October  3D.  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
415 
inserted  as  inducements,  but  with  the  object  of  warning  the 
intending  applicant  for  employment  of  what  lie  may  expect. 
Most  of  us  at  some  time  or  other  have  probably  come  across  - 
the  kindly  and  sentimental  old  gentleman  who  will  smilingly  say 
that  a  gardener’s  life  must  be  the  happiest  imaginable.  He  will 
talk  of  the  lovely  flowers  and  the  charming  trees,  and  will  wax 
eloquent  on  the  unparalleled  opportunity  the  horticulturist 
possesses  of  observing  and  admiring  the  same,  and  of  reflecting 
on  the  manifold  wonderful  and  glorious  works  of  Nature.  (This 
reflecting  process,  by  the  way,  should  be  carried  out  when  one’s 
employer  is  not  looking.)  But  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
many  a  young  gardener,  as  he  has  gone  his  rounds  on  a  cold 
winter  night,  thinking  of  his  colleagues  seated  round  the  bothy 
fire,  or  of  the  concert  or  party  he  might  have  enjoyed  had  not 
the  inexorable  night  duty  stood  in  his  path,  has  reflected,  not 
without  reason,  that  in  spite  of  what  the  old  gentleman  has  said 
his  occupation  is  not  altogether  a  continued  round  of  pleasure. 
It  must  be  admitted  that  making  up  the  fires,  especially  where  a 
good  heat  is  to  be  maintained  and  the  weather  is  cold,  and  the 
thermometer,  with  shameless  obstinacy,  refuses  to  indicate  the 
temperature  it  ought,  is  not  a  job  to  be  envied.  The  average 
gardener,  however,  soon  learns  to  become  a  bit  of  a  philosopher, 
and  to  look  forward  to  his  turn  at  the  fires  with  equanimity,  if 
not  with  eagerness,  as  something  that  has  to  be  clone,  and  to 
find  out  that  grumbling  will  shovel  no  fuel  on,  and  complaints 
pull  no  clinkers  out. 
There  are,  of  course,  fires  and  fires,  as  well  as  stokers  and 
stokers.  Happy  is  the  gardener  at  a  place  where  the  heating 
apparatus  throughout  is  of  modern  construction  compared  with 
those  of  his  brethren  whose  lot  it  is  to  have  the  care  of  furnaces 
erected  when  the  principles  of  heating  were  not  so  well  under¬ 
stood  as  they  are  now,  and  the  convenience  of  the  stoker  was  not 
considered  at  all.  He  who  has  never  had  to  make  up  a  fire 
where  the  furnace  door  was  so  small  that  if,  after  becoming 
dexterous  by  practice,  he  could  put  on  one-fourth  of  the  fuel  he 
sjiovelled  up  he  thought  himself  lucky,  he  who  has  not  taken 
healthy  exercise  walking  backwards  and  forwards,  shovel  in  hand, 
because  some  antediluvian  constructor  of  stokeholes  laboured 
under  the  delusion  that  the  proper  place  for  the  fuel  was  as  far 
away  from  the  fire  as  possible,  or  has  never  skinned  his  knuckles 
owing  to  the  restricted  space  allowed  for  the  manipulation  of 
his  fire-irons,  or  beheld  some  morning,  after  a  night’s  rain,  a 
flood  below,  causing  him  to  ask  himself  whether  liis  employer 
has  taken  it  into  his  head  to  provide  his  gardeners  with  a  swim¬ 
ming-bath,  has  not  had  his  full  measure  of  experience  in  the 
matter  of  stoking. 
It  is  strange  wdiat  one  man  can  do  in  the  way  of  firing 
compared  with  another.  While  one  will  manage  to  maintain  an 
equable  temperature  with  little  apparent  effort,  another,  with 
infinite  labour,  with  poking  and  clinkering,  and  a  vast  expendi¬ 
ture  of  fuel,  will  not  do  half  so  well.  It  may  not  be  possible  for 
anyone,  however  clever,  to  keep  a  house  at  exactly  the  same 
temperature  to  within  the  proverbial  “  half  a  degree,”  but  bad 
or  good  stoking  is  not  without  its  effect  on  the  plants,  an  effect 
of  which  they  would  surely  not  be  slow  to  express  their  apprecia¬ 
tion  or  the  reverse,  Avere  they  only  able  to  speak.  It  does  not 
require  a  very  great  flight  of  fancy  to  imagine  a  fine  Anthurium 
remarking  to  a  neighbouring  Gardenia,  “Well,  Jones  is  on  duty 
this  week,  and  we  can  depend  on  being  comfortably  warm  all 
night ;  I  only  wrish  he  Avere  on  all  the  year  round.”  Or  to  picture 
a  Dracaena  terminalis  observing  to  its  friend,  the  SteplianotisJ 
floribunda,  “  H’m,  Brown  making  an  ass  of  himself  at  those  fires 
again ;  I  wonder  Avhether  we  shall  be  scorched  to  a  cinder  this 
time  or  frozen  almost  to  death.  He  seems  to  think  Are  plants 
have  no  feelings.” — A.  WT.  D. 
TRADE  NOTE. 
Dissolution  of  Partnership. 
The  firm  of  John  Laing  and  Sons,  nurserymen,  Forest  Hill, 
has  been  dissolved  by  mutual  consent,  and  the  business  will  in 
future  be  carried  on  by  John  Alexander  Laing. 
An  Insect  Exterminator. 
New  preparations  for  use  against  insect  pests  are  continually 
being  brought  to  our  notice,  and  Ave  have  here  to  acknoAvledge 
the  receipt  of  a  tin  of  Vail's  Beetlecute.  This  is  a  Avhite,  refined 
powdery  substance,  reputed  to  be.  an  infallible  exterminator  of 
beetles,  cockroaches,  ants,  and  insect  pests ;  and  any  cheap 
preparation  that  Avill  banish  and  overcome  the  pests  we  specifi¬ 
cally  name,  should  indeed  be  accorded  a  welcome  trial.  “In  the 
glass  houses  and  gardens  of  the  Royal  Botanic  Society,  Regent’s 
Park,  London,  Beetlecute  has  been  most  successful,  not  only 
in  the  destruction  of  beetles  and  cockroaches,  but  in  the  com¬ 
plete  extermination  of  ants.”  The  sole  proprietors  are  Messrs. 
Vails  and  Co.,  and  supplies  are  furnished  through  their  agents, 
Messrs.  Burgoyne,  Burbidges,  and  Co.,  12  and  16,  Coleman 
Street,  London,  E.C. 
WORK  .F°ffTHE  WEEK. 
Hardy  Fruit  Garden. 
PLANTING  FRUIT  TREES.— The  earlier  trees  and  bushes 
of  all  kinds  of  fruit  can  be  planted  iioav  the  better.  If  the  soil 
has  been  judiciously  prepared  to  suit  the  different  kinds  of  fruit, 
the  Avork  of  planting  may  be  expeditiously  carried  out,  and  a  good 
start  made  toAvards  a  free  and  vigorous  growth  next-  season. 
There  are  great  advantages  in  autumn  planting.  The  soil  is 
usually  in  such  a  suitable  condition  as  regards  warmth,  moisture, 
and  fertility,  also  Avorkable  conditions,  that  roots  have  a  chance 
of  forming  some  new  fibres  before  the  winter.  This  is  an  impor¬ 
tant  help  for  next  spring,  Avhen  growth  will  start  arvay  vigorously. 
THF  SOIL. — The  best  must,  of  course,  be  made  of  the  exist¬ 
ing  soil  in  the  position  Avhere  the  trees  are  to  be  planted.  Soil 
can  ahvays  be  deepened,  and  this  must  be  done,  the  average 
depth  most  suitable  as  a  run  for  the  roots  being  2ft.  In  light, 
dry,  stony  positions  more  may  be  necessary.  A  shallow  soil,  that 
is,  one  consisting  of  not  more  than  a  foot  in  depth  of  fertile 
material,  must  be  removed  to  that  depth,  and  the  spit  below 
either  broken  up  and  manured  or  removed,  replacing  Avith  good 
loam,  which  is  neither  very  light  nor  absolutely  heavy. 
DRAINAGE. — Breaking  up  the  bottom  spit  of  soil  is  generally 
a  good  method  of  draining,  but  only  acts  well  in  a  naturally 
drained  soil.  Water-logged  ground  must  be  drained.  Large 
plots  or  quarters  should  have  an  arrangement  of  pipes  with  a 
fall  to  a  main  drain  haA’ing  a  proper  outlet.  Stations  Avhere 
trees  are  to  be  planted  may,  if  found  to  be  very  wet,  be  simply 
drained  by  placing  a  layer  of  rubble-  at  the  bottom  of  the  hole, 
covering  with  turf  grass  side  downwards.  Some  positions  may 
be  improved  by  planting  on  raised  mounds  from  which  much  of 
the  superfluous  moisture  can  readily  drain  away. 
MANURING. — In  preparing  the  soil  the  question  of  manuring 
comes  in.  Good,  fertile  soil  Avhich  Avill  groAv  good  vegetables,  as 
a  rule,  needs  no  addition  of  manure.  It  is  best  not  to  apply 
it  for  Apples,  Pears,  and  all  stone  fruits.  The  latter  need  a 
soil  charged  Avith  calcareous  or  mineral  matter.  In  a  rich  soil, 
too,  strong  groAvth  will  result,  which  will  cause  a  difficulty  in 
management  without  frequent  lifting  and  replanting  of  the  trees. 
SELECTION  AND  TREATMENT  OF  TREES.— The  impor¬ 
tance  of  securing  good  specimens  of  whatever  form  of  tree  is  to 
be  planted  is  obvious.  This  matter  will  be  assured  if  the  trees 
are  procured  from  the  reliable  fruit  nurserymen,  aaIio  not  only 
send  out  excellent  trees,  but  pack  them  so  that  they  suffer  only 
a  minimum  of  injury  by  the  remoAral.  When  the  cultivator  receives 
them  the  after  responsibility  lies  Avith  him  as  to  their  treatment. 
It  is  desirable  to  unpack  them  at  once,  providing  the  weather  is 
mild.  Prune  aAvay  all  damaged  roots  to  sound  parts,  and  care¬ 
fully  lay  them  in  the  soil  until  the  trees  can  be  permanently 
planted.  The  object  is  to  keep  the  roots  from  drying,  especially 
the  youngest  fibres. 
PREPARATION  OF  HOLES. — Proper  planting,  which 
includes  the  careful  arrangements  of  the  roots,  has  a  considerable 
influence  in  the  after  groAvth  and  ultimate  success  of  the  trees. 
Deep  planting  is  not  to  be  recommended,  hence  the  holes  for  the 
reception  of  the  roots  should  be  thrown  out  shalloAv,  but  of  a 
width  commensurate  with  the  length  of  the  roots  Avhen  spread 
out  horizontally.  The  base  of  the  holes  may  be  raised  a  little 
in  the  centre,  making  firm. 
PLANTING. — On  placing  the  trees  or  bush  in  position, 
equalise  the  roots  all  round  as  far  as  possible,  and  do  not  place 
the  stem  lower  than  before.  Where  the  roots  are  thick  and 
numerous  divide  them  into  layers,  covering  each  layer  with  fine 
soil  mixed  with  some  burnt  refuse,  which  should  be  scattered 
over  from  the  stem  outwards.  This  prevents  the  ends  of  the 
roots  being  turned  up,  which  might  be  the  case  if  spread  at 
haphazard.  The  upper  layer  of  roots  ought  not  to  be  buried 
deeper  than  3in.  Make  the  layers  of  soil  firm,  not,  hoAvever,  by 
treading  heavily,  thus  injuring  the  roots.  Pressing  down  the 
soil  and  Avorking  it  Avell  in  among  the  roots  is  the  best  method. 
STAKING. — Immediately  tall  standards,  or  any  form  of  trees 
Avhich  require  support,  are  planted,  stakes  must  be  fixed  and 
the  stems  tied.  This  is  necessary  to  prevent  wind  rocking  the 
trees  about,  displacing  the  roots,  and  preventing  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  the  trees.  Cloth  or  sacking  may  be  Avound  round  the 
stems,  and  the  trees  secured  with  strong  cord  or  tar  tAvine. 
WTall  or  espalier  trees  must  not  be  securely  tied  at  first,  but 
loosely  held  in  position,  so  that  the  soil  and  the  trees  may  settle 
together.  It  is  really  best  not  to  permanently  secure  until 
spring,  by  which  time  the  soil  will  hare  become  consolidated  and 
the  trees  firmly  settled  in  position. 
