gardener at Wortley, succeeded well with what I consider a bad system of pruning, by shortening his shoots severely; but his garden lay extremely exposed to the winds which are beneficial in moderating the luxuriance of growth of plants, and such situations are not as liable to chilly damps and blights as low and more sheltered places. I hope Mr. Harrison will feel no uneasiness at this disapproval of his system of pruning this kind of fruit trees, as he merits so much praise as an ingenious gardener. I have for many years past pruned my trees in a manner that has offered me uniform success; it is simply by diminishing the vigour of the shoots: in summer I shorten back to a few eyes a considerable portion of the young spray, and I retain these in the spring dressing to afford the future crop. The man who has cultivated the peach tree for some time must have observed that the branches which have lost their leading buds never fail to set their fruit well, and often for a long time continue to swell such fruit faster than branches that are crowned with luxuriant leading shoots. This may be accounted for by the ascending sap being carried forward by the luxuriant growth above, and thus depriving or carrying away from the fruit its natural juice; they then wither and fall off. As my borders are not manured, nor made deep, the trees therefore never create unwholesome or too much sap; and without much artificial aid produce the kind of wood I require; my crops, in consequence are uniformly good, and the fruit large and well flavoured. As I live near London, I never find it necessary to cover my trees in spring, when in blossom. The flowers of well ripened wood, such as my plants produce, are more hardy than those of more spongy growths. Insects will be always found to do more harm in this part of the kingdom than bad weather. In exceedingly early seasons it may be necessary to cover the trees, and old netting, discarded by fishermen, is the best protection, and this can be bought for 21. per cwt., and will last many years. It is a sure mark of a bad cultivator to see the borders cropped with potatoes and other gross vegetables, though it may be good, in conformity with nature, to shade the ground with a slight crop, such as weak-growing flowers, small herbs, or mignonette. Much of what you have stated respecting the Dutch forcing at Hylands is in unison with my practice; the trees there being frequently removed are never luxuriant, but produce the kind of wood already described. I have seen that garden, and am, perhaps, from the extent of my practice, a more efficient judge than youself. From what I noticed at that place, I would recommend to the British gardener a structure something between the Dutch frame and the English forcing-house, as the most certain and economical for forcing these and most other fruits. I am now erecting an extensive range of glass of this description, and I entertain sanguine hopes of superior success; but of this you shall hear more hereafter. In training my trees, I pursue the fan manner recommended by your correspondents Kendall and Hiver. The old crooked mode I find to be particularly injurious to peach trees, by forming obstructions to the ascending and descending sap. Thus at the curvatures luxuriant excrescences are generated, which in time destroy the regular balance of the tree, and subsequently bring on its death. If you find the contents of this communication to merit your notice, I shall feel pleasure in having contributed my mite to the Magazine. I have many particulars to send you relating to the important parts of horticulture, and the difficulties and enemies incident to gardeners, amongst the most insidious of the last may be numbered stewards, house-keepers, ladies' maids, grubs, and spiders. I am, Sir, &c. September, 1829. H. JOHN NEWINGTON. ART. XVI. Recipe for a Composition for destroying and guarding against Insects on Wall Trees. By Mr. JAMEs Burge, Gardener to the Rev. Richard Lane of Coffleet, Devonshire. Sir, WHEN insects are on fruit trees in leaf, it costs much expense and labour to subdue them; oftentimes they will make their reappearance, and frequently the trees will, in the ensuing spring have great numbers of the same species of insects on them; and the remedy that is made use of to destroy them often hurts their foliage. If the following composition be laid on the trees in the spring after pruning annually, it will be an incitement to the foliage, and a preservative for the trees from insects; and I hope that none will attempt to use it without giving it a fair and candid trial. Take sulphur vivum, slaked lime sifted fine, and Scotch snuff, of each an equal quantity, of lampblack half the quantity, and let them be well blended: add to them soap suds and urine, until it gets the consistence of thick paint. Before you prune your trees, let them be all unnailed from the wall; and after pruning, let the composition be laid on the trees with a painter's brush carefully; paint every pore of the branches and buds with it. It has great effect on the bloom, and invi gorates the trees. If any of the composition be left for a future occasion, it should be kept in a tub, or other vessel, and urine poured on it, so as to cover the surface. I am, Sir, &c. Coffleet, near Plympton, Nov. 5. 1826. JAMES BURGE. ART. XVII. On the Culture of the Potato, both in the Field and Garden, and for early as well as main and late Crops. By Mr. J. ELLES, late Gardener to the Marquess of Bath, at Longleat. Sir, THE production of a good potato, whether early or late, must at all times be a subject of importance, both to the farmer and gardener: and although its cultivation is very easy and simple, and no doubt appears so, even to the veriest tyro in either calling; yet the potatoes sold in and about London are generally so very inferior in quality, that we must suppose the soil either to be very unfavourable, or the cultivation defective; which latter supposition is rather hazardous, when we consider the wealth, skill, and competition of such a host of marketgardeners as supply the metropolis with this useful vegetable. However, be the cause what it may, the article is not creditable to the grower, nor can such waxy watery things be very nutritious to the consumer. If you think the following hints would have a tendency to remedy the evil complained of, I should be happy to see them inserted in the Gardener's Magazine. Then For a late Crop of Potatoes. Whether the ground is light or heavy, dig it well before planting, which may be done about the middle or latter end of May; and if the ground is heavy, draw the drills 2 ft. apart, or more if it is rich as well as heavy; room being essentially necessary in such ground, to perfect the growth of a crop of good mealy potatoes; and I rather think that it is thick planting in some measure which so greatly deteriorates the produce about London. plant sets with single eyes, 5 or 6 in. deep, and 15 to 20 in. asunder in the rows, according to the nature of the soil, or potato to be planted; cover with light muck, and afterwards with a very little earth. In light soils the process is the same, only let the sets be planted thicker and deeper, and cover with as much muck as you please; but in either case, as soon as the plants are 2 or 3 in. high, take a mattock (for I would banish entirely the common hoe, not only from the potato yard, but from the kitchen-garden also), and with this powerful implement move the earth about the plants and between the rows 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 in. deep, according to the depth or shallowness of the soil, in a fine hot dry day, when the weeds will be more effectually destroyed by this operation, than by two or three ordinary hoeings. The plants will now grow rapidly; and in the course of a fortnight or three weeks the earth should again be well moved between the rows with the mattock, and the plants earthed up into good large ridges, which will completely clean the ground for the season; or only one side of the row may be earthed up, and, after a week's interval, the other side may be earthed up a little higher, which will twist the stem, and in some sorts increase the produce. Either plan effectually secures the stems; for, being all single, they are liable to be injured by strong winds, until by branching out, the ground is covered, and then the danger is over. Some sorts branch freely, others but little, which should never be lost sight of in planting. Ordinary ground cultivated in this manner, will generally yield 240 lbs. of potatoes a rod. For an early Crop.- Plant full-sized whole potatoes the first week in October, on a south border, after the spade, in trenches 9 or 10 in. deep, and cover well with muck, leaving the border as light as possible, from which a crop of radishes may be cleared by the latter end of March; for by that time the plants will be showing themselves above ground, unless the weather should prove very severe. As soon as they are seen, let the earth be deeply hacked with a mattock, and made very loose about the plants; then in a fortnight or three weeks move the surface again, but the plants need not be earthed up, unless they are very much exposed to the wind, when a little may be drawn about them to keep them steady. By this method fine ash-leaved kidney potatoes may be gathered by the 12th or 15th of May, even in situations not very favourable for early crops, and nearly three weeks earlier than can be gathered from sets planted in the same situation in the latter end of February; and if ordinary care is taken in planting, no danger need be apprehended from the frost. For early crops I am not aware that any sort sent to the table is more generally approved of than the ash-leaved kidney; nor for late crops do I know a better keeper, or a more productive sort, than the Devonshire apple, a red, round, and deep-eyed potato. The intermediate sorts are very numerous, and some of great excellence, but mostly with local or provincial names. The following list will show a succession of good potatoes for the year, without artificial means : — The above are known and cultivated extensively about Frome, Warminster, Bradford, Trowbridge, and Westbury. I am, Sir, &c. J. ELLES. 198. Sloane Street, Sept. 1. 1829. ART. XVIII. Notice of the Culture and Produce of a Patch of Maize, or Cobbett's Corn, grown by Mr. Greig, at Bayswater. Communicated by Mr. GREIG. Sir, * I NOW send you an account of my method of growing Mr. Cobbett's corn, of which I furnished you with a fair specimen. (fig. 13.) Having got the ground well dug early in May, on the 7th of that month I drew seven drills, 3 ft. apart, of the same depth as for kidneybeans, and planted the seed of two ears of corn, purchased of Mr. Cobbett, 6 in. from seed to seed, treading the rows, as my ground was very dry. In a week or ten days the corn came up, scarcely a seed missing; and, about a week after that, I gave it a good hoeing, which greatly improved it. A fortnight afterwards I gave it a second hoeing, and about the 20th of June a third hoeing, To enable our readers to compare the size of the ears of the plant sent us with the ears of the large varieties grown in North America, we have |