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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GAllDENER. 
November  1,  1900. 
flowering  plants.  The  Star  Primula  ( P.  8tella*^a)  of  taller  growth  and 
more  elegant  habit,  is  well  worth  growing,  and  serves  effectively  to 
break  the  somewhat  level  monotony  of  the  others.  Primula  oboonica 
is  useful,  as  it  is  a  free  and  almost  continuous  bloomer.  The  easily 
grown  Calla  will  give  variety  and  is  always  appreciated.  The  Paper 
White  Narcissus,  with  its  larger  variety  and  the  double  Roman,  will 
now  be  available,  and  serve  as  harbingers  of  many  others  of  their  kind 
soon  to  follow. 
Christmas  Roses  are  easily  got  into  flower,  and  the  lovely  Preesias 
can  also  be  had.  Pew  plants  have  become  more  suddenly  and 
deservedly  popular  than  these,  and  with  successions  they  can  be  had  in 
bloom  for  the  greater  part  of  the  winter.  The  early  Duo  Van  Thol 
Tulips  can  be  flowered  at  Christmas  and  will  add  much  to  the  brilliancy 
of  the  greenhouse  ;  a  few  of  the  earliest  Hyacinths  may  be  forced  and 
associated  with  them.  Among  hardwooded  plants  must  be  mentioned 
Camellias,  winter  Ericas,  Epacris,  a  few  Azalea  indica  alba,  and  the 
double  variety  Deutsche  Perle  can  be  easily  pushed  on.  I  must  not 
omit  Daphne  indica,  for  its  delicious  perfume.  Varieties  of  Epiphyllum 
truncatum  are  conspicuous  winter  -  flowering  plants,  and  seldom 
disappoint  us.  A  few  berried  plants  are  welcome  at  this  season  in  the 
greenhouse  :  Solanum  oapsicastrum  and  hybrids,  the  beautiful  and  varied 
Pernettyas  in  berry,  Aucubas,  the  little  Otaheite  Orange  in  small  pots, 
and  I  would  add  Ardisia  crenulata,  although  generally  grown  in  stoves, 
is  quite  at  home  in  a  warm  greenhouse  and  less  subject  to  scale.  A 
few  Tea  Roses  can  be  had  in  flower,  their  charming  buds  being  always 
in  request.  This  brings  me  to  the  end  of  the  year  and  to  the  end  of 
the  first  half  of  my  allotted  task. —  Semperflorens. 
(To  be  concluded. 
- - 
Young  Gardeners’  Domain. 
A  Little  Sermon. 
It  is  not  my  intention  now  to  speak  to  the  veterans  of  the  craft, 
but  to  the  young  gardeners  who  contemplate  taking  a  head  place  as 
soon  as  an  opportunity  occurs.  To  those  who  have  not  made  them¬ 
selves  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  routine  of  kitchen  garden  I 
would  say,  Do  so  immediately,  before  taking  sole  charge.  Some 
may  say  that  this  is  an  easy  matter,  but  let  those  who  are  inclined  to 
think  so  ask  one  of  the  masters  of  the  profession.  I  have  often  heard 
it  said  (and  in  good  establishments,  too),  “  Ah !  if  I  secure  a  good 
kitchen  garden  man  I  shall  be  all  right.”  To  quote  my  own  case.  Not 
long  after  taking  charge  my  head  kitchen  garden  man  retired,  and  he 
leaves  a  vacancy  which  his  successor  does  not  fill ;  and  were  it  not  for 
experience  gained  by  having  worked  a  portion  of  my  time  in  the  kitchen 
garden  I  should  have  come  off  second  best.  As  a  journeyman  outside  I 
remember  thinking  myself  qualified  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  kitchen 
garden  work,  but  on  being  offered  and  accepting  the  outside  foreman’s 
place  I  found  that  I  had  to  learn  many  things,  even  with  two  years  of 
kitchen  garden  work  in  my  diary  to  help  me. 
It  is  this  that  causes  me  to  wonder  how  those  men  will  act  who  have 
only  had  a  small  experience  of  outside  work.  I  know  many  young 
gardeners  who  are  inclined  to  look  askance  at  a  spade ;  with  a  good 
meaning  I  would  advise  them  to  think  well  on  this  subject.  One  more 
suggestion  and  I  will  finish.  I  strongly  urge  upon  young  men  not  to 
flit  too  quickly  from  one  department  to  the  other,  but  to  put  in  at  least 
two  years  in  each.  I  have  a  young  man  at  present  who  has  been  in 
a  few  establishments,  with  a  record  of  eighteen  months’  stay  at  three  of 
them,  and  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  move  thus  quickly, 
as  it  is  perfectly  certain  that  no  man  can  learn  all  there  is  to  be  learned 
in  any  garden  in  such  a  short  space  of  time. — A  Young  Head. 
- *  t - 
Metropolitan  Open  Spaces. — Lord  Teynham  presided  at  the 
recent  meeting  of  the  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association.  It 
was  reported  that  three  new  grounds,  laid  out  by  the  association,  had 
been  opened  to  the  public  during  the  past  summer.  The  purchase  of 
the  addition  to  the  Postman’s  Park,  Alder sgate  Street,  towards  which 
the  association  and  various  other  bodies  had  contributed,  had  been 
completed,  and  the  ground  had  been  laid  out  and  added  to  the  original 
area.  The  Bills  in  Parliament  for  acquiring  the  Alexandra  Palace  and 
Park,  and  for  enabling  the  City  Corporation  to  maintain  the  enclosure 
in  Finsbury  Circus  as  a  public  garden  had  passed  into  law.  A  letter  in 
reply  to  a  request  on  the  part  of  the  association  was  read  from  the 
Corporation  of  the  City  of  London  stating  that  the  utmost  care  would 
be  taken  not  to  damage  the  roots  of  the  famous  Plane  tree  at  the  corner 
of  Wood  Street  and  Cheapside  in  connection  with  the  widening  of  the 
footway  in  the  former  street. 
Hardy  Fruit  Garden. 
Planting  Fruit  Trees  and  Bushes. — The  most  suitable  time  is  now 
at  hand  to  plant  permanently  all  kinds  and  forms  of  fruit  trees.  When 
the  weather  is  dry  during  November  the  ground  is  usually  in  the 
proper  condition  for  working,  hence  the  planting  can  be  expeditiously 
and  well  done.  The  soil  ought,  however,  to  have  been  previously 
prepared,  so  that  the  heavy  labour  involved  in  digging  or  trenching, 
which  is  usually  essential  before  planting,  is  not  required  when  the 
trees  or  bushes  are  ready.  Although  it  is  desirable  to  have  the  soil 
ready  this  cannot  be  managed  in  every  case,  and  the  quarters  for  the 
trees  await  preparation.  During  the  progress  of  this  work  trees  and 
bushes  arriving  from  a  nursery  should  be  laid  in  in  moist  soil  to  prevent 
the  roots  drying. 
Preparing  the  Soil. — The  average  depth  of  good  and  fertile  soil, 
which  is  indispensable  for  vigorous  and  healthy  growth,  is  not  less 
than  2  feet,  and  it  is  important  to  move  it  to  this  depth  previous  to 
planting  if  it  has  not  been  worked  recently.  Deep  cultivation  is  a 
distinct  advantage  for  fruit  trees,  but  it  can  only  be  carried  out 
prior  to  planting.  Should  the  soil  be  of  uniform  quality  to  the 
depth  above  stated  trenching  will  be  the  best  method  of  treatment, 
but  if  the  top  only  is  good  and  the  subsoil  poor  do  not  reverse  the 
position  of  the  spits,  but  move  and  break  them  up  thoroughly  all  the 
same,  adopting  the  plan  of  bastard  trenching.  A  sound  holding  loam 
should  be  selected,  though  soil  that  will  grow  good  vegetables  will 
grow  excellent  fruit.  Very  poor  soil  must  have  manure  worked  in, 
employing  that  of  a  decomposed  character,  but  not  too  liberally, 
except  for  small  or  bush  fruits.  An  ordinary  fertile  soil  will  not 
require  manure  intermixing  when  preparing  for  planting,  as  it  induces 
a  strong  growth  which  is  liable  to  be  fruitless.  An  excellent  plan 
of  preparing  the  soil  for  fruit  trees  is  to  trench  and  manure  freely 
in  spring,  then  grow  a  crop  which  will  be  removed  early  in  autumn, 
Potatoes  for  instance.  Thus  the  ground  will  be  clean,  in  good 
heart,  and,  after  forking  over  and  levelling,  ready  to  receive  the 
trees. 
Planting. — Let  the  station  for  the  reception  of  the  roots  be  formed 
wide  and  shallow.  Deep  planting  is  not  advisable,  but  it  is  important 
to  spread  out  the  roots  to  their  full  extent.  Before  introducing  the 
roots  into  the  holes  prune  away  all  the  injured  parts,  leaving  the  ends 
smooth  with  a  clean  upward  cut  in  a  slightly  slanting  direction.  In 
planting,  lay  out  the  lower  layer  of  roots  in  a  horizontal  direction,  and 
secure  them  at  once  in  that  position  by  spreadiqg  over  them  from  the 
stem  outwards  some  fine  light  soil,  consisting  of  loam  and  wood  ashes. 
Treat  the  next  layer  of  roots  in  the  same  manner,  covering  the  top  set 
not  more  than  3  inches.  The  tree  or  bush  may  be  carefully  moved 
slightly  up  and  down  to  work  the  soil  among  the  roots,  but  do  not  make 
the  soil  firm  about  them  by  treading,  as  this  will  probably  damage  the 
roots  near  the  collar  or  where  they  originate  near  the  stem. 
Distances  of  Planting. — Pyramid  and  bush  Apples  on  Crab  stocks 
may  be  planted  12  feet  apart.  Half  that  distance  will  suffice  on 
Paradise  stocks  if  the  trees  are  closely  pruned,  and  occasionally  root 
pruned.  Borizou tally  trained  espaliers,  both  of  Pears  and  Apples, 
must  be  15  feet  asunder.  Cordon  Apples  and  Pears,  upright  or  oblique, 
should  be  2  feet  apart  on  walls.  Pan  trained  Apricots,  Cherries, 
Plums,  and  Figs  against  walls  may  be  15  feet.  Plant  bush  Currants 
and  Gooseberries  6  feet  asunder. 
Treatment  after  Planting. — Standard  and  half-standard  trees  should 
be  staked  at  the  time  of  planting.  They  are  liable  to  be  moved  about 
by  strong  winds  and  the  roots  displaced  if  .the  stems  are  not  secured. 
Let  the  stakes,  which  should  be  as  tall  as  the  trees,  be  driven  down 
carefully  among  the  roots  before  the  latter  are  buried  with  soil.  Wind 
some  soft  cloth  or  other  material  round  the  stem  of  each,  and  then 
secure  soft  yielding  copper  wire,  which  may  be  made  fast  to  the  stakes. 
Tarred  string  or  cord  will  also  answer,  but  should  be  renewed  as  often  as 
necessary.  Young  wall  trees  are  best  secured  to  a  few  stakes  at  first, 
as  these  will  sink  with  the  soil,  whereas  if  the  branches  are  fastened  at 
once  to  the  wall  the  soil  sinks  from  the  roots,  leaving  them,  as  it  were, 
hung.  When  the  soil  and  roots  have  settled  comfortably  into  position 
then  secure  the  branches  to  the  wall. 
Watering  and  Mulching. — Watering  after  planting  may  be  necessary 
if  the  soil  is  very  dry  ;  it  assists  the  soil  working  among  the  roots,  filling 
up  the  interstices,  and  consolidating  the  soil  about  them.  Wall  trees 
may  require  it  when  those  out  in  the  open  do  not,  owing  to  the  ground 
being  sufficiently  moist.  Mulching  is  also  important.  Place  a  layer 
of  littery  manure  over  the  roots  on  the  surface  of  the  soil.  Failing 
manure,  leaves,  partially  decayed,  will  act  well.  The  object  of  mulching 
is  to  retain  warmth  and  moisture  in  the  soil,  and  maintain  it  in  an 
equable  condition  suitable  for  steady  growth. 
