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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER,  November  28,  I90i. 
the  other  hand,  the  Pear  stock,  which  is  of  a  deeper  rooting 
nature,  is  more  adapted  for  light  soils,  as  it  is  better  able  to 
withstand  drought.  Conversely,  it  is  not  advisable  to  plant 
dwarf  Pears  worked  on  the  Pear  on  heavy  soils,  as  they  are 
apt  to  make  very  gross  growth,  when  they  will  not  come  into 
bearing  for  several  years,  even  a  vigorous  system  of  summer 
pinching  failing  to  bring  them  into  bearing  for  a  couple  of 
years,  sometimes  even  three.  In  choosing  pyramids  on  the 
Quince,  preference  should  be  given  to  those  worked  close  to 
the  ground,  as  the  bark  of  the  Quince  sometimes  splits, 
causing  a  check  to  the  tree.  If  the  stock  is  very  short,  say 
4in  to  Gin,  this  can  be  buried  wholly  in  the  soil — which 
should  be  partially  brought  about  by  raising  the  soil  a  little 
just  round  the  stem — when  the  moisture  of  the  soil  will  pre¬ 
vent  the  splitting,  and  the  stock  will  throw  out  roots  all  the 
way  up  to  the  graft,  so  that  the  tree  will  be  benefited  in  two 
ways — by  the  absence  of  splitting,  and  by  a  number  of  young 
fibres  close  to  the  surface. 
These  two  things — soils  and  stocks — are  the  two  main 
factors  to  be  considered  when  choosing  Pears  for  planting, 
for  not  only  does  the  relation  of  the  Pear  and  the  stock  to 
the  soil  have  to  be  considered,  but  the  relation  of  the  Pear 
to  the  stock,  as  certain  sorts  of  Pears  will  only  succeed  on  a 
certain  stock.  The  preparation  of  the  soil  for  planting  needs 
Some  care.  The  Pear  1  kes  a  good,  deep  loam,  inclining  to 
clay,  and  it  is  worth  while  sometimes  to  improve  the  soil,  so 
that  it  is  better  suited  to  its  tastes.  Whatever  it  is,  it  mus 
be  drained  if  it  is  at  all  water-logged.  A  dressing  of  basic 
slag,  at  the  rate  of  20lb  to  the  20  square  yards,  should  be 
deeply  dug  into  the  ground  to  be  devoted  to  Pears,  or,  if  the 
trees  are  to  be  planted  in  isolated  stations,  it  is  well  to  di~; 
a  good-sized  hole  and  nut  basic  slag  or  wood  ashes  at  the 
bottom.  This  will  feed  the  trees,  and  add  to  their  sturdi¬ 
ness,  vigour,  and  fruitfulness  for  years  to  come,  whilst  the 
deep  moving  of  the  soil,  by  aiding  them  in  getting  a  good 
root-run  the  first  season,  will  enable  them  to  become  more 
quickly  established. 
The  pruning  of  the  trees  requires  a  considerable  amount 
of  attention  the  first  two  or  three  years,  so  as  to  secure  a 
well-proportioned  tree,  wfith  all  parts  equally  strong,  and 
without  any  congestion  of  growth.  To  this  end,  the  straight 
central  shoot  which  all  pyramids  should  have  must  be 
pinched  back  once  or  twice  during  the  summer,  so  as  to 
ensure  lateral  shoots  either  the  same  season  or  the  following 
one,  while  the  shoot  ar  sing  from  the  terminal  but  as  a  re¬ 
sult  of  the  pinching  must  be  tra:ned  up  in  a  straight  line 
with  the  main  stem  of  the  tree.  This  pinching  will  also  servo 
to  strengthen  the  lower  portion  of  the  tree,  which  is  very 
essential,  as  dwarf  trees  always  have  a  tendency  to  make 
vigorous  growth  at  the  top,  at  the  expense  of  the  lower  par  t 
of  the  tree.  For  the  same  reason,  if  any  of  the  side  shoots 
seem  inclined  to  grow  at  all  rankly,  they  should  be  pinched 
back.  If,  in  the  spring,  young  shoots  break  out  too  thickly 
at  any  part,  they  should  be  thinned  by  disbudding,  re¬ 
moving  whole  shoots  completely.  Growth  must  be  so 
regulated  that  the  sun  and  air  can  get  to  every  part  of  th' 
tree,  as  there  will  be  no  good  crops  of  fruit  if  the  young  woo  1 
cannot  get  well  ripened  by  the  sun.  The  trees  should  havr 
their  final  pruning  the  latter  part  of  August,  when  all  voung 
growths  should  be  cut  back,  so  as  to  make  the  tree  the  de¬ 
sired  pyramidal  shape.  If  the  trees  are  on  rich  soil,  that  is, 
soil  rich  in  nitrogen,  they  will  make  long  sap^v  growths  in¬ 
stead  of  fruiting,  and  then  summer  pinching  must  be  liber¬ 
ally  pract  sed,  the  shoots  rot  required  for  extension,  or  to 
fill  up  gaps,  being  pinched  back  to  four  eyes  as  soon  as  the 
basal  leaves  of  the  shoots  are  well  developed,  while  the  re¬ 
sulting  shoots  must  be  pinched  back  to  two  eyes  or  leaves, 
and  so  on  again  if  necessary,  the  original  shoots  being  cut  back 
to  two  or  three  eyes  at  the  final  pruning  the  latter  part  of 
August.  Shoots  can  often  be  obtained  in  a  desired  position 
by  pinching  or  cutting  back  a  shoot  to  a  bud  pointing  in  that 
direction. 
Both  as  to  pruning  and  manuring  much  will  depend  upon 
the  soil,  and  must  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  grower, 
based  upon  the  knowledge  of  the  needs  of  the  trees  which  he 
has  acquired  by  carefully  observing  them.  Pyramid  Pears 
often  grow  very  rankly  the  first  few  years,  when  summer 
pinching  is  not  only  benefic’al,  but  absolutely  necessary  ; 
but  after  they  have  borne  one  or  two  heavy  crops,  a  better 
balanced  growth  is  the  result,  and  then  it  is  well  to  let  most 
of  the  shoots  grow  their  bdl  length  until  the  latter  part  of 
the  summer,  as  this  stimulat°s  root  action.  We  only  want 
to  check  this  vigorous  root  action  when  the  trees  are  making 
too  much  wood  at  the  expense  of  the  fruit  crop. — A.  Petts. 
Indoor  Fruit  Culture. 
(Concluded  from  page  439). 
Figs  grown  under  glass,  so  as  to  ripen  early,  are  always 
though r,  a  great  deal  of,  and  rightly,  for  they  are  delicious 
fruit.  It  is  difficult  to  say  why  so  many  growers  fail  with 
them,  for  if  a  few  cardinal  points  are  kept  in  mind,  no  fruit 
is  more  easily  grown.  One  of  the  most  frequent  mistakes 
made  in  planting  Figs  is  giving  them  too  rich  a  root  run. 
In  consequence,  growth  is  much  too  free,  and  at  the  expense 
of  fruit.  The  aim  of  the  grower  should  be  to  produce  a 
hard,  yet  vigorous  growth,  short  in  the  joints,  and  well 
ripened  by  exposure  to  light  and  air  in  autumn.  Even  with 
a  comparatively  poor  loam,  it  will  be  wise  to  add  about  one- 
third  of  lime  rubbish  and  broken  bricks,  and  to  leave  out 
manures  entirely. 
After  a  year  or  two  of  growth  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to 
feed  the  trees  if  they  need  it.  With  very  old  established 
trees,  that  have  got  into  a  fruitful  habit,  it  is  different. 
These  may  be  freely  fed  with  a  good  chemical  manure,  or  a 
few  inches  of  farmyard  manure  may  be  laid  on  the  border 
just  as  the  fruit  is  taking  its  second  swelling.  The  Fig  de¬ 
lights  in  copious  supplies  of  moisture,  and  from  a  mistaken 
notion  that  they  require  dry  treatment  when  in  flower,  many 
fine  houses  of  Figs  have  been  ruined.  It  is  not  wise,  of 
course,  to  run  to  the  other  extreme,  and  make  the  border 
sodden  just  at  that  time,  but  much  of  the  fruit  dropping 
with  which  growers  are  troubled  arises,  I  am  convinced, 
from  too  little,  rather  than  too  much,  moisture.  The  ques¬ 
tion  of  stopping  Fig  shoots  is  one  of  the  most  vexed  among 
fruit  growers,  some  going  so  far  as  to  say  that  stopping  is  un¬ 
necessary,  others  carrying  it  to  the  extreme.  A  middle 
course  is  best. 
Young  trees  in  the  heyday  of  their  vitality  must  of  neces¬ 
sity  be  pinched  ;  it  causes  the  fruit  to  push  from  the  leaf 
axils,  and  steadies  the  growth.  But  one  of  the  finest  trees. 
I  ever  saw  was  at  Livermere  Park,  Bury  tot.  _,dmunds,  and 
Mr.  Tollack,  who  was  gardener  there  at  the  time,  never 
pinched  at  all.  The  growths  were  laid  in  moderately  thick 
all  over  the  tree,  and  bushels  of  grand  fruit  were  gathered 
yearly.  Had  these  shoots  been  pinched,  the  resulting 
laterals  must  have  become  crowded,  so  that  what  is  right 
and  proper  with  the  young  stock,  is,  to  say  the  least  of  it, 
unnecessary  with  old  established  trees  that  are  in  a  properly 
balanced  condition. 
Early  and  Late  Forcing-. 
For  early  and  late  forcing  the  culture  of  Figs  in  pots  haa 
much  to  recommend  it.  In  the  small  amount  of  compost 
contained  in  a  pot,  the  trees  are  rot  so  likely  to  run  away 
into  strong  unfruitful  growth.  Again,  when  one  has  a  few 
pot  trees,  it  is  easv  to  keep  up  a  long  succession  of  fruit  by 
placing  them  in  other  fruit  houses  at  work.  The  annual 
routine  does  not  differ  materially  from  that  for  other  de¬ 
scriptions  of  pot  trees,  but  care  is  necessary  at  the  annual 
repotting  not  to  allow  a  larger  size  each  season,  else  they 
soon  get  unwieldv.  Trees  forced  early  will  have  ripened 
their  wood  sufficiently  by  the  middle  of  August  for  repotting. 
The  balls  may  be  slightly  reduced,  ard  the  new  soil,  consist¬ 
ing  largely  of  a  good  calcareous  .loam,  substituted.  This, 
must  be  firmly  rammed,  and  the  trees,  after  a  few  days' 
nursing,  should  go  outside  in  the  full  light  until  starting 
time  in  November.  • 
Respecting  the  disposition  of  the  growth,  always  avoid 
overcrowding,  as  this  is  sure  to  lead  to  an  unfruitful  condi¬ 
tion.  The  young  shoots  should  usually  be  pinched  at  the 
fourth  or  fifth  joint,  varieties  differing  a  "ood  deal  in  their 
freedom  or  otherwise  of  pushing  fruit.  But  any  trees  that, 
stubbornly  refuse  to  fruit  may  be  induced  to  do  so  by  con¬ 
stantly  pinching  the  points  out,  as  there  will  be  no  other 
outlet  for  the  sap. 
Cleanliness  is,  of  course,  a  very  important  detail,  and 
feeding  at  the  surface  must  be  practised  when  the  fruit  is 
swelling.  To  prevent  the  splitting  that  some  varieties  are 
prone  to,  it  has  been  the  custom  to  dry  the  roots,  but  a  far 
better  plan  is  to  make  a  small  notch  in  the  stem  immediately 
behind  the  fruit,  when  it  is  nearly  rip°.  This  will  only 
affect  the  single  specimen,  and  cannot  in  any  way  injure  the 
trees,  either  at  the  time  or  permanently.— FI.  R.  R.  (Con¬ 
clusion  of  a  paper  read  before  the  Bristol  Gardeners’  Asso- 
tion  by  M-.  F.  P.  RViarcK) 
