November  22,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
463 
Mr.  Bnnyard  oi]  Common  Mistakes  in  Fruit  Culture. 
At  the  afternoon  meeting  Mr.  Geo.  Bunyard  read  a  paper  on  this 
subject,  and  prefaced  his  remarks  by  the  statement  that  the  paper  was 
compiled  mainly  for  the  benefit  of  amateurs.  Even  had  he  not  done  so 
the  majority  of  those  present  would  quickly  have  recognised  the  fact, 
as  the  errors  alluded  to  were  all  of  the  most  elementary  character,  and 
such  as  are  not  at  all  likely  to  be  perpetrated  by  professional  gardeners 
and  fruit  growers  (who  are  worthy  of  their  names)  at  the  present  day, 
whatever  might  have  been  the  case  a  decade  or  more  ago.  However, 
as  Mr.  Bunyard  tersely  put  it,  we  learn  most  of  all  from  our  failures,  and 
he  might  have  added  from  the  failures  of  others.  As  a  matter  of  fact  an 
immense  amount  of  most  valuable  information  has  been  gleaned  by 
fruit  growers  by  observing  the  mistakes  of  those  who  have  gone  before. 
This  has  been  the  case  generation  after  generation,  and  doubtless  those 
who  succeed  us  will  find  abundant  food  for  thought,  and  ample  room  for 
improvement  in  the  methods  we  practise  to-day,  and  which  we  regard 
as  perfect. 
The  first  item  adverted  to  by  the  essayist  was  deep  planting,  by 
which  the  fibrous  or  feeding  roots  of  the  plants  are  buried  so  far 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground  that  they  f^il  to  perform  their  proper 
duty  of  food  imbibition,  and  coarse  strong  roots  pushing  into  the 
subsoil  encourage  gross  branch  growth  that  is  the  reverse  of  fruitful. 
Mr.  Bunyard  instanced  a  case  in  which  the  upper  layer  of  roots  was 
3  feet  2  inches  beneath  the  surface  soil.  Such  an  extraordinary  freak 
on  the  part  of  the  planter  amply  justified  the  question  asked  at  the 
conclusion  by  a  member  of  the  audience,  who  was  anxious  to  ascertain 
whether  the  planting  had  been  done  by  a  gravedigger.  For  years  the 
best  cultivators  in  the  country  have  been  urging  through  the  gardening 
press  the  necessity  for  shallow  planting,  and  we  think  no  sane  man 
would  now  cover  the  roots  with  3  feet  of  mould,  even  if  he  were  dealing 
with  soil  of  the  lightest  and  most  porous  character.  Following  in 
natural  sequence  upon  this  came  above-surface  planting  in  orchards,  to 
allow  of  sinkage  of  the  soil,  so  as  to  bring  the  whole  eventually  to  the 
normal  level. 
The  undesirability  of  cropping  borders  in  which  the  roots  of  fruit 
trees  were  working  was  pointed  out  as  being,  when  carried  close  up 
to  the  bole  of  trees  on  walls,  most  detrimental.  A  distance  of  at  least 
3  feet  was  recommended  to  remain  uncropped — merely  Dutch  hoed — 
but  we  think  growers  would  rather  leave  5  feet  clear  if  they  could 
afford  the  space.  The  watering  of  wall  trees  was  strongly  and  rightly 
advocated,  because,  as  Mr.  Bunyard  pointed  out,  rain  seldom  falls  quite 
vertically,  and  hence  close  up  to  the  trunk  of  the  tree  the  soil  is 
frequently  as  dry  as  dust ;  in  addition  to  this  the  well-known  thirsty 
nature  of  brick  walls  was  pointed  out  as  having  an  important  bearing 
on  the  question  of  watering.  Inside  as  well  as  outside  borders  were 
referred  to  in  this  relation,  as  well  as  in  regard  to  drainage  and  planting. 
Root  and  branch  pruning  received  brief  notice,  but  of  course  this  subject 
is  too  great  a  one  to  have  full  notice  in  such  a  short  paper  as  that 
prepared  by  Mr.  Bunyard.  The  essayist  therefore  contented  himself 
with  generalities,  and  gave  therein  a  few  useful  hints  in  negative 
form. 
The  due  and  proper  thinning  of  crops  was  referred  to,  and  it  was 
stated  that  a  moderate  crop  of  first  quality  fruits  would  be  found  more 
remunerative  than  an  immense  crop  of  poor,  undeveloped  specimens. 
Harvesting  was  treated  of  as  an  important  detail,  and  it  was  stated  that 
upon  this  to  a  great  extent  depends  the  excellence  of  flavour  and  the 
keeping  properties  of  practically  all  fruits.  Late  Apples  and  Pears 
gathered  too  early  would,  said  Mr.  Bunyard,  shrivel  and  be  useless,  and 
everyone  will  agree  that  the  errors  made  in  the  gathering  of  fruits  are 
amongst  the  most  serious  of  those  committed  by  present-day  cultivators. 
After  passing  other  points  in  review,  Mr.  Bunyard  laid  stress  on  the 
absolute  necessity  of  cleanliness,  and  pointed  out  the  disadvantages  of 
having  rubbish  heaps  in  fruit  plantations  or  near  the  trees,  as  these 
simply  became  harbours  for  insects,  which  quickly  found  their  .way  to 
the  trees  and  commenced  their  work — a  work  of  damage  to  the  trees 
upon  which  they  were  feeding,  and  equally  of  damage  to  the  owner  of 
those  trees.  There  were  also  many  other  points  to  which  we  cannot 
now  advert. 
In  drawing  to  a  conclusion,  we  think  Mr.  Bunyard  went  slightly 
out  of  his  way  to  censure  the  Press.  He  had  observed,  he  said,  that 
varieties  of  fruits  were  recommended  through  the  medium  of  the  Press 
that  were  not  suitable  for  the  purpose  in  view,  but  we  can  hardly 
gather  whence  Mr.  Bunyard  gleans  his  information  as  to  suitability  to 
locality,  seeing  that  inquirers  rarely,  if  ever,  send  their  full  names  and 
addresses  for  publication,  but  prefer  to  be  known  by  an  initial  or  a 
nom  de  plume.  Of  course,  if  Mr.  Bunyard  refers  to  the  dozens  of 
signed  articles  that  appear  in  the  several  gardening  papers  he  is  taking 
an  entirely  different  basis,  and  any  editor  of  a  gardening  paper  would 
welcome  a  controversy  opened^by  Mr.  Bunyard  relative  to  some  article 
which  was  not  in  consonance  with  orthodox  ideas.  Notwithstanding 
the  censure  expressed  by  Mr.  Bunyard,  we  feel  assured  he  will 
acknowledge  that  it  is  to  the  persistent  support  of  the  horticultural  Press 
that  the  high  status  of  present  day  fruit  culture  is  largely  due.  Had 
the  papers  not  unanimously  advocated  fruit  growing,  and  forced  upon 
their  readers  the  absolute  necessity  of  adopting  the  very  best  systems 
of  procedure.  Great  Britain  to-day  would  not  have  been  able  to  boast 
the  production  of  fruits  that  are  equal  to  any  grown  throughout  the 
world,  and  superior  to  the  vast  majority. 
The  meeting  was  brought  to  a  close  by  the  expression  of  a  cordial 
vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Bunyard  for  his  paper,  of  which  the  full  text 
will  appear  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
- - 
Bnsli  Apples. 
Bush  Apples  are  among  the  best  and  simplest  forms  of  trees  to 
manage,  and  if  fruit  has  to  be  grown  in  small  gardens  where  space  is 
necessarily  limited  the  cultivation  of  restricted  bushes  is  indispensable. 
The  finest  and  best  coloured  fruit  can  be  produced,  but  not  in  unlimited 
quantities.  It  is  better,  however,  to  have  a  limited  supply  of  good 
quality  and  excellent  shaped  fruit  than  an  abundant  and  inferior  crop. 
The  quantity,  as  a  rule,  is  mainly  governed  by  thinning  the  crop. 
Bushes  restricted  in  size  are  readily  thinned  and  always  pay  for  the 
trouble.  Well  managed  trees  are  usually  productive,  hence  they  are 
interesting  and  may  he  made  more  so  if  the  crop  is  limited  to  a  fair 
number  of  fruits  on  each  tree. 
The  best  positions  for  restricted  bush  trees  in  small  gardens  is  on 
borders  by  the  side  of  paths,  but  of  course  at  a  reasonable  distance 
from  them.  They  can  thus  be  readily  reached  for  the  necessary  summer 
stopping,  thinning,  and  gathering  the  fruit,  and  the  cultural  needs 
generally.  Systematic  and  formal  training  is  condemned  by  some, 
but  in  this  case  it  will  prove  orn^amental  and  at  the  same  time  highly 
profitable. 
A  most  important  point  in  the  culture  is  to  prevent  overcrowding 
of  the  branches  of  each  individual  tree.  Without  this  success  cannot 
be  achieved.  Plenty  of  space  between  the  branches  will  admit  light 
and  air  freely  to  the  interior  parts  of  the  bushes  when  they  are 
furnished  with  foliage.  The  least  di-tance  at  which  bushes  may  be 
planted  is  6  feet  apart,  but  when  planted  so  closely  the  varieties  ought 
not  to  be  of  vigorous  growth.  Bushes  of  the  latter  class  need  to  be 
at  least  9  feet  apart.  These,  however,  are  minimum  distances,  and  it 
will  be  the  safer  plan  to  increase  them  several  feet,  as  the  closer  the 
trees  are  the  m  ^re  watchful  the  cultivator  must  be  to  prevent  them 
becoming  overcrowded  on  the  space  by  timely  root-pruning.  The 
1  itter  is  necessary  with  closely  planted  trees,  even  when  they  are  on 
dwarfing  s'ocks  such  as  the  Paradise.  When  having  more  room,  root- 
pruning  is  not  so  essential.  Summer  pruning  the  side  shoots  calls  for 
strict  attention,  so  that  the  vigour  of  the  growth  is  not  wasted  in 
superfluous  shoots,  but  is  concentrated  on  the  truit  and  the  necessary 
buds  for  the  succeeding  year.  If  the  bushes  have  healthy,  sturdy, 
and  stout  textured  leaves,  and  the  roots  are  of  a  fibrous  nature,  a 
fruitful  character  will  be  insured.  The  aim  of  the  grower  must  be  to 
see  that  the  bushes  are  not  hampered  by  undue  shade,  or  the  rooting 
medium  encroached  upon  by  plants,  however  useful  they  may  be 
when  growing  in  a  legitimate  and  [iroper  po8i*'ion,  but  when  com¬ 
peting  with  choice  fruit  trees  are  usui'ping  their  rights,  and  are 
like  weeds,  plants  out  of  place. 
Bush  trees  may  be  grown  without  restriction  if  planted  wider 
apart,  or  should  they  be  required  to  produce  fruit  early  it  is  a  good 
plan  to  insert  double  the  number  of  trees,  and  not  later  than  the 
sixth  year  take  out  half  of  them  and  plant  at  the  distance  of  12  feet 
apart  permanently,  the  trees  left  being  also  at  the  same  distance.  The 
bushes  may  then  be  planted  6  feet  apart  every  way.  The  year 
previous  to  the  removal  of  the  bushes  they  should  be  afforded  a 
slight  root-pruning.  Take  out  a  trench  at  the  distance  the  branches 
extend  from  the  trunk  and  cut  off  all  the  roots  found.  Fill  up  the 
trench  again,  making  it  firm.  This  root-pruning  vvill  induce  fresh 
fibres  to  form,  and  the  bushes  will  be  ready  to  move  the  following 
autumn.  The  lifting  and  transplanting  may  be  done  as  sojn  as  the 
leaves  begin  to  fall. 
In  the  culture  of  bush  trees  mulching  over  the  roots  with 
manure  in  summer  is  an  indispensable  item  in  their  culture.  It 
maintains  the  soil  moist,  and  induces  the  formation  of  fibrous  roots 
near  the  surface.  Some  of  the  best  varieties  for  bush  culture  are 
Mr.  Gladstone,  Margil,  Beauty  of  Bath,  Duchess  of  Oldenburg,  and 
Lemon  Pippin.  Tnese  may  be  planted  6  feet  apart.  They  are  dessert 
varieties.  Cox’s  Pomona,  Devonshire  Quarrenden,  Pminette  du  Canada 
and  Dutch  Mignonne,  being  more  vigorous  in  growth,  require  to  be 
planted  9  feet  apart.  These  are  dessert  or  culinary  with  the  exception 
of  the  second  named,  which  is  a  choice  early  eating  Apple.  Good 
culinary  varieties  for  bushes  at  6  feet  ap  irt  are  M  inks  Codlin, 
Stirling  Castle,  Frogmoie  Prolific,  and  Lane’s  Prince  Albert.  At 
9  feet  apart  Keswick  Codlin,  Lord  Suffield,  Potts’  Seedling,  Bismarck, 
Dumelow’s  Seedling,  and  Grenadier. — E,  D.  S. 
