April  27,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
339 
pushing  a  short,  .stubby,  leafy  gn  wtlt — the  tru3  spur  terminated  by  a 
prominent  bud,  in  that  or  a  future  reason  developing  into  a  blossom 
bud.  In  the  case  of  Apples  or  Pear.-J,  t5  which  your  corresp'  ndent 
refers,  the  wood  is  solidified  by  tlie  end  of  June  to  the  middle  of  July 
for  pinching,  and  if  the  leading  branches  are  left  unstopped,  or  merely 
topped  to  insure  an  equality  of  \igour  and  form,  the  side  shoots  then 
stopped  will  mostly  form  spurs,  the  sup  being  utilised  for  the  formation 
■of  blossom  buds. 
Yes,  pinching  docs  promote  the  formation  of  blossom  buds. 
(1)  By  concentrating  the  juices  on  the  parts  retained;  (2)  admitting 
abundance  of  light  and  air  tor  the  maturation  of  the  wood  and  buds; 
j(3)  regulating  the  growth,  so  as  to  promote  an  equality  of  vigour  and 
the  symmetry  of  the  tree. 
But  IMr.  Picker  does  not  mean  this  system  of  pruning,  but  the 
hard-and-fast  mode  of  pinching  to  a  given  number  of  leaves  or  joints, 
and  adhering  to  it  under  any  and  all  circumstances,  and  with  all 
varieties  and/ kinds  of  fruits.  I  entirely  agree  with  him  on  this  point, 
fo--  trees  arc  often  pruned  itito  and  kept  in  a  state  of  uufruitfulness, 
M-hereas  by  adopting  a  different  course  they  would  become  and  abide 
fiudfol.  Still  I  hardly  concede  that  his  proposed  experiment  is  a  fair 
■one.  Many  owners  of  gardens  cannot  adopt  the  non-restrictive  system, 
but  are  bound  by  limit  of  space  to  have  trees  that  c.an  be  kept 
healthy  and  fruitful  under  the  restrictive  me  hod.  With  tl  em  it  is 
cot  so  much  profit  as  growing  their  own  fruit,  as  a  relaxation  and  love 
•of  tending  their  own  trees. 
Unfortunately  the  race  is  now  so  much  for  returns  in  money  that 
the  lovers  of  fruit  for  its  own  sake  are  fewer  than  in  former  times. 
•Private  gardens,  so  called,  are  marketing  establishments,  ir, stead  of 
scources  of  supidy  wholly  for  ho  i  e  use,  and  bulk,  not  quality,  has 
•come  into  vogue,  sehctmn  has  taken  the  place  of  collections,  and  the 
cho  cest  fruits  as  judged  by  the  standard  of  quality  have  frllen  into 
•disuetude. 
Still  there  are  some  persons  who  must  grow  fruit  tr^es  as  cordons, 
•e.'paliers,  or  dwarfs,  or  not  at  al',  and  they  must  adopt  the  dwarfing 
eystem.  They  practise  root-pruning,  and  thus  maintain  a  reciprocal 
action  of  roots  and  branches  and  grow  splendid  fruit.  Many  do  not,  I 
admit,  because  they’  prune  the  top  into  st‘iility  and  altogether  neglect 
the  roots.  Tiiat  is  not  the  late  Mr.  hhomaa  Rivers’  system,  as 
propounded  in  the  “  Miniature  Fruit  Garden.”  Will  Mr.  Picker  try 
xh’s  mode  ?  He  will  get  as  many  tree.s  of  the  strong  growing  varieties 
into  the  same  space  as  he  does  with  the  small  growers,  to  which  his 
plan  would  necessarily  limit  owners  of  small  gardens.  I  do  not  see 
ihe  jiropriety  of  this,  as  they  arc  as  much  entitled  to  have  Blenheim 
i’lppin  and  Bromley’s  Seedling  as  they  are  to  have  Potts’  Seedling  and 
New  llawthornden  Apjihs.  The  trees  only  occupy  half  the  space  on 
iLe  restiictive  as  on  the  non-restrictive  system,  and  the  results  are 
■tarlijr  and  better  fur  such  proprietors. — G.  Abbey. 
My  experience  is  that,  with  Apples  and  Pears,  the  judicious 
xnethod  approved  by  Mr.  Geo.  Picker  in  this  section  of  our  fruit  trees  is 
conducive  to  the  best  lesult.s.  Not  so  with  others,  of  which  more 
-tinon.  To  pinch,  or  not  to  pinch,  is  not  the  question,  as  stated  by  Mr. 
Picker,  his  opinion  being  “that  the  six  trees  merely’  pinched  for 
training  will  produce  more  and  better  fruit  in  six  years  after  planting 
than  those  for  manufacturing  fruit  buds.” 
On  one  point  only  do  I  venture  to  differ  from  that  hypothetical 
opinion — viz.,  in  respect  to  quantity.  As  for  quality’,  the  common 
sente  training  he  advocates  is,  to  my  mind,  infinitely  preferable  to  the 
revcrely  restrictive  measures  as  depicted  per  contra.  Moreover,  that, 
■cou^titutionally,  the  freer  g-own  trees  will  have,  do  have,  distinct 
advantages  over  the  others.  But  what  is  sauce  for  the  goose  is  not 
-sauce  for  the  gander;  and  with  respect  to  Peaches  and  Plums,  I  am  a 
firm  believer  in  the  severer  form  of  pinching.  Not  with  the  view  of 
fruit  bud  production,  which  with  these  fruits  is  generally  abundant, 
but  for  the  all-round  benefits  conferred  to  the  end  of  superior  wood, 
.and  the  chief  end,  of  course,  superior  fruit  from  vigorous,  healthy  trees. 
The  finest  Peacli  trees  I  ever  saw  grown  outside  (or  inside,  for 
that  matter)  were  pinched  so  as  to  render  pruning  wholly  unnecessary; 
it  was  the  hubby  of  a  good  gardener,  and  his  trees  were  examples  never 
to  be  forgotten.  Plums  on  walls  I  have  trained  on  the  same  principle 
with  the  best  results. — K.,  Dublin. 
[We  thank  our  correspondents  for  the  admirable  manner  in  which 
they  have  resjionded  to  Mr.  Picker’s  invitation  on  page  317  of  our  last 
issue.  It  is  clear  that  every  writer  possesses  sound  knowledge  on  the 
management  of  fruit  trees,  though  it  is  naturally  variously  (xpressed. 
It  must  not  bo  supposed  that  the  communications  are  arranged  in  the 
order  of  merit,  or  anything  of  that  kind,  but  simply  in  the  order  of 
their  arrival.  More  will  possibly  be  heard  on  the  subject,  and  we  will 
only  say  now  that  the  “severer  form  of  pinching  Perch  trees”  advo¬ 
cated,  will  be,  perhaps,  the  most  startling  idea  to  some  extensionists, 
but  we  happen  to  know  that  “  K,”  had  an  important  charge  in  one 
of  the  fii  est  gardens  in  Britain,  and  long  famed  for  the  cultivation 
of  Peaches  under  glass.  Without  any  intention  of  supporting  this 
particular  coriesponlent,  we  will  state  a  fact  of  a  not  less  uncommon 
nature — namely,  the  finest  and  most  fruitful  Morello  Cherry  trees 
that  it  has  fallen  to  our  lot  to  see  were  clustered  with  spurs  from  base 
to  extremity  ot  their  long,  straight  branches,  the  result,  at  least  in 
great  part,  of  summer  pinching  and  pruning.  This,  as  Mr.  Luckhurst 
says,  is  an  “  exception  ”  (to  the  rule  in  IMorellos),  though  it  seems  to 
show  that  pinching,  when  done  “at  the  proper  tim-,  in  the  right 
way,”  docs  not  prevent  the  formation  of  blossom  buds.  It  must  be 
understood  w’c  are  not  recommending  the  system  of  closely’  pinching 
either  Morello  Cherries  or  Peaches  for  general  adoption.] 
SOUTH  WALES  NOTES. 
Chamceropa  Foriunei. — This  dwarf  ornamental  Palm  is  quite 
hardy  in  the  ph  asure  grounds  here.  There  are  two  very  fine  plants 
growing  in  a  large  shrubbery  close  to  the  River  Taff,  which  were 
planted  some  sixteen  years  since  from  48-sized  flower  pots.  They 
have  grown  well,  and  are  now  from  8  feet  to  10  feet  high,  with  large 
compact  heads  of  strong  healthy  foliage.  The  stems  are  from  4  feet  to 
5  feet  in  length,  and  as  thick  as  a  man’s  body,  densely  covered  with  a 
matting  of  fibre  so  thick  that  no  frost  or  cold  can  injure  them.  The 
plants  have  never  had  the  slightest  protection  of  any  kind  since  they 
were  planted,  and  we  have  had  some  hard  winters.  Sometimes  the 
thermometer  registered  as  much  as  18°  of  frost,  but  it  did  them  no 
harm,  further  than  brown  the  tips  of  some  of  the  leaves.  The  situation 
where  the  plants  are  growing  is  somewhat  sheltered  by  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  not  more  than  28  feet  above  mean  sea  level.  The  soil  is  a 
good  sandy  loam,  in  which  trees  and  shrubs  of  most  kinds  grow  well. 
Conifers  in  particular,  and  the  best  varieties  of  Hollies  and  Aucubas. 
Choisya  ternata  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  everg  een  shrubs  that 
is  grow’n.  It  is  perfectly  hardy  in  this  district,  and  makes  large 
bushes  in  a  short  time.  There  are  a  great  many  plants  of  it  growing 
in  the  shrubberies  here,  some  of  them  as  much  as  10  and  12  feet  iu 
diameter,  and  G  feet  high,  thoroughly  furnished  to  the  ground  with 
flowering  branches.  It  flowers  profusely  twice  a  year,  and  its  pure 
w’hite  Orange-like  blossoms  and  dark  green  ternate  leavrs  produce  a 
fine  effect  when  in  flower.  It  is  easily  propagated  by  cuttings, 
a“d  it  makes  an  excellent  pot  plant  for  growing  in  the  greenhouse  or 
conservatoiy’. 
Hydrangc i  hortensis  is  also  hardy  in  this  district.  The  plant 
grows  rapidly  in‘o  large  bushes,  flowers  fieely,  and  lasts  a  long  time  in 
beauty.  It  has  a  line  effect  when  planted  in  large  beds  by  the  sides  ot 
walks,  or  in  single  specimens  in  front  rows  of  shrubberies.  Besides,  it 
makes  a  very  useful  decorative  plant  for  the  greenhouse  or  consei  vatory 
grown  in  small  pots,  with  a  stem  not  more  than  a  foot  high,  carrying 
at  top  a  pink  or  blue  cyme  nearly  a  foot  in  diameter,  which  stands  for 
a  long  time  in  good  condition.  1  he  proper  way  to  grow  these  is  to 
strike  the  cuttings  singly  in  3-inch  pots  in  the  month  of  August,  and 
as  soon  as  the  plants  have  rooted  well  shift  them  into  5-inch  jxits,  in 
which  they  will  flower  the  following  May  or  June.  We  grow  some 
hundreds  in  this  way  annually,  and  not  more  than  1  or  2  per  cent,  at 
most  fail  to  flower.  After  they  have  fiuishrd  flowerirg  they  are 
planted  out  in  the  pleasure  grounds,  where  they  make  a  fine  display 
in  a  year  or  tvvo  when  in  flower. 
Aralia  Sieboldi  is  perfectly  hardy  in  this  climate,  but  owing  to 
the  great  size  of  its  evergreen  Ivy-shaped  leaves,  it  requires  to  be 
planted  in  sheltered  places,  or  the  le.aves  will  get  injured  by  the  storms 
in  winter.  W  e  raise  a  number  of  plants  from  sred  annually,  and  grow 
them  in  pots  for  house  decoration  until  they’  get  too  big  for  that 
purpose,  when  they  are  jilanted  out  in  shrubberies  in  the  j'leasure 
grounds.  The  plants  Bower  Ircely  outside,  and  have,  when  in  flower, 
the  appearance  of  a  monster  variety  of  tree  Ivy. 
Ceanothus  Veitchianus. — This  dwa;f  summer  flowering  shrub  has 
proved  quite  hardy  in  this  distric*-  during  tie  last  five  years,  planted 
out  in  the  open,  and  without  protection  of  any  kind.  The  shoots  are 
slightly  pendulous  in  growth,  it  blooms  freeb’,  producing  large  clusters 
of  bright  blue  flowers,  which  are  very  attractive,  and  much  admired 
by  alC  The  plant  is  not  particularly  fastidious  as  to  soil,  and  will 
grow  in  almost  any  kind  under  ordinary  treatment.  It  does  well 
planted  in  beds  on  the  lawn,  or  in  mixed  siirubberies  with  other 
flowering  plants,  C.  azureus  var.  Gloire  de  Versailles  is  also  hardy, 
but  not  quite  so  robust  in  habit  of  growth  as  the  last  named.  Although 
it  is  hardy  enough  to  stand  out  in  the  open  unprotected,  it  grows  much 
better  when  trained  on  the  south  side  of  a  dwelling-house,  than  it  does 
w'hen  grown  in  bush  form  in  the  open  ground. 
C.  deiitatus  is  a  most  beautiful  variety,  but  it  is  not  hardy  enough 
to  withstand  a  severe  winter,  not  even  with  the  ].rolection  of  a  wall. 
1  had  a  very  large  plant  of  it  growing  on  the  south  side  ot  my  cottage 
here.  It  grew  well  for  years,  and  covered  the  whole  side  of  the  house, 
and  during  that  time  it  flowered  profusely  every  year,  but  a  severe 
winter  came  and  killed  it  to  the  ground  atid  it  never  did  any  good 
afterwards.  Forsythia  viridissiina,  both  in  bush  foim  and  trained  on 
walls,  has  been  very  fine  here  this  spring. — A.  Pettigrew,  Castle 
Gardens,  Card'ff. 
