4C0 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  November  13,  1902. 
will  be  required  until  the  flower  trusses  appear,  as  the  moisture 
of  the  fermenting  leaves  will  be  communicated  to  the  pots  and 
keep  the  soil  sufficiently  moist.  Air  should  be  given  at  55deg, 
and  all  the  ventilation  possible  above  that,  closing  at  55deg  and 
maintaining  a  temperature  of  50deg.  This  will  be  sufficient  until 
the  trusses  of  bloom  are  thrown  Tip  ;  when  the  plants  are  near 
coming  into  flower  they  should  be  gradually  withdrawn  from  the 
fermenting  bed  and  given  a  position  not  more  distant  from  the 
glass  than  1ft  to  the  foliage,  the  temperature  still  being  50deg 
at  night  and  55deg  in  the  daytime,  advancing  to  65deg  from  sun 
heat.  The  plants  will  need  little  or  no  syringing  until  the  fruit 
is  set,  but  the  plants  must  be  kept  free  from  aphides  by  fumi¬ 
gating  the  house  as  required,  so  as  to  have  the  plants  quite  free 
from  the  pests  by  the  time  they  come  into  flower.  When  the 
fruit  is  set  and  swelling  the  temperature  may  be  raised  to  60deg 
at  night  and  that  of  the  day  to  Godeg  or  70deg,  advancing  lOdeg 
to  15deg  or  more  from  sun  heat,  with  free  ventilation,  but  not 
cold  currents  of  air  driving  on  the  fruit,  as  this  would  dry  up  and 
ruiil  the  crop. — St.  Albans. 
Hardy  Fruit  Garden. 
FORMS  OF  FRUIT  TREES. — Various  forms  of  fruit  trees 
should  be  selected  when  planting  largely,  so  as  to  adapt  the  best 
form  to  the  position  and  space  at  command.  Even  gardens  of 
limited  extent  may  be  furnished  interestingly  and  profitably  with 
several  forms  of  trees  which  can  be  grown  in  a  restricted  style. 
Standards. — For  profit  and  simplicity  of  culture  there  is  no 
form  of  tree  which  possesses  better  general  merits  than  standards. 
They  are  well  suited  for  large  plantations  where  plenty  of  space  is 
available.  Standards  should  not  be  grown  less  than  20ft  apart  in 
the  case  of  Apples  and  Pears.  Plums,  as  a  rule,  are  wide  enough 
apart  at  15ft.  The  chief  merit  of  standards  is  that  they  may  be 
allowed  to  develop  free  growth,  extending  their  branches  well  on 
all  sides  in  an  equal  manner.  Efforts  to  curtail  extension  must 
not  be  attempted  by  shortening,  though  the  growth  may  be 
equalised  and  balanced  by  removing  any  overgrown  branches,  and 
a  system  of  thinning  out  should  be.  practised  whenever  there 
appears  to  be  crowding.  The  trees  have  usually  clear  stems  to 
the  height  of  about  6ft,  and  a  limited  number  of  well-regulated 
branches  at  the  time  of  planting.  If  these  are  not  sufficient, 
shorten  them  back  to  increase  the  number  the  next  season.  Half¬ 
standards  are  useful,  especially  in  the  case  of  Apples  and  Plums. 
They  have  much  shorter  stems.  Then  there  are  the  standard 
trained,  or  riders,  which  have  long  stems  with  flat  fan-trained 
heads.  These  are  used  for  lofty  walls  and  sides  of  buildings,  and 
frequently  employed  to  cover  the  upper  face  of  a  wall,  while  the 
permanent  trees  are  growing  below. 
Pyramids. — The  pyramidal  form  of  fruit  tree  is  a  useful,  profit¬ 
able,  and  convenient  shape  for  both  large  and  small  gardens. 
The  branches  are  produced  from  quite  low  down  the  stem,  the 
lower  ones  being  allowed  to  extend  a  good  length,  while  those 
higher  taper  to  the  top.  They  all  ought  to  be  originated  thinly, 
and  the  side  shoots  they  produce  kept  spurred  in.  The  trees  are 
liable  to  grow  too  freely  when  established,  especially  if  on  free 
stocks.  This  tendency  may  be  subdued  by  lifting  and  replanting, 
shortening  strong  roots.  The  closer  the  trees  are  grown,  the 
oftener  root-pruning  will  be  necessary.  If  Apples  are  grown  on 
Paradise' and  Pears  on  Quince  stocks  growth  is  less  vigorous; 
hence  the  trees  may  be  planted  3ft  to  Gft  apart. 
Bushes. — The  term  bush  as  applied  to  Apples  means  a  tree 
which  is,  or  will  be,  of  considerable  size.  The  branches  may 
originate  low  down  on  the  stem  like  pyramids,  but,  unlike  them, 
they  may  have  the  branches  extending  to  one  more  uniform 
length,  forming  round-headed  trees.  Bush  Apples  are  best  grown 
9ft  to  12ft  apart  on  Crab  stocks.  Pears  on  Pear  stocks  the  same. 
Apples  on  a  dwarfing  stock  such  as  the  broad-leaved  Paradise, 
and  Pears  on  the  Quince,  may  be  grown  6ft  apart.  Bushes  are 
usually  grown  with  a  limited  number  of  main  branches,  which 
ought  not  to  be  too  thickly  placed.  The  side  shoots  are  summer 
pruned,  and  shortened  to  form  spurs  in  winter.  This  form  of 
tree  when  in  good  condition  is  always  prolific.  Bush  also  applies 
.  to  low-growing  fruit  trees,  such  as  Currants  and  Gooseberries. 
The  management  of  these  consists  in  judiciously  arranging  the 
growths  so  as  not  to  unduly  crowd,  and  be  equally  balanced. 
Cordons. — Cordon  trees  are  among  the  simplest  forms,  and 
are  profitable  and  free  bearing  if  well  managed  in  the  planting 
and  after-treatment.  For  planting  in  a  diagonal  form  against 
walls  and  fences  the  single  stemmed  cordons  are  the  best.  When 
trained  upright  the  single  stems  are  the  most  suitable  also,  plant¬ 
ing  in  both  cases  18in  apart.  Gooseberries  and  Currants  may  be 
grown  on  walls  with  this  form  of  tree.  Single  stemmed  plants 
should  be  Gin  apart,  or  a  plant  may  be  trained  so  as  to  have  three 
stems,  each  Gin  distant  from  the  other.  In  this  case  plant  18in 
apart. 
Fan-trained. — Formal  and  restrictive  training  other  than  on 
the  cordon  system  is  not,  as  a  rule,  profitable  for  walls.  With 
fan-trained  examples  there  is  a  greater  amount  of  freedom  in 
growth,  and  the  trees  can  be  bettor  and  more  profitably  managed 
than  on  the  strict  formal  lines  which  confine  the  growth  to  a 
few  main  branches,  such  as  horizontal-trained  trees  possess.  The 
usual  forms  for  walls  are  the  dwarf-trained  with  short  stems  not 
more  than  18in  high,  and  the  half-standard  trained  with  lift  to 
3ft  stems.  The  branches  radiate  like  a  fan,  and  can  be  regulated 
annually,  readily  cutting  out  the  least  desirable,  and  training  at 
the  best  distances  apart  the  most  fruitful.  The  temptation  to 
overcrowd  must  be  avoided  from  the  first.  Peaches,  Nectarines, 
Apricots,  Pears,  Plums,  and  Cherries  are  all  adapted  for  this 
method,  and  may  be  planted  loft  apart.  All  these  usually  do 
well  without  root-pruning,  but  Pears  on  free  stocks  require  some 
root  restriction  if  the  growth  is  so  free  that  fruiting  is  prevented. 
— E.  D.  S. 
- -  • - 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. 
Taken  in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens  at  Chis¬ 
wick,  height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
o 
Jl 
h 
5 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Rain. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
Lowest 
Temperature 
on  Qrasa. 
1902. 
November. 
At_9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
cn 
<v 
'bfl 
X 
-s 
ID 
& 
o 
q 
Sunday  2 
Monday  ...  3 
Tuesday...  4 
Wed’sday  5 
Thursday  6 
Friday  ...  7 
Saturday  8 
N.E. 
E.S.E, 
E.S.E. 
E.S.E. 
E.S.E, 
W.S.W. 
S.S.W. 
deg. 
46- 7 
47- 2 
45-2 
47-7 
55'2 
522 
52-7 
deg. 
44-8 
46-2 
45'2 
46-5 
51-8 
48-2 
50-0 
deg. 
53- 9 
51-3 
51-6 
55-8 
58-2 
57'3 
54- 4 
deg. 
43- 3 
41-3 
38-0 
44- 3 
47-2 
51-5 
44-8 
Ins. 
0-02 
o-oi 
Oil 
0-17 
0-08 
0Y5 
deg. 
49- 0 
48-5 
47-9 
47- 5 
48- 9 
50- 6 
49- 4 
deg. 
51-0 
50  8 
50-5 
50-2 
502 
50'5 
510 
deg. 
52-5 
52.  3 
52-2 
52-2 
521 
52  0 
52'0 
deg. 
250 
32-2 
30-2 
35  0 
35-7 
46-3 
36  8 
Means  ... 
49-4 
47-5 
54'6 
44-3 
Total. 
0  54 
48’8 
50'6 
52-2 
35  9 
A  dull  week,  with  rain  nearly  every  day,  and  a  dense  fog  on  the 
night  of  the  3rd  inst. 
-4< 
Publications  Received. 
“Garten  Flora,"  November  1,  containing  a  coloured  plate 
single  hybrid  Roses.  *  *  “  Transactions  of  the  Massachusetts 
Horticultural  Society  for  the  Year  1901,’  part  II.,  per  W.  . 
Rich,  secretary.  *  *  ‘‘Agricultural  Industry  and  Education 
in  Hungary  ;  an  account  of  the  visit  of  the  Essex  Farmers  party 
to  Hungary  in  May  and  June,’  1902,”  compiled  by  T.  S.  Dymond. 
Chelmsford:  County  Technical  Laboratories.  2s.  Gd.  net. 
“Louis  Wain’s  Annual  for  1902,”  Messrs.  A.  Treherne  and  to. 
Limited.  3.  Agar  Street,  London.  W.C.  Is.,  paper  covers ;  full 
of  interesting  and  amusing  illustrations  of  pussy,  with  bright 
and  readable  stories;  a  fine  booklet  for  the  children 
“The  Pacific  Fruit  World,”  Harvest  Review  series;  1,  Prunes 
and  the  Prune  Harvest,  October  18,1902;  Apples  and  the  INut 
(  rnns  October  25.  1902,  from  Los  Angelos,  San  Francisco. 
Reclamation  of  Waste  Land. 
As  for  the  depopulation  of  the  rural  districts,  writes  a  veteran 
farmer  to  a  contemporary,  I  think  one  of  the  greatest  causes  is 
the  want  of  more  proprietors,  and  the  allowing  of  §o  much  good 
land  to  remain  uncultivated.  There  is  as  much  uncultivated 
land  in  this  country  as  would  give  employment  to  thousands  of 
labourers.  I  know' I  shall  be  told  that  it  will  not  pay  to  break 
up  and  cultivate  unreclaimed  land,  but  if  you  would  take  a  trip 
out  to  Biggar  and  see  what  the  Messrs.  Murray,  of  Spittal,  have 
done  for  Biggar  Moss  and  for  Heaveyside  you  would  see  that  i 
am  rmht.  A  former  tenant  of  Heaveyside  told  me  that  very 
often  in  wet  weather  he  had  to  drag  some  of  his  cattle  uitli  lopes 
out  of  moss  holes,  and  cart  them  home.  Now,  if  you  will  pay  a 
visit  to  Heaveyside  you  will  there  see  a  large  dairy  of  good  heavy 
cows,  and  I  never  heard  of  them  having  to  drag  a  single  cow  out 
cf  a  botf,  and  they  have  supnlied  part  of  Biggar  all  that  time. 
If  the  land  of  this  country  had  been  more  equally  divided  we 
would  not  have  been  so  much  eaten  up  and  pestered  with  rabbits 
and  ground  game  as  we  are,  for  a  great  number  of  our  landed 
proprietors  are  more  set  .upon  feeding  and  breeding  game  than  or 
cultivating  their  land,  and  giving  employment  to  the  rural 
population.  If  you  should  think  of  coming  out  to  see  Biggar 
Moss  and  Heaveyside,  and  if  you  are  not  satisfied  then  with  what 
you  see,  if  you  would  go  the  length  of  Stonehill,  Lesmahagow, 
you  would  there  see  a  place  which  seventy  years  ago  was  pro¬ 
ducing  nothing  but  heather  and  bent.  There  was  not  a  house  nor 
a  dyke  upon  the  place.  The  proprietors  did  not  require  to  expend 
a  single  farthing  upon  it,  and  the  place  has  been  let  for  the  last 
fifty  years  at  £4  per  acre,  so  I  think  it  has  paid  the  cultivating 
very  well. 
