530 
JOUnNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
June  23, 
time,  just  prior  to  growth,  a  shortening  of  the  leading  shoots 
lays  the  foundation  for  the  principal  branches. 
For  all  round  purposes,  economy  of  time,  and  simplicitj'  of 
care  and  keep,  fan  training  is  preferable  to  the  horizontal 
method.  Cordon  culture  there  is  no  need  to  disparage,  but  as 
it  is  high  art  and  comparatively  costly,  it  appeals  not  to  ail. 
For  this  Avork,  and  indeed  for  all  Avork,  in  Avbicb  a  life-sized 
model  may  be  Avanting,  it  is  good  for  the  novice  to  have  a  clearly 
defined  ideal  in  his  mind  for  Avorking  up  to;  it  simplifies  matters 
and  prevents  mistakes.  Fan  training  if  ea.sy  is  no  higgledy- 
piggledy  AA’ork ;  it  is  indeed  a  AVork  of  art,  if  a  simple  one,  and 
a  good  idea  of  Avhat  it  .should  be  may  be  found  in  a  lady’s  fan 
fully  expanded,  AAdien  it  forms  a  complete  half-circle.  The 
ribs  Avill  then  represent  the  radiations  of  a  fan-trained  tree  in 
perfection,  and  these  may  be  modified  in  practice  as  may  be  ex¬ 
pedient.  To  attain  this,  disbudding  in  the  earlier  stages  is  in¬ 
dispensable,  but  as  Avell  as  providing  for  extension  the  trainer 
must  not  overlook  the  retention  of  sufficient  .shoots  for  fruit 
spurs,  and  properly  furnish  the  tree  from  its  base  Avhilst  con¬ 
serving  its  energy  for  development. 
In  a  season  like  the  pre.sent  (in  our  local  experience)  it  is 
essentially  necessary  that  neAvly  planted  trees  should  have  extra 
attention  paid  to  them  by  an  occasional  soaking  of  AA^ater,  a 
good  mulching,  and  a  frecpient  douche  from  the  garden  engine 
to  promote  active  and  clean  groAvth.  We  have  been  accused 
of  being  too  kind  to  young  trees,  and  plead  guilty,  for  our 
coaxing  has  not  infrequently  resulted  in  youthful  vigour  to  a 
fault.  This  AA-e  can  and  do  forgive,  bearing  in  mind  tlie  .stunted 
starAielings  Avhich  perennially  disgrace  more  than  one  garden 
Avithin  our  OAvn  area  of  observation,  for  Avhicb,  in  spite  of  some 
spasmodic  efforts  to  remedy,  there  is  no  cure  but  the  fire. 
It  is  both  grateful  and  comforting  to  have  to  deal  Avith  this 
ultra  vigour  by  autumn  lifting  at  about  the  fourth  year  from 
planting,  although  in  some  cases  cropping  can  be  attained  and 
maintained  sufficient  to  keep  it  in  check.  HoAvever,  careful 
lifting,  and  removal  to  a  fresh  site  may  possibly  give  quick  and 
unqualified  satisfaction,  and  anything  aftei’Avards  in  the  Avay  of 
restriction  or  of  stimulation  may  result  from  opening  up  a  trench 
to  come  in  touch  Avith  the  roots,  and  root-pruning  if  necessary, 
or  feeding  Avith  some  stimulating  compost  if  desirable.  Summer 
pruning  if  promptly  done,  is  an  aid  to  cleanliness  by  the  re¬ 
moval  of  any  aphis-crinpled  tops,  and  a  conservation  of  the 
tree’s  energy.  Much  of  this  necessary  Avmrk,  unfortunately,  is 
often  left  till  too  late  to  derive  the  full  benefits  of  the  opera¬ 
tion,  if,  indeed,  the  delay  does  not  store  up  troubles  for  the 
future.  In  any  case,  it  is  a  mark  of  medioctity  that  the  smart 
man  Avill  not  tolerate. 
“  M  hy  do  not  Peaches  succeed  outside  as  they  did 
formerly?”  is  a  question  AA-hich  uoav  and  again  crops  up.  The 
ansAA'er  to  it,  in  onr  opinion,  Avhich  of  course  may  not  be  of 
much  value,  but  is  probably  Avorth  considering,  is,  if  not  the 
old  story  of  neglect,  at  least  the  AA'ant  of  that  attention  formerly 
accorded  to  the  esteemed  fruit ;  and  that  given  noAv,  even  in 
this  degenerate  age,  the  same  care  bestoAved  on  them  under 
gla,ss,  Avith  temporary  protection  fi'om  spring  frosts,. -Ave  may 
groAV  the  Peach  to  the  same  perfection  our  forefathers  gloriecl 
in.  Cheapened  glass  has,  of  course,  been  a  primary  factor  ip 
abolishing  outside  Peach  culture,  but  that  fact  does  not  affect 
those  AA'ho  are  yet  concerned  in  its  Avelfare  as  a  Avail  tree. 
As  remarked,  Avails  are  too  valuable  an  asset  in  garden 
economy  for  Ava.ste  to  be  tolerated,  and  every  superficial  foot 
shoidd  contribute  its  quota  of  high  quality  to  the  commissariat. 
For  the  cold  aspects  IMorcllo  Cherrie.s,  ‘  Victofia  Plums,  and 
vertically  trained  Currants,  to  prolong  their  oAvn  particular 
season,  commend  themselves.  In  giving  prorninence  to  this 
leading  phase  of  fruit  cidture  it  is  not  forgotten  that  bush 
fruits,  too,  not  rarely  suffei’  in  infancy  to  an  extent  that  their 
after  life  of  usefulness  and  beauty  is  sadly  impaired,  and  to 
these  the  same  thoughts  and  principles  apply.  There  is  an  old 
saying  that  poverty  and  neglect  sharpen  the  scythe  of  Time, 
and  in  no  case,  pi'obably,  is  it  more  applicable  than  to  our  fruit 
bearers.  —  K. 
Himalayan  Rhododendrons. 
At  tlie  usual  monthly  dinner  of  the  Horticultural  Club  at  the 
Hotel  Windsor  on  Tuesday,  June  14th,  Mr.  Hprry  J.  Veitch 
presided,  pending  the  arriA'al  of  Sir  John  Llewelyn,  Bart.,  who 
subsequently  read  an  extremely  interesting  paper  on  the  above 
subject.  The  occasion  was  further  signalised  by  the  presence 
as  gue.sts  of  Messrs.  Matson,  of  Kew,  IMoore,  of  Glasnevin,  Sir 
George  AVatt,  of  Indian  botanical  renoAvn,  and  iVlr.  Tutcher,  of 
Hong  Kong,  all  recognised  experts  in  the  particular  branch  of 
floriculture  involved.  Sir  .John  LlcAvelyn’s  paper  Avas  so  replete 
AAuth  intere, sting  data,  and  yithal  so  pithy  in  its  compilation, 
that  it  is  impossible  in  a  mere  abstract  to  do  it  a  tithe  of  justice. 
FortunateI,y  it  AA’ill  eventually  appear  in.  c.rfcnso  in  the  R.H.S. 
Journal,  so  that  its  valuable  contents  aa'III  be  adequately  pub¬ 
lished  and  preserved.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  as  much  cannot 
be  said  of  the  snb.sequent  discussion  the  lecture  evoked,  embrac¬ 
ing,  as  it  did,  the  experience  in  various  fields  of  such  gentlemen 
as  Messrs. IMoore  and  Watsoji,  and  last,  but  by  no  means  least, 
of  Sir  George  M"att.  To  deal  Avith  tbe  paper  first,  it  embraced, 
among  ’  many  other  points,  a  list  of  the  best  hardy  species, 
varieties,  and  hybrids  of  the  Himalayan  section,  Avith  some  brief 
references  to  the  Rhododendrons  of  othei'  countries,  Avbich  Avero 
necessarily  merel,y  alluded  to,  oAving  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
main  theme. 
Hardiness,  he  pointed  out,  must  ahAuTys  be  to  some  extent  a 
relative  term,  since  the  vagaries  of  the  Euftlish  springs  made 
temporary  victims  .sometimes  even  of  our  absolutely  hardy  native 
plants,  cutting  to  the  ground  the  precocious  groAvths  induced  by 
prematurely  tempting  Aveather.  Rhododendrons,  lioAveA'er,  of 
Himalayan  origin,  Avere,  as  a  ride,  capable  of  AAithstanding 
great  and  sudden  fluctuations,  and  this  fact  Avas  later  on 
explained  by  Sir  George  "Watt,  aaAio  found  many  of  the  species 
at  elevations  of  14,000  to  16,000ft.,  blooming  in  perfection,  and 
clothing  the  hills  Avith  their  floral  masses,  on  the  Amry  brink 
of  the  etern.al  snoAvs.  Tlie  affection  for  peat  and  repugnance  to 
lime,  AA'ere  .strong],v  emphasised,  bnt  Sir  John  LleAvelyn  has  no 
peat  in  his  locality,  and  cultivates  most  successfully  in  loamy 
soil  mixed  Avith  leaf  mould.  In  this  connection  Sir  George  AVatt 
stated  that  in  the  native  Sikkim  habitats  the  soil  Avas  entirely 
of  such  a  loose,  peaty  nature  that  the  arm  could  be  plunged 
entii’elv  into  it,  and  that,  moreover,  it  Avas  of  a  di’y,  open  charac¬ 
ter.  On  the  other  hand,  the  yearl,v  rainfall  averages  250in,  and 
it  may  be  taken  as  an  e.ssential  factor  in  Rhododendron  success ' 
that  a  fair  amount  of  rainfall  exi.sts,  an  item  Avhich,  hoAveArer,  is 
partly  counterbalanced  by  the  self-protection  of  the  roots 
afforded  by  the  drooping  loAver  branches,  Avhich  it  is  desirable  to 
encoura,ge  to  that  end. 
The  lecturer  paid  a  fair  meed  of  praise  to  those  aaIio  have, 
contributed  to  raise  the  Rhododendron  to  its  present  high  posi¬ 
tion.  by  importation  of  neAV  species,  selective  culture,  and  judi¬ 
cious  hybridisation,  and  also  indicated  the  “points”  Avhich  the 
flowers  should  possess  in  order  to  attain  the  ideal  of  perfection. 
The  question  of  propagation  Avas  also  dealt  Avith  exhaustively, 
grafting  being  severel.v  deprecated  and  layering  advocated,  in 
Avhich  connection  Sir  George  Watt  stated  that  in  the  native 
habitats  the  plants  layered  themselves  by  means  of  rooting  lower 
branches,  and  in  this  way  formed  interminable  and  impenetrable 
masses,  over  AA-hich  alone  a  passage  conld  be  forced.  The  debt 
of  the  Rhododendron  lover  to  the  hybridist  Avas  fnlly  recognised, 
and  man.v  valuable  suggestions  as  to  further  alliances  made. 
In  .short,  the  AA-hole  paper  formed  a  dige.st  of  all  essential  points, 
and  Avas  recognised  as  such  by  the  many  experts  present,  as  it 
Avill  be  b,y  others  when  it  appears  in  print. 
Sir  George  M’att,  Avho  opened  the  discussion,  considered  that 
wild  species  excelled  cAiltivated  ones,  and  stated  that  there  were 
three  great  and  distinct  Rhododendron  areas  in  the  Himala.yas, 
Avhich  presented  some  very  pecidiar  and  puzzling  features, 
varying  as  they  did  so  greatly  from  each  other  in  elevation  and 
climatic  conditions,  the  habitats,  for  instance,  ranging  from 
14,000  to  16,000ft  in  one  area,  AA’ith  an  enormous  rainfall  ;  and 
at  another  almost  reaching  the  sea  level,  Avith  some  30in  to  40in 
rainfall  only.  It  is  to  this  Avide  range,  especially  of  elevation, 
that  unlooked-for  tenderness  in  some  imported  species  ma.v  be 
ascribed,  tbe  seed  being  sent  from  easily  accessible  sources,  that 
is  to  say,  from  the  loAver  and  warmer  regions,  in.stead  of  from 
the  great  heights  Avhere  absolute  hardiness  is  enforced  by  the 
environment.  His  description  of  the  aspect  of  Rhododendron- 
clothed  hillsides  for  miles  Avas  mo.st  viAud,  and  some  of  the 
varietal  facts  most  curious,  one  and  the  same  species  flanking 
one  side  of  a  hill  Avith  pAire  AA'hite,  and  the  other  Avith  deep  red. 
Mr.  F.  M'.  Moore  took  np  the  botanist’s  side  of  the  hybrid 
question,  and  maintained  the  need  of  representative  collections 
of  pnre  species  in  national  gardens.  He  full.v  recognised,  Iaoaa'- 
ever,  the  value  of  hybrids.  He  also  deprecated  grafting,  and 
especially  that  injurious  grafting  too  often  effected  by  foreign 
trade  groAvers  Avitbout  anv  study  Avhatever  of  the  affinities  and 
conseouent  fitness  for  union  of  stock  and  scion.  IMr.  AVatson. 
defended  hybrids,  and  related  a  curious  anecdote  connected 
with  Rhododendron  seed  importation,  as  collected  bv  nati-^es, 
a  hundred  species  figuring  on  the  packet  labels,  Avhicli,  Avhen 
raised,  demonstrated  collection  from  one  and  the  same  plant,- 
the  resAilt  being  an  unmerited  slur  on  Koav  as  the  generoAis  dis¬ 
tributor  of  the  AinfloAA-^er  progen,y.  Mr.  Harry  J.  AVitch  coupled- 
some  pregnant  remarks  on  RhododeAidron  culture,  in  which  his 
old  firm  occupies  so  prominent  a  position,  with  the  tendering  of 
a  heart.v  vote  of  thanks  to  the  lecturer  for  his  paper,  and  to  the 
guests  AA-ho  had  contributed  so  much  of  value  to  the  discu.ssion  it 
evoked. — C.  T.  D. 
