PRUNING, TRAINING, PROTECTING FROM FROST, AND DESTROYING INSECTS.
_Pruning_ appears, at first sight, a most laborious and unfeminine
occupation; and yet perhaps there is no operation of gardening which a
lady may more easily accomplish. With the aid of a small, and almost
elegant pair of pruning shears, which I procured from Mr. Forrest, of
Kensington Nursery, I have myself (though few women have less strength
of wrist) divided branches that a strong man could scarcely cut through
with a knife. The only thing to be attended to is to choose a pair of
pruning shears with a sliding joint, so as to make what is called a
draw-cut; in order that the branch may be divided by a clean cut, and
not bruised on the side next the plant, and also to leave a somewhat
sloping section. When a branch is pruned, it should also be cut as near
to a bud as can be done without injuring the bud itself; or, to speak
more definitely, not more in length than the branch is thick should
be left beyond the bud. The cut should slope downwards from the bud
to prevent the water lodging in the angle; and also that the sun and
air may have their full influence in exciting the bark to cover the
wound. When a long piece of branch, or what gardeners call a snag, is
left beyond the bud, it withers, from there being no leaves beyond it
to carry on the circulation of the sap; and it thus not only becomes a
deformity, but very often seriously injures the tree by rotting, and
infecting the fruit-bearing branch to which it is attached.
[Illustration]
According to the usual method of pruning with a knife, the gardener
holds the branch in his left hand, below the part that is to be
removed; and then, holding the knife firmly with the thumb at the
back of the blade, he makes a strong cut upwards, and from him, so
as to remove the branch with a single stroke, and to leave a slanting
section. This operation, however, requiring strength as well as skill,
it will generally be safer for a lady to keep to her pruning shears,
a pair of which may be bought for 7_s._ 6_d._, and which will be
sufficient to cut through the largest branch that a lady would be able
to remove; or to use a pair of garden scissors fixed to a pole which
may be lengthened or taken to pieces like a fishing-rod. The scissors
are strong and sharp, and are made to act by means of a long cord,
which passes through rings down the side of the pole. The principal use
of these scissors is to remove dead roses, &c., but they will also cut
off a branch of dead wood, &c. When a gardener wishes to remove a large
branch, he first cuts a notch out of it on each side, and then with
his pruning knife, or a small saw, he divides the diminished space. In
all cases, the great art of pruning consists in making a clean sharp
cut, so as to leave the bark in a healthy state to make an effort to
cover over the wound, and in pruning sufficiently near a bud not to
leave any dead wood.
_The time for pruning_ is either early in spring, after all danger is
over from frost, but before the sap has begun to move; or in winter,
after the movement of the sap for the summer has ceased. Summer pruning
is also necessary with some trees; but, generally speaking, it should
be confined to rubbing off all buds which would produce unnecessary
shoots, as soon as they appear. This operation is called disbudding,
and it is highly efficacious in sparing the strength of the tree. The
points of those shoots which appear to be running too much to wood,
should also be pinched off; or every leaf may be taken off them as
it appears, which will exhaust the superfluous strength of the tree;
and the shoots which will produce no buds for want of leaves, may be
removed in the winter pruning. The vine is very apt to bleed when
pruning has been delayed too late; and in very strong vigorous plants,
the ascending sap sometimes drops from the branches like rain. The
French very poetically call these drops the tears of the vine.
_The uses to which pruning is applied_ are various; but most commonly
it is intended either to improve the form of the tree, or to make
it bear more flowers and fruit than it otherwise would do: it is
also used for removing diseased or broken branches; and, in cases of
transplanting, for proportioning the head to the roots.
_Pruning to improve the form_ of a tree in pleasure-grounds, is only
required in those cases where trees have grown under unfavourable
circumstances, and where they have been too much drawn up, or distorted
in any manner: but in useful plantations it is necessary to prepare
trees for the purposes for which they are intended. Thus, for example,
a tree intended for timber, should have its side-branches taken off
while they are quite young, in order that the wounds may soon heal
over, and not leave loose knots to weaken or disfigure the wood;
while a tree intended for a screen should be allowed ample space for
its branches to spread from the ground upwards, and then they should
only be shortened at their extremities, to make them throw out short
branches near the tree. In pleasure-grounds the principal object is
generally either to preserve the shape of the tree or shrub, so that it
may form an agreeable object on a lawn; or to let it combine in a group
with others, either for ornament, or to serve as a screen or shelter.
In the first case, it is obvious that no pruning is requisite, but to
remove dead, diseased, or unsightly branches; and in the second, the
pruning must depend upon the shape the tree is required to take to
group well with the others planted near it.
_Pruning to produce flowers or fruit_ has in view two objects: first,
to cut off all superfluous wood, so as to throw the strength of the
tree into the fruit-bearing branches; and secondly, to admit the sun
and air into the interior of the tree to ripen and strengthen the
wood. In both cases the attention of the pruner must be directed to
thinning out weak and crowded shoots; and to keeping both the sides
of the tree well balanced, in order that the circulation of the sap
may be equal throughout. This will preserve the general health of the
tree, at the same time that it throws the sap into the proper channels;
and the fruit will be produced in as much abundance as can be done
without injuring the tree. It should never be forgotten, that to effect
permanent improvements, nature should be aided, not over-strained;
and that all extraordinary exertions are succeeded by a period of
feebleness and languor; or, if the exertion be continued too long, by
death. Thus, all cases of pruning and training to produce fruit, should
never be pushed too far: as though, by occasioning an extraordinary
deposit of the returning sap in some particular part, that part may
be forced into fruit, the unnatural deposit cannot fail in the end to
engender disease.
Sometimes a tree, from being supplied with more food than it can
digest, or from some other cause, has a tendency to produce what
the English gardeners call water-shoots, and which the French call
gourmands. These are strong, vigorous-growing branches, which are sent
up from the main trunk of the tree, but which do not produce either
flowers or fruit; and which, consequently, if the tree be full of wood,
should be removed as soon as their true character is discovered. If,
however, the tree have too little wood in the centre, or if it appear
exhausted by too much bearing, these branches should be spared, as they
will serve admirably both to fill up any blanks that may have been left
in the training, and to strengthen the trunks and roots by the quantity
of rich returning sap, which they will send down from their numerous
leaves. A certain quantity of leaves and barren branches are essential
to the health of every tree; and the fruit-grower who consults his own
interest, should cherish them instead of grudging the sap required for
their support. Whenever there is not a sufficient quantity of leaves to
elaborate the sap, the fruit that ought to have been nourished by its
rich juices, becomes flaccid and insipid; its skin grows tough instead
of crisp; and if the deprivation of leaves has been carried to excess,
the fruit never ripens, but withers prematurely, and falls off.
Pruning, at the best, is a violent remedy; and, like all other violent
remedies, if carried further than is absolutely necessary, it generally
ends by destroying.
_Training_ is intimately connected with pruning, and like it should
always be used with caution. A trained tree is a most unnatural
object; and whatever care may be taken of it, there can be no doubt
that training shortens its life by many years. The principal object
of training is to produce from a certain number of branches a greater
quantity of fruit or flowers than would grow on them if the plant were
left in a natural state; and this is effected by spreading and bending
the branches, so as to form numerous depositions of the returning sap,
aided, where the plant is trained against the wall, by the shelter and
reflected heat which the wall affords. Thus the points to be attended
to by the gardener in training are the covering of the wall, so that
no part of it may be lost; the bending of the branches backwards and
forwards, so that they may form numerous deposits of the returning
sap; and the full exposure of the fruit-bearing branches to the sun
and air. For these purposes the gardener shortens the long shoots, to
make them throw out side-branches, with which he covers his walls,
never suffering them to cross each other, but letting each be as much
exposed to the influence of the air and light as is consistent with a
necessary quantity of leaves; and he bends them in different directions
to throw them into fruit. These general principles are common to all
fruit-trees, but of course they must be modified to suit the habits of
the different kinds. Thus, for example, some trees, such as the fig and
the pomegranate, only bear on the extremities of their shoots; and,
consequently, if their shoots were continually shortened, these trees
would never bear at all; other trees, such as the apple and the pear,
bear their fruit on short projecting branches, called spurs; and others
at intervals on nearly all the branches, and close to the wall. All
these habits should be known to the gardener, and the modes of training
adopted which will be suitable to each. Training flowers should also be
regulated by a knowledge of the habits of the plants; but it consists
principally in checking their over-luxuriance of growth, and tying
them to stakes or wooden frames. In all kinds of training, neatness
is essentially requisite, and any departure from it is exceedingly
offensive. Where the hand of art is so evident as it is in training,
we require excessive neatness to make us amends for the loss of the
graceful luxuriance of nature.
_The operation of training against a wall_ is performed by the aid of
nails and shreds; the shreds being narrow oblong pieces of list or
cloth, put round the branches, and attached to the wall by nails driven
in with a hammer. Care should be taken that the pieces of list are long
enough to allow of the free passage of the sap, and yet not so long as
to permit the branch to be so agitated by the wind as to bruise itself
against the wall. The nails should also never be driven in so as to
wound or corrode the bark; and when driving in the nails, the gardener
should be very careful not to bruise the branch with his hammer. The
shreds should be broad enough not to cut the bark, and yet not so broad
as to cover the buds; and they should, as much as possible, be of some
uniform and dark colour. As few shreds should be used as are sufficient
to attain the end in view; but these should be very firmly attached,
as nothing gives a more gloomy picture of misery and desolation in a
garden, than trees that once were trained, having become detached, and
hanging drooping from the wall. Sometimes wires are fastened to walls,
to which the plants are tied with strands of bast mat; the strand,
after it is put round the branch, and the wire being gently twisted
between the finger and thumb, in order that it may make a firm knot
without tearing or weakening the ligament. Climbing shrubs are tied to
the pillars of a verandah, or to trellis work, in the same manner; as
are also flowers to sticks, or slight wooden or wire frames, with the
exception that, in their case, the bast does not require twisting.
_Protecting from frost_ is an essential part of culture to a lady
gardener, particularly in so uncertain a climate as that of England.
Not only the blossoms of peaches and nectarines, and those of other
early flowering fruit-trees, are liable to be injured by the spring
frosts; but those of the tree pæony, and other beautiful shrubs, are
frequently destroyed by them; and, unfortunately, many of the modes
of protection, by knocking off and bruising the blossoms, are almost
as injurious as the frosts that they are intended to guard against.
Twisting a straw-rope round the trunk of the tree, and putting its
ends into a bucket of water, is certainly a simple method, and it has
been recommended as a very efficacious one. When a mat is used to
protect wall trees, it does perhaps least injury to the blossoms, when
curtain rings are sewed to its upper end, and it is hung by these on
hold-fasts, or large hooks, driven into the upper part of the wall.
To make it more secure, particularly in windy weather, it may be tied
on the sides with bast to nails driven into the wall; and a broad
moveable wooden coping should rest on the hold-fasts, and cover the
space between the mat and the wall, to prevent injury from what are
called perpendicular frosts. Camellias and many half-hardy shrubs may
be protected by laying straw or litter round the roots; as the severest
frosts seldom penetrate more than a few inches into the ground. Even
in the severe winter of 1837-8, the ground was not frozen at the depth
of ten inches. Tree pæonies, and other tender shrubs, that are in a
growing state, very early in the spring, may be protected by coverings
of basket work, which are sufficiently large and light to be lifted off
in fine days. Hand and bell glasses, sea-kale pots, and wooden frames
covered with oiled paper are all useful for protecting small plants.
_Insects, and Snails and Slugs_ are the terror of all gardeners; and
the destruction they effect in some seasons in small gardens is almost
beyond the bounds of credibility. Birds do comparatively little injury,
and indeed all the soft-billed kinds (which fortunately include most
of the sweetest songsters) do good. The willow and common wrens,
the blackcap, the nightingale, the redstart, all the warblers and
fly-catchers, the swallows and martins, the wagtails, the wryneck,
the tomtit, the fern owl or night jar, and many others, live almost
entirely on insects, and destroy great numbers every year: while the
blackbird and the thrush, the robin and the sparrows, though they
devour a portion of the fruit, destroy insects also. All birds may
indeed be safely encouraged in small gardens near towns, as they will
do much more good than injury; and a few cherries and currants are a
cheap price to pay for their delightful songs.
As it is the larvæ only of insects, with very few exceptions, that do
injury to vegetation, many persons never think of destroying them in
any other state; forgetting that every butterfly that we see fluttering
about may lay thousands of eggs, and that if we wait till these eggs
have become caterpillars, irreparable mischief will be done to our
plants before they can possibly be destroyed. Whenever a butterfly is
seen quietly sitting on the branch of a tree, in the daytime, it will
generally be found to be a female, that either just has laid, or what
is more probable, is just about to lay her eggs. As soon as the eggs
are laid, the butterfly generally dies; and where dead butterflies
are found, search should always be made for their eggs. In summer, a
little oblong chrysalis, the colour of which is yellow, with black
bands, will frequently be found hanging from the gooseberry-bushes;
and whenever it is seen it should be destroyed. This chrysalis is
the pupa of the magpie moth, the caterpillar of which frequently
strips the gooseberry-bushes of all their leaves in spring, and thus
renders their fruit worthless in summer. The lackey caterpillar is
another very destructive insect. These creatures, which are curiously
striped, like the tags on a footman’s shoulder, (whence their name,)
assemble together in great numbers, and covering themselves with a web,
completely devour the epidermis and parenchyma of the leaf on which
they have fixed themselves; they then draw another leaf to them, which
they also devour, and then another, till the greater part of the leaves
of the tree they have attacked, present a fine lace-like appearance, as
though they had been macerated. Did all these insects live to become
moths, they would completely destroy not only our gardens, but our
forests, as they feed on almost every different kind of tree; but with
that beautiful arrangement by which all the works of our Great Creator
are balanced equally with each other, and none allowed to predominate,
these insects are such favourite food for birds, that not a hundredth
part of them are suffered to reach maturity. The eggs of the lackey
moth are often found fixed on a naked twig, in winter, looking like a
bracelet of hard beads, and adhering so firmly together, that the whole
bracelet may be slipped off entire.
The cabbage butterflies are also very destructive in the larva state.
The caterpillars are soft, of a pale whitish green, and very active,
leaping about in the hand when taken; and the chrysalis, which is also
green, looks as if it were swathed up like a mummy. The caterpillar
of the beautiful little ermine moth is a gregarious feeder, like the
lackey caterpillar, and is nearly as destructive; and it is the more
necessary to mention this, because the moth itself is so small, so
delicate, and so quiet, that no one unacquainted with its habits would
think of killing it as an injurious insect.
[Illustration: Patent Blower and Fumigator.]
The leaf-rollers, the saw-flies, and the gnats which occasion the
oak-galls, are all very destructive. The leaves of the rose-tree are
often found marked, in summer, with pale-brown zigzag lines, with a
narrow black line running down the middle of each. These lines are
the work of a very small orange-coloured caterpillar, not more than
two lines long, that lives on the parenchyma of the leaf; and the
pale-brown mark is occasioned by the epidermis drying where the pulp
beneath it has been removed. The moth is called the red-headed pigmy,
and it is so small as not to measure more than two lines and a half
broad, when its wings are fully expanded. The “worm i’ th’ bud” of
the rose, is the maggot or grub of one of the kinds of saw-fly; a
beautiful transparent-winged little creature that no one would suspect
of springing from such a frightful-looking maggot. But of all the
insects that infest the rose, the most destructive are the aphides.
These little green flies cover the tender leaves and buds of the young
shoots in myriads, and are extremely difficult to destroy, without
spoiling the appearance of the shoots that have been attacked by them.
Tobacco-water is an excellent remedy, if not too strong. It should
be made by steeping half-a-pound of the best tobacco in a gallon
of hot water; and as soon as the infusion has become cold, the young
shoots should be dipped in it, and suffered to remain a few seconds,
after which they should be immediately washed in clean water before
they are suffered to dry. If this be done carefully, the insects will
be destroyed, and yet the shoots will remain uninjured. Limewater
may also be tried, if no more lime be used than the water will hold
in solution; as unless the water be quite clear in appearance when
applied, the plant will be very much disfigured with the white stains
of the lime. Another means of getting rid of all noxious insects, is
to fumigate them with tobacco; and the best way of doing this is by a
small brass fumigator, which costs four shillings, applied to one of
Clark’s patent blowers. The fumigator is filled with loose tobacco,
which is lighted, and the brass tube is then screwed on the blower, and
the fume gently spread through the green-house, or among the plants.
By putting a little of the moxa or Spanish tinder among the tobacco,
or using it alone, caterpillars, butterflies, snails, &c., may be
stupified, when they will fall from the branches, and may be gathered
up and destroyed. An excellent preventive remedy is to wash the stems
and branches of deciduous rose-trees, in winter, with water heated to
200°, or with a mixture of strong tobacco-water and soft-soap; cleaning
the branches well at the same time with a soft brush. The American
blight which infests apple-trees is another species of aphis, and may
be destroyed in the same manner.
Besides the insects already enumerated, there are several kinds of
beetles, which devour plants both in the larva and perfect state. Of
these, the cockchafer remains in the larva state four years, and is
one of the most destructive insects known; the rose beetle, or rose
chaffer (Cetonia aurata) is extremely beautiful, from its splendid wing
cases of burnished green and gold. These beetles, notwithstanding their
shape, which looks too heavy and clumsy for flying, may frequently, in
hot summer weather, be seen upon the wing, making a loud buzzing noise.
When taken up in the hand, they draw up their feet, and appear to be
dead; but, after having been handled, and even tossed about for some
time, they will, if a favourable opportunity appears to offer, suddenly
spread out their wings and buzz away, leaving their captor too much
astonished to be able to make any effort to retain them. Several of
these insects may often be found in one rose; but they are supposed to
be only engaged in sucking the honey from the flower, and not injuring
it. They undergo their transformations under ground, and the grubs are
supposed to live entirely on little bits of rotten wood. Besides the
insects already mentioned, the various kinds of weevils, the wire-worm,
the thrips, the red spider, or rather mite (Acarus telarius), various
kinds of tipula, or Gaffer long-legs, wood lice, and earth-worms, are
all found on plants, and are all more or less injurious to them. In the
general destruction of insects, the Lady-bird should always be spared,
as, both in its larva and its perfect state, it lives on the larvæ of
the green fly, or aphis.
_Snails and Slugs_ are more destructive to vegetation than any kind
of insect; and they are still more difficult to get rid of. There is
a very small gray slug, that is peculiarly injurious to plants in
pots; the large grey is also very destructive, and the common garden
snail. The beautifully banded snail (Helix nemoralis) is, however,
supposed to live partly on earth-worms, and the shell slug (Testacella
scutella) lives entirely on them. The usual modes of entrapping snails,
slugs, and wood-lice, are laying down slices of raw potatoes or
cabbage-leaves at night, and examining them before the dew is off the
plants in the morning. As, however, this requires very early rising, a
more convenient method is to lay a few flower pots upon their sides,
where the snails have committed their ravages; and the snails, which
can neither move nor feed unless the ground be wet with dew or rain,
will generally be found to take refuge in the flower pots from the heat
of the sun. They are likewise often found in the middle of the day,
sticking against walls, under ivy, or box edgings. In gardens very much
infested with snails, search should be made in winter among all the
ivy and box in the garden; and all the snails found in a torpid state
should be destroyed. This, though some may escape, will effectually
prevent them from becoming numerous; and, as the eggs are not laid till
April or May, care should be taken, before that season, to destroy all
the snails that can be found. The eggs are round, almost transparent,
and of a bluish white; and they are always found in small clusters,
buried in the ground.