March  21,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
237 
To  secure  well-shaped  trees  a  good  deal  of  judgment  is  necessary 
in  selecting  well-placed  growths  for  ultimate  retention,  for  unless 
they  form  a  suitable  angle  with  the  main  branches  they  cross  other 
shoots  as  they  extend.  For  this  reason  the  majority  of  the  growths 
selected  should  spring  from  the  upper  side  of  the  old  shoot,  though 
there  are  many  exceptions  to  this  rule,  and  it  is  better  to  train-in  what 
may  be  termed  a  “misplaced”  shoot  than  to  allow  blank  spaces  to 
occur.  After  the  second  severe  disbudding  has  been  performed  the 
final  selection  may  be  left  till  tying-in  begins ;  then,  if  some  are 
pinched  back  closely,  they  will  form  spurs  at  points  where  there  is  too 
little  room  for  a  shoot,  and  yet  space  enough  for  a  close  spur,  from 
which  in  after  years  a  shoot  may  be  taken  to  replace  enfeebled 
branches. 
Now  I  come  to  what  I  consider  to  be  the  critical  period  in  the 
progress  of  a  young  tree,  during  which  stage  it  may  be  completely 
moulded  to  the  cultivator’s  will,  provided  he  uses  his  powers  of 
observation  and  acts  intelligently.  During  the  growing  season  a  few  I 
Wild  Flowers  of  Old  English  Gardens. — Y. 
From  Christmas,  indeed  before  that  arrives,  right  on  into  the 
spring,  there  is  a  constant  demand  for  the  Lily  of  the  Valley,  and 
its  flowers  are  raised  by  the  gardeners  under  glass,  since,  in  our 
climate,  the  plant  seldom  blooms  in  the  borders  till  May.  ft  grows 
fairly  well  near  London,  especially  on  the  Surrey  side  below  the 
hills,  and  a  clump  of  it  will  flower  year  after  year,  with  little 
attention,  but  gets  impoverished  at  last.  Possibly,  when  the  berries 
are  allowed  to  form,  some  of  the  seeds  dropping  into  the  soil  produce 
new  plants.  For  culture  indoors  it  is  usual  to  obtain  fresh  supplies 
of  tubers  every  season  from  the  Continent.  One  writer,  referring  to 
London  gardens,  mentions  having  seen  the  Lily  of  the  Valley  growing 
upon  the  top  of  low  walls  and  sheds,  but  I  have  never  observed  it 
in  such  situations.  In  the  eighteenth  century,  Londoners  had  managed, 
PHAL^ENOPSIS  HARRIETTS. 
very  strong  shoots  will  usually  make  wonderful  headway  at  the 
expense  of  the  weaker  ones.  To  check  this  tendency  some  cultivators 
train-in  the  outgrowing  laterals,  and  to  some  extent  it  has  the  desired 
effect,  but  far  better  results  may  be  obtained  by  stopping.  When 
such  strong  shoots  have  grown  a  foot  or  15  inches  in  length  remove 
the  points,  they  will  then  send  out  a  number  of  strong  laterals.  If 
from  three  to  six  of  these  are  selected  and  trained-in,  they  will  grow 
but  moderately  strongly,  because  the  sap  is  diverted  into  a  greater 
number  of  channels,  and  by  stopping  thus  early  in  the  season  the  wood 
has  time  to  become  thoroughly  ripened. 
In  addition  to  the  very  strong  shoots  there  are  generally  a  number 
of  others,  much  more  vigorous  than  the  majority.  If  these  are  stopped 
a  little  later,  additional  vigour  will  for  a  time  be  forced  into  the 
weaker  shoots,  and  after  a  year  or  two  of  such  treatment  well  balanced 
growths  may  be  secured  all  over  the  tree.  Indeed,  so  much  may  be 
done  to  equalise  the  growth  of  Peach  and  Nectarine  trees  by  summer 
pinching,  that  I  often  wonder  why  more  attention  is  not  paid  to  such 
work.  I  have  at  various  times  managed  a  great  many  vigorous  trees 
on  the  lines  above  indicated,  and  I  have  never  yet  had  to  resort  to 
root-pruning  to  bring  them  into  a  fruitful  condition.  When,  however, 
hard  pruning  is  practised  in  winter,  root-pruning  becomes  an  absolute 
necessity  in  dealing  with  vigorous  young  trees. — H.  D. 
not  without  difficulty,  to  produce  double  flowers  and  a  purple  variety. 
Plants  seem  to  have  been  got  chiefly  from  damp  spots  in  Epping 
Forest  and  heaths  around  Croydon.  I  have  not  found  a  record  of  its 
occurring  in  that  forest  since  1873.  At  St.  Leonard’s  Forest,  Sussex, 
Mr.  Dyer  found  a  legend  that  the  worthy  saint  fought  three  days  in 
that  forest  with  a  “fire  drake,”  or  dangerous  serpent.  He  was 
victorious,  but  received  wounds,  from  the  blood  of  which,  so  it  is 
said,  sprung  up  a  profusion  of  Lilies  of  the  Valley.  In  Germany  a 
preparation  from  the  plant  is  believed  to  be  an  effectual  remedy  for 
headache,  possibly  on  the  similia  similiius  principle,  as  the  odour  of 
the  flowers  gives  some  people  headache. 
Now  I  come  to  a  curious  circumstance  connected  with  this  plant. 
There  is  near  Dartford,  Kent,  a  wood,  formerly  very  extensive,  called 
Darenth  Wood,  in  which  the  Lily  of  the  Valley,  towards  the  middle  of 
the  wood,  occupies  a  space  of  over  an  acre,  growing  thickly  for  the 
most  part,  but  some  plants  are  scattered  in  various  directions. 
A  friend  visited  the  spot  at  the  flowering  season  some  years  ago,  and 
examined  hundreds  without  discovering  a  trace  of  a  flower  stalk. 
The  next  year  he  went  again,  and  had  the  same  experience.  On 
pulling  up  some  of  the  plants  he  found  about  the  roots  and  crowns  a 
small  insect — rather  numerous  ;  not  a  mite,  but  larger  and  blackish — * 
resembling  an  aphis,  though  he  fancied  it  did  not  belong  to  that 
