November  28,  1901.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
499 
WOKK/rcyrraWEEK.. 
ftfri-  i. 
Hardy  Finit  Garden. 
WINTER  PRUNING  FRUIT  TREES.— After  this  period 
tliere  need  be  no  further  delay  in  making  a  commencement  in 
the  necessary  winter  pruning.  Most  fruit  trees  require  some 
attention  in  this  respect.  It  may  be  little,  or  it  may  be  much. 
W  hen  trees  have  to  be  dealt  with  after  years  of  neglect,  the 
pruning  necessarily  is  considerable,  though  in  such  cases  it  ought 
not  to  be  too  severe.  It  will  be  better  to  spread  the  pruning 
over  two  seasons.  On  the  other  hand,  trees  and  bushes  that  are 
annually  attended  to,  and  the  superfluous  wood  removed,  there 
wll  only  be  a  small  amount  of  work  demanded  each  season.  Mild 
open  weather  should  be  chosen  for  pruning  operations. 
LARGE  BUSH  TREES. — This  form  of  tree  has  a  short  stem, 
upon  which  is  originated  a  number  of  branches  rising  perpen¬ 
dicularly  and  at  various  angles,  the  whole  comprising  a  shapely 
bush  form.  These  branches  should  be  disposed  at  not  less  than  a 
foot  apart,  or  crowding  will  most  certainly  result.  The  first 
object,  then,  in  pruning,  must  be  to  see  that  the  branches  have 
sufficient  room  between  them.  In  large,  old  trees,  they  will 
extend  many  feet.  In  the  restricted  bush  form  each  branch  will 
be  a  cordon,  though  it  may,  in  order  to  increase  the  she  of  thf 
tree,  have  been  induced  to  form  two  or  more  branches,  these  also 
having  been  treated  as  cordons.  The  multiplication  of  branches 
in  this  manner  often  causes  crowding.  Let  none  remain  near©' 
than  a  foot.  The  branches,  being  cordons,  are  furnished  with 
spurs,  and  even  when  the  branches  themselves  are  not  too  close, 
the  spurs  may  have  become  unduly  elongated.  This  is  especially 
injurious,  as  one  spur  shades  another.  The  winter  pruning 
should,  therefore,  always  include  attention  to  the  reducing  of 
long  spurs.  The  nearer  the  fruiting  spurs  can  be  kept  to  the 
main  branch  the  better.  Restricted  bush  trees  need  summer 
pruning,  and  if  this  has  been  carried  out,  the  pruning  now  con¬ 
sists  in  shortening  the  arrested  summer  growths  to  one  or  two 
buds.  The  leading  shoot  of  branches  may,  if  extension  is  no 
further  needed,  be  shortened  closely,  but  if  a  further  length  is 
required,  shorten  only  one-third. 
Some  bush  trees  are  allowed  to  grow  in  a  freer  manner.  The 
heads  of  these  trees  must  be  kept  open,  and  the  branches  thinly 
disposed,  no  further  pruning  being  necessary. 
PYRAMID  TREES. — Pears  are  the  chief  fruits  adapted  for 
tins  method  of  training.  Principal  branches  may  be  disposed  to 
form  the  framework,  the  lowest  being  the  longest.  The  growths 
from  the  spurs  originated  on  these  should  be  shortened  to  ore 
or  two  buds  annually,  aiming  to  keep  the  spurs  closely  to  the 
main  branch.  When  pyramid  trees  become  crowded,  some  of  th  * 
forks  or  divisions  must  be  removed,  but  with  proper  management 
this  should  not  occur.  With  this  form  of  fruit  tree  root-pruning 
frequently  is  found  necessary. 
CORDONS. — Upright  and  diagonal  cordons  on  wal’s  and 
espalier  fences  are  profitable  and  iirbeiestinoj  methods  of  growing 
Apples  and  Pears.  Trees  possessing  several  cordon -branches  ar" 
readily  obtainable,  also  single  cordons.  The  branches  must  n  t 
be  less  than  a  foot  apart,  but  lrin  is  better.  Until  the  requisite 
branch  extension  has  been  made,  the  leading  shoot  need  not  1 
shortened,  but  the  side  growths  may  be  pruned  to  two  buds. 
Summer  pruning  is  a  great  help  to  maintaining  fruitful  spurs, 
and  ought-  not,  with  these  trees,  to  be  omitted,  as  the  restriction 
afforded  then  concentrates  the  sap  in  the  lower  buds,  which  at 
the  winter  pruning  are  far  advanced  towards  fruit  buds. 
STANDARDS. — If  standard  fruit  trees  are  given  plenty  of 
room,  they  are  usually  prolific,  and  especiallv  so  when ‘He 
growths  are  not  allowed  to  become  crowded  during  any  period 
of  the  trees’  existence.  The  shortening  of  growths  is  to  be  de¬ 
precated  in  these  trees,  because  doing  so  produces  a  lot  of  spray. 
here  it  is  necessary  to  remove  branches,  let  them  be  cut  out  at 
their  origin;  in  fact,  thinning  is  the  best-  form  of  pruning  stan¬ 
dard  trees.  Specimens  that  have  been  neglected  some  time,  am7 
require  more  than  an  ordinary  amount  of  attention  in  the  re¬ 
moval  of  crowded  wood,  should  be  dealt  with  gradually.  The 
great  point  must  be  to  relieve  thq  centre,  as  when  that  L 
choked,  light  and  air  cannot  pass  through  the  trees  as  thev 
ought. 
HORIZONTALLY  TRAINED  TREES— Pears,  Plums,  airt 
sweet  Cherries  succeed  well  on  walls  on  this  form  of  tree,  but 
Plums  and  Apples,  when  trained  in  this  manner,  do  better  as 
espaliers  in  the  open.  In  the  formation  of  the  trees,  side  growths 
at  proper  distances  apart  are  obtained  annually  by  shortening 
the  leading  shoot.  Encourage  the  growth  of  the  lowest  tier  to 
advance  in  front  of  the  higher,  and  do  not  originate  them  closer 
together  than  12in.  Old  established  trees  in  this  form  may  be 
fruitless,  owing  to  a  crowded  condition  of  the  branches  or  spurs. 
If  so,  every  other  one  of  the  former  ought  to  be  removed,  and  a 
general  thinning  out  made  of  the  clumps  of  spurs.  Each  branch, 
of  course,  is  a  simple  cordon,  and  the  winter  pruning  consists  in 
shortening  the  side  shoots  to  two  buds,  removing  weak  or  super¬ 
fluous  growths,  and  shortening  spurs  of  undue  length. 
FAN-TRAINED  TREES. — This  is  one  of  the  simplest  and 
best  methods  of  training  trees  on  walls,  and  is  amenable  to  Pears, 
Plums,  Cherries,  Peaches,  Nectarines,  and  Apricots.  With  Pears 
the  branches  are  mostly  spur-pruned.  With  Plums  young  growths 
are  laid  in,  in  addition  to  branches  furnished  with  spurs,  while 
Morel lo  Cherries,  Peaches,  and  Nectarines  have  the  space  annu¬ 
ally  furnished  with  young  wood,  and  the  growths  for  which  room 
cannot  be  found  may  be  shortened  to  a  few  buds,  which  will 
eventually  form  spurs  of  a  fruiting  character.  It  is,  however, 
unwise  to  encourage  more  of  these  than  can  be  accommodated.— 
Lymington,  Hants. 
Fruit  Forcing. 
VINES— HOUSES  STARTED  IN  NOVEMBER.— Whether 
the  Vines  are  in  pots  or  planted  out  in  inside  borders,  the  tem¬ 
perature  will  need  to  be  increased  to  60  degrees  at  night  after  the 
buds  break,  and  gradually  increasing  it  to  65  degrees  when  the 
Vines  are  in  leaf,  and  70  degrees  to  75  degrees  by  day.  Ventila¬ 
tion  should  be  given  at  70  degrees,  just  a  little  to  ensure  a  change 
of  atmosphere,  increasing  it  with  the  sun  heat,  having  it  rather 
free  at  75  degrees,  and  above  that  temperature,  for  it  is  important 
that  the  foliage  be  well  formed  and  solidified.  Avoid,  however, 
cold  and  drying  currents  of  air,  as  that  cripples  the  foliage, 
stunting  the  growth.  Sprinkle  the  Vines  in  the  af^brnoon  of  fine 
days,  and  damp  the  floor  twice  a  day  according  to  external  influ¬ 
ences,  avoiding  a  saturated  atmosphere  on  the  one  hand,  and  a 
dry  one  on  the  other.  If  there  be  evaporation  troughs,  charge 
them,  and  once  charged,  avoid  allowing  to  become  dry.  The  clear 
drainings  of  stables  and  cow  byres  answer  for  the  purpose  when 
diluted  with  five  times  their  bulk  of  water,  but  avoid  those  from 
pigstyes.  Peruvian  guano,  loz  to  a  gallon  of  water,  is  suitable 
for  filling  the  troughs,  also  for  watering  Vines  in  pots  or  planted 
out,  the  liquid  being  applied  at  the  mean  temperature  of  the 
house.  Disbudding  must  not  te  practised  until  the  bunches  show 
in  the  points  of  the  shoots,  but  the  Vines  should  be  tied  in  posi¬ 
tion  as  soon  as  growth  has  well  commenced,  and  before  the  shoots 
are  so  long  as  to  be  liable  to  be  damaged  in  the  operation.  Vines 
to  afford  Grapes  by  the  middle  of  May  must  be  started  by  the 
middle  of  December.  Prune  midseason  varieties  directly  the 
leaves  have  fallen. 
EARLY  MUSCAT  HOUSES— Where  Muscat  of  Alexandria 
Grapes  are  required  rip©  at  the  end  of  May  or  early  in  June,  the 
Vines  must  be  started  early  in  December.  The  Vines  must  have 
the  roots  wholly  inside,  and  should  be  brought  into  a  moist,  but 
not  very  wet  condition.  The  temperature  should  range  from 
55  degrees  to  60  degrees  at  night-,  65  degrees  to  70  degrees  by 
day,  the  lower  heat  representing  the  severe,  and  the  higher  the 
mild  weather  rate.  These  temperatures  should  be  maintained 
until  the  buds  break,  when  the  heat  will  need  to  be  gradually 
raised,  so  as  to  have  it  65  degrees  to  70  degrees  at  night,  by  the 
time  the  Vines  come  into  leaf  ,  70  degrees  to  75  degrees  by  day  in 
dull  weather,  and  85  degrees  to  90  degrees  from  sun  beat,  the 
house  being  thus  well  heated,  and  means  provided  for  admitting 
air,  without  causing  cold  currents. 
LATE  HOUSES. — Take  every  possible  precaution  against 
damp.  Drip  is  fatal  to  late  Grapes,  a  single  drop  getting  inside 
a  bunch  being  sufficient  to  spoil  it,  as  the  decay  rapidly  spreads. 
Drip  is  often  caused  by  keeping  the  house  closed  and  the  pipes 
cold,  so  that  moisture  condenses  on  the  glass,  and  falls  from  the 
rafters  or  sashbars  on  to  the  Grapes.  This  is  common  where 
early  ventilation  is  neglected  on  fine  days,  the  moisture  being 
condensed  on  the  berries.  A  little  air  and  gentle  warmth  in  the 
pipes  dissipates  the  moisture  and  prevents  decay  in  the  berries, 
but  too  much  heat  and  too  dry  air  causes  the  Grapes  to  shrivel. 
Seek,  therefore,  a  cool,  dry,  and  equable  temperature,  40  degrees 
to  45  degrees  being  sufficient,  keeping  the  house  closed  in  clamp 
weather,  and  when  clear  admit  air  freely.  Remove  all  leaves  as 
they  become  ripe,  avoiding  sweeping,  as  dust  greatly  impairs  the 
appearance  of  the  Grapes. — St.  Albans. 
A  Great  Apple  Orchard. 
In  that  region  of  royalty  in  the  fruit  line,  Kansas,  Ex-Gover¬ 
nor  Morrill  has  orchards  in  the  southern  part  of  Leavenworth 
County.  Counting  27,000  trees  he  set  out  last  April,  there  are 
64,000  trees  on  800  acres,  a  compact  area  of  land,  making  it 
perhaps  the  largest  single  Apple  orchard  in  America,  or  in  the 
world.  Mr.  Morrill  bought  880  acres  of  land  three  years  ago 
and  began  planting.  The  severe  winter  of  two  years  ago  de¬ 
stroyed  20,000  young  trees.  The  trees  are  planted  80  to  the 
acre.  There  are  12,000  Jonathans,  which  are  considered  the  best 
Apples  for  that  country. 
