and the improper formation of young wood in the first years of its existence; were this followed by a reciprocal action between the roots and the branches, whereby a sufficiency of refined juices may be highly elaborated for the deposition of cambium and the production of fruit, proper woody fibre would be formed; the trees would cease to grow luxuriantly, and would remain in a fruit-bearing state. On examining a considerable number of trees last summer, in different parts of the States of New York and New Jersey, growing in a state of barren luxuriance, I found them exactly in conditions to confirm the conclusions which I had come to, by investigations, and experiments performed on peach trees in England, only with this difference, that the frost in the south of England, is seldom so severe as it is in this part of the States, which somewhat modifies the effect of a similar cause; but, in severe winters, the effect, produced upon luxuriant trees, is precisely similar to that exhibited in a considerable number of trees in the garden in which I am now writing. In the States above mentioned, as well as here, the trees were fed chiefly by tap-roots, penetrating four or five feet into the subsoil, and absorbing therefrom an exuberance of unassimilable matter, which has never been acted upon by atmospheric influence, and unfit, when taken in excess, for the organization of fruit-trees; and, although there is a continual absorption and assimilation going on between the roots and leaves, yet it is of that crude, unrefined quality which is only ft for, and finds an egress in, the production of young shoots. Trees, in a young state, have the most luxuriant foliage, and possess, at that time, the most powerful elaborative energies; yet it is well known that they will go on from year to year, growing luxuriantly, flowering abundantly, and exhausting the soil of its nutrient elements, without containing the smallest portion of those highly refined juices which are essential to the production and maturation of fruits. To produce large crops of superior fruit, the finest harmony must be maintained between the roots and the branches, or rather between the spongioles and the leaves. The elaborative powers of the one should be in due proportion to the extractive powers of the other, and, by this condition alone, a state of fruitfulness can be maintained. The fruit is also acted upon and nour

ished by solar influence, but not until it has reached a certain stage of development; the materials and means of production must be inherent in the plant, which must bring the fruit forward, until it is able to render the plant assistance by its own powers of assimilation. Peach trees may contain abundance of materials for producing shoots, and perfecting blossoms, but, unless the elements for the production of fruit be also in the tree, the blossom-buds will expand-the blossoms develope themselves, but they will prove abortive.

Assuming, then, the correctness of this theoretical reasoning, which, I think, will be pretty generally admitted, we have some clue to the means of effecting a cure. To this end, the gross feeding vertical roots must be cut away, and small ones induced near the surface. A root medium must be given them, from which nutrient, organizable matter can be absorbed, and acted upon by atmospheric gases. The strong roots should be cut as often as the tree shows signs of overuxuriance, and, when this is once done, a sufficiency of roots will be produced near the surface to prevent the tree from being injured by repeated operations. The perpendicular roots are the worst, as it is by these that the tree is supplied with a superabundance of watery matter. A good method to prevent these in some degree, is by placing a slab of stone, or, what is better perhaps, a piece of concrete, a few feet in diameter, immediately under the tree. This not only prevents the taproots from getting down, but makes the pruning of them afterwards more easily performed. In rich, deep soils, they will require moving and replanting, every one or two years, having all their strong roots cut within a few feet of the stem : the trees will thus be kept in a healthy, fruit-bearing state. Some years ago, I removed some peach trees which had grown for six years in a state of barren luxuriance, worse than any I have seen in this country. I took them up, and moved them to another part of the garden. I cut every root to within two feet of the stem-some of them, within that distance, were three inches in diameter-planted them near the surface in good loam, and the following year, (they were disrooted in November,) they produced abundance of fruit, which was nearly worthless; (this was expected ;) they grew very little-only a short spur-like elongation of the terminal

buds. The following year they bore the most beautiful crop of fruit I ever saw, and continued to do so for the three succeeding years, when they again became luxuriant and barren as before. To enumerate facts in favor of root-pruning would swell this paper into a volume, for these have been so numerous as to effect almost a revolution in the culture of fruit-trees, and to place its propriety and success beyond a doubt.

(To be continued.)

ART. VII.

General Management of the Calceolaria. By WILLIAM SAUNDERS, New Haven, Conn.

THERE are few plants possessed of more real beauty and interest than the Calceolaria. It is one of those plants that have been drawn from their natural and simple state, by careful cultivation, to form objects of great beauty and delicacy. Perhaps no flower has yielded so readily to the hybridizer as this; for, in a comparatively short period, they have been brought to great perfection. From a pinch of seed, flowers of every shade and color may be obtained, and, when grouped in masses in the greenhouse, never fail to attract particular attention.

I generally sow the seed about the beginning of August, to allow time for the plants gaining sufficient strength to keep comfortably over winter. I have found them succeed very well, when sown early in spring, but they are considerably later in flowering, and do not stand so long in bloom. Let a few six inch pots be filled two-thirds full of drainage and turfy pieces of loam, and mix a compost of loam, leaf-mould, and sand in equal quantities; make it fine, and fill up the pots with it, pressing it to a firm, even surface; sow the seeds, and cover them very slightly with a little fine, sifted soil; moisten the soil carefully, so as not to disturb the seeds, and place the pots in a frame, or in any sheltered situation, out of doors, covered with a hand glass; the soil must be kept in a healthy, moist condition, but not saturated, or they will disappear as quickly as they vegetate. After they have made four leaves, prick them off into pots or boxes, prepared as

above, only the soil may be used a little coarser. Plant them about an inch apart, and shade them carefully, and keep close for about a week, when they may be allowed a little air. As soon as they begin to crowd each other, they may either be planted again into boxes wider apart than at first, or potted singly in three inch pots. If the plants are strong, they may be potted singly with safety; the young roots incline to run near the surface of the soil, so this must never be allowed to get dry and hard. About the middle of October, place them in the greenhouse, on shelves near the glass; water them carefully during winter, and fumigate occasionally with tobacco, to keep them clear of insects.

About the month of February, shift them into six inch pots, in a soil of equal parts fibrous loam, leaf-mould, and rotted dung; drain these well, and turn out the young plants carefully, without injuring the roots; pot them deep enough to allow the fresh soil to come well up round the neck of the plants, for here they will emit numerous roots. They must now be judiciously supplied with water, and sprinkled overhead every morning, just as the sun reaches them. As they push up their flower-stems, secure them with a small stake, and, when coming into flower, shade them from bright sun, and let them have all the air possible, night and day.

They are easily propagated by the following treatment:As soon as the blooming season is past, cut down the flower stems, and pick off all withered and decaying leaves. Select a quiet, shady situation out of doors, and plunge the pots well down in the soil, and fill up among the shoots with leafmould. Moisten the soil occasionally if the weather be dry; they will now throw out roots at every shoot; these shoots should then be taken off and potted separately, in three inch pots, in a mixture of light loam and leaf-mould. Place them under glass, where they can be kept close and shaded, and they will immediately start and grow rapidly; but, if exposed to currents of air, the juices of the leaves will be exhausted before the roots are strong and plentiful enough to supply the deficiency. When placed in their winter quarters, be careful, in watering, not to allow any to drop on the leaves; examine the plants, and if the pots are filled with roots, give them a shift; this will allow the roots to increase, and the

plants to strengthen; when the roots are cramped, it has a tendency to throw the plant prematurely into flower, to its great injury at the proper blooming season. Instead of plunging the pots in the soil, place them in a frame and keep them close and moist; water them occasionally with manure water, to get them into a strong growth; and when they have made shoots of two or three inches in length, take them off, and make them into cuttings. Plant them in a well prepared cutting-pot, and place them in a temperature of about sixty-five degrees. If the pots are plunged into any material heated to this degree, so much the better; keep them close and shaded, and pot singly when they are rooted. By keeping the old plant growing, two or three courses of cuttings may be obtained; but, with any rare or scarce sort, the following method may be adopted to secure a stock:-After the shoots grow a short time, cut them through in the centre between each joint, and then cut each joint down the middle, thus making two cuttings of each of these joints, with a leaf to each; this leaf must not be damaged in the least, for the success of the process depends entirely on it. Plant these in pots well prepared, as for sowing the seeds, with the addition of half an inch pure sand at top. Let the cut surface be placed perpendicularly against the side of the pot, and the back points of the leaves looking towards the centre. Put them in a close, warm frame, and in a short time they will be all finely rooted from the cut surface. Thus, hundreds may be propagated in a short time, from one plant.

To grow large specimens, when the plants are done blooming and cut down, stand them in any sheltered situation out of doors, and water sparingly. About the end of August, turn them out of the pots and shake away all the old soil from their roots. Prune and regulate these a little, and repot them in as small pots as can conveniently be done, in a light rich soil. Place them in a close, warm situation afterwards, admitting air by degrees, as they begin to grow. When taken into the greenhouse, let them have a situation near the glass; they will keep growing less or more, all winter, and if the pots fill with roots, give them a shift to keep them on, and, about the middle of February, give them a final shift into the flowering pots, in a compost of two parts good, turfy