46 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
January  17,  1901. 
and  Apple  trees,  had  been  converted  from  a  comparatively  unprofit¬ 
able  to  a  most  profitable  state,  simply  by  means  of  surface  cultivation- 
These  trees  are  about  fifteen  years  old,  and  in  spite  of  being  planted 
on  a  cold,  retentive,  slate  coloured,  clayey  soil,  have  made  good 
progress.  Admitting  warmth  and  air,  which  the  grass  excluded, 
rather  than  moisture  to  the  roots,  in  this  case  had  a  remarkable  effect 
on  the  productiveness  of  the  trees. 
^  e  learn  that  in  the  United  States  of  America  not  only  do  they 
cultivate  the  ground  about  the  trees,  but  ^hey  also  raise  a  crop  of 
Vetches  or  other  sheep-feed  in  the  spaces  between  the  trees,  which 
is  duly  folded  and  fed  off.  In  addition  to  the  green  food  cake  is 
given  to  the  sheep,  the  latter  when  sold  paying  for  the  labour  and 
outlay  in  feeding  stuffs,  while  the  trees  have  the  full  benefit  of  the 
sheep  manure,  which  thus  obtained  is  composed  of  the  very  elements 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  and  lime — most  required  by  fruit 
trees.  In  some  of  the  cultivated  orchards  in  Essex  and  Kent  I 
observed  last  season  that  the  trees  were  not  only  bearing  heavy  crops 
of  fine  fruit,  but  had  made  good  growth  notwithstanding  the  great 
strain  on  them.  This  offered  such  a  strong  contrast  to  what  I  had 
previously  seen  in  the  western  Midlands,  that  I  naturally  made 
inquiries  as  to  the  treatment  they  receive.  In  all  cases  these  profitable 
trees  are  kept  well  thinned,  and  a  little  foreshortening  completes  the 
pruning;  no  cutting  and  hacking  every  ten  years,  or  thereabouts,  but 
a  little  annual  pruning  is  all  that  is  needed.  I  need  hardly  add  that 
the  roots  get  something  stronger  than  water  to  keep  them  in  such 
excellent  health.  The  best  results  attend  the  practice  of  applying  a 
liberal  dressing  of  a  mixture  of  blood,  bones,  and  various  other  strong 
smelling  materials,  which  can  only  be  conveyed  down  the  Thames  in 
barges,  and  must  not  be  applied  to  the  ground  near  to  dwelling 
houses  of  any  kind. 
Poultry  farming  has  evidently  gained  many  adherents  in  all  parts 
of  the  country,  and  the  fruit  trees  on  the  same  land  ought  soon  to 
derive  great  benefit  from  the  association.  Fowls’  manure  is  especially 
rich  in  nitrogen  and  lime,  with  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in  a  lesser 
degree.  At  the  outset  it  may  be  possible  to  make  the  land  too  rich 
in  nitrogen,  sappy  growth  resulting;  but  when  the  trees  are  cropping 
heavily  and  not  making  much  wood  growth  nitrogen  must  be  applied, 
as  without  this,  if  I  understand  rightly,  the  trees  do  not  form 
sufficient  leaf  growth  to  utilise  the  potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  other 
elements  that  may  be  present  in  the  soil.  Liquid  manure,  notably  the 
drainage  from  a  mixed  farmyard,  also  from  stables  and  piggeries, 
presents  the  readiest  means  of  supplying  the  roots  of  fruit  trees  with 
all  that  is  needed  in  a  quickly  available  form,  and  the  best  time  to 
apply  this  is  during  the  late  autumn  months,  and  also  whenever  the 
weather  is  mild  during  the  winter.  Trees  treated  in  this  way  start 
into  growth  more  strongly  than  they  otherwise  would  have  done,  the 
flowers  are  larger  and  of  superior  development,  wood  growth  is 
promoted,  while  the  crops  that  set  and  escape  frosts  will  be  at  least  of 
fair  if  not  of  superior  quality. 
Basic  slag  is  being  largely  and  freely  distributed  among  fruit 
trees  in  Gloucestershire  and  other  parts,  and  this  is  a  step  in  the  right 
direction,  but  it  supplies  phosphoric  acid  and  a  little  lime  only.  A  more 
complete  food  is  needed.  Special  manures  bought  ready  mixed  are 
recommended  for  use  where  there  are  only  a  few  trees,  but  on  a  large 
scale  I  would  advise  purchasing  and  applying  manures  separately,  chain 
harrowing  them  in  at  once.  A  fairly  large  orchard  tree  should  have 
2  lbs.  of  either  nitrate  of  soda  or  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  the  same 
quantity  of  superphosphate  oflime  and  kainir,  reducing  these  according 
to  the  sizes  of  the  trees  dealt  with.  The  two  nitrogenous  manures 
mentioned  are  the  most  quickly  dissolved,  and  a  portion  may  be 
washed  away  before  the  trees  have  a  chance  to  assimilate  it,  hence 
the  good  advice  often  given  to  apply  one  part  of  these  some  weeks  or 
even  months  later,  only  it  should  be  applied  in  time  for  it  to  be  washed 
down  to  the  roots. 
Those  who  apply  manures  of  any  kind  to  large  fruit  trees  ought  to 
remember  that  the  feeding  roots  are  principally  at  the  extremities  or 
as  far  away  from  the  stems  of  the  trees  as  the  top  of  the  trees  spread, 
and  there  therefore  who  bank  up  soil  and  manure  round  the  boles  of 
trees  may  easily  doimore  harm  than  good.  By  all  means  apply  farm¬ 
yard  manure  freely,  but  let  it  be  as  a  surface  dressing  and  not  in  the 
form  of  a  bank  round  the  stem  as  seen  occasionally  in  different  parts 
of  the  country.  In  conclusion  I  would  state  that  if  we  could  only 
keep  our  trees  in  a  healthy  growing  condition,  extra  heavy  crops  would 
rarely  if  ever  be  produced,  but  what  is  much  more  to  the  point,  they 
would  be  equal  to  producing  a  remunerative  crop  of  full  sized  fruit 
every  season. — W.  Iggulden. 
Gloriosa  superba. 
If  there  is  one  plant  more  than  another  that  attracts  attention 
in  either  a  warm  greenhouse  or  stove  during  the  summer  months  it  is 
the  peculiar,  but  fascinating,  East  Indian  Gloriosa  superba,  with  its 
delicately  whorled  flowers  of  a  rich  shade  of  lemon  tinged  with  red, 
which  make  a  wonderful  table  decoration,  or  rank  high  in  a  collection 
of  stove  or  greenhouse  cut  flowers,  or  in  a  collection  of  plants.  When 
used  as  a  cut  flower  it  will  stand  for  a  considerable  time  in  water ;  a 
plant,  if  allowed  to  occupy  a  good  position  on  the  roof,  yielding 
unlimited  "quantities  of  bloom  until  the  growths  die  down.  That  it  is 
absent  from  many  collections  no  one  will  deny,  and  I  remember  the 
sensation  caused  at  one  of  our  Liverpool  shows  a  few  years  ago  by 
a  grand  plant  exhibited  by  Mr.  T.  Hitchman,  gardener  to  Arthur 
Earle,  Esq.,  Child  wall  Lodge,  Wavertree. 
The  cultivation  of  the  Gloriosa  is  not  at  all  difficult,  and  plants 
may  be  either  raised  from  seeds  or  by  root  division.  If  from  seeds  the 
middle  or  end  of  February  is  a  good  time  to  sow,  the  size  of  pots  used 
being  5  inches,  draining  thoroughly.  Some  good  peat,  leaf  mould,  and 
silver  sand  form  a  suitable  compost,  and  after  filling  up  nearly  level 
and  pressing  firmly,  the  seeds  may  be  sown  and  lightly  covered, 
watering  carefully,  and  placed  in  a  propagating  box  in  about  75°. 
Germination  will  soon  take  place,  and  care  should  be  exercised  at  this 
period  not  to  allow  too  much  moisture  about  the  seedlings,  or  they  soon 
decay.  When  the  young  plants  are  through  remove  to  a  shelf,  watering 
sparingly,  and  as  soon  as  they  are  2  inches  high  they  may  be  trans¬ 
ferred  to  3-inch  pots,  adding  a  little  good  loam  to  the  previously 
mentioned  compost.  If  a  little  bottom  heat  is  at  command  so  much 
the  better  for  encouraging  root  action,  but  care  is  needed,  or  the  plants 
become  drawn,  and  are  never  satisfactory  afterwards.  When  full 
of  roots  remove  to  6-inch  pots,  this  being  most  suitable  for  the  first 
season.  When  growing  during  the  summer  more  water  will  be 
required,  and  frequent  syringiugs  morning  and  afternoon,  staking  as 
growth  advances,  and  tying  to  the  wires  on  the  roof  of  the  house  in 
which  they  are  growing. 
The  latter  end  of  the  summer  will  see  the  plants  showing  signs  of 
re-ting,  then  it  is  that  the  gradual  decrease  in  watering  must  take 
place  until  it  is  discontinued  altogether,  when  the  pots  may  be  stored 
f  >r  the  winter  in  a  moderately  dry  part  of  the  house.  The  following 
season,  about  the  middle  of  February,  they  should  be  examined  to  see 
it  the  bulbs  are  sound,  and  introduced  to  a  brisk  heat  to  start  them 
into  growth.  When  this  is  discernible  repot  into  10£-inch  pots,  using 
fibrous  loam,  peat,  coarse  sand,  and  some  broken  puces  of  soft  red 
sandstone,  giving  sufficient  water  to  settle  the  soil.  Syringing  and  a 
fair  amount  of  water  will  be  required  during  the  summer,  and  almost 
the  same  routine  followed  until  the  plants  die  down. 
If  for  cut  flowers  or  the  decoration  of  a  stove  roof  the  Gloriosa 
needs  little  attention  when  once  it  reaches  the  wires,  the  points  of  the 
leaves  clinging  as  they  grow.  If  as  a  pot  plant  for  exhibition,  the 
trellis  should  be  affixed  before  the  growths  get  too  long  or  much 
damage  is  done.  Keep  well  elevated  to  the  glass,  and  do  not  omit  the 
syringing,  tying  the  shoots  as  evenly  as  possible  throughout.  For 
specimens  of  this  ki  d  it  is  well  to  see  that  several  bulbs  are  placed  in 
each  pot,  as  this  tends  to  a  better  furnished  specimen.  Occasional  appli¬ 
cations  of  weak  liquid  manure  will  give  a  great  stimulus  to  the 
strength  and  quality  of  growth  and  flower.  Propagation  by  division 
is  as  easily  effected  as  in  the  case  of  Dracaenas,  and  needs  no  detailed 
treatment  here.  Those  not  having  grown  this  charming  plant  may 
shortiy  get  started  plants  at  a  moderate  cost  from  any  good  nurseryman, 
as  by  doing  so  the  bother  of  growing  from  seeds  is  saved  and  satis¬ 
factory  results  obtained  during  the  coming  season. — R.  P.  R. 
