. Cassell's popular gardening. Gardening. THE HAEDY FRUIT GAEDEN. 321 root-pnming, not only of young trees, but of others when neeessury. Two tell-tales on the trees them- selves indicate, with unerring certainty, alike the time and extent to which it should "be carried. These are the vigour of the wood, and partial or complete sterility, A skilful use of the knife on the roots is an infallible cure for both. To prevent the necessity of multiplying illustra- tions, it may be stated that by root-pruning the Crab (Fig. 2) it may be forced into a fibrous condi- tion of root closely resemblin
. Cassell's popular gardening. Gardening. THE HAEDY FRUIT GAEDEN. 321 root-pnming, not only of young trees, but of others when neeessury. Two tell-tales on the trees them- selves indicate, with unerring certainty, alike the time and extent to which it should "be carried. These are the vigour of the wood, and partial or complete sterility, A skilful use of the knife on the roots is an infallible cure for both. To prevent the necessity of multiplying illustra- tions, it may be stated that by root-pruning the Crab (Fig. 2) it may be forced into a fibrous condi- tion of root closely resembling Fig. 3. Not that the. F'.g. 4.—Apple Stock not pruned. roots will be transformed from the gross fangy condition into a network of fibres all at once; but through a series of careful surgical operations on the larger fangs, or by detailed manipulations on the sub-fangs, a fibrous condition may be forced, and to a very considerable extent perpetuated. All this, too, may be aided by culture as well as by priming: just as patients who have to submit to amputa- tions are carefully dieted with nourishing yet suitable food, so roots may be nourished through their pruning crises, and modified in form by special culture or food. One of the most potent applica- tions after root-forming is a slight dressing of sweet and well-rotted leaf-mould. Unfortunately the general and careless use of this root-resuscitating, root-developing compost led to its being used too fresh, rank, or sour, the consequence in many cases being the formation of most destructive root-fungus among fruit-trees; but, if of good quality and suffi- ciently decomposed, there is no compost so favourable 45 for the hc;iling of wounds on old roots and the development of whole hosts of new fibrous ones as sweet fine leaf-mould. However, as this is seldom within reach of amateurs and mechanics, any sweet fine soil or nourishing compost will do as a helpful stimulus to pruned roots. The roots will recover and assume a fibr
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