October  17,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
365 
Young  Gardeners’  Domain. 
Hints  for  Young  Heads. 
( Continued  from  page  208.) 
The  tropical  plant  house  is,  or  should  be,  an  important 
feature  of  a  well-kept  garden,  and  no  pains  should  be  spared 
to  have  its  inmates  in  that  happy  condition  which  bespeaks 
unremitting  care  and  high  culture.  The  enthusiast  will,  indeed, 
think  no  trouble  too  great,  or  any  detail  too  small  to  accomplish 
this,  and  it  will  be  his  endeavour  to  grow  only  the  best  varieties 
of  each  species — the  best  of  everything  and  everything  of  the 
best.  As  this  phase  of  gardening  is  also  to  some  extent  an 
expensive  item  in  the  garden  balance-sheet,  it  goes  without 
saying  that  the  greater  the  return  shown  for  the  expenditure 
the  greater  the  profit,  or  its  equivalent,  pleasure,  on  the  credit 
side.  By  the  way,  tropical  house,  if  the  stove  may  be  thus  called, 
seems  to  be  the  better  name ;  anyway,  it  will  prevent  any  such 
catastrophe  as  that  which  occurred  with  “  the  new  boy,”  who, 
when  told  to  put  some  plants  in  the  stove,  quickly  had  them 
crackling  in  the  furnace.  Apropos  of  this,  it  simplifies  matters 
considerably  to  number  the  houses  consecutively,  the  least 
objectionable  method  being  to  incise  Roman  numerals  neatly 
with  a  chisel  on  the  door  head,  and  colour  them  black. 
With  the  heating  of  this  plant  house  we  may  have  little  to 
do,  all  that  has  probably  been  done  before,  but  if  not  well  done, 
and  it  is  most  unsatisfactory  not  to  have  a  sufficiency  of  heat  at 
command,  the  young  head  gardener  who  finds  himself  thus 
handicapped  will  wisely  endeavour  to  rectify  it  at  the  start. 
In  reserve  power  lies  safety.  Driving  a  boiler  at  its  highest 
tension  courts  disaster.  There  is  nothing  more  important  than 
the  maintenance  of  a  comfortable  night  temperature  during  the 
early  summer  months,  with  a  corresponding  increase  by  day 
from  sun  heat  or  otherwise,  and  it  is  false  economy  to  dispense 
with  artificial  heat  till  such  time  as  the  season  is  far  advanced, 
when  an  anxiety  to  regain  lost  time  defeats  its  object  by  causing 
a  late  sickly  growth  with  constitutional  troubles  to  come.  One 
could  hardly  over-emphasise  this  point  in  culture.  Good 
specimen  Codiseums  and  similar  things,  when  encouraged  to  make 
their  growth  under  the  best  conditions  of  light  and  warmth  our 
short  seasons  afford,  rest  in  comparative  safety  under  adverse 
conditions  during  rvinter,  and  cheerfully  respond  the  following 
year  in  vigorous  growth. 
The  ministering  hand,  guided  by  an  observant  eye,  will  grasp 
those  nicer  details  of  culture  which  no  amount  of  teaching  or 
preaching  can  ever  give,  and  in  no  instance  is  this  intuitive 
accomplishment  better  exemplified  than  in  temperature  and  its 
concomitant  auxiliary,  a  genial  atmosphere.  At  first  sight 
temperature  and  atmosphere  may  appear  to  be  identical.  That 
is  not  so.  High  temperature  and  deficient  moisture,  or  low 
temperature  and  an  excess  of  it,  will  always  bring  a  feeling  of 
discomfort  to  the  cultivator  who  is  in  perfect  sympathy  with  his 
plants.  Fire  heat  is  to  some  extent,  however,  a  necessary  evil, 
hence  no  more  than  is  really  wanted  will  be  used,  but  what  is 
actually  required  must  not  be  denied.  As  a  rule,  fires  are 
started  too  late  on  a  summer’s  morning,  and  often  started  when 
they  should  remain  undisturbed.  Here  a  young  practitioner 
must  learn  to  anticipate  what  a  day  is  likely  to  bring  forth,  and 
act  accordingly.  Much  of  the  fuel  which  is  worse  than  wasted  in 
the  morning  might  be  advantageously  applied  in  the  evening 
to  keep  the  plant  house  comfortable  during  a  cold  night,  so  often 
experienced  in  early  summer. 
To  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time  is  a  golden  rule  in 
gardening  and  applicable  to  every  phase  of  it.  Thus,  in  potting, 
for  instance,  the  best  results  cannot  be  expected  when  the 
doctrine  of  “  the  altogether  ”  impels  a  man  to  begin  and  finish 
with  the  one  operation.  As  plants  are  ready  for  potting  then 
is  the  time,  neither  before  nor  after,  and  what  shall  it  profit  a 
man  who  says  in  his  haste,  “  I  will  have  a  fine  specimen  by 
hurrying  a  plant  in  a  pot  several  sizes  too  large  for  it?”  More 
haste  less  speed.  Small  shifts  and  often  is  a  good  principle  when 
potting  on  the  choicer  and  more  delicate  growing  hothouse 
plants;  and,  indeed,  may  apply  to  all  the  inmates  of  our  houses, 
for  if  a  plant  is  worth  growing  at  all  it  is  worth  growing  well, 
and  the  aim  of  the  cultivator  should  be  the  best  possible,  which 
does  not  imply  size  alone,  but  for  whatever  purpose  such  plants 
are  intended.  It  is  often  the  case  that  young  plants  from  the 
propagating  pit  will  take  two  or  three  shifts  during  the  summer, 
thus  being  built  up  from  a  good  foundation  into  vigorous 
specimens.  Again  may  the  value  of  rough  potting  material, 
previously  spoken  of  in  relation  to  the  propagating  pit,  be  im¬ 
pressed.  All  fine  compost  is  an  utter  abomination  to  the  smart 
grower  of  specimeh  plants,  and  should  be  rigorously  excluded. 
If  any  doubting  ones  at  the  potting  bench  disposed  to  question 
this  will  try  it.  they  will  probably  no  longer  halt  between  two 
opinions.  Common-sense  potting  paves  the  way  to  judicious 
watering,  and  considerably  minimises  the  dangers  which  lay  in 
this  direction.  An  over-potted  plant  is  invariably  an  over¬ 
watered  plant,  and  a  sickly  one  to  boot.  Ample  space  between 
the  pot  rim  and  the  soii,  a  simple  matter  often  neglected, 
facilitates  watering,  which  is  usually  a  daily  operation,  that  is, 
the  houses  will  require  to  be  looked  over  daily,  and  plants  that 
are  dry  require  water,  those  that  are  not  don’t.  Under  certain 
obvious  conditions  twice  daily  will  be  necessary,  and  some  nice 
discrimination  is  necessary  for  a  young  hand  to  become  handy 
with  the  waterpot. 
Slip-slop  watering  is  intolerable  and  decidedly  pernicious  in 
its  effects.  Back  from  the  past  comes  the  memory  of  a  whistling 
boy  who  slovenly  swished  out  the  water  to  the  tune  of  a  slow 
march.  Often  was  he  followed  up  and  plants  turned  out  to 
show  him  that  surface  wetting  of  a'  dry  ball  was  not  watering ; 
but  the  tootling  habit  was  strong.  He  has  tootled  through  life 
in  place  and  out  of  place,- often  the  latter,  a  very  good  man,  but 
a  very  poor  gardener.  Boys,  don’t  tootle  at  work,  concentrate 
your  mind  upon  it  and  leave  politicians  to  “  Rule  Britannia.” 
An  Old  Boy. 
(To  be  continued.) 
Hardy  Fruit  Garden. 
LIFTING  AND  REPLANTING  YOUNG  TREES.— Where 
fruit  trees  are  making  over-vigorous  growth,  especially  young 
trees  that  have  not  fruited,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  afford 
some  judicious  check.  This  is  best  done  by  careful  lifting  and 
replanting,  cutting  back  the  strongest  roots  in  the  process.  Fan- 
trained  wall  trees,  such  as  Peaches,  Nectarines,  and  Plums,  are 
very  apt  to  make  strong  growth,  which  is  of  an  unfruitful 
character,  especially  if  the  ground  should  be  rich  and  loose.  In 
such  cases  the  removal  of  the  trees  will  effect  an  improvement  in 
producing  a  sturdy  and  vigorous,  but  yet  short-jointed  growth. 
The  roots  will  be  more  fibrous,  and  will  spread  laterally  rather 
than  strike  deeply.  Bush  trees,  or  any  forms  of  young  fruit 
trees  that  show  a  tendency  to  run  away  to  wood,  may  be  improved 
by  lifting.  The  best  method  of  procedure  is  to  cut  a  trench  round 
the  stem  at  a  safe  distance,  say  2ft  or  3ft,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  tree  and  its  probable  extension  of  roots.  In  taking  out 
this  trench,  if  no  roots  are  met  with,  work  the  soil  away  until  the 
ball  of  roots  appears  to  be  of  a  portable  size  for  moving.  W  hen 
this  can  be  readily  effected,  and  a  fair  quantity  of  soil  adheres, 
detach  the  ball  from  its  position,  and  work  in  fresh  material, 
making  it  firm  so  as  to  raise  the  base,  that  when  replanted  the 
trees  will  be  higher  than  heretofore.  Let  the  soil  be  made  very 
firm,  as  it  is  only  by  doing  this  that  the  growth  will  assume  a 
fruitful  character.  The  introduction  of  rich  compost  round  the 
roots  must  be  avoided.  Good  loam  or  the  fertile  staple  of  the 
surrounding  ground  forms  a  suitable  medium  for  fresh  rooting. 
For  stone  fruits  the  soil  may  advantageously  be  mixed  with  lime 
rubbish  or  pulverised  mortar.  After  lifting,  the  soil  over  the 
roots  may  be  lightly  mulched  with  some  flaky  manure. 
ROOT-PRUNING  OLD  TREES.— Old  and  long  established 
trees  cannot  be  lifted  and  replanted  with  the  same  chance  of  their 
doing  well  afterwards ;  but  over-strong  and  vigorous  trees  may  be 
checked  by  root-pruning.  Take  out  a  trench  as  if  for  lifting  not 
less  than  '3ft  from  the  stem.  The  trench  may  go  down  fairly 
deeply,  and  all  strong  roots  found  cut  off  close  to  the  side  of  the 
trench  with  the  spade,  afterwards  paring  them  smoothly  with  the 
knife.  In  many  cases  it  is  the  strong  tap  root  which  passes 
perpendicularly  down  into  the  subsoil  that  causes  the  extia 
vigour  and  prevents  fruiting.  The  ball  of  roots  ought,  there¬ 
fore,  to  be  undermined,  and  the  tap  root  severed.  In  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  of  this  there  may  also  be  other  strong  descending  loots, 
and  these,  too,  may  be  dealt  with  in  a  similar  manner.  _  In  filling 
in  the  soil  again,  make  it  firm,  quite  as  firm  as  the  inner  ball 
of  soil.  It  may  not  be  advisable  to  root-prune  all  round  at  once, 
especially  where  many  strong  roots  abound.  Therefore,  if  half 
is  done  one  season,  and  half  another  year,  this  may  prove  to  be 
the  best.  It  is,  at  all  events,  the  safest  plan.  It  renders  the 
work  easier,  and  improves  the  trees  gradually. 
THINNING  BRANCHES. — Where  the  branches  of  fruit  trees, 
growing  in  any  form,  are  too  thickly  placed,  it  is  highly  desirable 
that  they  be  thinned  out.  On  walls  especially,  each  branch  or 
cordon  ought  to  have  a  clear  space  of  a  foot.  This  in  some  trees 
may  necessitate  taking  out  every  other  branch. .  Bush  and 
pyramid  trees  ought  also  to  be  dealt  with  by  removing  crossing 
and  inter-crossing  branches.  After  the  fruit  is  removed,  and 
before  the  leaves  fall,  it  can  readily  be  seen  which  are  the  most 
crowded  parts  of  the  trees.  It  is  better  to  do  the  ^oik  at  this 
period  than  in  winter. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES.— These  wall  fruits  having 
now  had  the  crop  gathered,  the  trees  may  be  overhauled,  and  the 
branches  regulated.  Cut  out  all  superfluous  and  half-exhausted 
