310 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  30,  1897'. 
landowners  with  capital  should  put  it  into  their  own  land  ?  Deep  and 
thorough  cultivation  is  a  good  investment,  from  which  themselves  and 
others  derive  henetit. 
We  hear  of  enormous  sums  of  money  going  from  this  country  for 
produce,  some  of  which  at  least  can  be  produced  equally  well  at  home, 
and  those  who  try  to  encouraae  home  industries  are  worthy  of  the 
gratitude  of  all  classes.  Gardens,  I  take  it,  are  to  a  large  extent 
luxuries,  and  if  an  owner  finds  it  necessary  to  reduce  the  expense  of 
his  garden,  before  dismissing  the  men,  would  try  selling  at  least  the 
surplus  produce,  his  garden  would  still  give  him  satisfaction  and  the 
labourer  not  be  deprived  of  his  employment.  This  selling  business 
opens  up  such  possibilities  that  I  have  wandered  somewhat  from  the 
subject ;  but  now  for  a  practical  suggestion. 
Let  ]?each  trees  be  pruned  directly  the  fruit  is  gathered.  Cut  out  all 
weak  and  unhealthy  wood.  Make  no  mistake  on  this  point.  Cut  to 
wood  that  IS  able  to  mature  a  crop.  We  should  have  finer  fruit  and 
heavier  crops  if  half  the  wood  that  is  generally  left  in  trees  for  bearing 
was  removed  at  the  right  time.  Apricots,  Plums,  and  Pears  should 
have  the  spurs  well  shortened  back,  old  and  unhealthy  spurs  cut  out, 
and  strong  young  wood  laid  in  where  there  is  room  for  it.  This  Avork 
ought  to  be  done  before  the  leaves  fall. 
I  now  pass  to  the  roots,  and  here  I  think  lies  the  cause  of  many 
failures.  It  is  no  use  expecting  pro6table  crops  of  fruit  if  the  roots 
are  deep  in  subsoil.  They  must  be  under  control  and  where  they  can 
have  nourishment.  Those  who  have  still  model  trees  of  our  forefathers 
would  do  well  to  try  lifting,  lake  one  side  of  the  tree  ;  throw  out  a 
trench  3  feet  deep,  and  Avork  all  the  soil  from  about  the  roots,  and 
prune  damaged  ends.  If  the  soil  at  the  bottom  is  very  bad  it  can  be 
wheeled  to  the  refuse  heap ;  it  aaIU  be  useful  to  bank  up  the  fire. 
Return  the  best  soil,  mixing  charred  refuse  and  mortar  rubbish  with 
it,  making  the  whole  firm.  Lay  the  roots  near  the  surface  and  mulch ; 
this  with  another  mulching  in  May,  a  good  wash  once  or  twice  with  a 
good  engine  during  the  growing  season,  and  a  watering  any  time  of  the 
year  that  men  can  be  spared,  will  improve  the  quality  and  quantity . 
of  our  wall  fruits. 
IMost  gardeners  are  short-handed,  I  knoAV,  but  do  we  not  sometimes 
give  too  much  time  to  the  November  Queen  ?  Does  it  not  take  a  long 
time  to  pull  out  those  stiff  and  damaged  petals,  and  to  place  those 
small  stakes  to  prevent  the  “IMums”  breaking  their  necks?  Hoav 
would  it  be  to  say  to  some  in  this  department,  “  That  Avill  do,  get  on, 
I  want  you  outside  for  a  change  ?  ”  Those  who  have  real  interest  in 
gardening  Avould  welcome  the  change.  Then,  with  spade  and  fork,  and 
an  example  from  their  chief,  a  great  deal  Avould  be  done  to  check  the 
decadence  of  fruit  culture. 
In  summer  pruning,  do  not  let  a  man  start  nailing  unless  you  are 
satisfied  that  he  Avill  not  tie  in  ten  shoots  Avhere  one  only  is  required. 
One  more  reference  to  decorations.  What  is  more  appreciated  than 
good  fiTiit  ?  It  is  as  much  admired  as  any  floral  display,  and  takes  as 
prominent  a  place  on  the  table  as  any  decorations. — S.  B.  0. 
What  is  the  Jumble  System  ? 
I  HAVE  just  fitted  a  new  pen  to  my  holder  to  compliment 
“  jMelton  ”  upon  the  improved  style  of  his  latest  contribution, 
“  Training  Fruit  Trees.”  What  a  beautiful  picture  is  presented  to 
our  mind’s  eye  by  the  affectionate  terms  in  Avhich  he  writes  of 
“  E.  D.  S.”  He  seems  so  grateful  to  him  for  coming  to  the  rescue, 
that  one  is  almost  tempted  to  think  the  latter  is  a  second  edition  of  the 
former.  I  fully  agree  with  both  as  to  the  necessity  of  training  the 
shoots  of  fruit  trees  thinly.  Keep  them  thinly  disposed,  is  a  maxim  I 
have  always  preached,  practised,  and  intend  to  continue. 
It  is  bad  form  I  know  to  quote  too  freely  from  an  opponent’s 
writings,  but  convenient  to  do  so  occasionally.  Note  this  from  the 
pen  of  “  Melton.”  “  I  have  not  seen  a  man  yet  who  has  been  able  to 
train  and  attend  to  three  or  four  branches,  and  to  complete  the  work, 
in  the  same  time  as  he  would  finish  one.”  Well,  let  me  add,  that 
depends  upon  their  length  ;  if  the  three  or  four  Avere  very  short,  and 
the  one  very  long,  the  feat  might  be  easily  accomplished.  It  is  not 
the  mere  nailing  up  of  the  branches  that  takes  the  time  in  training 
trees,  but  the  perpetual  pulling,  twisting,  and  straining  necessary  to 
get  them  perfectly  strai'jht.  In  order  to  do  this  extra  nails  and  shreds 
are  often  required,  yet  the  less  used  the  better  for  the  health  of  the 
trees.  Let  us  take,  for  example,  two  Peach  trees  of  equal  size ;  all 
good  growers  would  leave  the  shoots  fi’om  6  to  9  inches  apart,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  size  of  the  Avood.  Now  let  us  suppose  that  tAA’o  gardeners, 
equally  expert  at  their  oAvn  particular  style  of  training,  begin  to  nail 
the  trees  at  the  same  time,  the  object  of  each  being  to  dispose  the 
bearing  Avood  as  evenly  as  possible  over  the  surface  of  the  wall ;  but 
one  must  train  evi  ry  branch  perfectly  straight,  “  in  the  style 
of  the  old  masters,”  while  the  other  does  not  mind  a  few  bends, 
slight  curves  in  a  shoot,  so  long  as  the  general  outline  of  each  is 
fairly  correct.  Which  ot  the  tAvo  would  finish  their  tree  first  ?  Is 
there  a  single  reader  of  “our  Journal  ”  bold  enough  to  say  the  disciple 
of  the  “  old  maters  ”  would  ?  If  there  is,  I  should  like  to  nail  a  tree 
against  time  with  him. 
While  taking  a  pleasant  walk  in  connection  with  my  daily  Avork  I 
recently  saAv  a  fisherman  skimming  the  surface  AA^ater  of  a  lovely  river. 
I  watched,  and  found  that  he  “  skimmed  ”  for  a  purpose,  that  he  was 
throwing  a  bait.  After  a  while  I  heard  a  splash,  the  line  run  out,  and 
soon  the  beaming  fisherman  landed  a  monster  pike.  I  went  a  little 
farther.  Another  follower  of  “Walton”  sat  upon  the  river  bank; 
beside  him  Avere  tAvo  rods  and  lines  with  well-baited  hooks  attached. 
“  Much  sport  to-day,  my  friend  ?  ”  I  inquired,  as  usual.  “  Only  them 
two  little  ’uns,  after  tAvo  hours’  fishing,”  was  the  reply.  This  man 
fished  deep  in  the  waters,  and  got  little  for  his  pains,  while  the 
“  skimmer  of  the  surface”  obtained  a  fine  reward. 
“  Melton  ”  has  tried  to  show  how  many  and  far  reaching  are  the 
causes  which  have  led  to  a  change,  if  not  decadence,  in  the 
training  of  wall  trees,  yet  he  has  practically  arrived  at  the  same 
conclusion  as  I — Avho  according  to  the  sage  from  the  hunting 
centre — have  been  “  merely  skimming  the  surface.”  The  gist 
of  his  argument  as  Avell  as  mine  on  this  point  is,  that  the  change  has 
been  brought  about  by  the  pressure  of  work  in  other  directions, 
though  the  pressure  may  be  felt  in  different  ways  in  each  particular 
place.  Still  Ave  have  much  to  be  thankful  for.  Fruit  is  groAvn  as 
well — nay,  better  than  ever  it  was — hoAv  then  can  the  “  glory  of  our 
garden  walls  be  departed  ?  ” 
Yes,  I  am  thankful  to  know  that  at  least  one  old  gardener  is 
induced  to  think  that  I  know  just  enough  to  be  able  to  train  a  tree 
properly,  notwithstanding  my  preference  for  fine  fruit  instead  of 
straight  barren  branches.  If  I  have  not  planted  and  trained  the  same 
set  of  trees  for  a  period  of  twenty  years,  I  have  done  the  work  from 
start  to  finish,  until  the  trees  have  covered  their  allotted  space.  I 
have  also  done  something  which  I  consider  far  more  creditable  -  viz., 
taken  charge  of  old  trees  which  have  not  l)orne  a  crop  for  years,  and 
brought  them  into  a  fruitful  condition,  by  cutting  out  some  of  the 
old  branches,  and  training  in  the — to  some — horrible  side  shoots. 
The  many  years  I  had  charge  of  the  trees  which  caught  the  eye  and 
took  the  fancy  of  the  “  guiding  spirit  ”  were  quite  numerous  enough 
to  spoil  them,  and  if  I  did  not  train  them  from  their  infancy  I  did 
train  many  others  in  the  same  garden,  which  to-day  stand  as  monu¬ 
ments  to  the  soundness  of  their  early  training. 
Now  let  us  note  the  eleventh  paragraph  on  page  283.  “  Melton  ” 
is  a  little  too  previous  in  assuming  he  has  placed  me  on  the  “  horns 
of  a  dilemma.”  The  trees  I  wrote  of  as  having  caught  the  eye  of  the 
“  guiding  spirit  ”  were  Morello  Cherries,  and  every  gardener  knows  that 
they  produce  wood  so  freely  over  the  entire  surface  of  the  tree,  that 
no  matter  Avhether  they  are  trained  well,  badly,  or  not  trained  at  all, 
they  will  bear  good  crops  if  the  cultivator  will  thin  the  shoots  a  little. 
All  trees,  however  well  managed  and  trained,  are  liable  to  lose  some  of 
their  branches;  then, as  I  have  pointed  out  before,  a  gardener  has  to 
choose  between  long  inside  branches  or  having  blank  spaces  on  his  Avails, 
as  the  rightly  placed  shoot  is  not  often  obtained.  “  The  best  trained  and 
managed  trees  and  Vines  remain  productive  the  longest,  do  they?” 
Who  has  not  heard  of  the  Penrhyn  Vines  with  their  “faggots  of 
wood  ?  ”  and  who,  I  ask,  does  not  covet  the  grand  Grapes  they 
produce  ? 
Yes,  I  haA^e  seen  cordon  Pears  roped  with  fruit,  and  I  have  seen 
a  good  many  others  which  have  not  for  years  borne  a  good  crop, 
though  in  each  case  they  Avere  under  the  management  of  good  fruit 
grovi'ers.  If  I  had  unfruitful  ones  of  this  description  to  deal  Avith  I 
would  lift  and  replant  them,  and  if  that  failed  train-in  the  much- 
despised  side  branches.  A  few  days  ago  I  accepted  a  long-standing 
invitation  to  visit  the  noted  and  extensive  garden  of  an  earl.  The 
genial  gardener  is  one  who  has  made  a  name  in  the  horticultural 
Avorld,  and  intends  to  maintain  his  reputation  as  a  fruit  grower.  Of 
course,  I  noted  carefully  the  condition  of  the  fruit  trees,  especially  as 
the  chief  had  a  sound  training  in  tree  manipulation  in  the  best 
Scottish  gardens.  He  prides  himself  on  well  trained  trees,  as  long  as 
they  are  fruitful ;  but  he  has  seen  the  advantage  of  breaking  aAvay 
from  the  pld  mathematical  style.  Here  is  a  case  to  the  point :  One 
high  Avail  was  planted  with  Pears  considerably  more  than  twenty 
years  ago — the  training  adopted  was  the  horizontal  style.  All  went 
well  till  the  trees  had  no  room  for  extension,  then  they  gradually 
decreased  in  fruitfulness.  The  next  move  was  to  remove  every 
alternate  branch  and  train-in  side  shoots  at  regular  intervals.  The 
result  of  this  departure  Avas  so  satisfactory  that  others  have  since  been 
treated  in  the  same  Avay. 
Many  other  similar  instances  may  be  met  with  in  various  parts  of 
the  country ;  in  fact,  whether  “  Melton  ”  knows  it  or  not,  gardeners 
as  a  body  will  never  again  keep  closely  to  the  mathematical  style  of 
training  adopted  by  their  forefathers.  The  system  has  been  tried  in 
the  balance  and  found  wanting,  and  since  the  generation  or  two  ago, 
when  changes  in  this  direction  were  beginning  to  be  made,  good  crops 
of  fine  fruit  have  gradually  become  more  plentiful,  but  the  full 
advantage  of  this  change  in  training  will  be  seen  in  the  years  to  come. 
I  wonder  what  “  A  Traveller  ”  and  “  Invicta  ”  are  doing  ?  Have 
they  employed  “  IMelton  ”  to  extricate  them  from  an  untenable 
position  ? — H.  D. 
