16 APRIL 1948, Page 14

In the Garden

A year or two ago it was regarded as a mild jest when the curing of fruit-tree maladies by pills was recommended. Today the method is well established ; is almost normal. The famous Dr. Gull once said that " medicine consists in putting drugs of which we know little into a body of which we know less " ; but the bole of a tree is much simpler than the human body and the processes of life simpler. It suffers largely from deficiencies, of potash, nitrogen and what not. If the leaves go brown at the edges the cause is lack of potash ; and it is found in practice that if you bore holes into the trees, put in potash pills 'and cork the hole, then the deficiency is made good. Pills appropriate to many maladies (of which the symptoms can be detected by any specialist) are now procurable at Is. 6d. or so a hundred. I may add that a splendid tulip tree in my neighbourhood was cured of old age by digging a circumference of holes towards the end of the roots and pouring in a