104 THE FLORIST. 



something better. These correspondents attributed the failure of all 

 the fruit crops solely to " late frosts and precarious springs." One of 

 them said, " From my own experience I can affirm that Apples, Pears, 

 Plums, and Cherries are all but entirely gone ; and, going from the 

 subject, that Potatoes, early Strawberries, and some other crops, suffered 

 equally." In my reply (see Florist, 1855), to these correspondents, I 

 asked them if they were prepared to advocate the covering, with glass, 

 in order to save the crops, of all the Apple, Pear, Plum, and Cherry trees 

 in Great Britain. I now take the liberty of asking Mr. Bailey if he 

 is prepared to recommend his protection for all these trees to save tlie 

 crops. After showing, in the article just mentioned, how preposterous 

 such a proposition would be, I said, " We must, therefore, adopt those 

 means w^hich, even in our variable climate, will remunerate the grower, 

 and at the same time place these fruits within the reach of all." I also 

 said, " This is to be done, not as those correspondents would do, by 

 covering all our orchards with glass, but by taking a lesson from M. de 

 Jonghe, as to pruning, selection of scions, &c., and paying attention lo 

 the soil, that is, in raising its temperature by drainage and other 

 means, in improving its texture, &c., and by selecting such sorts as 

 are suitable for the localities." And again I said, " My own opinion, 

 founded on experience, is this — that throughout the length and breadth 

 of the British Isles, by proper attention as to the selection of stocks and 

 sorts, by proper attention to soils and localities, and by performing all 

 the operations connected with the planting and growth of trees from 

 early infancy to old age ; I say by these means we can produce a supply 

 of all our fruits equal to the wants of our population." 



Is there anything in all this to startle Mr. Bailey ? When I wrote 

 the above, I did then think, and do so still, that to recommend protec- 

 tion for our orchards would be the height of absurdity. I was then of 

 opinion, and am still, that good average crops of fruit could annualli/ be 

 secured by good cultivation, by thinning of the spurs when croicded, 

 by thinning of the fruit, kc. There is nothing very startling in this. 

 On the contrary, it rests on the very soundest principles. 



In the article already referred to (see Florist for 1855), I mentioned 

 a few facts to show that the climate is not always the cause of the 

 failure of our crops. One of these was that " In these gardens there is 

 a very old Apple tree — the sort is Sir Walter Blackett's Favourite ; 

 it appears never to have anything done to it in the way of pruning, for 

 the branches are as crowded as possible. Well, this tree only bears 

 every alternate year ; one year it has not a dozen fruit on it : the 

 following season it is bent to the ground with its load of fruit. This 

 ha? been the case for the last six years to my knowledge, and I am 

 informed it has been the same for 20 years before." I now ask Mr. 

 Bailey, as I then did the correspondents to whom I was replying, 

 if he really thinks this tree misses a crop of fi-uit every other year 

 in consequence of our " precarious springs." No, Mr. B., that 

 is not the cause. It is because the crop of one season robs the tree 

 of all the organisable matter fit for the formation of fruit, so that it 

 takes a year to store up sufficient for another crop. This tree had 

 •several bushels of fruit on it in 1854, but not one single Apple in 1855 ; 



