December  16,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
569 
varies  greatly,  according  as  they  are  opposed  to  the  prevalent  winds  or 
not,  from  200  to  600  inches  per  annum  down  to  22  inches,  or  less. 
The  cold  heights  of  Dartmoor,  some  1400  to  2000  feet  above  sea  level, 
serve  in  a  similar  though  minor  degree  to  condense  the  moisture  from 
the  warm  winds  blowing  off  the  Atlantic,  and  thus  we  get  the  extremes 
here  noted. 
The  horticultural  importance  of  the  annual  rainfall  in  any  district 
is  very  great ;  in  fact  the  two  points  which  most  closely  concern  the 
gardener  in  meteorological  observations  are  the  rainfall  and  the  amount 
of  sunshine,  for  upon  these  he  is  dependent  to  a  very  great  extent  for 
his  success  with  outdoor  productions.  In  the  County  under  notice  it 
is  fortunate  in  one  respect  that  a  good  portion  of  the  soil  is  porous 
and  naturally  drained,  for  were  it  generally  heavy  it  is  difficult  to 
know  what  the  result  would  be,  as  many  find  25  inches  of  rain  on  a 
heavy  soil  more  than  they  like  if  it  be  not  equally  distributed  over 
the  3'ear.  At  the  same  time  such  an  amount  of  rain  passing  quickly 
through  the  soil  must  Avash  out  (particularly  in  winter)  a  largo 
quantity  of  soluble  salts  of  importance  to  vegetation.  The  experi¬ 
ments  at  Rothamsted,  in  Hertfordshire,  where  the  rainfall  is  not  above 
the  average,  have  proved  what  an  enormous  waste  there  is  constantly 
taking  place  in  this  w'ay,  and  the  greater  the  rainfall  the  greater  the 
loss.  There  is  some  compensation  no  doubt  in  the  fact  that  the  rain 
itself  also  brings  certain  fertilising  agents  to  the  soil,  and  to  this  must 
be  partly  attributed  the  vigorous  growth  of  plants  observable  in  the 
moist  districts  of  our  islands,  notably  in  Ireland  and  the  West  of 
Scotland.  Beyond  this  in  rocky  districts  heavy  rains  hasten  the 
decomposition  of  the  stone,  and  thus  help  to  keep  up  the  supply  of 
substances  available  for  plants. 
Upon  the  development  of  many  trees  an  abundant  rainfall  has  a 
most  marked  effect,  especially  when  it  is  combined  with  a  mild 
climate ;  thus  it  is  that  Devonshire  is  famed  for  its  collections  of  hand¬ 
some  trees,  particularly  Conifers  and  evergreens,  of  which  Bicton  and 
Endsleigh  possess  some  magnificent  specimens.  The  county  has  also 
been  famed  for  its  orchards  and  Apples,  and  even  now  we  find  the 
official  statistics  giving  the  extent  occupied  \Vith  fruit  trees  at  over 
26,000  acres,  thus  sharing  with  Somersetshire,  Herefordshire,  and  Kent 
the  largest  acreage  in  Great  Britain  devoted  to  fruit.  But  the  “fame” 
which  attached  to  the  Devon  orchards  has  been  allowed  to  decay  with 
the  trees,  of  which  thousands  can  now  be  seen  in  a  condition  fitting 
them  more  for  consumption  as  fuel  than  for  any  other  purpose.  It  is 
true  there  are  bright  spots  where  able  cultivators  are  demonstrating 
what  skill  can  accomplish  when  aided  by  advantages  of  soil  and 
climate ;  but  these  constitute  a  very  small  proportion  of  the 
26,000  acres.  _ 
It  is  contended  by  s^me  that  the  climate  is  too  moist  for  successful 
Apple  culture,  and  the  lichen-loaded  branches  of  the  old  trees  are 
pointed  to  as  examples,  but  this  does  not  afford  the  required  explana¬ 
tion.  A  long  period  of  general  neglect  is  the  undoubted  cause  of 
most  of  the  bad  results  too  plainly  visible  in  every  direction,  and  in 
conjunction  with  this  must  be  taken  the  fact  that  almost  all  the  old 
orchards  are  in  grass,  a  condition  which  in  such  a  wet  district  cannot 
be  otherwise  than  unfavourable.  The  adverse  influence  of  grass 
growing  over  the  roots  of  young  Apple  trees  has  been  fully  demon¬ 
strated  at  the  Woburn  experimental  fruit  farm,  as  can  be  seen  from 
the  illustrations  and  desc  iption  in  the  report  for  1897  by  the  Duke 
of  Bedford  and  Spencer  Pickering,  F.R.S.  That  this  influence  is 
exerted  to  the  injury  of  older  trees  can  also  be  proved  by  a  comparison 
between  orchards  in  the  same  district  on  grass  and  cultivated  land. 
In  the  course  of  my  travels  I  have  seen  such  differences  strongly 
marked  in  the  conditions  of  the  trees ;  indeed  1  have  observed 
differences  in  favour  of  those  orchards  where  the  grass  was  kept 
close  grazed  as  compared  with  others  where  the  grass  was  allowed  to 
become  long  and  rank.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  explanation  of  the 
unsatisfactory  state  of  many  orchards  in  grass,  apart  from  the  root 
competition,  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  evaporation  is  so  much 
greater  from  grass  than  from  soil,  and  much  of  this  moisture  is 
condensed  upon  the  stems  and  branches.  At  one  of  the  North 
American  experimental  stations,  the  results  of  five  years’  observations 
showed  that  from  turf  85  per  cent,  of  the  average  annual  rainfall  was 
evaporated,  from  bare  and  undisturbed  soil  70’7  per  cent,  evaporated, 
and  from  bare,  but  cultivated  soil,  the  evaporation  only  amounted  to 
63*9  per  cent,  of  the  rainfall.  _ 
The  effects  of  such  a  large  evaporation  on  grass  land  must  be 
proportionately  increased  where  the  rainfall  is  as  heavy  as  it  is  in 
Devonshire,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  why  lichens  and  mosses 
flourish  on  the  stems  of  the  trees  where  they  are  so  abundantly  and 
constantly  supplied  with  moisture  from  above  and  below,  no  effoi  t 
being  made  to  keep  the  trees  clean.  With  a  cultivated,  clean,  well- 
drained  soil  around  the  trees  a  fairly  heavy  rainfall  is  not  adverse  to 
the  Apple ;  indeed  it  is  favourable  to  the  development  of  all  the  large 
fruits  and  the  varieties  for  cooking.  Nor  is  it  opposed  to  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  colour  and  flavour,  as  might  be  supposed.  I  have  had 
Apples  in  the  wet  districts  of  the  United  Kingdom,  the  West  of 
Scotland,  the  South  of  Ireland,  the  West  and  South-West  of  England, 
equal  in  most  respects,  and  superior  in  some,  to  examples  of  the  same 
varieties  from  the  drier  eastern  or  midland  regions.  Though  familiar 
with  the  eastern  counties  from  Essex  up  to  Northumberland,  where 
the  rainfall  may  average  from  25  to  30  inches  per  annuin,  I  do  not 
remember  remarking  that  the  flavour  of  the  choicer  Apples  is  superior 
to  that  of  the  same  varieties  in  the  wetter  counties ;  in  fact,  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that,  other  conditions  being  favourable,  the  Apple 
rather  delights  in  an  abundant  rainfall,  but  it  stands  in  the  greater  need 
of  the  cultivation  Avhich  is  far  too  frequently  denied  to  it. — Viator. 
NUT  GROWING  AND  PRUNING. 
(Cohtinued  from  page  546.) 
Now  let  us  pass  on  to  the  pruning  required  during  the  following 
winter.  'I'he-  leading  shoots  Avill  then  need  shortening  to  various 
lengths,  according  to  their  strength.  Strong  ones  may  be  shortened 
one  third  of  their  length,  those  moderately  strong  one-half,  and  weak 
shoots  ought  to  have  two-thirds  cut  away,  so  as  to  cause  them  to 
break  stronger  the  followipg  year.  In  each  instance  the  bud  to  which 
the  shoot  is  shortened  miust  be  an  outward  one;  the  young  shoot 
produced  from  it  will  then  grow  from  instead  of  towards  the  centre  of 
the  tree.  It  is  in  this  way  that  basin-shaped  trees  with  open  centres 
are  formed.  It  is  also  important  to  remember  that  the  terminal  bud 
left  should  be  a  wood  bud.  This  shortening  of  terminal  shoots  must 
go  on  in  the  same  way  each  jrear,  to  cause  spurs  to  be  produced 
evenly  throughout  the  entire  length  of  the  main  branches,  until  the 
trees  have  reached  the  desired  height,  from  5  to  6  feet,  then  all 
leading  growths  ought  to  be  cut  back  to  two  eyes  each  year.  It  is 
an  easy  matter  with  well-managed  trees  to  keep  them  near  the  above 
height,  as  when  necessary  some  of  the  old  wood  can  be  cut  away  back 
to  a  well-placed  spur.  This  kind  of  pruning  may  be  continued  for 
fifty  or  100  years,  and  the  trees  still  remain  well  furnished  with 
bearing  wood  from  top  to  bottom. 
Having  now  dealt  with  leading  shoots,  we  will  consider  the 
treatment  necessary  for  side  growths,  a  matter  of  vital  importance, 
because  it  is  to  such  that  we  must  look  for  the  annual  crop.  The 
distinction  b.’tween  male  anl  female  blossoms  must  now  be  noted. 
The  male  is  the  well-known  catkin,  such  as  the  common  Hazel 
produces  freely,  the  female  is  lilre  a  small  jnnkish  coloured  brush. 
The  buds  which  produce  these  minute  flowers  can  generally  be 
distinguished  from  wood  buds  by  reason  of  their  larger  size  and 
plump  appearance,  as  in  the  case  of  other  fruit  trees,  but  they  do 
not  flower  till  February,  and  as  it  is  necessary  to  retain  as  many 
catkins  as  possible  to  insure  fertilisation,  pruning  should  be  dela5red 
till  the  end  ot  February  or  March.  In  warm,  still  weather,  it  is  a 
good  plan  to  tap  the  branches  to  disperse  the  pollen  the  catkins 
carry.  When  such  are  not  freely  produced  branches  of  the  wild 
Hazel  may  with  advantage  be  placed  upon  the  upper  parts  of  the 
cultivated  trees. 
‘Although  the  above  may  seem  a  somewhat  lengthy  introduction  to 
the  real  work  of  pruning,  it  is  nevertheless  of  importance  that  the 
points  enumerated  be  fully  understood,  hence  ray  excuse  for  indulging 
in  a  certain  amount  of  perambulation.  Being  armed  with  a  sharp 
knife  and  a  short  saw,  the  pruner  must  go  over  (.very  main  branch 
carefully.  In  a  young  and  vigorous  tree  strong  side  shoots  will 
be  found  throughout  the  entire  length  ;  some  of  these  must  be  cut  clean 
away  where  they  appear  in  the  least  crowded,  the  others  shortened  to 
two  or  three  buds.  The  basal  buds  will  usually  be  wood  buds, 
and  often  the  second  or  third  flower  buds,  with  perhaps  a  catkin 
depending  from  the  bud  above.  In  such  a  case  the  extra  bud  should 
be  left  for  a  time  to  be  cut  away  after  the  whole  of  the  fruit  is  set. 
Near  the  tops  of  the  branches  catkins  are  produced  the  most  freely,  and 
the  shoots  may  be  left  a  little  closer  together  there  ;  still  the  aim^  of 
the  pruner  should  be  to  have  male  flowers  situated  as  evenly  as  possible 
over  the  whole  surface  of  the  tree.  From  the  base  of  these  closely 
pruned  side  shoots  smdl  twigs  will  be  sent  out  the  following  year 
and  it  is  from  them  that  the  principal  portion  of  the  crop  is  obtained 
If  too  numerous  to  admit  of  a  free  circulation  of  air  some  of  these 
should  be  removed  in  July,  very  strong  ones  stopped  or  entirely 
removed. 
After  the  side  shoots  have  been  pruned  in  closely -for  sorne  years 
they  begin  to  show  signs  of  age ;  some  of  them  should  therefore  be 
shortened  each  year,  cutting  them  back  to  a  young  shoot  or  wood  bud 
:  near  to  the  main  branch.  It  is  by  constant  attention  to  this  matter 
'  that  the  trees  are  kept  well  furnished  with  fruitful  wood  throughout 
;  their  entire  length.  Sometimes  a  shoot  carrying  a  large  cluster  of  catkins 
i  may  be  left  from  6  to  8  inches  in  length,  as  it  is  easy  to  remove  it  the 
following  season,  unless  it  happen  to  be  then  carrying  several  good 
;  beaiing  shoots. 
