Plant Houses
These include all those structures which are more intimately associated with the growth of ornamental plants and flowers, and comprise conservatory, plant stove, greenhouse and the subsidiary pits and frames. They should be so erected as to present the smallest extent of opaque surface consistent with stability. With this object in view, the early improvers of hot-house architecture substituted metal for wood in the construction of the roofs, and for the most part dispensed with back walls; but the conducting power of the metal caused a great irregularity of temperature, which it was found difficult to control; and, notwithstanding the elegance of metallic houses, this circumstance, together with their greater cost, has induced most recent authorities to give the preference to wood. The combination of the two, however, shows clearly that, without much variation of heat or loss of light, any extent of space may be covered, and houses of any altitude constructed.
The earliest notice we have of such structures is given in the Latin writers of the 1st century (Mart. Epigr. viii. 14 and 68); the to which allusion is made by various Greek authors, have no claim to be mentioned in this connexion. Columella (xi. 3, 51, 52) and Pliny (H.N. xix. 23) both refer to their use in Italy for the cultivation of the rarer and more delicate sorts of plants and trees. Seneca has given us a description of the application of hot water for securing the necessary temperature. The botanist Jungermann had plant houses at Altdorf in Switzerland; those of Loader, a London merchant, and the conservatory in the Apothecaries' Botanic Garden at Chelsea, were among the first structures of the kind erected in British gardens. These were, however, ill adapted for the growth of plants, as they consisted of little else than a huge chamber of masonry, having large windows in front, with the roof invariably opaque. The next step was taken when it became fashionable to have conservatories attached to mansions, instead of having them in the pleasure grounds. This arrangement brought them within the province of architects, and for nearly a century utility and fitness for the cultivation of plants were sacrificed, as still is often the case, to the unity of architectural expression between the conservatory and the mansion.
Plant houses must be as far as possible impervious to wet and cold air from the exterior, provision at the same time being made for ventilation, while the escape of warm air from the interior must also be under control. The most important part of the enclosing material is necessarily glass. But as the rays of light, even in passing through transparent glass, lose much of their energy, which is further weakened in proportion to the distance it has to travel, the nearer the plant can be placed to the glass the more perfectly will its functions be performed; hence the importance of constructing the roofs at such an angle as will admit the most light, especially sunlight, at the time it is most required. Plants in glass houses require for their fullest development more solar light probably than even our best hot-houses transmit - certainly much more than is transmitted through the roofs of houses as generally constructed.
Plant houses constructed of the best Baltic pine timber are very durable, but the whole of the parts should be kept as light as possible. In many houses, especially those where ornament is of no consequence, the rafters are now omitted, or only used at wide intervals, somewhat stouter sash-bars being adopted, and stout panes of glass (usually called 21-oz.) 12 to 18 in. wide, made use of. Such houses are very light; being also very close, they require careful ventilation. The glass roof is commonly designed so as to form a uniform plane or slope from back to front in lean-to houses (fig. 2), and from centre to sides in span-roofed houses. To secure the greatest possible influx of light, some horticulturists recommend curvilinear roofs; but the superiority of these is largely due to the absence of rafters, which may also be dispensed with in plain roofs. They are very expensive to build and maintain. Span and ridge-and-furrow roofs, the forms now mostly preferred, are exceedingly well adapted for the admission of light, especially when they are glazed to within a few inches 2. - Lean-to Plant House.
of the ground. They can be made, too, to cover in any extent of area without sustaining walls. Indeed, it has been proposed to support such roofs to a great extent upon suspension principles, the internal columns of support being utilized for conducting the rain-water off the roof to underground drains or reservoirs. The lean-to is the least desirable form, since it scarcely admits of elegance of design, but it is necessarily adopted in many cases.
In glazing, the greater the surface of glass, and the less space occupied by rafters and astragals as well as overlaps, the greater the admission of light. Some prefer that the sash-bars should be grooved instead of rebated, and this plan exposes less putty to the action of the weather. The simple bedding of the glass, without the use of over putty, seems to be widely approved; but the glass may be fixed in a variety of other ways, some of which are. patented.
The Conservatory is often built in connexion with the mansion, so as to be entered from the drawing-room or boudoir. But when so situated it is apt to suffer from the shade of the building, and is objectionable on account of admitting damp to the drawing-room. Where circumstances will admit, it is better to place it at some distance from the house, and to form a connexion by means of a glass corridor. In order that the conservatory may be kept gay with flowers, there should be a subsidiary structure to receive the plants as they go out of bloom. The conservatory may also with great propriety be placed in the flower garden, where it may occupy an elevated terrace, and form the termination of one of the more important walks.
Great variety of design is admissible in the conservatory, but it ought always to be adapted to the style of the mansion of which it is a prominent appendage. Some very pleasing examples are to be met with which have the form of a parallelogram with a lightly rounded roof; others of appropriate character are square or nearly so, with a ridge-and-furrow roof. Whatever the form, there must be light in abundance; and the shade both of buildings and of trees must be avoided. A southern aspect, or one varying to south-east or south-west, is preferable; if these aspects cannot be secured, the plants selected must be adapted to the position. The central part of the house may be devoted to permanent plants; the side stages and open spaces in the permanent beds should be reserved for the temporary plants.
The Greenhouse is a structure designed for the growth of such exotic plants as require to be kept during winter in a temperature considerably above the freezing-point. The best form is the spanroofed, a single span being better even than a series of spans such as form the ridge-and-furrow roof. For plant culture, houses at a comparatively low pitch are better than higher ones where the plants have to stand at a greater distance from the glass, and therefore in greater gloom. Fig. 3 represents a convenient form of greenhouse. It is 20 ft. wide and 12 ft. high, and may be of any convenient length. The side walls are surmounted by short upright sashes which open outwards by machinery a, and the roof is provided with sliding upper sashes for top ventilation. The upper sashes may also be made to lift, and are in many respects more convenient to operate. In the centre is a two-tier stage 6 ft. wide, for plants, with a pathway on each side 3 ft. wide, and a side stage 4 ft. wide, the side stages being flat, and the centre stage having the middle portion one-third of the width elevated I ft. above the rest so as to lift up the middle row of plants nearer the light. Span-roofed houses of this character should run north and south so as to secure an equalization of light, and should be warmed by two flow, and one or two return 4-in. hot-water pipes. carried under the side stages along each side and across each end. Where it is desired to cultivate a large number of plants, it is much better to increase the number of such houses than to provide larger structures. The smaller houses are far better for cultural purposes, while the plants can be classified, and the little details of management more conveniently attended to. Pelargoniums, cinerarias, calceolarias, cyclamens, camellias, heaths, roses and other specialities might thus have to themselves either a whole house or part of a house, the conditions of which could then be more accurately fitted to the wants of the inmates.
The lean-to house is in most respects inferior to the span-roofed; one of the latter could be converted into two of the former of opposite aspects by a divisional wall along the centre. Except where space does not permit a span-roofed building to be introduced, a lean-to is not to be recommended; but a house of this class may often be greatly improved by adopting a half-span or hipped roof - that is, one with a short slope behind and a longer in front.
Where the cultivation of large specimens has to be carried on, a span-roofed house of greater height and larger dimensions may sometimes prove useful; but space for this class of plants may generally be secured in a house of the smaller elevation, simply by lowering or removing altogether the staging erected for smaller plants, and allowing the larger ones to stand on or nearer the floor. The Plant Stove differs in no respect from the greenhouse except in having a greater extent of hot-water pipes for the purpose, of securing a greater degree of heat, although, as the plants in stove houses often attain a larger size, and many of them require a bed of coco-nut fibre, tan or leaf mould to supply with bottom heat, b: !, b a somewhat greater elevation may perhaps be occasionally required in some of the houses. For the smaller plants, and for all choicer subI ? I jects, the smaller size of house already recom mended for greenhouses, a: o 00 namely 20 ft. wi d e and r QOo 12 ft. high, with a side table of 4 ft. on each side, 5------- ? ° 5 a pathway of 3 ft. and a central stage on two levels of 6 ft. wide, will be preferable, because more easily managed as to the supply of heat and moisture. It will be seen (fig. 4) that along the ridge of the roof a raised portion or lantern light b, b is introduced, which permits of the fixing of two continuous ventilators, one along each side, for the egress of heated and foul air, openings a, a being also provided in the side walls opposite the hot-water pipes for the admission of pure cold air. This type of house is also very suitable for greenhouse plants, but would not need so much heating apparatus. Three or four rows of flow and return pipes respectively will be required on each side, according to the heat proposed to be maintained.
In their interior fittings plant stoves require more care than greenhouses, which are much drier, and in which consequently the staging does not so soon decay. In stoves the stages should be of slate or stone where practicable, and the supports of iron. These should be covered with a layer of 2 or 3 in. of some coarse gritty material, such as pounded spar, or the shell sand obtained on the sea-coast, on which the pots are to stand; its use is to absorb moisture and gradually give it out for the benefit of the plants. The pathways should be paved with tiles, brick or stone, or made of concrete and cement, and the surface should be gently rounded so that the water required for evaporation may drain to the sides while the centre is sufficiently dry to walk upon; they should also have brick or stone edgings to prevent the water so applied soaking away at the sides and thus being wasted.
Fruit Houses
The principal of these are the vinery, peach house, cucumber and melon house and orchard house. These, or a portion of them, especially the vineries and peacheries, are frequently brought together into a range along the principal interior or south wall of the garden, where they are well exposed to sun and light, an ornamental plant house being some-;° FIG. 5. - Lean-to Vinery.
times introduced into the centre of the range in order to give effect to the outline of the buildings. When thus associated, the houses are usually of the lean-to class, which have the FIG. 3. - Section of Greenhouse.
pO O .
FIG. 4. - Section of Plant Stove.
advantage of being more easily warmed and kept warm than buildings having glass on both sides, a matter of great importance for forcing purposes.
The Vinery is a house devoted to the culture of the grape-vine, which is by far the most important exotic fruit cultivated in English gardens. When forming part of a range a vinery would in most cases be a lean-to structure, with a sharp pitch (45°-50°) if intended for early forcing, and a flatter roof (40°) with longer rafters if designed for the main and late crops. (I) The lean-to (fig. 5) is the simplest form, often erected against some existing wall, and the best for early forcing, being warmer on account of the shelter afforded by the back wall. In this house the principal part of the roof is a fixture, ventilation being provided for by small lifting sashes against the back wall, and by the upright front sashes being hung on a pivot so as to swing outwards on the lower side. The necessary heat is provided by four 4-in. hot-water pipes, which would perhaps be best placed if all laid side by side, while the vines are planted in front and trained upwards under the roof. A second set of vines may be planted against the back wall, and will thrive there until the shade of the roof becomes too dense. (2) The hip-roofed or threequarter span (fig. 6) is a combination of the lean-to s and the span-roofed, uniting to a great degree the ad vantages of both, being warmer than the span and lighter than the lean-to. The heating and ventilating arrangements are much the same as in the lean-to, only the top sashes which open are on the back slope, and therefore do not interfere so much with the vines on the front slope. In both this and the lean-to the aspect should be as nearly due south as possible. Houses of this form are excellent for general purposes, and they are well adapted both for muscats, which require a high temperature, and for late-keeping grapes. (3) The span-roofed (fig. 7), the most elegant and ornamental form, is especially adapted for isolated positions; indeed, no other form affords so much roof space for the development of the vines. The amount of light admitted being very great, these houses answer well for general purposes and for the main crop. The large amount of glass or cooling surface, however, makes it more difficult to keep up a high and regular temperature in them, and from this cause they are not so well adapted for very early or very late crops. They are best, nevertheless, when grapes and ornamental plants are grown in the same house, except, indeed, in very wet and cold districts, where, in consequence of its greater warmth, the lean-to is to be preferred.
0 5 15 on piers and arches to allow the roots to pass outwards into a prepared border, the trees being planted just within the house. Abundant means of ventilation should be provided.
For more general purposes the house represented in fig. 8 will be found more useful. One set of trees is planted near the front, and trained to an arched trellis b. Another set is planted at the back, and trained on a trellis c,which is nearly upright, and leans against the back wall; or the back wall itself may be used for training. There are no upright front sashes, but to facilitate ventilation there are ventilators d in the front wall, and the upper roof sashes are made to move up to FIG. 8. - Peach House.
and down for the same object. Two or three hot-water pipes are placed near the front wall. The back wall is usually planted with dwarf and standard trees alternately, the latter being temporary, and intended to furnish the upper part of the trellis, while the permanent dwarfs are gradually filling up the trellis from below. In any case the front trellis should stop conveniently short of the top of the sashes if there are trees against the back wall, in order to admit light to them. They would also be better carried up nearly parallel to the roof, and at about i ft. distant from it, supposing there were no trees at the back.
A span-roofed house, being lighter than a lean-to, would be so much the better for peach culture, especially for the crop grown just _. ?-.. g ?r/?/? /?%?, NMI i / i /? - '//i ?, IN= / /. / i //? ? ? / ?j ??, .??/ ?/ -- /?/?--- /ii'---, WAN // // / i.; / // // / i / /. ,/ d//, /% l///, / ,.G///„ FIG. 7. - Span-Roofed Vinery.
This type of house, cheaply constructed, is in general use for raising grapes for market.
The Peach House is a structure in which the ripening of the fruit is accelerated by the judicious employment of artificial heat. For early forcing, as in vineries, the lean-to form is to be preferred, and the house may have a tolerably sharp pitch. A width of 7 or 8 ft., with the glass slope continued down to within a foot or two of the ground, and without any upright front sashes, will be suitable for such a house, which may also be conveniently divided into compartments of from 30 to 50 ft. in length according to the extent of the building, small houses being preferable to larger ones. As a very high temperature is not required, two or three pipes running the whole length of the house will suffice. The front wall should be built FIG. 9. Forcing House.
in anticipation of those from the open - walls since a high temperature is not required. A low span, with dwarf side walls, and a lantern ventilator along the ridge, the height in the centre being 9 ft., would be very well adapted for the purpose. The trees should be planted inside and trained up towards the ridge on a trellis about a foot from the glass, the walls being arched to permit the egress of the roots. A trellis path should run along the centre, and movable pieces of trellis should be provided to prevent trampling on the soil while dressing and tying in the young wood.
The Forcing House. - Whenever continuous supplies of cucumbers, melons and tomatoes are required, it is most convenient to grow them in properly constructed forcing houses. Span-roofed houses (fig. 9), are probably the most useful for the purpose. They are usually FIG. 6. - Hip-Roofed Vinery.
00 00 12 to 14 ft. wide, by Io to 12 ft. high, and of any convenient length. Heating is effected by means of hot-water pipes below the beds, and against the side ventilators. The walls bordering the central paths are arched or clotted to admit heat from the chambers below the beds. Side pipes are occasionally dispensed with, heat being obtained by means of slots at the back of the beds, communicating with the chambers. The beds are also of use for plunging pot plants. Ventilation is provided at sides and top.
Pits and frames of various kinds are frequently used for the cultivation of cucumbers and melons, as well as hot beds covered by ordinary garden frames. In these cases the first supply of heat is derived from the hot bed made up within the pit. When the heat of the original bed subsides, linings of fermenting dung must be added, and these must be kept active by occasional turnings and the addition of fresh material as often as required. It is better, however, to effect both top and bottom heating by hot-water pipes.
Orchard Houses are span-roofed or lean-to structures, in which various fruits are cultivated without the aid of artificial heat. Peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries and the more tender varieties of plums and pears succeed well in houses of this kind. The types of houses in general use are substantially as shown in fig. 7, for spanroofed, and as fig. 5, for lean-to; in each case without the heating apparatus. The orchard house is among the most generally useful of all garden structures. These houses require careful management in early summer so as to induce the more delicate varieties of peaches and nectarines to complete and ripen their growth before cold, sunless weather sets in.
In commercial establishments where utility is of more importance than ornament, the glass houses and hot water apparatus are not of so elaborate a type as indicated in the foregoing remarks, and in many cases excellent produce is grown in structures more or less dilapidated. In some places movable greenhouses have been erected for market purposes, so that the soil may be exposed to the sweetening effect of the weather, when the glass roof is moved to an adjoining patch.
Ventilation
This consists in the admission of air for the purpose of preventing stagnation of the atmosphere and for the regulation of temperature. Means of affording ventilation in all plant houses should be provided in at least two places - as near the floor as practicable, and at the top. Mechanical contrivances whereby whole sets of ventilators may be operated simultaneously are now in common use, and are much more convenient and economical than the older method of working each ventilator separately. Efficient ventilating can only be effected by the exercise of common sense and vigilance, and care must be taken to avoid cold draughts through the houses.
III. Garden Materials and Appliances. Soils and Composts. - The principal soils used in gardens, either alone, or mixed to form what are called composts, are - loam, sand, peat, leaf-mould and various mixtures and combinations of these made up to suit the different subjects under cultivation.
Loam is the staple soil for the gardener; it is not only used extensively in the pure and simple state, but enters into most of the composts prepared specially for his plants. For garden purposes loam should be rather unctuous or soapy to the touch when moderately dry, not too clinging nor adhesive, and should readily crumble when a compressed handful is thrown on the ground. If it clings together closely it is too heavy and requires amelioration by the admixture of gritty material; if it has little or no cohesion when squeezed tightly in the hand, it is ] too light, and needs to be improved by the addition of heavier or clayey material. Sound friable loam cut one sod deep from the surface of a pasture, and stacked up for twelve months in a heap or ridge, is invaluable to the gardener. When employed for making vine borders, loam of a somewhat heavier nature can be used with advantage, on account of the porous materials which should accompany it. For stone fruits a calcareous loam is best; indeed, for these subjects a rich calcareous loam used in a pure and simple state cannot be surpassed. Somewhat heavy loam y are best for potting pine apples, for melons and strawberries, fruit trees in pots, &c., and may be used with the addition of manures only; but for ornamental plants a loam of a somewhat freer texture is preferable and more pleasant to work. Loam which contains much red matter (iron) should be avoided.
Sand is by itself of little value except for striking cuttings, for which purpose fine clean sharp silver sand is the best; and a somewhat coarser kind, if it is gritty, is to be preferred to the comminuted sands which contain a large proportion of earthy matter. River sand and the sharp grit washed up sometimes by the road side are excellent materials for laying around choice bulbs at planting time to prevent contact with earth which is perhaps manure-tainted. Sea sand may be advantageously used both for propagating purposes and for mixing in composts. For the growth of pot plants sand is an essential part of most composts, in order to give them the needful porosity to carry off all excess of moisture from the roots. If the finer earthy sands only are obtainable, they must be rendered sharper by washing away the earthy particles. Washed sand is best for all plants like heaths, which need a pure and lasting peaty compost.
Peat soil is largely employed for the culture of such plants as rhododendrons, azaleas, heaths, &c. In districts where heather and gritty soil predominate, the peat soil is poor and unprofitable, but selections from both the heathy and the richer peat soils, collected with judgment, and stored in a dry part of the compost yard, are essential ingredients in the cultivation of many choice pot plants, such as the Cape heaths and many of the Australian plants. Many monocotyledons do well in peat, even if they do not absolutely require it.
Leaf-mould is eminently suited for the growth of many freegrowing plants, especially when it has been mixed with stable manure and has been subjected to fermentation for the formation of hot beds. It any state most plants feed greedily upon it, and when pure or free from decaying wood or sticks it is a very safe ingredient in composts; but it is so liable to generate fungus, and the mycelium or spawn of certain fungi is so injurious to the roots of trees, attacking them if at all sickly or weakened by drought, that many cultivators prefer not' to mix leaf-mould with the soil used for permanent plants, as peaches or choice ornamental trees. For quick growing plants, however, as for example most annuals cultivated in pots, such as balsams, cockscombs, globe-amaranths and the like, for cucumbers, and for young soft-wooded plants generally, it is exceedingly useful, both by preventing the consolidation of the soil and as a manure. The accumulations of light earth formed on the surface in woods where the leaves fall and decay annually are leaf-mould of the finest quality. Leaves collected in the autumn and stored in pits or heaps, and covered with a layer of soil, make beautiful leaf-mould at the end of about twelve months, if frequently drenched with water or rain during this period.
Composts are mixtures of the foregoing ingredients in varying proportions, and in combination with manures if necessary, so as to suit particular plants or classes of plants. The chief point to be borne in mind in making these mixtures is not to combine in the same compost any bodies that are antagonistic in their nature, as for example lime and ammonia. In making up composts for pot plants, the fibrous portion should not be removed by sifting, except for small-sized pots, but the turfy portions should be broken up by hand and distributed in smaller or larger lumps throughout the mass. When sifting is had recourse to, the fibrous matter should be rubbed through the meshes of the sieve along with the earthy particles. Before being used the turfy ingredients of composts should lie together in a heap only long enough for the roots of the herbage to die, not to decompose.
Manures (see Manure). - These are of two classes, organic and inorganic - the former being of animal and vegetable, the latter of mineral origin. The following are organic manures: Farm-yard manure consists of the mixed dung of horses and cattle thrown together, and more or less soaked with liquid drainings of the stable or byre. It is no doubt the finest stimulant for the growth of plants, and that most adapted to restore the fertile elements which the plants have abstracted from exhausted soils. This manure is best fitted for garden use when in a moderately fermented state.
Horse dung is generally the principal ingredient in all hot bed manure; and, in its partially decomposed state, as afforded by exhausted hot beds, it is well adapted for garden use. It is most beneficial on cold stiff soils. It should not be allowed to lie too long unmoved when fresh, as it will then heat violently, and the ammonia is thus driven off. To avoid this, it should be turned over two or three times if practicable, and well moistened - preferably with farm-yard drainings.
Cow dung is less fertilizing than horse dung, but being slower in its action it is more durable; it is also cooler, and therefore better for hot dry sandy soils. Thoroughly decayed, it is one of the best of all manures for mixing in composts for florists' flowers and other choice plants.
Pig dung is very powerful, containing more nitrogen than horse dung; it is therefore desirable that it should undergo moderate fermentation, which will be secured by mixing it with litter and a portion of earth. When weeds are thrown to the pigs, this fermentation becomes specially desirable to kill their seeds.
Night-soil is an excellent manure for all bulky crops, but requires to be mixed with earth or peat, or coal-ashes, so as both to deodorize it and to ensure its being equally distributed. Quicklime should not be used, as it dispels the greater part of the ammonia. When prepared by drying and mixing with various substances, night-soil is sold as desiccated night-soil or native guano, the value of which depends upon the materials used for admixture.
Malt-dust is an active manure frequently used as a top-dressing, especially for fruit trees in pots. It is rapid in its action, but its effects are not very permanent. Rape dust is somewhat similar in its character and action.
Bones are employed as a manure with decided advantage both to vegetable crops and to fruit trees, as well as to flowers. For turnips bone manure is invaluable. The effects of bones are no doubt mainly due to the phosphates they contain, and they are most effectual on dry soils. They are most quickly available when dissolved in sulphuric acid.
Guano is a valuable manure now much employed, and may be applied to almost every kind of crop with decided advantage. It should be mixed with six or eight times its weight of loam or ashes, charred peat, charcoal-dust or some earthy matter, before it is applied to the soil, as from its causticity it is otherwise not unlikely to kill or injure the plants to which it is administered. Peruvian guano is obtained from the excreta of South American sea-birds, and fish guano from the waste of fish. Both are remarkable for the quantity of nitrates and phosphates they contain.
Pigeon dung approaches guano in its power as manure. It should be laid up in ridges of good loamy soil in alternate layers to form a compost, which becomes a valuable stimulant for any very choice subjects if cautiously used. The dung of the domestic fowl is very similar in character.
Horn, hoof-parings, woollen rags, fish, blubber and blood, after treatment with sulphuric acid, are all good manures, and should be utilized if readily obtainable.
Liquid manure, consisting of the drainings of dung-heaps, stables, cowsheds, &c., or of urine collected from dwelling houses or other sources, is a most valuable and powerful stimulant, and can be readily applied to the roots of growing plants. The urine should be allowed to putrefy, as in its decomposition a large amount of ammonia is formed, which should then be fixed by sulphuric acid or gypsum; or it may be applied to the growing crops after being freely diluted with water or absorbed in a compost heap. Liquid manures can be readily made from most of the solid manures when required, simply by admixture with water. When thus artificially compounded, unless for immediate use, they should be made strong for convenience of storage, and applied as required much diluted.
The following are inorganic manures: Ammonia is the most powerful and one of the most important of the constituents of manures generally, since it is the chief source whence plants derive their nitrogen. It is largely supplied in all the most fertilizing of organic manures, but when required in the inorganic state must be obtained from some of the salts of ammonia, as the sulphate, the muriate or the phosphate, all of which, being extremely energetic, require to be used with great caution. These salts of ammonia may be used at the rate of from 2 to 3 cwt. per acre as a top-dressing in moist weather. When dissolved in water they form active liquid manures. The most commonly used nitrogenous manures are nitrate of soda, nitrate of potash and sulphate of ammonia, the prices of which are constantly fluctuating.
Potash and soda are also valuable inorganic manures in the form of carbonates, sulphates, silicates and phosphates, but the most valuable is the nitrate of potash. The price, however, is generally so high that its use is practically nil, except in small doses as a liquid manure for choice pot plants. Cheaper substitutes, however, are now found in sulphate of potash, and muriate of potash and kainit. The two last-named must not be applied direct to growing crops, but to the soil some weeks in advance of sowing or cropping. The manures of this class are of course of value only in cases where the soil is naturally deficient in them. On this account the salts of soda are of less importance than those of potash. The value of wood ashes as a manure very much depends upon the carbonate and other salts of potash which they contain.
Phosphoric acid, in the form of phosphates, is a most valuable plant food, and is absorbed by most plants in fairly large quantities from the soil. It induces the earlier production of flowers and fruits. In a natural state it is obtained from bones, guano and wood ashes; and in an artificial condition from basic slag or Thomas's phosphate, coprolites and superphosphate of lime.
Lime in the caustic state is beneficially applied to soils which contain an excess of inert vegetable matter, and hence may be used for the improvement of old garden soils saturated with humus, or of peaty soils not thoroughly reclaimed. It does not supply the place of organic manures, but only renders that which is present available for the nourishment of the plants. It also improves the texture of clay soils.
Gypsum, or sulphate of lime, applied as a top-dressing at the rate of 2 to 3 cwt. per acre, has been found to yield good results, especially on light soils. It is also employed in the case of liquid manures to fix the ammonia.
Gas lime, after it has been exposed to the air for a few months is an excellent manure on heavy soils. In a fresh state it is poisonous and fatal to vegetation, and is often used for this reason to dress land infested with wireworms, grubs, club-root fungus, &c.
Burnt clay has a very beneficial effect on clay land by improving its texture and rendering soluble the alkaline substances it contains. The clay should be only slightly burnt, so as to make it crumble down readily; in fact, the fire should not be allowed to break through, but should be constantly repressed by the addition of material. The burning should be effected when the soil is dry.
Vegetable refuse of all kinds, when smother-burned in a similar way, becomes a valuable mechanical improver of the soil; but the preferable course is to decompose it in a heap with quicklime and layers of earth, converting it into leaf-mould. Potato haulms, and club-rooted cabbage crops should, however, never be mixed with ordinary clean vegetable refuse, as they would be most likely to perpetuate the terrible diseases to which they are subject. The refuse of such plants should be burned as early as possible. The ash may be used as manure.
Soot forms a good top-dressing; it consists principally of charcoal, but contains ammonia and a smaller proportion of phosphates and potash, whence its value as a manure is derived. It should be kept dry until required for use. It may also be used beneficially in preventing the attacks of insects, such as the onion gnat and turnip fly, by dusting the plants or dressing the ground with it.
Common salt acts as a manure when used in moderate quantities, but in strong doses is injurious to vegetation. It suits many of the esculent crops, as onions, beans, cabbages, carrots, beet-root, asparagus, &c.; the quantity applied varies from 5 to to bushels per acre. It is used as a top-dressing sown by the hand. Hyacinths and other bulbs derive benefit from slight doses, while to asparagus as much as 20 lb to the rood has been used with beneficial effect. At the rate of from 6 to to bushels to the acre it may be used on garden lawns to prevent worm casts. For the destruction of weeds on gravel walks or in paved yards a strong dose of salt, applied either dry or in a very strong solution, is found very effective, especially a hot solution, but after a time much of it becomes washed down, and the residue acts as a manure; its continued application is undesirable, as gravel so treated becomes pasty.
Garden Tools, &c. - Most of these are so well known that we shall not discuss them here. They are, moreover, illustrated and described in the catalogues of most nurserymen and dealers in horticultural sundries.
9. By Circumposition
When a plant is too high or its habit does not conveniently admit of its being layered, it may often be increased by what is called circumposition, the soil being carried up to the branch operated on. The branch is to be prepared by ringing or notching or wiring as in layering, and a temporary stand made to support the vessel which is to contain the soil. The vessel may be a flower-pot sawn in two, so that the halves may be bound together when used, or it may be a flower-pot or box with a side slit which will admit the shoot; this vessel is to be filled compactly with suitable porous earth, the opening at the slit being stopped by pieces of slate or tile. The earth must be kept moist, which is perhaps best done by a thick mulching of moss, the moss being also bound closely over the openings in the vessel, and all being kept damp by frequent syringings. Gardeners often dispense with the pot, using sphagnum moss and leaf-mould only when propagating indiarubber plants, perpetual carnations, dracaenas, &c.
10. By Grafts. - Grafting is so extensively resorted to that it is impossible here to notice all its phases. It is perhaps of most importance as the principal means of propagating our hardy kinds of fruit, especially the apple and the pear; but the process is the same with most other fruits and ornamental hardy trees and shrubs that are thus propagated. The stocks are commonly divided into two classes: - (1) free stocks, which consist of seedling plants, chiefly of the same genus or species as the trees from which the scions are taken; and (2) dwarfing stocks, which are of more diminutive growth, either varieties of the same species or species of the same or some allied genus as the scion, which have a tendency to lessen the expansion of the engrafted tree. The French Paradise is the best dwarfing stock for apples, and the quince for pears. In determining the choice of stocks, the nature of the soil in which the grafted trees are to grow should have full weight. In a soil, for example, naturally moist, it is proper to graft pears on the quince, because this plant not only thrives in such a soil, but serves to check the luxuriance thereby produced. The scions should always be ripened portions of the wood of the preceding year, selected from healthy parents; in the case of shy-bearing kinds, it is better to obtain them from the fruitful branches. The scions should be taken off some weeks before they are wanted, and half-buried in the earth, since the stock at the time of grafting should in point of vegetation be somewhat in advance of the graft. During winter, grafts may be conveyed long distances, if carefully packed. If they have been six weeks or two months separated from the parent plant, they should be grafted low on the stock, and the earth should be ridged up round them, leaving only one bud of the scion exposed above ground. The best season for grafting apples and similar hardy subjects in the open air is in March and April; but it may be commenced as soon as the sap in the stock is fairly in motion.
Whip-grafting or Tongue-grafting (fig. 16) is the most usual mode of performing the operation when there is no great difference in thickness between the stock and scion. The stock is headed off by an oblique transverse cut as shown at a, a slice is then pared off the side as at b, and on the face of this a tongue or notch is made, the cut being in a downward direction; the scion c is pared off in a similar way by a single clean sharp cut, and this is notched or tongued in the opposite direction as the figure indicates; the two are then fitted together as shown at d, so that the inner bark of each may come in contact at least on one side, and then tied round with damp soft bast as at e; next some grafting clay is taken on the forefinger and pushed down on each side so as to fill out the space between the top of the stock and the graft, and a portion is also rubbed over the ligatures on the side where the graft is placed, a handful of the clay is then taken, flattened out, and rolled closely round the whole point of junction, being finished off to a tapering form both above and below, as shown by the dotted line f. To do this deftly, the hands should be plunged from time to time in dry ashes, to prevent the clay from sticking to them. Various kinds of grafting wax are now obtainable, and are a great improvement upon the clay process. Some cold mastics become very pliable with the warmth of the hands. They are best applied with a piece of flat wood; or very liquid waxes may be applied with a brush.
a?c Cleft-grafting (fig. 17) is another method in common use. The stock a is cleft down from the horizontal cut d (but not nearly so FIG. 16. - Whip-grafting or Tongue-grafting.
much as the sketch would indicate), and the scion, when cut to a thin wedge form, as shown at c and e, is inserted into the cleft; the whole is then bound up and clayed as in the former case. This is not so good a plan as whip-grafting; it is improved by sloping the stock on one side to the size of the graft.
Crown-grafting or Rind-grafting (fig. 18) is preferable to cleftgrafting, inasmuch as it leaves no open spaces in the wood. The stock b is cut off horizontally or nearly so in January or February. At grafting time a slit is cut in the bark f, f, a wedge-shaped piece of FIG. 1 8. - Crown-Grafting.
iron or a small chisel being inserted to raise the bark; the scion is then cut to the same wedge-shaped form g, h, and inserted in the space opened for it between the alburnum and the bark, after which it is tied down and clayed or waxed over in the manner already described.
Side-grafting is performed like whip-grafting, the graft being inserted on the side of a branch and not at the cut end of the stock. It may be practised for the purpose of changing a part of the tree, and is sometimes very useful for filling out vacant spaces, in trained trees especially.
Marching is another form of side-grafting. Here the graft is fixed to the side of the stock, which is planted or potted close to the plant to be worked. The branches are applied to the stock while yet attached to the parent tree, and remain so until united. In the case of trained trees, a young shoot is sometimes inarched to its parent stem to supply a branch where one has not been developed in the ordinary way.
For the propagation by grafts of stove and greenhouse plants the process adopted is whip-grafting or a modification of it. The parts are, however, sometimes so small that the tongue of the graft is dispensed with, and the two stems simply pared smooth and bound together. In this way hardy rhododendrons of choice sorts, greenhouse azaleas, the varieties of the orange family, camellias, roses, rare conifers, clematises and numerous other plants are increased. Raffia - which has taken the place of bast - is generally used for tying, and grafting wax is only used occasionally with such plants under glass. All grafting of this kind is done in the propagating house, at any season when grafts are obtainable in a fit state - the plants when operated on being placed in close frames warmed to a suitable temperature. Roses and clematis, however, are generally grafted from January to March and April.
Root-grafting is sometimes resorted to where extensive increase is an object, or where stem-grafting or other means of propagation are not available. In this case the scion is grafted directly on to a portion of the root of some appropriate stock, both graft and stock being usually very small; the grafted root is then potted so as to cover the point of junction with the soil, and is plunged in the bed of the propagating house, where it gets the slight stimulus of a gentle bottom heat. Dahlias (fig. 19), paeonies, and Wistarias may be FIG. 19. - Root-grafting FIG. 20. - Root-grafting of of Dahlia. Woody Plant.
grafted by inserting young shoots into the neck of one of the fleshy roots of each kind respectively - the best method of doing so being to cut a triangular section near the upper end of the root, just large enough to admit the young shoot when slightly pared away on two sides to give it a similar form. In the case of large woody plants thus worked (fig. 20) the grafted roots, after the operation is completed, are planted in nursery beds, so that the upper buds only are exposed to the atmosphere, as shown in the figure.
I I. By Buds. - Budding is the inserting of a bud of a choice variety cut with a portion of bark into the bark of the stock of an inferior nature where it is bound gently but firmly. Stone fruits, such as peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, &c., are usually propagated in this way, as well as roses and many other plants. In the propagating house budding may be done at any season when the sap is in motion; but for fruit trees, roses, &c., in the open air, it is usually done in July or August, when the buds destined for the following year are completely formed in the axils of the leaves, and when the bark separates freely from the wood it covers. Those buds are to be preferred, as being best ripened, which occur on the middle portion of a young shoot, and which are quite dormant at the time.
The simplest and most generally practised form of budding is that called shield-budding or T-budding (fig. 21). The operator should be FIG. 21. - Shield-budding.
provided with a sharp budding knife having a thin ivory or bone handle, for raising the bark of the stock. A horizontal incision is made in the bark quite down to the wood, and from this a perpendicular slit is drawn upwards to the extent of perhaps an inch, so that the slit has a resemblance to the letter T, as at a. A bud is then cut by a clean incision from the tree intended to be propagated, having a portion of the wood attached to it, and so that the whole may be about i in. long, as at d. The bit of wood e must be gently withdrawn, care being taken that the bud adheres wholly to the bark or shield, FIG. 17. - Cleft-Grafting.
as it is called, of which f is a side view. The bark on each side of the perpendicular slit being then cautiously opened, as at b, with the handle of the knife, the bud and shield are inserted as shown at c. The upper tip of the shield is cut off horizontally, and brought to fit the bark of the stock at the transverse incision. Slight ties of soft cotton wool or worsted, or moist raffia, are then applied. In about a month or six weeks the ligatures may be removed or slit with the knife to allow for the swelling stem, when, if the operation has been successful, the bud will be fresh and full, and the shield firmly united to the wood. In the following spring a strong shoot will be thrown out, and to prevent its being blown out by the wind, must be fastened to a stake, or to the lower portion of the old stock which has been left for the purpose.
To be successful the operation should be performed with a quick and light hand, so that no part of the delicate tissues be injured, as would happen if they were left for a time exposed, or if the bud were forced in like a wedge. The union is effected as in grafting, by means of the organizable sap or cambium, and the less this is disturbed until the inner bark of the shield is pressed and fixed against it the better. Trees to be grown in the form of a bush are usually budded low down on the stem of the stock as near the root as possible to obviate the development of wild suckers later on. Standard trees, however, are budded on a sturdy young shoot close to the top. In either case the stocks should have been carefully planted at least the previous November when the work is to be done in the open air the following July or August.
12. By Branch Cuttings. - Propagation by cuttings is the mode of increase most commonly adopted, next to that by seeds. It is effected by taking a portion from a branch or shoot of the plant, and placing it in the soil. There are great differences to be observed in the selection and treatment of cuttings. Sometimes soft green leafy shoots, as in Verbena (fig. 22, a), are used; sometimes the shoots FIG. 22. - Propagation by Cuttings.
must be half-ripened, and sometimes fully matured. So of the mode of preparation; some will root if cut off or broken off at any point and thrust into wet earth or sand in a warm place (fig. 22, a); others require to be cut with the utmost care just below a joint or leaf-base, and by a keen blade so as to sever the tissues without tearing or bruising; and others again after being cut across may be split up for a short distance, but there seems to be no particular virtue in this. It is usual and in most cases necessary to cut away the lower portion of a cutting up to just below the node or joint (fig. 22, b, d, e). The internodal parts will'not often divide so as to form separate individual plants; sometimes, however, this happens; it is said that the smallest piece of Torenia asiatica, for instance, will grow. Then as to position, certain cuttings grow readily enough if planted outdoors in the open soil, some preferring shade, others sunshine, while less hardy subjects must be covered with a bell-glass, or must be in a close atmosphere with bottom heat, or must have the aid of pure silver sand to facilitate their rooting (fig. 22, c). Cuttings should in all cases be taken from healthy plants, and from shoots of a moderate degree of vigour. It is also important to select leafy growths, and not such as will at'once run up to flower. Young shoots which have become moderately firm generally make the best cuttings, but sometimes the very softest shoots strike more readily. For all indoor plants in a growing state spring is a good time for taking cuttings, but at any time during the summer months is also favourable if cuttings are obtainable.
Cuttings of deciduous plants should be taken off after the fall of the leaf. These cuttings should be about 6 in. to i ft. in length, and should be planted at once in the ground so as to leave only the top with the two or three preserved buds exposed. If a clean stem, however, is desired, a longer portion may be left uncovered. Gooseberries, currants, roses and many hardy 'deciduous trees and shrubs are easily propagated in this way if the cuttings are inserted in welldrained soil about the end of October or early in November.
Cuttings of growing plants are prepared by removing with a sharp knife, and moderately close, the few leaves which would otherwise be buried in the soil; they are then cut clean across just below a joint; the fewer the leaves thus removed, however, the better, as if kept from being exhausted they help to supply the elaborated sap out of which the roots are formed. Free-rooting subjects strike in any lightish sandy mixture; but difficult subjects should have thoroughly well-drained pots, a portion of the soil proper for the particular plants made very sandy, and a surfacing of clean sharp silver sand about as deep as the length of the cutting.
Such difficult plants as heaths are reared in silver sand, a stratum of which is placed over the sandy peat soil in a specially prepared cutting pot, and thus the cuttings, though rooting in the sand under a bell-glass, find at once on the emission of roots congenial soil for them to grow in (fig. 22, c).
Hardy plants, such as pinks, pansies, &c., are propagated by cuttings planted a during early summer in light rich soil. The cuttings of pinks are called pipings (fig. 22, d), and are planted about June, while pansies may be renewed in this way both in spring and in autumn.
Pruning
Pruning is a very important operation in the fruit garden, its object being twofold - (i) to give form to the tree, and (2) to induce the free production of flower buds as the precursors of a plentiful crop of fruit. To form a standard tree, either the stock is allowed to grow up with a straight stem, by cutting away all side branches up to the height required, say about 6 ft., the scion or bud being worked at that point, and the head developed therefrom; or the stock is worked close to the ground, and the young shoot obtained therefrom is allowed to grow up in the same way, being pruned in its progress to keep it single and straight, and the top being cut off when the desired height is reached, so as to cause the growth of lateral shoots. If these are three or four in number, and fairly balanced as to strength and position, little pruning will be required. The tips of unripened wood should be cut back about one-third their length at an outwardly placed bud, and the chief pruning thereafter required will be to cut away inwardly directed shoots which cross or crowd each other and tend to confuse the centre of the tree. Bushy heads should be thinned out, and those that are too large cut back so as to remodel them. If the shoots produced are not sufficient in number, or are badly placed, or very unequal in vigour, the head should be cut back moderately close, leaving a few inches only of the young shoots, which should be pruned back to buds so placed as to furnish shoots in the positions desired. When worked at the top of a stem formed of the stock, the growth from the graft or bud must be pruned in a similar way. Three or four leading shoots should be selected to pass ere long into boughs and form a well-balanced framework for the tree; these boughs, however, will soon grow beyond any artificial system the pruner may adopt.
To form a dwarf or bush fruit tree the stock must be worked near the ground, and the young shoot produced from the scion or bud must be cut back to whatever height it is desired the dwarf stem should be, say 1-1 to 2 ft. The young shoots produced from the portion of the new wood retained are to form the framework of the bush tree, and must be dealt with as in the case of standard trees. The growth of inwardly directed shoots FIG. 27. - Dwarf-Tree Pruning.
is to be prevented, and the centre kept open, the tree assuming a cup-shaped outline. Fig. 27, reduced from M. Hardy's excellent work, Traite" de la taille des arbres fruitiers, will give a good idea how these dwarf trees are to be manipulated, a showing the first year's development from the maiden tree after being headed back, and b the form assumed a year or two later.
In forming a pyramidal tree, the lateral growths, instead of being removed, as in the standard tree, are encouraged to the utmost; and in order to strengthen them the upper part of the leading shoot is removed annually, the side branches being also shortened somewhat as the tree advances in size. In fig. 28, reduced from M. Hardy's work, a shows a young, FIG. 28. - Pyramid Pruning.
tree with its second year's growth, the upright shoot of the maiden tree having been moderately headed back, being left longer if the buds near the base promise to break freely, or cut shorter if they are weak and wanting in vigour. The winter pruning,. carried out with the view to shape the tree into a well-grown pyramid, would be effected at the places marked by a cross line. The lowest branch would have four buds retained, the end one being on the lower side of the branch. The two next would be cut to three buds, which here also are fortunately so situated that the one to be left is on the lower side of the branches. The fourth is not cut at all owing to its shortness and weakness, its terminal bud being allowed to grow to draw strength into it. The fifth is an example where the bud to which the shoot should be cut back is badly placed; a shoot resulting from a bud left on the upper side is apt instead of growing outwards to grow erect, and lead to confusion in the form of the tree; to avoid this it is tied down in its proper place during the summer by a small twig. The upper shoots are cut closer in. Near the base of the stem are two prominent buds, which would produce two vigorous shoots, but these would be too near the ground, and the buds should therefore be suppressed; but, to strengthen the lower part, the weaker buds just above and below the lowest branch should be forced into growth, by making a transverse incision close above each. Fig. 28, b, shows what a similar tree: would be at the end of the third year's growth.
In order to bring a young tree into the cordon shape, all its side branches are shortened back, either to form permanent spurs, as in the case of pears, or to yield annual young shoots, as in peaches and nectarines. The single-stemmed cordon may be trained horizontally, obliquely at any required angle, or vertically if required, the first two arrangements being preferable. If a double cordon is required, the original young stem must be headed back, and the two best shoots produced must be selected, trained right and left, and treated as for the single cordon.
The forms chiefly adopted for trees trained to walls and espalier rails are the fan-shaped, the half-fan and the horizontal, with their various modifications.
The maiden tree is headed down, and two shoots led away right and left. Two laterals should be allowed to grow from the upper side of them, one from near the base, the other from near the middle, all others being pinched out beyond the second or third leaf during summer, but cut away to the last bud in winter. The tree will thus consist of six shoots, probably 3 ft. to 4 ft. long, which are not to be pruned unless they are unequal in strength, a defect which is rather to be remedied by summer pinching than by winter pruning. The second year three young shoots are to be left on each of the six, one close to the base, one about the middle, and one at the point, the rest being rubbed off. These three shoots will produce laterals, of which one or two may be selected and laid in; and thus a number of moderately strong fertile shoots will be obtained, and at the end of the season a comparatively large tree will be the result.
The method of pruning formerly adopted for the formation of a fan-shaped tree was to head down the maiden plant to about two eyes, so placed as to yield a young shoot on each side (fig. 29), the supernumerary shoots being rubbed off while quite young, and the reserved shoots trained against the wall FIG. 29. - Pruning for Fanshaped Tree.
during the summer so as to get them well matured. The next year they were cut back again, often nearly to the base, in order that the lower pair of these shoots might each produce two well-placed young shoots, and the upper pair three young shoots. The tree would thus consist of ten shoots, to be laid out at regular distances, and then if closely cut the frame-work of the tree would be as in fig. 30. These main shoots were not again to be shortened back, but from each of them three young shoots were to be selected and trained in two, on the upper side, one near the base, and the other halfway up, and one on the lower side placed about midway between these two; these with the leading shoot, which was also to be nailed in, made four branches of the current year from each of the ten main branches, and the form of the tree would therefore be that of fig. 31. The other young shoots produced were pinched off while quite young, to throw all the strength of the tree into those which were to form its basis, and to secure abundant light and air. In after years the leading shoot was not to be cut back, but all the lateral shoots were to be shortened, and from these year by year other shoots were to be selected to fill up the area occupied by the tree.
In pruning for a horizontal tree the young maiden tree has to be headed back nearly to its base, and from the young shoots three are to be selected, the two best-placed lower ones to form an opposite or nearly opposite pair of main branches, and the best-placed upper one to continue the erect stem (fig. 32). This upper shoot is at the next winter pruning to be cut down to within about a foot of the point whence it sprung, and its buds rubbed off except the upper one for a leader, and one on each side just below it to furnish another pair of side shoots; these being trained in position, the tree would appear as in fig. 33.
FIG. 32. - Pruning for Horizontally trained Tree.
The same course is to be followed annually till the space is filled. Sometimes in very favourable soils and with vigorous trees two pairs of branches may be obtained in one season by summerstopping the erect shoots and selecting others from the young growths thus induced, but more commonly the trees have to be built up by forming one pair of branches annually. The shoots are not at first lowered to the horizontal line, but are brought down gradually and tied to thin stakes; and while the tree is being formed weak shoots may be allowed to grow in a more erect position than it is ultimately intended they should occupy. Thus in four or five years the tree will have FIG. 34. - The same - fifth year.
acquired something of the character of fig. 34, and will go on thus increasing until the space is filled.
The half-fan is a combination of the two forms, but as regards pruning does not materially differ from the horizontal, as two opposite side branches are produced in succession upwards till the space is filled, only they are not taken out so abruptly, but are allowed to rise at an acute angle and then to curve into the horizontal line.
In all the various forms of cordons, in horizontal training, and in fan and half-fan training, the pruning of the main branches when the form of the tree is worked out will vary in accordance with the kind of fruit under treatment. Thus in the peach, nectarine, apricot, plum and cherry, which are commonly trained fan-fashion, the first three (and also the morello cherry if grown) will have to be pruned so as to keep a succession of young annual shoots, these being their fruit-bearing wood. The others are generally pruned so as to combine a moderate supply of young wood with a greater or less number of fruit spurs. In the pear and apple the fruit is borne principally on spurs, and hence what is known as spur-pruning has to be adopted, the young shoots being all cut back nearly to their base, so as to cause fruit buds to evolve from the remaining eyes or buds. Cordons of apples and pears have to be similarly treated, but cordons of peaches and nectarines are pruned so as to provide the necessary annual succession of young bearing wood.
FIG. 30. - The same - third year.
FIG. 31. - The same - fourth year.
FIG. 33. - The same - third year.
Fruit trees trained as espaliers, fans or cordons against walls, trellises or fences, are not only pruned carefully in the winter but must be also pruned during the early summer months. Many of the smaller, useless shoots are rubbed out altogether; the best are allowed to grow perhaps a foot or more in length, and then either have the tips pinched out with the finger and thumb, or the ends may be cracked or broken, and allowed to hang down, but are not detached completely. This is called summer pruning, and is an important operation requiring knowledge on the part of the gardener to perform properly. Shoots of peaches, nectarines and morello cherries are "laid in," that is, placed in between fruiting shoots where there is the space to be ripened for next year's crop.
Summer Pruning should be performed while the shoots are yet young and succulent, so that they may in most cases be nipped off with the thumb-nail. It is very necessary in the case of trees trained to a flat surface, as a wall or espalier rail, to prevent undue crowding. In some cases, as, for example, with peaches, the superfluous shoots are wholly removed, and certain selected shoots reserved to supply bearing wood for next year. In others, as pears, the tops of the young shoots are removed, leaving three or four leaves and their buds at the base, to be developed into fruit buds by the additional nourishment thus thrown into them (fig. 35, a). One or two may push out a late summer growth, b; this will serve as a vent for the vigour FIG. 35. - Summer Pruning for Spurs. of the tree, and if the lowermost only go to the formation of a fruit spur, the object will have been gained. They are cut to the last dormant bud in winter.
But summer pruning has been much extended since the introduction of restricted growth and the use of dwarfing stocks. Orchard-house trees, and also pyramidal and bush trees of apples, pears and plums, are mainly fashioned by summer pruning; in fact, the less the knife is used upon them, except in the necessary cutting of the roots in potted trees, the better. In the case of orchard-house plants no shoots are suffered to lengthen out, except as occasionally wanted to fill up a gap in the outline of the tree. On the contrary, the tops of all young shoots are pinched off when some three or four leaves are formed, and this is done again and again throughout the season. When this pruning is just brought to a balance with the vigour of the roots, the consequence is that fruit buds are formed all over the tree, instead of a thicket of sterile and useless wood. Pyramidal and bush trees out of doors are, of course, suffered to become somewhat larger, and sufficient wood must be allowed to grow to give them the form desired; but after the first year or two, when the framework is laid out, they are permitted to extend very slowly, and never to any great extent, while the young growths are continually nipped off, so as to clothe the branches with fruit buds as closely placed as will permit of their healthy development.
The nature of the cut itself in pruning is of more consequence, especially in the case of fruit trees, than at first sight may appear. The branches should be separated by a clean cut at an angle of about 45°, just at the back of a bud, the cut entering on a level with the base of the bud and passing out on a level with its top (fig. 36, a), for when cut in this way the wound becomes rapidly covered with new wood, as soon as growth recommences, whereas if the cut is too close the bud is starved, or if less close an ugly and awkward snag is left. Fig 36, b and c, are examples of the former, and d, e, f of the latter. In fact there is only one right way to cut a shoot and that is as shown at a. The Pruning of flowering plants is generally a much lighter matter than the pruning of fruit trees. If a young seedling or cutting of any soft-wooded plant is to be bushy, it must have [[[Garden Operations]] its top nipped out by the thumb-nail or pruning-scissors at a very early stage, and this stopping must be repeated frequently. If what is called a well-furnished plant is required, an average of from 2 to 3 in. is all the extension that must be permitted - FIG. 36. - Cuts - Good and Bad.
sometimes scarcely so much - before the top is nipped out; and this must be continued until the desired size is attained, whether that be large or small. Then generally the plant is allowed to grow away till bloom or blooming shoots are developed. To form a pyramidal plant, which is a very elegant and useful shape to give to a decorative pot plant, the main stem should be encouraged to grow upright, for a length perhaps of 6 or 8 in. before it is topped; this induces the formation of laterals, and favours their development. The best-placed upper young shoot is selected and trained upright to a slender stake, and this also is topped when it has advanced 6 or 8 in. further, in order to induce the laterals on the second portion to push freely. This process is continued till the required size is gained. With all the difficult and slow-growing plants of the hard-wooded section, all the pruning must be done in this gradual way in the young wood as the plant progresses.
Some plants, like pelargoniums, can only be kept handsomely formed and well furnished by cutting them down severely every season, after the blooming is over. The plants should be prepared for this by keeping them rather dry at the root, and after cutting they must stand with little or no water till the stems heal over, and produce young shoots, or " break," as it is technically termed. The appearance of a specimen pelargonium properly pruned is shown in fig. 37, in which a shows a young plant, the head of which has been taken off to form a cutting, and whose buds are ready to break into young shoots. Three shoots will be produced, and these, after growing from 4 to 6 in. in length, should be stopped by pinching out the point, this giving rise to lateral shoots. These will blossom in due course, and, after being ripened thoroughly by full exposure to the sun, should be cut back as shown at b. This is the proper foundation for a good specimen, and illustrates how all such subjects should be pruned to keep them stocky and presentable in form.
Root-pruning is most commonly practised in fruit-tree cultivation. It is often resorted to as a means of restoring fertility in plants which have become over rank from an excess of nourishment in the soil, or sterile from want of it. The effect of root-pruning in the first case is to reduce the supply of crude sap to the branches, and consequently to cause a check in their development. In the second case all roots that have struck downwards into a cold uncongenial subsoil must be pruned off if they cannot be turned in a lateral direction, and all the lateral ones that have become coarse and fibreless must also be shortened back by means of a clean cut with a sharp knife, while a compost of rich loamy soil with a little bone-meal, and leaf-mould or old manure, should be filled into the trenches from which the old sterile soil has been taken. The operation is best performed early in autumn, and may be safely resorted to in the case of fruit trees FIG. 37.
of moderate age, and even of old trees if due care be exercised. In transplanting trees all the roots which may have become bruised or broken in the process of lifting should be cut clean away behind the broken part, as they then more readily strike out new roots from the cut parts. In all these cases the cut should be a clean sloping one, and made in an upward and outward direction.
The root-pruning of pot-plants is necessary in the case of many soft-wooded subjects which are grown on year after year - pelargoniums and fuchsias, for example. After the close pruning of the branches to which they are annually subjected, and when the young shoots have shot forth an inch or two in length, they are turned out of their pots and have the old soil shaken away from their roots, the longest of which, to the extent of about half the existing quantity, are then cut clean away, and the plants repotted into small pots. This permits the growing plant to be fed with rich fresh soil, without having been necessarily transferred to pots of unwieldy size by the time the flowering stage is reached.
Training
What is called training is the guiding of the branches of a tree or plant in certain positions which they would not naturally assume, the object being partly to secure their full exposure to light, and partly to regulate the flow and distribution of the sap. To secure the former object, the branches must be so fixed as to shade each other as little as possible; and to realize the second, the branches must have given to them an upward or downward direction, as they may require to be encouraged or repressed.
a " Something of the same vegetative FIG. 38. - Diagram illustrating Branch Distribution. vigour which is given to a plant or tree by hard pruning is afforded by training in an upward direction so as to promote the flow of the sap; while the repression effected by summer pruning is supplemented by downward training, which acts as a check. One main object is the preservation of equilibrium in the growth of the several parts of the tree; and for this various minor details deserve attention. Thus a shoot will grow more vigorously whilst waving in the air than when nailed close to the wall; consequently a weak shoot should be left free, whilst its stronger antagonist should be restrained; and a luxuriant shoot may be retarded for some time by having its tender extremity pinched off to allow a weaker shoot to overtake it.
By the prudent use of the knife, fruit trees may be readily trained into the forms indicated below, which are amongst the best out of the many which have been devised.
The training of standard and bush trees in the open ground has been already referred to under the section Pruning. When the growth of pyramids is completed, the outline is something like that of fig. 39, and very pretty trees are thus formed. It is better, however, especially if the tendency to bear fruit is rather slack, to adopt what the French call en quenouille training 40), which consists in tying or weighting the tips of the branches so as to give them all a downward curve. Pear trees FIG. 39. - Pyramidal Training. FIG. 40. - Training en quenouille. worked on the quince stock, and trained en quenouille, are generally very fertile.
Wall trees, it must be evident, are placed in a very unnatural and constrained position, and would in fact soon be reduced to a state of utter confusion if allowed to grow unrestricted; hence the following modes of training have been adopted.
Horizontal Training (fig. 41) has long been a favourite form in England. There is one principal ascending stem, from which o ', FIG. 41. - Horizontal Training.
the branches depart at right angles, at intervals of about a foot. Horizontal training is best adapted to the apple and the pear; and for the more twiggy growing slender varieties, the forms shown in fig. 42 have been recommended. In these the horizontal branches are placed wider, 18 to zo in. apart, and the smaller shoots are trained between them, either on both sides, as at a, or deflexed from the lower side, as at b. The latter is an excellent method of reclaiming neglected trees. Every alternate FIG. 42. - Forms of Horizontal Training.
branch should be taken away, and the spurs cut off, after which the young shoots are trained in, and soon produce good fruit.
In Fan Training (fig. 43) there is no leading stem, but the branches spring from the base and are arranged somewhat like the ribs of a fan. This mode of training is commonly adopted for the peach, nectarine, apricot and morello cherry, to which . .. - a. ] it is best adapted. Though sometimes adopted, it is not so well suited as the horizontal form for apples and pears, because, when the branches reach the top of the wall, where they must FIG. 43. - Fan Training.
be cut short, a hedge of young shoots is inevitable. A modification of the fan shape (fig. 44) is sometimes adopted for stone fruits, such as the plum and apricot. In this the object is to establish a number of mother branches, and on these to form a series of subordinate members, chiefly composed of bearing wood. The mother branches or limbs should not be numerous, but well marked, equal in strength and regularly disposed. The FIG. 44. - Modified Fan Training.
side branches should be pretty abundant, short and not so vigorous as to rival the leading members.
The Half fan mode of training, which is intermediate between horizontal and fan training, is most nearly allied to the former, but the branches leave the stem at an acute angle, a disposition supposed to favour the more equal distribution of the sap. Sometimes, as in fig. 45, two vertical stems are adopted, but there is no particular advantage in this, and a single-stemmed tree is more manageable. The half-fan form is well adapted for such fruits FIG. 45. - Half-Fan Training.
as the plum and the cherry; and, indeed, for fruits of vigorous habit, it seems to combine the advantages of both the foregoing.
Trees must be fixed to the walls and buildings against which they are trained by means of nails and shreds (neat medicated strips are now sold for this purpose), or in cases where it is desired to preserve the wall surface intact, by permanent nails or studs driven in in regular order. Sometimes the walls are furnished with galvanized wires, but this has been objected to as causing cankering of the shoots, for which, however, painting is recommended as a remedy. By crossing the tying material between the wire and the wood, however, and so preventing. them from coming in contact, there is no danger. If they are adopted, the wires should be a few inches away from the wall, to allow free circulation of air between it and the tree, and thus avoid the scorching or burning of leaves and fruits during the summer months in very hot places. Care should be taken that the ties or fastenings do not eventually cut into the bark as the branches swell with increased age. When shreds and nails are used, short thick wire nails and " medicated shreds " are the best; the ordinary cast iron wall nails being much too brittle and difficult to drive into the wall. It must be remembered that nails spoil a wall sooner or later, whereas a wire trellis is not only much neater, but enables the gardener to tie his trees up much more quickly.
For tying plants to trellises and stakes soft tarred string or raffia (the fibre from the Raphia palm of Madagascar) is used. In training greenhouse plants the young branches should be drawn outwards by means of ties fastened to a string or wire FIG. 46. - Clematis trained on Balloon-Shaped Trellis.
under the pot-rim; the centre then fills up, and slender stakes are used as required; but the fewer these are in number the better. Climbers are trained from the bottom around or across trellises, of which the cylindrical or the balloon-shaped, or sometimes the flat oval or circular, are the best forms. The size should be adapted to the habit of the plant, which should cover the whole by the time flowers are produced. Bast fibre and raffia fibre are to be preferred for light subjects of this character, as they can be split to any degree of fineness. Very durable trellises for greenhouse climbers are made of slender round iron rods for standards, having a series of hooks on the inner edge, into which rings of similar metal are dropped; the rings may be graduated so as to form a broad open top, or may be all of the same size, when the trellis will assume the cylindrical form. Fig. 46 shows a pot specimen of clematis trained over a balloonshaped trellis.
The training of certain bedding plants over the surface of the soil is done by small pegs of birch wood or bracken, by loops of wire or cheap hair-pins, or sometimes by loops of raffia having the ends fixed in the soil by the aid of the dibble. The object is to fill up the blank space as quickly and as evenly as possible.
Forcing is the accelerating, by special treatment, of the growth of certain plants, which are required to be had in leaf, in flower or in fruit before their natural season, - as, for instance, the leaves of mint at Eastertide or the leafstalks of sea-kale and rhubarb at Christmas, the flowers of summer in the depth of winter, or some of the choicest fruits perfected so much before their normal period as to complete, with the retarded crops of winter, the circle of the seasons.
In the management of artificial heat for this purpose, a considerable degree of caution is required. The first stages of forcing should, of course, be very gentle, so that the whole growth of the plants may advance in harmony. The immediate application of a very hot atmosphere would unduly force the tops, while the roots remained partially or wholly inactive; and a strong bottom heat, if it did not cause injury by its excess, would probably result in abortive growth.
Any sudden decrease of warmth would be very prejudicial to the progress of vegetation through the successive stages of foliation, inflorescence and fructification. But it is not necessary that one unvarying range of temperature should be kept up at whatever pains or risk. Indeed, in very severe weather it is found better to drop a little from the maximum temperature by fire heat, and the loss so occasioned may be made good by a little extra heat applied when the weather is more genial. Night temperatures also should always be allowed to drop somewhat, the heat being increased again in the morning. In other words, the artificial temperature should increase by day and decrease by night, should rise in summer and fall in winter, should, in short, imitate as nearly as possible the varying influence of the sun.
For the growth of flowers generally, and for that of all fruits, every ray of light to be obtained in the dull winter season is required, and therefore every possible care should be taken to keep the glass clean. A moist genial atmosphere too is essential, a point requiring unremitting attention on account of the necessity of keeping up strong fires. With moisture as with heat, the cultivator must hold his hand somewhat in very severe or very dull weather; but while heat must not drop so as to chill the progressing vegetation, so neither must the lack of moisture parch the plants so as to check their growth.
There are some few subjects which when forced do not require a light house. Thus amongst flowers the white blossoms of the lilac, so much prized during winter, are produced by forcing purple-flowered plants in darkness. Rhubarb and sea-kale among esculents both need to be forced in darkness to keep them crisp and tender, and mushrooms also are always grown in dark structures. In fact, a roomy mushroom house is one of the most convenient of all places for forcing the vegetables just referred to. The lilac would be better placed in a dark shed heated to about 70° or 80°, in which some dung and leaves could be allowed to lie and ferment, giving off both a genial heat and moisture.
One of the most important preliminaries to successful forcing is the securing to the plants a previous state of rest. The thorough ripening of the preceding season's wood in fruit trees and flowering plants, and of the crown in perennial herbs like strawberries, and the cessation of all active growth before the time they are to start into a new growth, are of paramount importance. The ripening process must be brought about by free exposure to light, and by the application of a little extra heat with dryness, if the season should be unfavourable; and both roots and tops must submit to a limitation of their water supply. When the ripening is perfected, the resting process must be aided by keeping the temperature in which they await the forcing process as low as each particular subject can bear. (See Retardation above.) V. Flowers. Flower Garden and Pleasure Grounds. - Wherever there is a flower garden of considerable magnitude, and in a separate situation, it should be constructed on principles of its own. The great object must be to exhibit to advantage the graceful forms and glorious hues of flowering plants and shrubs. Two varieties of flower gardens have chiefly prevailed in Britain. In one the ground is turf, out of which flower-beds, of varied patterns, are cut; in the other the flower-beds are separated by gravel walks, without the introduction of grass. When the flower garden is to be seen from the windows, or any other elevated point of view, the former is to be preferred; but where the surface is irregular, and the situation more remote, and especially where the beauty of flowers is mainly looked to, the choice should probably fall on the latter.
The flower garden may include several different compartments.. Thus, for example, there is the " Rock Garden," which should consist of variously grouped masses of large stones, those which are remarkable for being figured by water-wearing, or containing petrifactions or impressions, or showing something of natural stratification, being generally preferred. In the cavities between the stones, filled with earth, alpine or trailing plants are inserted,. and also some of the choicest flowers. In proper situations, a small pool of water may be introduced for the culture of aquatic plants. In these days the rock-garden is a most important feature, and it requires a good deal of care and skill to arrange the boulders, walks, pools or streams in natural and artistic fashion. The selection of suitable alpines, perennials and shrubs and trees also necessitates considerable knowledge on the part of the gardener. A separate compartment laid out on some regular plan is of ten set apart for roses, under the name of the " Rosery." A moist or rather a shady border, or a section of the pleasure ground supplied with bog earth, may be devoted to what is called the " American Garden," which, as it includes. the gorgeous rhododendrons and azaleas, forms one of the grandest features of the establishment during the early summer, while if properly selected the plants are effective as a garden of evergreens at all seasons. The number of variegated and various-coloured hardy shrubs is now so great that a most pleasant plot for a " Winter Garden " may be arrayed with plants. of this class, with which may be associated hardy subjects which flower during that season or very early spring, as the Christmas rose, and amongst bulbs the crocus and snowdrop. Later the spring garden department is a scene of great attraction; and some of the gardens of this character, as those of Cliveden and Belvoir, are among the most fascinating examples of horticultural art. The old-fashioned stereotyped flower garden that one met with almost everywhere is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, and grounds are now laid out more in accordance with their natural disposition, their climatic conditions and their suitability for certain kinds of plants. Besides the features already mentioned there are now bamboo gardens, Japanese gardens, water gardens and wall gardens, each placed in the most suitable position and displaying its own special features.
Cynosurus cristatu
Crested Dog's-tail Festuca duriuscula - Hard Fescue Festuca ovina - Sheep's Fescue .
Lolium perenne tenue. .. . 18 lb Poa nemoralis sempervirens - Evergreen Meadow-grass. 3 ib Poa trivialis - Trivial Meadow-grass.. 3 lb Trisetum flavescens - Yellow Oat-grass. 2 lb Trifolium repens - Dutch Clover. ... 6 lb The seeds should be thoroughly mixed, and very evenly sown, after which the surface should be raked over to bury them, and then rolled down while dry so as to finish it off smooth and level. When thus sown, lawns require to be promptly weeded. During the growing season established lawns should be mown at least once a week. They should be occasionally rolled, and towards autumn they require frequent sweepings to remove worm-casts.
Hardy Annuals. - Annual plants are those which grow up from seed, flower, ripen seed, and die in the course of one season - one year. They are useful in the mixed garden, for though in some cases they are of short duration, many of them are possessed of much beauty of hue and elegance of form. Annuals may be divided into three classes: the hardy, which are sown at once in the ground they are to occupy; the half-hardy, which succeed best when aided at first by a slight hot bed, and then transplanted into the open air; and the tender, which are kept in pots, and treated as greenhouse or stove plants, to which departments they properly belong. Some of the more popular annuals, hardy and half-hardy, have been very much varied as regards habit and the colour of the flowers, and purchases may be made in the seed shops of such things as China asters, stocks, Chinese and Indian pinks, larkspurs, phloxes and others, amongst which some of the most beautiful of the summer flowers may be found.
The hardy annuals may be sown in the open ground during the latter part of March or beginning of April, as the season may determine, for the weather should be dry and open, and the soil in a free-working condition before sowing is attempted. In favourable situations and seasons some of the very hardiest, as Silene pendula, Saponaria, Nemophila, Gilia, &c., may be sown in September or October, and transplanted to the beds or borders for very early spring flowering. Those sown in spring begin to flower about June. The plants, if left to flower where they are sown, should be thinned out while young, to give them space for proper development. It is from having ample room that pricked out transplanted seedlings often make the finest plants. The soil should be rich and light.
The half-hardy series are best sown in pots or pans under glass in mild,heat, in order to accelerate germination. Those of them which are in danger of becoming leggy should be speedily removed to a cooler frame and placed near the glass, the young plants being pricked off into fresh soil, in other pots or pans or boxes, as may seem best in each case. All the plants must be hardened off gradually during the month of April, and may generally be planted out some time in May, earlier or later according to the season.
The class of tender annuals, being chiefly grown for greenhouse decoration, should be treated much the same as soft-wooded plants, being sown in spring, and grown on rapidly in brisk heat, near the glass, and finally hardened off to stand in the greenhouse when in flower.
We add a select list of some of the more distinct annuals desirable for general cultivation as decorative plants for the open air Acroclinium roseum: half-hardy, I ft., rose-pink or white; everlasting.
Agrostis pulchella : hardy, 6 in.; a most graceful grass for bouquets. Amberboa moschata atropurpurea (Sweet Sultan): hardy, Li ft., purple; musk-scented.
Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon): hardy, 6 in. to 2 ft., white, yellow and red. This plant is perennial, but is best treated as an annual.
Arnebia cornuta: hardy, z2 to 2 ft. yellow.
Bartonia aurea: hardy, 2 ft., golden yellow; showy and free. Brachycome iberidifolia: half-hardy, i ft., blue or white with dark disk.
Calendula officinalis Meteor: hardy, i ft., orange striped with yellow.
Calliopsis or Coreopsis bicolor (tinctoria) : hardy, 2 to 3 ft., yellow and chestnut-brown.
Calliopsis or Coreopsis Drummondii: hardy, I to 2 ft., golden yellow with red disk.
Callistephus hortensis or chinensis (the China aster): half-hardy, 6 in. to i z ft.; there are several groups of various colours. The species itself is a very handsome plant.
Campanula Loreyi: hardy, i z ft., purplish-lilac or white. Campanula macrostyla: hardy, I to 2 ft., purple, beautifully veined. Carnations, Marguerite: half-hardy, 9 to 12 in., colours various. Centaurea Cyanus: hardy, 3 ft., blue, purple, pink or white; showy.
Centranthus macrosiphon: hardy, t; to 2 ft., rosy-carmine. Centranthus ruber (known as Pretty Betsy and Red Valerian): hardy, 2 to 3 ft., red.
Chrysanthemum carinatum: a charming half-hardy annual, 2 to 3 ft. high, with several varieties, of which C. Burridgeanum with zones of white, crimson and yellow is best.
C. coronarium, a yellow-flowered species requires similar treatment. Clarkia pulchella: hardy, IZ ft., rosy-purple; some varieties very handsome.
Collinsia bicolor: hardy, r i ft., white and purple; pretty.
Collinsia verna: hardy, I ft., white and azure; sow as soon as ripe.
Convolvulus tricolor atroviolacea: hardy, i ft., white, blue and yellow. This is the Convolvulus minor of gardens.
Cosmos bipinnatus: half-hardy, 3 ft., rose, purple, white; requires sunny spots.
Dianthus chinensis (Indian pink): half-hardy, 6 in. to ft., various shades of red and white.
Delphinium Ajacis and Delphinium Consolida (Larkspurs): hardy, 3 ft., various colours.
Erysimum Peroffskianum: hardy, 2 ft., deep orange; in erect racemes.
Eschscholtzia californica: hardy, II ft., yellow with saffron eye. Eschscholtzia crocea flore-pleno: hardy, t 2 ft., orange yellow; double.
Eutoca viscida: hardy, 2 ft., bright blue, with white hairy centre. Gaillardia Drummondii (pitta): half-hardy, t z ft., crimson, yellow margin.
Gilia achilleaefolia: hardy, 2 ft., deep blue; in large globose heads. Godetia Lindleyana: hardy, 2 to 3 ft., rose-purple, with crimson spots.
Godetia Whitneyi: hardy, i ft., rosy-red, with crimson spots. The variety Lady Albemarle is wholly crimson, and very handsome. Gypsophila elegans: hardy, t z ft., pale rose; branched very gracefully.
Helianthus cucumerifolius: hardy, 3 to 4 ft., golden yellow, black disk; branching, free and bold without coarseness.
Helichrysum bracteatum: half-hardy, 2 ft.; the incurved crimson, rose and other forms very handsome.
Hibiscus Trionum (africanus) : hardy, t z ft., cream colour, dark purple centre.
Iberis umbellata (Candytuft): hardy, t ft., white, rose, purple, crimson. Some new dwarf white and flesh-coloured varieties are very handsome.
Kaulfussia amelloides: hardy, t ft., blue or rose; the var. kermesina is deep crimson.
Kochia scoparia (Belvedere or lawn cypress): hardy, graceful green foliage, turning purple in autumn.
Koniga maritima (Sweet Alyssum): hardy, I ft., white; fragrant, compact.
Lathyrus odoratus (Sweet Pea): hardy; there are two races, dwarf and tall, the latter - far and away the most beautiful - requires support; various colours; numerous immensely popular forms. Lavatera trimestris: hardy, 3 ft., pale-rose, showy malvaceous flowers.
Leptosiphon densiflorus: hardy in light soil, i ft., purplish or rosy-lilac.
Leptosiphon roseus: hardy in light soil, 6 in., delicate rose; fine in masses.
Linaria bipartita splendida: hardy, I ft., deep purple.
Linum grandiflorum: hardy, I ft., splendid crimson; var. roseum is pink.
Lupinus luteus: hardy, 2 ft., bright yellow, fragrant.
Lupinus mutabilis Cruickshanksii: hardy, 4 ft., blue and yellow; changeable.
Lupinus nanus: hardy, I ft., bluish-purple; abundant flowering. Lychnis Coeli-rosa: hardy, t2 ft., rosy-purple, with pale centre; pretty.
Lychnis oculata cardinalis: hardy, z 2 ft., rosy-crimson; very brilliant.
Malcolmia maritima (Virginian Stock): hardy, 6 in., lilac, rose or white.
Malope trifida: hardy, 3 ft., rich glossy purplish-crimson; showy. M. grandiflora is a finer plant in every way.
Matthiola annua (Ten-week Stock and its variety, the intermediate stock): half-hardy, I to 2 ft., white, rose and red.
Matthiola graeca (Wallflower-lvd. Stock): hardy, I ft., various as in Stock.
Mesembryanthemum tricolor: half-hardy, 3 in., pink and crimson, with dark centre.
Mimulus cupreus: half-hardy, 6 in., coppery red, varying considerably.
Mimulus luteus tigrinus: half-hardy, t ft., yellow spotted with red; var. duplex has hose-in-hose flowers.
Mirabilis Jalapa: half-hardy, 3 ft., various colours; flowers evening-scented.
Nemesia floribunda: hardy, I ft., white and yellow; pretty and compact.
Nemophila insignis: hardy, 6 in., azure blue, with white centre. Nemophila maculata: hardy, 6 in., white, with violet spots at the edge.
Nicotiana affinis: half-hardy, 2 to 3 ft., white.
. 6lb 3 lb 3 lb Nicotiana Sanderae: half-hardy, 2 to 3 ft., white, crimson, scarlet, &c.
Nigella hispanica: hardy, 12 ft., pale blue, white or dark purple. Oenothera odorata: hardy, 2 to 3 ft., yellow; fragrant.
Omphalodes linifolia (Venus's Navelwort): hardy, I ft., white. Papaver Rhoeas flore-pleno: hardy, 2 ft., scarlet and other colours; showy.
Papaver somniferum flore-pleno: hardy, 3 ft., white, lilac, rose, &c.; petals sometimes fringed.
Petunia violacea hybrida: half-hardy, I z ft., various colours; sow in heat.
Pharbitis hispida: hardy, 6 ft., various; the many-coloured twining Convolvulus major. Phlox Drummondii: half-hardy, I ft., various colours.
Platystemon californicus: hardy, i ft., sulphur yellow; neat and distinct.
Portulaca splendens: half-hardy, 6 in., crimson, rose, yellow, white, &c., single and double; splendid prostrate plants for sunny rockwork. Pyrethrum Parthenium aureum: half-hardy, I ft.; grown for its golden foliage, and much used for bedding.
Reseda odorata (Mignonette): hardy, I ft., greenish, but exquisitely fragrant; there are some choice new sorts.
Rhodanthe maculata: half-hardy, IZ ft., rosy-pink or white; larger flower-heads than the next.
Rhodanthe Manglesii: half-hardy, i ft., rosy-pink; a drooping everlasting.
Salpiglossis sinuata: half-hardy, 2 to 3 ft., yellow, purple, crimson, &c.; much varied and beautifully veined.
Sanvitalia procumbens flore-pleno: half-hardy, 6 in., golden yellow; procumbent.
Saponaria calabrica: hardy, 6 to 8 in., bright rose pink or white; continuous blooming, compact-growing.
Scabiosa atropurpurea: hardy, I to 2 ft., rose, white, lilac, crimson, &c.
Schizanthus pinnatus: hardy, I to 2 ft., purple-lilac, prettily blotched; curiously lobed flowers.
Schizopetalon Walkeri: hardy, i ft., white, sweet-scented at night; curiously fringed petals.
Senecio elegans: half-hardy, '1 ft., white, rose or purple; the various double forms are showy.
Silene pendula: hardy, i ft., bright rose pink; very showy in masses; var. compacta forms close dense tufts.
Silene Pseudo-Atocion: hardy, i ft., rose pink; free-flowering. Specularia Speculum: hardy, 6 in., reddish-violet; free-flowering. Sphenogyne speciosa: half-hardy, i ft., orange-yellow, with black ring around the disk.
Statice Bonduelli (Sea Lavender): half-hardy, 12 ft., yellow. S. Limonum: bluish purple.
S. sinuata: white, blue, yellow.
S. Suworowi: lilac.
Tagetes sinuata: half-hardy, IZ ft., golden yellow; continuous blooming, with elegant foliage. The French and African marigolds, favourites of some, are allied to this.
Tropaeolum aduncum (Canary creeper): half-hardy, ro ft., yellow, fringed; an elegant climber.
Tropaeolum majus (the nasturtium of gardens): hardy. There are two races, dwarf and tall, various shades of red and yellow.
Waitzia aurea: half-hardy, 12 ft., golden yellow; a showy everlasting.
Xeranthemum annuum flore-pleno: hardy, 2 ft., lilac-purple; floriferous.
Zinnia elegans: half-hardy, I to 2 ft., various colours.
Hardy Biennials. - Biennials live through one winter period. They require to be sown in the summer months, about June or July, in order to get established before winter; they should be pricked out as soon as large enough, and should have ample space so as to become hardy and stocky. They should be planted in good soil, but not of too stimulating a character. Those that are perfectly hardy are best planted where they are to flower in good time during autumn. This transplanting acts as a kind of check, which is rather beneficial than otherwise. Of those that are liable to suffer injury in winter, as the Brompton and Queen Stocks, a portion should be potted and wintered in cold frames ventilated as freely as the weather will permit.
The number of biennials is not large, but a few very desirable garden plants, such as the following, occur amongst them: Agrostemma coronaria (Rose Campion): hardy, I ft., bright rose-purple or rose and white.
Beta Cicla variegata: hardy, 2 ft., beautifully coloured leaves and midribs, crimson, golden, &c.
Campanula Medium (Canterbury Bell): hardy, 2 ft., blue, white, rose, &c. The double-flowered varieties of various colours are very handsome.
Campanula Medium calycanthema: hardy, 2 ft., blue or white; hose-in-hose flowered.
Catananche coerulea: hardy, 2 to 3 ft., blue or white.
Celsia cretica: hardy, 4 to 5 ft., yellow, with two dark spots near centre; in spikes.
Cheiranthus Cheiri (Wallflower): hardy, 11 to 2 ft., red, purple, yellow, &c.; really a perennial but better as a biennial.
Coreopsis grandiflora: hardy, 2 to 3 ft., bright yellow; the finest member of the genus.
Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William): hardy, I to I i ft., crimson, purple, white or parti-coloured.
Dianthus chinensis (Indian Pink): half-hardy, I ft., various; flower earlier if treated as biennials; must be protected from frost. Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove): hardy, 3 to 5 ft., rosy-purple or' white; beautifully spotted; the variety called gloxinioides has regular, erect flowers.
Echium pomponium: hardy, 4 ft., rosy-pink.
Hedysarum coronarium (French Honeysuckle): hardy, 2 to 3 ft., scarlet or white; fragrant.
Hesperis tristis (Night-scented Rocket): hardy, 3 ft., dull purplish; fragrant at night.
Lunaria biennis (Honesty): hardy, 2 to 3 ft., purple; the silvery dissepiment attractive among everlastings.
Matthiola incana (two groups, the Brompton and the Queen stocks): hardy, 2 to 21 ft., white, red and purple.
Meconopsis. Charming members of the poppy family, of which M. aculeata, purple; M. grandis, purple; M. heterophylla, coppery orange; M. nepalensis, golden yellow; M. integrifolia, yellow; M. simplicifolia, violet purple, are grown with care in sheltered spots, and in rich, very gritty soil.
Michauxia campanuloides, a remarkable bell flower, 3 to 8 ft. high, white tinged purple. Requires rich loam in warm sheltered spots. Oenothera biennis and O. Lamarckiana (Evening primrose): hardy, 5 ft., bright yellow; large.
Scabiosa caucasica: hardy, 3 ft., blue, white.
Silene compacta: half-hardy, 3 to 6 inches, bright pink; clustered as in S. Armeria. Verbascum Blattaria: hardy, 3 to 4 ft., yellowish, with purple hairs on the filaments; in tall spikes.
Hardy Herbaceous Perennials. - ThiS term includes not only those fibrous-rooted plants of herbaceous habit which spring up from the root year after year, but also those old-fashioned subjects known as florists' flowers, and the hardy bulbs. Some of the most beautiful of hardy flowering plants belong to this class. When the length of the flowering season is considered, it will be obvious that it is impossible to keep up the show of a single border or plot for six months together, since plants, as they are commonly arranged, come dropping into and out of flower one after another; and even where a certain number are in bloom at the same time, they necessarily stand apart, and so the effects of contrast, which can be perceived only among adjacent objects, are lost. To obviate this defect, it has been recommended that ornamental plants should be formed into four or five separate suites of flowering, to be distributed over the garden. Not to mention the more vernal flowers, the first might contain the flora of May; the second that of June; the third that of July; and the fourth that of August and the following months. These compartments should be so intermingled that no particular class may be entirely absent from any one quarter of the garden.
Before beginning to plant, it would be well to construct tables or lists of the plants, specifying their respective times of flowering, colours and heights. To diversify properly and mingle well together the reds, whites, purples, yellows and blues, with all their intervening shades, requires considerable taste and powers of combination; and ascertained failures may be rectified at the proper time the next season. The one great object aimed at should be to present an agreeable contrast - a floral picture; and, as at particular seasons a monotony of tint prevails, it is useful at such times to be in possession of some strong glaring colours. White, for instance, should be much employed in July, to break the duller blues and purples which then preponderate. Orange, too, is very effective at this season. On the other hand, yellows are superabundant in autumn, and therefore reds and blues should then be sought for. The flower-gardener should have a small nursery, or reserve garden, for the propagation of the finer plants, to be transferred into the borders as often as is required.
As a rule, all the fibrous-rooted herbaceous plants flourish in good soil which has been fairly enriched with manure, that of a loamy character being the most suitable. Many of them also grow satisfactorily in a peaty soil if well worked, especially if they have a cool moist subsoil. Pentstemons and phloxes, amongst others, succeed well in soil of this character, but the surface must be well drained; the former are rather apt to perish in winter in loamy soil, if at all close and heavy. The herbaceous border should be a distinct compartment varying from 6 to to ft. in width, and perhaps backed up by evergreens under certain conditions. Such a border will take in about four lines of plants, the tallest being placed in groups at the back and in the centre, and the others graduated in height down to the front. In the front row patches of the white arabis, the yellow alyssum, white, yellow, blue, or purple violas, and the purple aubrietia, recurring at intervals of 5 or 6 yards on a border of considerable length, carry the eye forwards and give a balanced kind of finish to the whole. The same might be done with dianthuses or the larger narcissi in the second row, with paeonies, columbines and phloxes in the third, and with delphiniums, aconitums and some of the taller yellow composites as helianthus and rudbeckia at the back. Spring and autumn flowers, as well as those blooming in summer, should be regularly distributed throughout the border, which will then at no season be devoid of interest in any part. Many of the little alpines may be brought into the front line planted between suitable pieces of stone, or they may be relegated to a particular spot, and placed on an artificial rockery. Most of the hardy bulbs will do well enough in the border, care being taken not to disturb them while leafless and dormant.
Some deep-rooting perennials do not spread much at the surface, and only require refreshing from time to time by top-dressings. Others, as the asters, spread rapidly; those possessing this habit should be taken up every second or third year, and, a nice patch being selected for replanting from the outer portions, the rest may be either thrown aside, or reserved for increase; the portion selected for replanting should be returned to its place, the ground having meanwhile been well broken up. Some plants are apt to decay at the base, frequently from exposure caused by the lifting process going on during their growth; these should be taken up annually in early autumn, the soil refreshed, and the plants returned to their places, care being taken to plant them sufficiently deep.
Only a section of some of the best of the decorative hardy perennials can be noted, before we pass on to those popular subjects of this class which have been directly influenced by the hybridizer and improver. Many more might be added to the subjoined list Acaena. - Neat trailing plants adapted for rockwork, thriving in sandy soil. A. microphylla and A. myriophylla have pretty spiny heads of flowers.
Summer Bedding
There is great variety amongst the plants which are used for bedding-out in the garden during the summer months, but we can note only some of the most important of them. Amongst them are the Ageratums, the old tall-growing sorts of which have been superseded by dwarfer blue and white flowered varieties; Alternantheras, the principal of which are A. amoena, amoena spectabilis, magnifica, paronychioides major aurea and amabilis; Alyssum maritimum variegatum; some of the dwarf varieties of Antirrhinum majus; Arundo Donax variegata; Begonias; Calceolarias; Cannas; Centaurea ragusina; Clematises, of which the hybrids of the Jackmanni type are best; Dahlia variabilis, and the single-flowered forms of D. coccinea; Echeverias, of which E. secunda and E. metallica are much employed; Gazanias; Heliotropes; Iresines; Lantanas; Lobelias; Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum; Pelargoniums, of which the various classes of zonal or bedding varieties are unapproachable for effect and general utility; Petunias; Phloxes; Polemonium coeruleum variegatum; Pyrethrum Parthenium aureum, the well-known Golden Feather, especially useful as an edging to define the outline of beds upon grass; Tropaeolums, especially some of the varieties of T. Lobbianum; and Verbenas, the offspring of Tweedieana, chamaedrifolia and others. Few bulbs come into the summer flower gardens, but amongst those which should always be well represented are the Gladiolus, the Lilium, the Tigridia and the Montbretia.
Subtropical Bedding. - Foliage and the less common flowering plants may be used either in masses of one kind, or in groups arranged for contrast, or as the centres of groups of less imposing or of dwarfer-flowering subjects; or they may be planted as single specimens in appropriate open spaces, in recesses, or as distant striking objects terminating a vista.
Carpet Bedding consists in covering the surface of a bed, or a series of beds forming a design, with close, low-growing plants, in which certain figures are brought out by means of plants of a different habit or having different coloured leaves. Sometimes, in addition to the carpet or ground colour, individual plants of larger size and handsome appearance are dotted symmetrically over the beds, an arrangement which is very telling. Some of the best plants for carpeting the surface of the beds are: Antennaria tomentosa and Leucophytum Browni, white; Sedum acre, dasyphyllum, corsicum and glaucum, grey; and Sedum Lydium, Mentha Pulegium gibraltarica, Sagina subulata and Herniaria glabra, green. The Alternantheras, Amaranthuses, Iresines and Coleus Verschaffelti furnish high and warm colours; while Pyrethrum Parthenium aureum yields greenish-yellow; Thymus citriodorus aureus, yellowish; Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum, creamy yellow; Centaureas and others, white; Lobelia Erinus, blue; and the succulent Echeverias and Sempervivums, glaucous rosettes, which last add much to the general effect. In connexion with the various designs such fine plants as Agave americana, Dracaena indivisa are often used as centre-pieces.
Greenhouse PLANTs. - These are plants requiring the shelter of a glass house, provided with a moderate degree of heat, of which 45° Fahr. may be taken as the minimum in winter. The house should be opened for ventilation in all mild weather in winter, and daily throughout the rest of the year. The following is a select list of genera of miscellaneous decorative plants (orchids, palms and ferns excluded; climbers are denoted by *; bulbous and tuberous plants by f) Stove Plants. - For the successful culture of stove plants two houses at least, wherein different temperatures can be maintained, should be devoted to their growth. The minimum temperature during winter should range at night from about 55° in the cooler to 65° in the warmer house, and from 65° to 75° by day, allowing a few degrees further rise by sun heat. In summer the temperature may range to° higher by artificial heat, night and day, and will often by sun heat run up to 90° or even 95°, beyond which it should be kept down by ventilation and frequent syringing and damping down of the pathways. During the growing period the atmosphere must be kept moist by damping the walls and pathways, and by syringing the plants according to their needs; when growth is completed less moisture will be necessary. Watering, which, except during the resting period, should generally be copious, is best done in the forenoon; while syringing should be done early in the morning before the sun becomes too powerful, and late in the afternoon to admit of the foliage drying moderately before night. The following is a select list of genera of stove plants (climbers are denoted by *, bulbous and tuberous plants by f) Acalypha Achimenest Aeschynanthus Allamanda* Alocasiat Amaryllist Anthurium Aphelandra Aralia Ardisia Arisaemaf Aristolochia * Ataccia Begonia Bertolonia Bignonia* Bromeliads Cactus Caladium f Calathea Centropogon Cissus* Clerodendron * Crinumt Codiaeum (Croton) ORcftIDs. - For the successful cultivation of a mixed collection of tropical orchids, it is necessary that two or three houses, in which different temperatures can be maintained, should be provided. The greater number of them are epiphytes or plants that grow on others without absorbing nourishment from them, and heat and moisture afford all or nearly all the nourishment they require. At one time it was thought the plants themselves were better for being associated with such objects as ferns and palms, but they are best grown by themselves.
The East Indian orchid house takes in those species which are found in the warm parts of the eastern hemisphere, as well as those from the hottest parts of the western, and its temperature should range from about 70° to 80° during the summer or growing season and from 65° to 70° during winter. The Mexican or Brazilian orchid house accommodates the plants from the warm parts of South America, and its temperature should range from about 65° to 75° during summer and from 60° to 65° in winter. A structure called the cool orchid house is set apart for the accommodation of the many lovely mountain species from South America and India, such as odontoglossums, masdevallias, &c., and in this the more uniform the temperature can be kept the better, that in summer varying between Cyanophyllum (Miconia) Cycas Dieffenbachia Dipladenia* Dracaena Eranthemum Eucharist Euphorbia Ficus Franciscea Gardenia Gesnera Gloriosa* Gloxinia f Heliconia f Hoffmannia I pomaea * Ixora Jacobinia Jasminum* Luculia Maranta Medinilla Meyenia Musa Nelumbium f Nepenthes Nymphaea f Oxera * Pancratium f Pandanus Passiflora* Pavetta Petraea * Pleroma* Poinsettia Rondeletia Sanchezia Schubertia* Scutellaria Stephanotis Tabernaemontana Terminalia Thunbergia Torenia Thyrsacanthus Tydaea Vinca Abutilon Acacia Agapanthus Agathaea Agave Alonsoa Aloysia Amaryllis Ardisia Asparagus Aspidistra Asystasia (Mackaya) Azalea Bauera Begonia Blandfordia Bomarea * Boronia Bougainvillea * Bouvardia Brugmansia Calceolaria Camellia Campanula Canna Celosia Cestrum * Chorizema* Chrysanthemum Cineraria 60° and 65°, and in winter from 45° to 60°. A genial moist atmosphere must be kept up in the hottest houses during the growing season, with a free circulation of air admitted very cautiously by well-guarded ventilators. In winter, when the plants are at rest, little water will be necessary; but in the case of those plants which have no fleshy pseudobulbs to fall back upon for sustenance, they must not be suffered to become so dry as to cause the leaves to shrivel. In the Mexican house the plants will generally be able to withstand greater drought occasionally, being greatly assisted by their thick pseudobulbs. In the cool or odontoglossum house a considerable degree of moisture must be maintained at all times, for in these the plants keep growing more or less continuously.
For potting or basketing purposes, or for plants requiring blockculture, the materials used are light fibrous peat, special leaf-mould, osmunda or polypodium fibre and living sphagnum moss, which supply free drainage for the copious supply of water required. Good turfy loam is also used for some, such as cypripediums and calanthes. Indeed the composts now used are varied considerably according to the particular group of orchids. The water should, however, be so used as not to run down into the sheathing bases of the leaves. While in flower, orchids may with advantage be removed to a drier and cooler situation, and may be utilized in the drawing-room or boudoir. Of late years not only have many fine hybrids been raised artificially between various species, but some remarkable bigeneric hybrids (between what are considered two distinct genera) have also been produced (indicated in the list below by *). To keep a valuable collection of orchids in good condition requires the services of an expert orchid grower.
The following is a select list of genera in cultivation: - Acineta Ada Aerides Angraecum Anguloa Anoectochilus Ansellia Arachnanthe Arpophyllum Barkeria Batemannia Bifrenaria Brassavola Brassia Brasso-Cattleya* Broughtonia Bulbophyllum Burlingtonia Calanthe Catasetum Cattleya Chysis Cirrhopetalum Cochlioda Coelia Coelogyne Comparettia Cycnoches Pachystoma Zygopetalum Palms. - These form charming table and drawing-room plants when quite young. When more fully developed, and long before their full growth is attained, they are among the most decorative plants known for the conservatory and for subtropical gardening. They are easily cultivated, but should not be allowed to become dry. The soil should consist of about 3 parts turfy loam, i part leaf mould, I part coarse silver sand, with enough chemical or other manure added to render the whole moderately rich. The older plants will occasionally require the roots pruned in order to keep them in as small pots as possible without being starved. This should be done early in the spring, and the plants heavily shaded until feeding roots are again produced. It is of advantage to afford stove culture while the plants are quite young. A little later most of the genera succeed well under moderately cool conditions.
The following genera are among those most commonly cultivated: Acanthophoenix Chamaerops Martinezia Acanthorhiza Cocos Oreodoxa Areca Corypha Phoenix Bactris Geonoma Pritchardia Brahea Hyophorbe Rhapis Calamus Kentia Sabal Caryota Latania Stevensonia Ceroxylon Livistonia Thrinax Chamaedorea Ferns. - These popular plants are usually increased by means of their spores, the " dust " produced on the back of their fronds. The spores should be sown in well-drained pots or seed pans on the surface of a mixture of fibrous sifted peat and small broken crocks or sandstone; this soil should be firmly pressed and well-watered, and the spores scattered over it, and at once covered with propagating glasses or pieces of sheet glass, to prevent water or dry air getting to the surface. The pots should be placed in pans full of water, which they will absorb as required. A shady place is desirable, with temperature of 50° to 55° by night and 65° to 70° by day, or they may be set on a shelf in an ordinary propagating pit. The spores may be sown as soon as ripe, and when the young plants can be handled, or rather can be lifted with the end of a pointed flat stick, they should be pricked out into well-drained pots or pans filled with similar soil and should be kept moist and shady. As they become large enough, pot them singly in 3-in. pots, and when the pots are fairly filled with roots shift on into larger ones.
The best time for a general repotting of ferns is in spring, just before growth commences. Those with creeping rhizomes can be propagated by dividing these into well-rooted portions, and, if a number of crowns is formed, they can be divided at that season. In most cases this can be performed with little risk, but the gleichenias, for example, must only be cut into large portions, as small divisions of the rhizomes are almost certain to die; in such cases, however, the points of the rhizomes can be led over and layered into small pots, several in succession, and allowed to remain unsevered from the parent plant until they become well-rooted. In potting the well-established plants, and all those of considerable size, the soil should be used in a rough turfy state, not sifted but broken, and one-sixth of broken crocks or charcoal and as much sand as will insure free percolation should be mixed with it.
The stove ferns require a day temperature of 65° to 75°, but do not thrive in an excessively high or close dry atmosphere. They require only such shade as will shut out the direct rays of the sun, and, though abundant moisture must be supplied, the atmosphere should not be overloaded with it. Ferns should not be allowed to become quite dry at the root, and the water used should always be at or near the., temperature of the house in which the plants are growing. Some ferns, as the different kinds of Gymnogramme and Cheilanthes, prefer a drier atmosphere than others, and the former do not well bear a lower winter temperature than about 60° by night. Most other stove ferns, if dormant, will bear a temperature as low as 55° by night and 60° by day from November to February. About the end of the latter month the whole collection should be turned out of the pots, and redrained or repotted into larger pots as required. This should take place before growth has commenced. Towards the end of March the night temperature may be raised to 60°, and the day temperature to 70° or 75°, the plants being shaded in bright weather. Such ferns as Gymnogrammes, which have their surface covered with golden or silver powder, and certain species of scaly-surfaced Cheilanthes and Nothochlaena, as they cannot bear to have their fronds wetted, should never be syringed; but most other ferns may have a moderate sprinkling occasionally (not necessarily daily), and as the season advances, sufficient air and light must be admitted to solidify the tissues.
Hardy British ferns belonging to such genera as Asplenium, Nephrodium, Aspidium, Scolopendrium, have become fairly popular of late years, and many charming varieties are now used in borders and rockeries. Spores may be sown as above described, but in a much lower temperature.
The following is a select list of genera: - VI. Fruits. Fruit-Tree Borders. - No pains should be spared, in the preparation of fruit-tree borders, to secure their thorough drainage. In case of adhesive clayey subsoil this can generally be secured by placing over the sloping bottom a good layer of coarse rubbly material, communicating with a drain in front to carry off the water, while earthenware drain tubes may be laid beneath the rubble from 8 to To ft. apart, so as to form air drains, and provided with openings both at the side of the walk and also near the base of the wall. Over this rubbly matter, rough turfy soil, grass-side downwards, should be laid, and on this the good prepared soil in which the trees are to be planted.
The borders should consist of 3 parts rich turfy loam, the top spit of a pasture, and i part light gritty earth, such as road-grit, with a small portion (one-sixth) of fine brick rubbish. They should not be less than 12 ft. in breadth, and may vary up to r5 or 18 ft., with a fall from the wall of about i in. in 3 ft. The border itself should be raised a foot or more above the general level. The bottom of the border as well as that Cymbidium Cypripedium Cyrtopodium Dendrobium Diacrium Disa Epidendrum Eulophia Eulophiella Galeandra Gongora Grammatophyllum Habenaria Houlletia lonopsis Ipsea Laelia Laelio-Cattleya* Leptotes Lissochilus Lycaste Masdevallia Miltonia Mormodes Odontoglossum Odontioda* Oncidium Peristeria Pescatorea Phaj us Phaio - calanthe* Phalaenopsis Pilumna Platyclinis Pleione Pleurothallis Polystachya Promenaea Renanthera Restrepia Rodriguezia S accolabium Schomburgkia Scuticaria Sobralia Sophro-cattleya* Sophronitis Spathoglottis Stanhopea Thunia Trichopilia Trichosma Vanda Zygo - colax* of the drain must be kept lower than the general level of the subsoil, else the soakage will gather in all the little depressions of its surface. Fruit-tree borders should not be at all cropped with culinary vegetables, or very slightly so, as the process of digging destroys the roots of the trees, and drives them from near the surface, where they ought to be.
Shallow planting, whether of wall trees or standards, is generally to be preferred, a covering of a few inches of soil being sufficient for the roots, but a surface of at least equal size to, the surface of the hole should be covered with dung or litter so as to restrain evaporation and preserve moisture. In the case of wall trees, a space of 5 or 6 in. is usually left between the stem at the insertion of the roots and the wall, to allow for increase of girth. Young standard trees should be tied to stakes so as to prevent their roots being ruptured by the windwaving of the stems and to keep them erect. The best time for planting fruit trees in the open air is from the end of September till the end of November in open weather.
In the selection and distribution of fruit trees regard must of course be had to local situation and climate. The best walls having a south or south-east aspect are devoted to the peach, nectarine, apricot, dessert pears, plums and early cherries. Cherries and the generality of plums succeed very well either on an east or a west aspect. Morello cherries, apples and stewing pears succeed well on a north wall. In Scotland the mulberry requires the protection of a wall, and several of the finer apples and pears do not arrive at perfection without this help and a tolerably good aspect. The wall-trees intended to be permanent are called dwarfs, from their branches springing from near the ground. Between these, trees with tall stems, called riders, are planted as temporary occupants of the upper part of the wall. The riders should have been trained in the nursery into good-sized trees, in order that when planted out they may come into bearing 'as speedily as possible.
Standard Fruit Trees should not be planted, if it can be avoided, in the borders of the kitchen garden, but in the outer slips, where they either may be allowed to attain their full size or may be kept dwarfed. Each sort of fruit should be planted by itself, for the sake of orderly arrangement, and in order to facilitate protection when necessary by a covering of nets. Their produce is often superior in flavour to that of the same kind of fruit grown on walls.
Orchard-house Trees. - Peaches, nectarines, apricots, figs and dessert plums, cherries, apples and pears are commonly cultivated in the orchard-house. Peaches and nectarines are generally planted out, while the rest are more commonly cultivated in pots. This allows of the hardier pot plants being removed out of doors while those planted out are in need of the room. The pot plants are overhauled in the autumn, the roots pruned, a layer being cut off to allow new soil to be introduced. Surface dressing and feeding by liquid manure should also be afforded these plants while the fruit is swelling. Every effort should be made to complete the growth of peaches and nectarines while the sun is sufficiently strong to ripen them. Tomatoes are frequently employed to fill gaps in the orchard-house. Should it be provided with a central path, requiring shade, Hambro and Sweet-water grapes serve the purpose well, and in favourable seasons afford excellent crops of fruit.
VII. Vegetables. Under this head are included those esculents which are largely eaten as " vegetables " or as " salads." The more important are treated under their individual headings (see Artichoke, Asparagus, Bean, &c. &c.). The culinary herbs used for flavouring and garnishing are for the most part dwarf perennial plants requiring to be grown on a rich soil in an open sunny aspect, or annuals for which a warm sheltered border is the most suitable place; and they may therefore be conveniently grown together in the same compartment - a herb garden. The perennials should be transplanted either every year or every second year. For winter use the tops of the most useful kinds of herbs should be cut when in flower or full leaf and quite dry, and spread out in an airy but shady place so as to part slowly with the moisture they contain and at the same time retain their aromatic properties. When quite dry they should be put into dry wide-mouthed bottles and kept closely corked. In this way such herbs as basil, marjoram, mint, sage, savory, thyme, balm, chamomile, horehound, hyssop and rue, as well as parsley, may be had throughout the season with almost the full flavour of the fresh herb.