 
enough  for  a  few  years,  but  there  comes  a  time  when,  if  they  are  to  be 
kept  in  a  fruitful  state,  a  change  in  management  must  be  followed. 
Let  us  take  for  an  example  a  horizontally  trained  Pear  which  has 
already  covered  its  allotted  space.  After  a  few  years  it  is  by  no  means 
an  uncommon  occurrence  for  one  or  more  of  the  branches  to  die,  if  not 
throughout  the  entire  length,  at  least  a  good  portion  of  it.  It  is  then 
often  a  most  difficult  matter  to  get  a  good  shoot  to  start  at  the  right 
place  to  preserve  the  perfect  form  of  the  tree.  Two  or  three  years  are 
perhaps  wasted  in  the  endeavour,  and  during  all  that  time  so  much 
space  is  paying  no  toll.  Now  if,  instead  of  waiting  for  the  appearance 
of  that  rightly  placed  shoot,  we  train  in  side  shoots  from  the  nearest 
branches,  the  blank  space  is  quickly  covered  with  wood  which  will 
produce  superior  fruit,  and  the  whole  tree  be  greatly  benefited  by  the 
freer  style  of  training  adopted.  It  is  not  “  huddling  and  shuffling,” 
mind  you,  but  a  style  in  which  the  side  branches  are  given  due  space  and 
disposed  so  as  to  cover  it  evenly.  Thousands  of  handsome  and  well 
nigh  barren  trees  which  are  supposed  to  adorn  (?)  the  garden  walls  of 
this  country  would  bear  ten  times  the  amount  of  fruit  they  do  if  every 
alternate  main  branch  were  cut  away,  ahd  side  shoots  trained  in  to 
covqr  the  space.  Many  of  the  foremost  gardeners  of  present  times 
have  been  shrewd  enough  to  adopt  the  practice ;  they  are  not  young 
men  either,  but  have  the  common  sense  to  adapt  themselves  to  the 
spirit  of  the  age. 
“  Melton  ”  seems  to  fancy  that  a  tree  not  trained  in  the  old 
straight-as-a-gun-barrel  fashion  must  be  an  ill-trained  one;  but  this  is 
a  stupid  doctrine,  which  has  given  the  foreigner  a  fine  chance  to  line 
his  pockets  by  supplying  us  rvith  fruit  we  ought  to  have  produced 
ourselves.  The  real  art  of  fruit-growing  and  of  tree-training  is  to 
cover  the  wall  as  quickly  as  possible  with  healthy,  evenly  balanced 
branches  which  bear  fruit  I'rom  base  to  summit.  I  know  plenty  of 
labourers  who  can  train  trees  beautifully,  but  if  left  to  themselves 
precious  little  fruit  would  be  grown,  and — “whisper  it  softly” — I 
know  others  who  have  a  perfect  right  to  pose  as  gardeners,  if  a  sound 
training  has  anything  to  do  with  the  making  of  one,  who  do  not  cut 
a  much  better  figure  at  fruit-growing  than  the  intelligent  labourer. 
It  is  no  new  thing  for  the  old  in  any  calling  to  lament  the 
decadence  o(  the  “  modern  men.”  Old  actors  have  for  generations 
declared  that  the  “  drama  ”  is  “  going  to  the  dogs,”  yet  it  still 
flourishes,  and  produces  “  stars  ”  of  the  first  magnitude.  “  Melton  ” 
is,  I  think,  a  bit  of  an  actor  as  well  as  hunter,  and  the  way  he  shows  it, 
by  breaking  loose  for  a  dash  after  the  hounds,  speaks  well  for  his  sense 
of  dramatic  effect.  A  grand  old  gardener  in  a  sort  of  stage  frenzy  is 
a  sight  to  remember — it  awes  some,  amuses  others,  and  instructs  all. 
I  fancy  I  can  see  the  old  gardener-hunter  now,  like  a  lion,  chafing 
and  lashing  in  his  den.  I’m  off,  to  prepare  for  the  roar  of  his 
music. — H.  D. 
BEAN  SUTTONS’  PRIZEWINNER. 
I  SEND  you  a  sample  pod  of  this  very  fine 
Runner  Bean,  gathered  by  me  in  Forde  Abbey 
Gardens,  Chard,  Somerset,  recently,  where  Mr. 
.1.  Crook  has  some  tall  —  indeed,  grand  rows, 
cropping  profusely.  It  may  be  interesting  to 
publish  a  tracing  of  it,  as  measurements  in  figures 
are  not  always  regarded  as  exact.  The  outline 
will  tell  its  own  tale.  We  thus  see  in  this  straight 
handsome  green,  and  yet  very  tender  sample, 
how  wonderfully  Runner  Beans  have  improved. 
—A.  D. 
[We  were  compelled  to  reduce  the  pod,  which 
measured  from  the  ))ase  of  the  stalk  to  the  point 
of  the  curved  tip  exactly  12  inches.] 
Fig.  37. 
CAREX  JAPONICA  VARIEQATA. 
British  gardens  now  contain  hosts  of  plants 
and  Grasses  which  are  grown  for  the  elegance  of 
their  foliage,  but  few  of  them  are  more  useful 
than  this  pretty  Carex,  which  is  peculiarly 
adapted  for  decorative  work  of  many  descrip¬ 
tions.  Its  perfect  stage  of  development  is 
reached  when  the  sturdy  pendulous  flower 
spikes,  borne  on  long  footstalks,  rise  well  above 
the  grass-like  foliage.  Well-grown  specimens 
in  this  stage  are  ideal  ones  for  arranging  in  vases 
occupying  prominent  positions.  A  few  of  them 
disposed  at  well-chosen  points  in  a  boudoir 
produce  a  light  graceful  effect  not  easily  sur¬ 
passed.  Smaller  plants  are  of  great  value  for 
dinner-table  decoration,  or  for  arranging  in 
bowls,  baskets,  or  larger  groups  of  plants. 
Florists  use  the  leaves  largely  in  a  cut  state 
when  dressing  vases,  or  making  wreaths  and 
hand  bouquets,  as  they  may  be  included  among 
the  few  good  things  which  give  to  cut-flower 
arrangements  the  greatest  possible  amount  of 
lightness  in  appearance. 
The  culture  of  this  Carex  is  of  the  simplest 
description,  but  as  is  the  case  with  all  plants, 
whether  easily  grown  or  otherwise,  a  little  extra 
attention  is  well  repaid.  During  the  summer 
months  the  plants  thrive  admirably  in  cool  pits 
or  frames  which  are  closed  early  in  the  after¬ 
noon,  with  plenty  of  moisture  to  secure  a  genial 
temperature.  During  the  autumn  and  winter 
I  grow  them  in  a  stove  temperature,  in  order 
to  accelerate  progvess  as  much  as  possible,  for 
no  matter  how  large  a  stock  of  plants  one  has, 
the  demand  seems  to  keep  pace  with  the  supply. 
The  present  is  a  capital  time  to  take  in  earnest 
the  work  of  increasing  the  stock.  Plants  that 
are  beginning  to  look  shabby  should  be  divided 
into  small  pieces  having  three  or  four  stems. 
These,  if  placed  in  thumb  pots — using  a  light 
sandy  compost — will,  if  kept  in  a  warm  moist 
temperature,  be  ready  for  a  shift  in  a  couple 
of  months.  A  good  compost  to  use  at  this  and 
subsequent  pottings  is  one  consisting  of  loam 
two  parts,  leaf  soil,  and  one  of  well  decayed 
manure,  with  a  liberal  amount  of  sharp  sand 
added. 
As  soon  as  the  roots  are  moving  freely  into 
the  fresh  soil  abundance  of  water  should  be 
given,  for  it  is  surprising  how  rapidly  growth 
progresses  when  the  plants  receive  exactly  the 
treatment  they  require  in  this  respect.  Let 
them  get  too  dry  at  the  roots,  the  points  of 
the  leaves  quickly  become  brown,  and  in  time 
“  rusty  ”  along  their  entire  length.  Whenever 
the  weather  is  bright,  either  in  summer  or 
winter,  I  syringe  the  plants  thoroughly  once 
daily,  and  their  appearance  clearly  indicates 
that  they  like  the  treatment. 
Four  and  5-inch  pots  are  the  sizes  in  which 
I  find  them  the  most  useful,  as  they  seldom 
grow  more  than  2  feet  in  height ;  but  I  intend 
to  try  some  strong  clumps  in  7-inch  pots,  aa 
‘  such  spread  considerably,  and  will,  I  think,  be 
