246 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  24,  19C4. 
llrst  tliat  she  was  iu  scavcli  of  blossoms  for  the  adorument  of 
her  humble  dwelling  ;  but  she  soon  corrected  me  on  that 
score,  and  informed  me  that  she  had  had  a  grand  lot  of 
tiowers  through  the  winter,  and  had  sold  them  to  a  local 
florist  for  ninepence  a  dozen.  Business  again :  it  is  the 
spirit  that  predominates  ;  and  considering  the  accommodating 
nature  of  the  Christmas  Rose,  and  the  demand  for  white 
flowers  ill  the  winter,  it  is  a  wonder  that  more  people  do  not 
resolve  to  groAv  this  old-time  plant. 
Every  day  now  brings  more  work  for  the  gardener,  and 
there  is  no  need  to  look  far  to  find  a  task.  Our  troubles 
have  begun  in  the  way  of  foes,  and  we  must  be  on  the  defen¬ 
sive,  for  only  yesterday  I  observed  a  number  of  Currant  buds 
on  the  ground  underneath  the  bushes,  and  a  perky  sparrow 
sitting  on  the  fence  close  by,  only  waiting  for  me  to  take  my 
departure  so  that  he  might  continue  his  work  of  depredation. 
I  had  seen  enough,  however,  and  have  adopted  a  remedy 
that  did  good  service  in  nry  grandfather’s  daj%  and  now  ■will 
be  hard  to  beat — iramely,  mixing  up  some  soot  and  lime  and 
dusting  it  forciblj^  over  the  Currant  and  Gooseberry  bushes. 
The  sparrow^  does  not  enjoy  the  buds  after  that,  and  if 
he  pops  over  the  fence  and  centres  his  attention  on  the 
bushes  belonging  to  your  neighbour,  it  is  no  concern  of  yours 
if  he  does  not  adopt  the  same,  or  another  remedy,  for  self- 
jjreservation  is  Nature’s  first  larv.  He  is  a  persistent  little 
rascal  is  our  sparrow,  and  I  expect  -we  shall  hear  the  usual 
complaints  about  his  mischievous  habit  of  pecking  the  yellow 
Crocuses  all  to  pieces.  Unfortunately  no  one  has  ever  been 
able  to  communicate  intelligibly  with  the  sparrow  as  yet,  or 
rve  might  learn  why  he  always  confines  his  destructive  atten¬ 
tions  to  the  yellow  Crocuses,  and  leaves  the  -white  and  purple 
flowers  alone. 
Anxious  as  we  are  to  be  pushing  on  with  seasonable  rvork, 
there  is  often  wisdom  in  waiting,  and  I  have  nothing  in  sym¬ 
pathy  with  the  principles  of  an  old  gardening  hand  who 
boasts  that  he  has  sown  his  Onions  on  the  same  day  for 
thirty  years,  except  on  one  or  two  occasions  when  there  was 
snow  on  the  ground.  He  is  loud  enough  in  his  boast,  and  he 
does  it  in  something  the  same  spirit  of  the  man  in  “  Pick¬ 
wick ’’■who  ate  so  many  crumpets,  and  then  blew  his  brains 
out  for  the  sake  of  his  principle  ;  but  he  does  not  say  how 
many  total  failures  he  has  had  through  irerforming  the  opera¬ 
tion  when  the  ground  was  in  a  wet  and  almost  unworkable 
condition. 
There  must  be  no  hard  and  fast  rules  about  sowing  and 
planting  operations,  and  though  the  garden  calendar  tells 
you  to  perform  certain  operations  at  stated  times,  it  is 
better  to  delay  the  work  a  week,  a  fortnight,  or  even  longer, 
than  to  get  on  to  the  ground  -when  it  is  in  an  irnfit  state  for 
working.  To  make  this  mistake  means  to  sirffer  all  the 
suirrrner,  for  not  only  is  there  a  chance  of  the  crop  failing, 
but  the  soil  rrever  works  kindly  afterwards. 
The  turnirrg  of  the  tide  renrinds  one  of  another  itenr. 
At  the  present  nroment  there  are  scores  of  nrerr  engaged  in 
the  -wearying  task  of  ■waiting  for  situations.  Many  of  them 
are  engaged  in  gardens,  yorrrrg,  energetic  fellow’s,  foremerr 
and  others,  and  they  are  -waiting  for  the  necessary  opening 
to  make  them  head  gardeners.  Some  of  them  were  -\vaiting 
this  time  last  year,  and  if  the  deferred  hope  sickens  them 
one  cannot  wonder.  Still,  tlie  hope  is  clierishetl  again  at  this 
.season,  for  spring  is  looked  upon  as  a  time  when  it  is  said 
there  are  sure  to  be  openings.  There  may  be  something  in 
this,  and  I  hope  all  the  Avaiting  ones  aaTII  get  their  desires  ; 
but  I  doubt  it,  for  the  ugly  fact  remains  that  Ave  are  training 
too  many  gardeners. 
There  are  not  openings  for  all  the  candidates  in  the 
market,  and  so  long  as  the  present  system  preA’ails  of  estab¬ 
lishing  bothies  and  filling  them  Avith  youths  .AA’ho  do  the  Avork 
that  could  readily  be  performed  by  labourers,  the  glut  of 
Avould-be  head  gardeners  Avill  ahvaj^s  /  exist,  because  the 
youths  groAV  into  men,  and  if  they  have  any  grit  at  all  they 
naturally  aspire  to  a  headship  in  time.  The  men  are  not  the 
only  Avaiters  either,  because  the  Avords  “  married  Avhen 
suited,”  Avhich  appears  in  so  many  advertisements,  means 
that  the  head  place  is  also  desired  as  an  opportunity  of 
entering  the  holy  state  of  matrimony,  and  it  is  rather  hard 
on  the  gardener  that  he  is  not  alloAved  to  take  unto  himself 
a  wife  till  he  gets  a  head  place  ;  and  Avhat  is  more,  he  never 
-  arns  enough  to  keeio  one.  so  perhaps,  in  the  circumstances, 
the  prohibition  is  a  merciful  one. 
At  the  same  time,  it  is  no  Avonder  that  the  foreman  of 
thirty  years  of  age  and  upAvards  groAvs  anxious,  as  the  best 
years  of  his  life  slip  aAvay  and  the  head  place  he  Avants  so 
badly,  and  has  Avaitod  for  so  long,  seems  so  sIoav  in  coming 
If  there  are  any  such  amongst  my  readers  I  offer  them  the 
Avish  that  the  spring  of  1904  Avill  see  the  turning  of  the  tide 
Avbich  brings  success  to  them. — -H. 
Tlie  Varied  Action  of  Tree  Roots. 
To  the  observant  mind  there  is  much  interesting  study  to  be 
derived  from  the  differing  mture.s  of  tree  roots.  Those  whose 
duty  is  to  remove  and  transplant  trees  are  in  the  better  position 
to  note  these  interesting  customs  of  Nature.  To  very  many, 
probably,  the  Vine  affords  the  most  puzzling  problems  as.sociated 
Avith  root  life.  Years  ago,  I  remember,  there  Avas  much  contro- 
A'ersy  on  the  functions  of  roots  and  of  sap  moAmment.  One  writer 
in  particular  had  made  himself  so  familiar  Avith  the  root  life  of 
Vines  as  to  be  able  to  state  almost  tO'  a  day  when  neAV  root  fibres 
began  to  issue.  Not  many,  pi'obably,  have  gone  the  length  of 
a  daily  search  and  comparison  ciualifying  the  authority  of  such 
statements,  but  in  this  particular  instance  I  have  absolute  faith 
in  the  truth  of  the  statement  quoted.  aThe  author  was,  and  i' 
still,  one  of  the  mo,st  skilled  of  British  Grape-gro Avers,  and  not 
only  produced  magnificent  fruits,  but  the  minutest  detail  of  Vine- 
lore  appeared  to  him  as  necessary  and  as  familiar  as  the  Engli-h 
alphabet. 
Now,  to  many  a  gardener  (and  some  may  be  groAving  old  in 
the  craft),  but  mostly  among  the  minors,  the  problem  Avould  be 
a  difficult  one  to  determine  to  a  day,  or  it  may  be  said  a  Aveek, 
Avhen  the  Vine  aAvoke  from  her  slumbers  in  the  matter  of  root  life. 
Some  are  inclined  to  think  that  Avith  the  bursting  of  the  bud  on 
the  gnarled  .spurs,  or  the  yearling  rod,  that  the  root  growth 
becomes  spontaneously  active.  It  is  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  have 
at  the  lAresent  time  .‘^ome  young  Vines  cccupyiiig  small  pots — Vines- 
of  last  year’s  groAvth  from  eyes  Avhich  liav’e  shoots  nearly  12in  in 
length,  yet  the  ball  of  roots  is  yet  to  outward  appearance  still 
slumbering,  for  no  sign  of  life  is  yet  A’isible  to  the  naked  ej'e.  In 
the  couiAse  of  transferring  Vines  from  one  structure  tO'  another, 
occasion  was  lately  given  for  examining  the  actual  state  of  root 
compared  Avith  leaf  groAvth,  and,  incredible  though  it  Avoxtld  be 
to  isome,  but  feAv  neAvly-formed  fibres  Avere  ixrescnt,  though  some 
of  the  laterals  had  been  stopped  and  the  primary  leaves  almost 
dcA’cloped.  It  Avould,  no  doubt,  be  possible  to  accentuate  root 
grcAvth.  making  it  more  equal  AA'ith  that  of  lateral  by  the  employ¬ 
ment  of  bottom  heat.  This,  lioAveA’er,  is  no  cleA'ice  of  Natureis. 
The  Vine  Avould  seem  to  be  most  peculiarly  adaptive  to  the 
demands  of  circumstances.  Records  haAm  been  given  Avhere  in 
separaU  structures  one  Vine  can  be  made  tO'  produce  threa 
separate  succcs.^ions  of  leaf  and  fruit.  I  haA’e  uncler  obserA’ation 
at  the  present  time  an  instance  Avhere  a-  rod  from  one  cliA'i-^ion 
passe.s  into  the  adjoining  one.  The  latter’s  lateral  growths  have- 
advanced  to  their  limit  some  days  since,  Avhile  the  root  portion 
in  the  cooler  house  is  only  noAv  just  shoAving  signs  of  actiA'ity. 
Such  ill, stances  clearly  illu.strate  hoAV  adaptive  the  Vine  is,  and 
hoAV  much  influence  heat  and  moisture  liaA’e  on  indiA’idual  rod-, 
independent  altogether  of  the  roots. 
Ill  most  deciduous  trees  there  is  more  or  less  activity  found 
in  tlie  fibrous  roots  in  the  autumn,  at  the  time  of  leaf-fall  and 
later.  At  the  same  time,  it  Avill  be  found  that  nexv  bark  formation 
is  also  in  progress  then.  One  has  only  to  compare  a  bark  Avound 
in  spring  Avith  that  of  the  autumn  to  discover  the  result.  In  the 
spring  the  sap  Avould  be  unstayed  in  its  Avaste  ;  in  the  autumn 
such  a  phenomenon  could  not  happen,  for  its  purpo.se  asid  state  is 
so  changed  that  the  sap  is  no  longer  of  Avater-like  tran.sparency, 
nor  a  visible  liquid.  A  neAv  course  cf  bark  formation,  the  per¬ 
fecting  of  the  tree’s  buds,  and  an  autumn  root-groAvth  afford  the 
transformation  of  all  atmilable  sap  in  its  latest  effort  and  circula¬ 
tion.  While  deciduous  trees  remain  so  long  dorinant  at  the  root, 
cA'ergreen  kinds  shoAV  a  striking  contrast  in  actiA'ity,  Avhich  .seems 
centinuous  almost  throu.ghout  the  year.  In  the  evergreen  tree 
the  stored-up  sap  so  familiar  Avith  the  Vine  and  other  deciduous 
species  has  not  the  same  office ;  its  function  is  not  identical, 
nor  the  demands  equal ;  yet  actiAm  groAvth  only  occurs  at  the 
same  or  similar  periods.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  recount  the 
fact  that  all  tree's  have  not  the  .same  rule  nor  custom;  and  thus, 
Avhile  some  kinds  ma,A'  be  found  more  or  less  actiA'c  at  the  root.-A 
at  all  seasons,  others  have  restful  ixeriods.  Th?  Holl.v  may  be 
cited  as  a  case  Avhere  a  similar  course  is  obseiA'cd  as  in  dcciduou.s 
trees,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  these  are  partl.v  deciduoixs. 
shedding  their  older  leaves  in  spring-time,  as  also  do  the  so-called 
EA'ergreen  Oaks.  Afiril  is  recognised  as  the  best  month  for  Holly- 
plantin,g.  because  then  neAv  roots  issue  and  quickly  take  advan¬ 
tage  of  their  change  of  site.  As  before  remarked,  the  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  observing  the  habit  cf  roots  are  giA'cn  those  who-o 
time  is  spent  in  tree-planting,  but  lessons  may  often  be  learnt 
from  the  A\ork  of  others  Avhen  occasion  permits. — AV .  S. 
