April  4,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Jottings  on  Pines. — Suckers  that  were  recently  potted  indicate 
the  rooting  by  starting  into  growth,  and  the  young  roots  are  very  tender, 
hence  liable  to  injury  from  the  effects  of  too  much  bottom  heat.  If 
the  heat  at  the  base  is  more  than  80°  raise  them,  placing  some  loose 
tan  under  and  around  the  pots,  but  do  this  without  chilling  the 
roots.  Afford  water  as  required,  yet  only  when  there  is  need  for  a 
supply.  It  is  very  important  that  Pine  plants  be  grown  without  check, 
not  allowing  the  suckers  to  become  much  root-bound  before  shifting 
into  larger  pots  or  the  fruiting  size.  Therefore  bring  the  requisite 
fibrous  loam  under  cover,  breaking  it  up  when  in  good  working  order 
into  good  sized  lumps,  and  thus  dried  and  warmed  potting  may  be 
proceeded  with  when  the  suckers  are  well  rooted.  In  potting  ram  the 
loam  firmly  round  the  roots,  plunging  at  once  in  a  bottom  heat  of  9CP 
to  95°  until  the  roots  have  permeated  the  soil,  when  they  should  only 
have  85°,  which  is  suitable  for  successional  plants,  with  a  night 
temperature  of  60°  to  65°,  ventilating  at  80°,  and  closing  at  85°,  lightly 
sprinkling  the  plants  occasionally.  Fruiting  plants  and  those  near  the 
flowering  stage  should  have  a  night  temperature  of  65°  to  70°,  and  75° 
by  day,  with  80°  to  90°  from  sun  heat,  closing  at  85°,  damping  all 
suitable  surfaces  in  the  house  at  the  same  time. — Practice. 
The  Decay  of  Copse  Culture. — The  “Globe”  thinks  that  the 
cultivation  of  copse  wood,  that  forms  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the  land¬ 
scape  of  many  of  the  southern  counties,  is  not  the  least  hardly  hit 
branch  of  the  farmer’s  industry.  Consisting  of  Hazel,  Ash,  Alder,  and 
other  saplings  clustering  thickly  from  a  close-cropped  stump,  the  wood 
of  these  copses  furnished  till  late  years  a  considerable  revenue.  The 
trimming  was  done  on  the  spot  during  the  cutting  of  the  copses,  which 
were  then  left  to  themselves  for  a  term  of  years  till  they  had  grown 
again ;  and  the  trimmed  sticks  were  largely  used  to  supply  the  wooden 
bands  which  formed  the  binding  of  the  small  rough  casks  in  which 
sugar  aod  other  foreign  produce  was  distributed  about  the  country. 
Now,  however,  merchants  have  largely  ceased  to  import  their  sugar  in 
quantities  too  bulky  for  retail  distribution  ;  and  with  this  improvement 
the  need  for  repacking  into  smaller  reoeptacles  has  disappeared,  and 
with  it  one  of  the  chief  markets  for  the  copse  wood.  Add  to  this  the 
increasing  rarity  of  labourers  skilled  in  trimming  it,  and  the  fact  that 
though  this  operation  only  comes  once  in  several  years,  it  is  a  lengthy 
and  expensive  business,  and  we  have  the  reasons  why  at  the  present  day 
the  copses  are  being  left  more  and  more  to  run  wild,  and  their  produce 
used,  when  eventually  cut  down,  chiefly  as  Pea  sticks  and  firewood, 
which  is  all  it  is  often  fit  for,  if  not  cut  at  the  right  period. 
Why  do  Apples  and  Other  Fruits  Drop  ?  — What  makes 
the  Apples  drop  in  the  spring  P  asks  Professor  Burrill  of  Illinois. 
The  answer  is  difficult,  though  we  may  approximate  it.  It  is  a  truth 
generally  accepted  that  leaves  and  fruits  and  twigs  cut  themselves  off 
by  a  process  of  growth  in  the  living  tissue,  and  if  we  can  stop  that 
process  with  the  leaves,  the  leaves  stick  fast.  You  know  that  if  you 
cut  a  tree  down  in  midsummer  the  leaves  will  hold  on  to  it.  That  is 
because  the  process  by  which  the  leaf  is  cut  off  has  been  arrested. 
But  if  the  tree  stands  till  autumn,  and  growth  is  not  arrested,  the 
leaves  become  mature  and  will  themselves  fall  off.  The  cutting  of 
the  twig  is  always  done  at  one  place.  Now  if  we  take  a  Fuchsia  in 
good  condition  and  put  into  that  pot  some  illuminating  gas,  in  about 
twenty-four  or  thirty-six  hours  we  find  these  leaves  falling  down. 
They  have  cut  themselves  off  on  account  of  the  presence  of  the  gas. 
What  is  it  that  has  done  it  ?  The  effect  of  the  gas  has  been  to 
stimulate  and  hasten  the  process  of  cutting  off.  Now  it  may  be  that 
in  some  cases  you  have  used  sufficient  poison  on  the  trees  to  stimulate 
this  cutting  off  process,  and  the  result  has  been  centred  on  the  stems 
of  the  growing  Apples.  It  is  fortunate  that  the  fruit  does  fall  off  to 
some  extent.  What  would  happen  to  the  tree  if  a  part  of  the  fruit 
did  not  fall  off  ?  Think  how  many  blossoms  there  are  in  a  single 
cluster,  and  then  imagine  them  all  developing  fruit.  I  think  that  in 
many  cases  the  falling  off  of  the  fruit  is  only  a  provision  of  Nature  to 
thin  the  fruit  which  was  at  first  present  in  too  great  quantity,  though 
sometimes  we  may  carry  the  thinning  process  too  far. 
2  '5 
Forestry  Notes. — Recently  planted  trees  will  require  an  occasional 
look  to  in  the  way  of  tramping  the  soil  firmly  around  the  roots  to 
prevent  wind-shaking,  and  possibly  in  the  case  of  larger  specimens 
stakes  may  be  necessary  to  effectually  steady  them  in  the  ground.  Rank¬ 
growing  grasses  must  be  kept  short  around  small  transplants,  and  weeds 
of  every  kind  should  be  cut  over  before  the  production  of  seeds.  In  the 
home  nursery  a  good  deal  of  attention  will  require  to  be  given  to  seed 
beds  and  recently  lined-out  trees  and  shrubs,  for  a  change  of  weather 
will  often  act  injuriously  should  the  watchful  eye  and  hand  of  the 
nurseryman  be  relaxed.  Daring  cold  east  winds  a  few  Spruce  branches 
will  oft  save  a  bed  of  tender  seedlings,  while  watering  in  exceptionally 
dry  and  warm  weather  must  never  be  forgotten.  Needs  of  all  kinds 
will  require  careful  attention,  compost  heaps  should  be  turned  and  mixed 
with  lime,  and  an  eye  should  be  kept  on  insect  pests  which  at  this  time 
of  the  year  not  infrequently  commit  considerable  damage  amongst 
young  Coniferous  trees. 
Apple  lamb  Abbey  Pearmaln. — For  nearly  a  century  the 
Apple  Lamb  Abbey  Pearmain  has  been  doing  its  duty  as  a  useful, 
long-keeping  dessert  Apple,  and  it  has  been  honoured  at  last.  Do  nob 
be  filled  with  pangs  of  jealousy,  ye  old  Wellingtons  and  Blenheims, 
and  the  rest  of  you  that  may  not  have  yet  been  honoured.  Your 
time  will  oome  sure  enough,  if  some  considerate  individual  will  only 
pluck  a  fruit  of  you,  and  place  it  on  the  table  before  the  committee 
of  experts  that  sits  fortnightly  at  Westminster.  If  the  old  variety 
in  question  is  worthy  of  an  award  there  must  be  a  good  many  more 
of  merit  sufficiently  high  to  be  similarly  honoured,  if  growers  will 
bring  them  forward.  It  would  not  be  a  bad  idea  to  issue  a  list  of 
the  old  varieties  that  have  been  granted  awards  of  late,  as  a  guide  to 
intending  exhibitors.  It  might  prevent  the  same  kind  being  sent  twice 
over,  and  would  be  helpful  in  making  selections  of  those  that  have 
not  yet  been  presented.  There  is  no  fear  of  the  work  of  the  Fruit 
Committee  growing  lighter  if  all  old  varieties  of  fruit  are  to  be 
considered. —  H.  H. 
A  Note  on  Tomatoes. — It  seems  only  a  few  years  since  Tomatoes 
were  grown  in  private  gardens  more  for  the  novelty  than  anything,  and 
frequently  most  of  the  fruit  was  wasted.  But  that  was  before  the 
million  had  cultivated  the  taste  for  the  comely  Love  Apple,  and  now  we 
see  a  different  order  of  things.  Thousands  of  pounds  are  invested  in 
Tomato  culture  at  home,  tons  of  fruit  are  imported  from  abroad, 
varieties  have  been  improved,  and  in  every  establishment  Tomatoes  are 
amongst  the  subjects  that  must  be  grown.  And  the  Cucumber  has 
suffered  in  consequence.  The  amateur  with  his  siugle  glass  house  will 
have  his  few  Tomatoes,  and  the  Cuoumber  is  driven  into  a  corner  by 
itself  or  not  grown  at  all.  In  the  cottage  garden,  too,  due  care  is 
bestowed  on  the  outdoor  Tomatoes,  illustrating  the  hold  it  has  on  the 
taste  of  all  classes.  People  eat  Cucumbers  still,  and  will  probably 
continue  to  do  so,  but  they  olamour  for  Tomatoes,  preferring  English 
when  they  can  be  got,  but  accepting  the  foreign  produce  as  better  than 
nothing.  Cuoambers  to  attract  customers  in  anything  like  the  same 
manner  have  to  be  fresh  and  inviting. — G.  H. 
Cold  Storage  of  Fruit  and  Vegetables. — Through  the  kindness 
of  the  Worcester  Cold  Storage  Company,  writes  Mr.  James  Udale  in 
the  fifth  annual  report  of  the  Droitwioh  Experimental  Garden,  I  was 
able  to  experiment,  upon  a  small  scale,  with  a  few  Apples,  Pears,  Plums, 
and  Runner  Beans.  These  were  placed  in  the  chambers  on  Sept.  7th. 
In  two  hampers  were  placed  18  lbs.  of  Pershore  Plums  and  16  lbs. 
Prince  of  Wales  Plums.  The  least  ripe  were  placed  by  themselves  at 
the  bottom,  a  sheet  of  paper  over  them,  then  a  layer  of  hay  with  a 
sheet  of  paper  over  it,  and  the  remainder  of  the  Plums  fully  ripe  ;  too 
ripe,  in  fact,  for  the  purpose.  On  October  20th  the  whole  were  taken 
out  and  found  in  the  following  condition.  The  ripe  Plums  constituting 
the  upper  lot  in  each  hamper  were  wholly  bad ;  the  lower  layer  in  each 
case  had  about  50  per  cent,  sound.  In  addition  there  were  4  lba.  of 
Mallard,  4  lbs.  of  Liegel’s  Apricot,  and  3  lbs.  Black  Diamond  Plums 
plaoed  in  separate  shallow  boxes.  The  Mallard  Plums  were  over-ripe, 
the  others  were  slightly  under-ripe.  When  taken  out  of  the  stores  and 
opened  the  Mallard  were  nearly  all  decayed,  but  Diamond  and  Liegel’s 
Apricot  were  as  fresh  as  when  plaoed  in  the  stores.  Of  Lord  Grosvenor 
Apples  there  were  24  lbs.,  and  10  lbs.  of  Williams’  Bon  Chretien  Pears 
came  out  equally  sound  and  fresh,  the  Pears  being  not  quite  ripe. 
Clearly  fruit  may  be  kept  sound  under  suoh  circumstances  provided  it 
is  sound,  dry,  and  not  fully  ripe  at  the  time  of  placing  it  in  the  stores. 
The  Beans  did  not  keep,  having  been  put  in  in  damp  condition. 
