February  9,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDE AHR. 
101 
greatly  helps  to  improve  the  shape  of  the  tree.  Another  thing  that 
should  be  well  looked  after  is  the  tying  in  of  young  shoots,  especially 
in  young  trees.  If  tied  too  tightly  the  bark  is  often  found  cut  through,, 
which  will  cause  an  ugly  wound,  or  perhaps  the  loss  of  a  branch. 
IMulching  with  some  good  straw  manure  will  aid  the  trees  in  making 
and  keeping  surface  roots. 
I  will  now  name  a  few  sorts  for  maintaining  a  successional  supply 
against  the  wall  outdoor.*.  It  is  impossible  to  give  the  exact  time  a 
certain  sort  will  ripen,  for  that  depends  on  the  situation,  but  I  will 
give  them  as  near  as  I  can  for  the  average  situation. 
Peaches. — Alexandra,  Early  Beatrice,  Waterloo,  and  Early  Eivers 
for  the  middle  of  July;  Condor  and  Hale’s  Early  for  the  first  week  in 
August ;  Rivers’  Early  York,  Crimson  Galande,  and  Dr.  Hogg  for  the 
middle  of  August ;  Bellegarde,  Dymond,  and  Alexander  Noblesse  for 
the  first  week  of  September  ;  Royal  George  second  week  in  Sep¬ 
tember ;  Princess  of  Wales  latter  end  of  September  ;  Sea  Eagle  and 
Golden  Eagle  for  October. 
Nectarines. — Early  Rivers  and  Lord  Napier  for  the  middle  of 
July  ;  Hardwicke  Seedling,  Stanwick  Elruge,  and  Rivers’  Orange  for 
the  month  of  Aiieust ;  Pineapple  and  Violette  Hative  for  September; 
and  Victoria  for  October.  Those  mentioned  are  no  doubt  some  of  the 
best  that  can  be  growm  both  for  outdoor  and  under  glass  culture, 
either  in  private  or  market  places. 
I  will  now  run  through  the  general  routine  of  the  work  amongst 
trees  in  their  fruiting  stage. 
If  the  tree  has  been  well  looked  after  in  the  growing  season  there 
should  not  be  much  pruning  required,  except  the  shortening  of  a  few 
of  the  long  bearing  shoots  and  removing  surplus  growth.  This  ought  to 
be  done  as  soon  as  convenient  after  the  leaves  fall.  One  thing  must 
be  well  attended  to  when  cutting  back — that  is,  to  cut  to  a  wood  bud, 
which,  to  an  experienced  eye,  is  easy  to  detect,  the  latter  mostly 
appearing  singly  or  between  two  flower  buds.  The  wood  bud  is  more 
pointed  than  the  fruit  bud. 
After  pruning  some  like  to  paint  the  trees  ;  but  I  am  no  advocate 
of  this  except  to  eradicate  scale.  It  is  an  old  custom,  and  some 
growers  think  it  a  mistake  to  omit  it.  I  have  under  my  care 
about  200  trees,  and  some  of  these  have  never  been  painted,  and  I  find 
on  the  whole  they  keep  quite  as  clean  as  regards  insect  or  disease  as 
those  that,  have  been  dressed.  When  the  pruning  is  done  tie  or  nail 
the  shoots  neatly  back  in  their  places,  and  lightly  point  over  the  sur¬ 
face  of  the  border  after  having  spread  on  a  little  chemical  manure  or 
wood  ashes  and  some  new  soil,  as  these  will  do  much  to  encourage 
surface  rooting. 
The  next  thing  to  be  considered  is  the  protection  of  the  blossoms 
from  frost  and  cold  winds.  Where  there  is  no  glass  coping  this  can 
be  done  by  hanging  bunting  over  the  trees  at  night.  If  favourable 
weather  prevail  a  good  set  is  often  obtained  without  much  trouble  as 
regards  fertilisation ;  but  it  is  perhaps  preferable  to  brush  over  the 
flowers  of  shy  setters,  a  rabbit’s  tail  tied  to  a  stick  being  very  useful 
for  the  purpose.  When  bees  are  not  plentiful  the  more  prolific 
bearers  should  be  gently  shaken  about  midday. 
The  young  growths  will  then  require  the  attention  practically 
called  disbudding,  which  should  be  done  at  two  or  three  different 
times.  First  of  all  the  back  and  breast  wood  must  be  attended  to, 
and  afterw'ards  great  care  ought  to  be  taken,  for  this  is  the  stage  when 
the  bearing  wood  for  the  next  season  must  be  chosen.  For  this  I  like 
to  reserve  a  good  shoot,  as  far  back  into  the  previous  year’s  wood  as 
possible.  This  will  keep  the  tree  well  in  hand,  and  prevent  the 
appearance  of  long  naked  branches.  When  the  fruits  are  set 
it  is  advisable  to  stop  all  shoots  to  about  four  leaves  until  the  fruit¬ 
thinning  is  done,  when  all  that  are  not  wanted  may  be  removed. — 
{Paper  read  hy  Mr.  S.  H.  Snell,  Torqiiay  Fruit  Farm,  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Torquay  Gardeners'  Society.) 
(To  be  concluded.) 
A  FACT  ABOUT  TOMATOES, 
Most  of  iis  know  how  thoroughly  bad  is  the  practice  of  planting 
the  majority  of  plants,  trees,  and  shrubs  too  deeply.  The  evil  effects 
of  such  a  practice  have  been  repeatedly  pointed  out  in  the  horti¬ 
cultural  press,  and  many  a  man  has  read  such  timely  warnings  soon 
enough  to  save  his  trees  from  disaster.  Exceptions,  however,  occur  to 
well  nigh  any  established  rule.  Tomatoes  form  a  notable  one  among 
softwooded  plants,  and  it  is  fortunate  that  such  is  the  case. 
When  seed  is  sown  during  the  autumn,  with  the  object  of  getting 
a  crop  as  early  as  possible,  the  young  plants  frequently  become  weak 
and  leggy;  and  although  all  good  cultivators  like  to  see  their  fruit 
trees  and  flowers  as  near  to  the  ground  as  possible,  they  hesitate  to 
pot  or  plant  the  young  plants  deeply  through  fear  of  failure.  I  can 
assure  such  that  they  need  hesitate  no  longer.  I  have  tried  several 
experiments  in  regard  to  deep  potting  and  planting  during  the  last 
year,  and  now  make  a  regular  practice  of  potting  deeply,  and  burying 
an  inch  or  two  of  stem  at  planting  time  in  the  case  of  all  plants  in  the 
least  leggy.  The  practice  not  only  insures  the  envied  truss  of  flowers 
near  the  soil,  but  also  gives  the  plant  greater  root  force,  for  roots  are 
quickly  emitted  from  the  buried  stem. 
We  have  just  been  repotting  plants  which  were  potted  deeply  some 
weeks  ago,  and  in  every  instance  white  fleshy  roots  had  been  sent 
out  from  the  buried  portions  of  the  stem.  An  immense  amount  of 
Tomato  potting  will  during  the  next  few  weeks  be  done  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  and  I  invite  all  interested  to  test  the  matter  for 
themselves,  and,  with  the  Editor’s  permission,  record  their  experiences 
in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture. — Practice. 
POTTINU  COMPOSTS. 
At  this  season,  when  a  large  amount  of  potting  is  being  daily 
performed  in  the  majority  of  establishments,  it  is  well  to  ‘S'^m^iimes 
think  over  our  cultural  practices,  and  endeavour,  if  possible,  in  some 
way,  to  improve  them.  No  matter  how  successful  a  man  may  be  in 
plant-growing,  there  are  generally  some  instances  in  which  the 
desired  results  are  not  obtained.  Plants  which  promised  well  in  one 
stage  of  their  growTh  after  being  potted  will  occasionally  fail  to  start 
properly,  and  even  if  after  a  good  deal  of  “  nursing”  they  eventually 
succeed,  “  time  and  labour  ”  are  lost  in  our  eflbrts  to  put  matters  right, 
and  few  things  are  more  valuable  in  present  days  than  these 
commodities. 
It  is,  therefore,  obviously  of  the  utmost  importance  to  mix  such 
composts  for  various  plants  as  our  experience  has  taught  us  are  safe 
ones  to  employ.  But  here  another  difficulty  presents  itself — we  cannot 
always  obtain  the  same  kind  of  loam  or  peat,  as  they  vary  consider¬ 
ably  in  different  districts,  and  a  certain  amount  of  experience  in  each 
locality  is  necessary  before  one  can  with  certainty  prepare  suitable 
potting  composts.  The  soils  of  some  districts  are  so  full  of  eelworms  that 
many  plants  never  succeed  in  them  unless  special  jareparation  is  given. 
I  have  known  instances  in  which  good  cultivators  could  never  succeed 
in  growing  Malmaison  until  the  simple  plan  of  first  burning  the 
potting  soil  was  practised,  then  with  the  same  cultural  practices  in 
other  respects  all  went  on  satisfactorily.  How  simple  a  proceeding  to 
employ  to  convert  failure  into  success ;  yet  I  suspect  that  it  is 
generally  by  simple  means  thought  of  at  the  right  time  that  most 
difficulties  are  overcome. 
One  cardinal  rule  to  be  remembered  in  preparing  composts  of  all 
descriptions  is  to  avoid  using  soil  which  has  the  slightest  suspicion  of 
sourness.  In  making  this  statement  I  do  not  condemn  the  use  of 
old  potting  soil,  as  by  reason  of  the  decaying  humus  it  contains  it  is 
particularly  useful  in  spring  time  for  potting  off  seedlings  or  newly 
rooted  plants,  but  the  only  safe  course  to  pursue  with  it  is  to  have  a 
systematic  method  of  preparing  it  for  use.  My  practice  is  to  have  it 
placed  in  a  heap  in  the  open  air  for  twelve  months  before  use,  so  that 
air,  heat,  and  moisture  may  sweeten  and  enrich  it.  The  heap  ought 
to  be  turned  at  least  once,  giving  a  sprinkling  of  newly  slaked  lime 
as  the  work  proceeds.  With  the  addition  of  a  little  burnt  refuse  and 
sand  we  then  have  a  compost  suitable  for  all  kinds  of  softwoeded 
plants  and  seedlings. 
Turning  to  such  plants  as  Fuchsias,  Zonal  Pelargoniums,  and 
Marguerites,  it  is  common  practice  now  to  use  a  simpler  mixture  than 
formerly.  Old  Tomato  soil,  decaying  turfy  loam,  or  even  good  garden 
soil,  with  the  addition  of  one-fourth  of  stable  manure  and  a  similar 
quantity  of  leaf  soil,  form  a  regulation  compost  often  used.  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact  many  noted  market  growers  use  loam  without  any 
addition.  This  loam  is  often  almost  devoid  of  fibre,  and  inclined  to 
be  heavy,  yet  the  plants,  which  are  potted  firmly  in  it,  under  good 
management  turn  out  wonderfully  sturdy  and  floriferous. 
Plants  potted  in  materials  of  this  description  require  comparatively 
little  water  until  the  soil  is  permeated  with  roots,  and  even  then  water 
is  required  less  frequently  than  in  the  case  of  plants  potted  in  a  lighter 
soil ;  indeed  judgment  in  this  matter  makes  all  the  difference  between 
success  and  failure,  and  a  practical  waterer  must  always  be  able  to 
discriminate  between  plants  potted  in  light  soil  and  others  in  heavy. 
The  good  results  obtained  by  the  use  of  such  simple  composts  are 
largely  brought  about  by  the  aid  of  chemical  manures,  as  without 
them  I  make  bold  to  assert  the  cultural  feats  now  accomplished 
would  be  impossible.  When  once  the  roots  of  plants  begin  to  work 
in  new  soil  periodical  dressings  of  the  best  of  these  manures  seem  to 
give  the  plants  a  wonderfully  increased  power  of  root  production. 
The  food  contained  in  these  manures  being  in  such  a  condition  as 
plants  can  at  once  assimilate,  enables  them  to  penetrate  it  in  a  few 
days,  whereas  in  the  case  of  natural  manures  decay  must  begin  before 
the  roots  can  obtain  food,  and  then  only  a  limited  amount  is  given  up 
at  a  time.  This  perhaps  accounts  for  the  remarkable  results  to  be 
obtained  by  the  use  of  chemical  manures  for  pot  plants.  From  the 
foregoing  remarks  I  think  we  may  deduce  the  sound  fact  that  in  the 
culture  of  softwooded  plants  in  small  pots  the  vital  point  to  aim  at 
in  preparing  composts  is  to  use  only  soils  which  are  sweet,  and  rely 
upon  chemical  manures  to  do  the  rest. — H.  D. 
