3o0 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  18,  190(1. 
Autumn  and  Its  Work. 
Autumn  has  so  far  this  year  dealt  kindly  with  us,  for  the 
glorious  sunshine  and  crisp,  yet  balmy  air  have  seemed  to  make  the 
earth  smile  with  gladness,  and  have  given  to  the  shortening  days  a 
lingering  touch  of  summer.  Ere  long  the  leaves  will  come  down  in 
shoals,  and  rob  our  landscapes  of  the  lovely  tints  of  autumn,  which 
remind  us  of  the  approach  of  winter’s  dreary  days.  Dreary  indeed  to 
the  toilers  in  the  noisome  cities,  but  to  the  gardener,  whose  life  is  full 
of  activity  and  change,  each  day  seems  too  short  to  accomplish  the 
many  details  of  work  which  need  attention. 
In  the  fruit  garden  and  orchard  the  present  season  is  a  busy  one, 
as  after  the  crops  have  been  gathered  pruning  should  be  pushed  on 
with  all  possible  speed,  as  such  work  cm  be  more  quickly  performed 
during  mild  than  in  very  cold  weather  ;  and,  moreover,  the  sooner  all 
surplus  shoots  are  cut  away,  so  as  to  give  full  exposure  to  the  branches 
retained,  the  better  will  be  the  prospect  for  next  year’s  crop.  In 
orchards  there  is  usually  much  thinning  of  the  branches  to  be  dons. 
Some  branches  which  have  become  old  and  stunted  may  with  advantage 
be  cut  away  to  make  room  for  young  shoots,  which  should  always  be 
found  in  h-althy  trees.  One  great  advantage  of  the  extension  system 
of  pruning  is  that  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  keep  trees  continually 
furnished  with  good  bearing  wood.  When  the  branches  of  standard 
trees  are  kept  closely  pruned  so  as  to  resemble  a  number  of  cordons 
the  lower  part  of  them  seldom  crops  well,  however  thinly  disposed  they 
may  be.  On  the  other  hand,  when  a  standard  tree  is  formed  of  a  great 
number  of  small  branches  which  run  out  in  all  directions,  during  a 
fruitful  year  almost  every  twig  will  be  ladened  with  fruit,  the  balance 
of  the  tree  is  easily  maintained,  and  there  is  always  plenty  of  blossom - 
bearing  wood  to  select  for  retention  at  pruning  time.  For  the  above 
reasons  I  am  a  great  advocate  for  that  style  of  pruning,  which  keeps 
trees  furnished  with  abundance  of  comparatively  young  branche-', 
which,  if  left  unshortened,  quickly  become  fruitful,  and  are  far  better 
than  a  number  of  older  branches  on  which  the  side  shoots  have  been 
closely  pruned. 
Trees  on  walls  and  bushes  and  pyramids  on  dwarfing  stocks  at  this 
season  need  attention  in  the  matter  of  root-pruning.  Those  which 
are  growing  too  strongly  should  have  a  trench  taken  out  at  from 
2  to  4  feet  frotn  their  stems  ;  the  strong  roots  can  then  be  severed,  and 
as  the  trench  is  filled  in  they  should  be  brought  up  near  the  surface. 
With  a  little  attention  of  this  description  every  three  or  four  years 
restricted  trees  can  be  kept  in  splendid  condition,  in  regard  to  the 
production  of  short  jointed  fruitful  wood  instead  of  strong  sappy 
shoots.  Plenty  of  fibrous  roots  are  what  the  fruit  grower  tries  to 
secure,  as  he  knows  perfectly  well  that  they  are  the  forerunner  of 
fruitful  wood. 
Half  the  trained  and  closely  pruned  fruit  trees  in  Britain  which 
fail  to  bear  satisfactory  crops  could  be  rendered  fruitful  by  due 
attention  to  root-pruning,  and  the  addition  of  a  little  fresh  sweet  loam. 
8uch  work  having  been  completed,  attention  can  be  paid  to  the  pruning 
and  nailing  of  the  branches,  except  in  the  case  of  Peaches  and 
Nectarines,  which  should  not  be  pruned  till  the  spring,  but  in  their 
case  I  like  the  old  yet  excellent  plan  of  unnailing  the  shoots,  so  as  to 
let  them  hang  loosely  from  the  wall,  as  when  so  treated  the  exposure 
insures  perfect  wood  ripening.  Tree  p'anting  should,  as  a  matter  of 
cours'*,  commence  early  in  November,  but  to  deal  with  the  matter 
fully  more  space  is  needed  than  can  be  given  in  this  article.  I 
therefore  hope  to  take  up  the  matter  shortly. 
In  other  departments  of  the  garden  the  autumn  brings  abundance 
of  work.  In  the  flower  garden  the  great  work  of  removing  the 
summer  occupants,  digging  and  manuring  the  beds,  and  replanting 
them  with  bulbs  and  spring  flowering  plants,  requires  much  attention 
whenever  the  weather  is  favourable.  There  is  also  no  better  time  in 
the  whole  year  than  November  for  lifting  and  replanting  Roses.  When 
bushes  are  grown  in  beds  or  borders  they  need  lifting  every  three  or 
four  years  to  jirevent  them  from  throwing  very  strong  shoots,  which 
do  flower  till  late  in  the  season,  for  although  Roses  are  gross 
feeders,  a  check  is  necessary  when  they  are  continually  pruned  hard 
to  keep  them  dwarf,  but  where  they  can  be  allowed  to  develop 
into  laige  bushes  lifting  is  not  necessary,  although  the  practice  of 
removing  some  of  the  old  soil  and  substituting  fresh  loam  is  a 
beneficial  one. 
Any  alteration  contemplated  in  the  flower  garden  or  shrubberies 
may  also  with  advantage  be  carried  out  in  autumn,  as  when  turf  has 
to  be  relaid  it  becoims  well  established  by  the  spring,  and  is  not 
likely  to  suffer  should  hot  woaLher  [uevail  in  early  summer.  In 
making  new  walks,  or  tearing  up  and  relaying  old  ones,  the  work 
should  if  possible  be  done  in  autumn,  as  by  using  the  roller  frequently 
after  the  heavy  rains  of  winter  the  whole  mass  becomes  thoroughly 
consolidated,  and  does  not  crumble  and  get  loose  during  the  summer. 
There  are  few  things  more  troublesome  in  a  garden  than  walks  which 
get  rough  and  unpleasant  to  walk  upon  during  dry  weather,  and  soft 
after  heavy  rains.  To  avoid  such  nuisances  plenty  of  rough  material 
must  be  placed  in  the  bottom  and  made  firm,  and  then  finished  off 
with  fine  binding  gravel.  Then  if  there  is  a  slight  fall  from  the 
centre  to  the  sides,  and  a  proper  system  of  drainage  provided,  a  hard 
firm  walk  is  the  re.-ult,  as  the  rain  runs  off  the  surface  instead  of 
sinking  through  it.  This  reminder  may  perhaps  prompt  some  who 
have  troublesome  walks  under  their  charge  to  “  tackle  ”  them  at 
once,  while  the  weather  is  favourable. 
The  clearing  up  of  leaves  is  a  work  of  considerable  magnitude  in 
all  gardens  during  autumn  and  early  winter,  but  in  unfrequented 
parts  it  is  often  possible  to  save  much  labour  by  allowing  the  bulk  of 
them  to  fall  before  clearing  up  is  attempted.  8uch  economies  are  now 
necessary  in  a  great  many  gardens,  and  when  practised  they  enable 
the  manager  to  devote  the  necessary  attention  to  any  alterations  in 
hand.— H.  D. 
- - - 
Moisture  for  Frnit  Trees. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  much  of  the  non-success  in  obtaining 
a  crop  of  fruit  from  otherwise  healthy  trees  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
roots  are  ramifying  in  dry  and  impoverished  soil,  especially  in  situations 
where  the  ground  is  shallow  and  more  than  ordinarily  well  drained — 
that  is,  naturally  drained.  Old-established  trees  and  bushes  are 
probably  the  worst  sufferers  in  this  respect.  Years  of  growth, 
extension  of  roots  and  branches,  heavy  crops  of  blossoms,  rank  growth 
of  branches  and  spray,  and  inadequate  suoplies  of  root  moisture,  have 
resulted  iu  feeble  and  deficient  crops.  With  such  trees,  provided  the 
branches  are  well  thinned  out,  nothing  is  so  effec'ive  as  a  remedial 
agent  as  moistening  the  soil.  This  may  safely  be  done  in  all  cases 
where  good  fruit  trees  are  barren  from  no  other  explainable  cause  than 
that  of  sheer  want  of  moisture  and  food.  Fibrous  rcots  cannot  extend 
and  multiply  in  soil  destitute  of  moisture  The  latter  must  be  present 
in  order  that  the  dormant  or  reserved  food  constituents  in  the  soil  may 
be  made  soluble,  hence  available  for  the  roots. 
In  these  notes  I  wish  to  direct  attention  to  this  rather  important 
matter  in  connection  with  fruit  trees.  Many  old  trees  of  good 
varieties  have  been  condemned  as  worthless,  which  by  a  course  of 
recuperation  with  the  aid  of  water  and  liquid  manure  could  have  been 
much  improved  in  regard  to  fruit  bearing,  and  by  continuing  the 
same  treatment  the  quality  of  the  fruit  enhanced  in  future  years. 
Wall  fruit  trees  are  prone  to  suffer  from  lack  of  moisture  in  the 
subsoil.  It  will  cause  mildew  on  outdoor  Vines,  red  spider  on  Peach 
and  Nec'arine  trees,  and  a  general  feebleness  in  Pears,  Plums,  and 
Cherries.  All  forms  of  fruit  trees  growdng  in  the  open  also  (eel  the 
pinch,  especially  restricted  bushes,  pyramids,  and  cordons.  Indications 
of  insufficient  support  can  be  easily  seen.  '1  he  foliage  is  undersized, 
thin,  and  devoid  of  a  good  supply  of  green  colouring  matter,  while 
should  there  be  any  fruit  it  will  lack  size,  be  hard  and  woody,  and 
fail  to  ripen  at  its  proper  time. 
At  this  season,  therefore,  when  crops  for  the  most  part  have  been,, 
or  are  about  to  be,  gathered,  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  moisten 
the  whole  area  of  soil  occupied  by  the  roots,  giving  sufficient  to 
penetrate  well  below  the  lowest  strata  of  roots.  If  it  is  absolutely 
a  certain  fact  that  the  soil  is  extremely  dry  this  first  and  thorough 
moistening  should  be  clear  water.  Follow  this  by  affording  an  equally 
generous  supply  of  liquid  manure.  The  virtues  and  excellent  feeding 
qualities  of  the  latter  will  be  retained  in  the  moist  soil,  affording 
valuable  food  for  the  roots  to  work  upon.  Several  applications  of 
liquid  manure  may  be  given  during  the  winte.’,  and  to  such  trees  as 
have  been  described  it  could  scarcely  be  applied  too  powerful, 
experiments  having  proved  that  liquid  manure  may  be  given  to  fruit 
trees  stronger  in  winter  than  in  summer.  The  liquid  most  suitable  is 
sewage,  stable  and  cow-house  drainings,  mixed  with  or  without 
soapsuds. 
Young  trees,  if  not  fruiting  satisfactorily,  should  not  be  recuperated 
by  strong  stimulants,  the  application  of  such  probably  causing  a 
stronger  growth  than  desirable.  In  addition  to  the  assistance  rendered 
the  roots  the  proper  pruning  of  the  trees  must  not  be  omitted.  Should 
the  trees  have  been  neglected  in  the  special  manner  of  pruning  adapted 
to  them,  proceed  gradually  in  the  thinning  or  shortening  required. — 
E.  Barrow. 
