]71 



THE FLOR.iL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



Smith's Mammoth, the last bniug n ;vonili;r 

 of wonders, and the gi-.andest fuchsia ever 

 raised. Nevertheless, there is a certain 

 1 itchiness advantageous to the display of the 

 flowers in fine specimen plants, noticeable 

 in the majority of the best fuchsias of late 

 years, but this liglitness is not to their 

 advantage as bidders, for no thin-leaved 

 fuchsia will make so stout and sturdy a 

 stem as a heavy-leafed one, and in B)oeep 

 you li.ave the perfection of foliage for an 

 out-door fuchsia. In full sun it is the 

 richest dark green imaginable, and the 

 substantial refloxed blooms literally sparkle 

 amongst the bluish green leaves like rubies. 

 Next in merit as a bedder in this dark 

 class I should place Souvenir de Chiswick, 

 of ■wliich I have some plants on a raised 



bank among ferns, cannas, and grasses, 

 which want the relief of a little colour, but 

 b'iug such graceful things, it would be a 

 gross violation of taste to group such lumpy 

 things as geraniums with them. Lifted up 

 above the level in moderate shade, amongsc 

 masses of the most elegant foliage, I can 

 imagine nothing better than those plants of 

 Souvenir, smothered as they are with their 

 exquisitely-proportioned flowers. But here 

 we are getting into the classification of 

 sorts, and as I wish to see a few of tbe 

 newest bloom quite out before finally re- 

 porting on them, I will detain my notes on 

 the varieties till next month, and then give 

 a classification of the best in the several 

 classes and colours as adapted for out-door 

 decoration. Suirl?;v Hibberd. 



PEOFITABLE GAEDENING. 



CHAPTER XIX. CULTURE OT THE .\PPLE. 



Though turned aside for a wliile 

 from the subject of profitable garden- 

 ing, by the pressure of the events of 

 the seafton, and the attractions of 

 floriculture, we hope, for some time 

 hence, to continue our papers on the 

 strictly utilitarian department of our 

 work ; and as we now enter the fruit 

 garden, the apple claims, of necessity, 

 the first place. For real usefulness, 

 for productiveness, for certainty of 

 jDroduce, the apple is deserv^edly the 

 most renovrned of British fruits. The 

 cottagervalues it not more highly th.an 

 the possessor of graperies and peack- 

 liouses ; for, with all the appliances of 

 high-class fruit culture, the apple still 

 claims a fall consideration of its merits 

 as an element in the best dessert for 

 a lordly epicure, as well as the most 

 substantial pudding for a hungry 

 ploughman. 



Make sure of good apples before 

 you plant a single tree of any other 

 kind, if fruits are to have any portion 

 of your skill in gardening. 



The common crab of the hedges is 

 the onlj' apple indigenous to this 

 country. All our garden and orchard 

 apples are either importations from 

 the East or seedling varieties obtained 

 from kinds which were imported in 

 the first instance. The common ori- 

 gin of the cultivated varieties is im- 

 portant so far as tliis, that, as not 



being indigenous to this countrj', it 

 is not to be expected that any of them 

 will thrive without some amount of 

 care ; if neglected and allowed to run 

 wild, they must deteriorate, and if 

 subjected to a succession of adverse 

 seasonal influences, it is impossible 

 they should continue either so pro- 

 ductive or healthy as during seasons 

 eminently favourable to their general 

 requirements. The common suppo- 

 sition tbat the apple is a native fruit, 

 has acted injuriously by inducing 

 carelessness in their preservation, 

 and it is quite certain that the cul- 

 ture of the apple is not generally un- 

 derstood, else we should see less of 

 that pest, the American blight, and 

 less also of that barren condition of 

 old trees, which meets us everywhere 

 in orchards and gardens, and for 

 which by the proprietors no reason 

 can be assigned. We have no hesita- 

 tion in saying that a barren apple-tree 

 is an anomaly, and that the produc- 

 tion of apples might be increased five- 

 fold in this country without the plant- 

 ing of a single tree in addition to those 

 already occupying sites in private 

 grounds. The apple, though esteemed. 

 has been very generally abused ; it is 

 so hardy, so fruitful, so adaptable to 

 a variety of soils, aspects, and climates, 

 that the little care it asks for is too 

 often denied it altogether, and so for 



