34 THE FLORIST. 



protection invariably answer every desired purpose with him, we must, 

 while we congratulate him on his fortunate locality, demand credence 

 on his part that such cases are exceptional." JS'ow, instead of " Hel- 

 minthion " demanding credence that my case was the exception, I wish 

 him to give me credence that my case was a general rule throughout 

 the north of England, and not exceptional. He will see it stated 

 three times in one page in my article (and I did so purposely to prevent 

 mistakes) that my neighbours were equally fortunate. I am surprised 

 how " Helminthion," after seeing this, could demand credence of me 

 that my case was exceptional. As my article was written at the 

 commencement of last IMay, I could not then have known to what extent 

 the crops were safe, therefore I v^rrote, " From inquiries I have made I 

 learn that my neighbours have been equally fortunate." I can now 

 affirm, from personal knowledge, that crops of every kind, except Apples, 

 were much above an average throughout the whole of Yorkshire 

 (whose area occupies no small part of the north of England), and from 

 authentic sources I learn that they (crops) have been the same in all 

 the northern counties. 



Now, with respect to Apples, I never had a better (indeed, never so 

 good) a crop of them as I had the past season, which I ascribe entirely to 

 the trees (except a few old ones) being annually pruned, and not being 

 allowed to bear too many one year, and none the following year. Tiie 

 Apple crop the last season in Yorkshire was a little below an average 

 crop, which I attribute not to the frost on April 24 last, as our fi-iend 

 in the south does, but to the crop in 1853 having been twice as heavy 

 as it ought to have been. The crop of 1853 robbed the trees of all the 

 organisable matter ready to be formed into fruit. " The trees," as M. 

 de Jonghe says, " are overloaded with spurs." " In fact," as the editor 

 of the Gardeners Chronicle remarks, " orchardists never dream of 

 removing them ; the more they have the greater they fancy is the chance 

 of a good crop ; they are like those speculators who, in their eagerness 

 for immense gain, contrive to realise nothing. The Belgian, on the 

 contrary, is the plodding, thrifty shopkeeper, who takes care of his 

 moderate profits, never makes much, never loses much, but in the long 

 run finds a very satisfactory account at his banker's. It is an axiom in 

 applied physiology that no animal or plant can bear more than its 

 system can nourish ; when an attempt is made to contravene this 

 natural law, abortion is the result, or the produce, whether animal or 

 vegetable, if it survives, is degenerate or imperfect. Let a Pear (the 

 case is applicable to any other kind of fruit tree) tree contain a pound 

 of nutrition or natural food, ready to be attracted into its spurs, let each 

 spur receive a dram of such food, then the tree may carry 256 spurs, 

 supposing the food to be equally distributed. But if a thousand such 

 spurs is present, it is probable, not that 750 will be starved and 250 

 fed, but that the whole will be starved ; in the struggle among them for 

 food none will obtain what is requisite to sustain life, and all will 

 perish." No intelligent gardener will question the truth of the fore- 

 going. Is it, therefore, any wonder that the Apple crop of 1854 should 

 be below an average one, when the crop of 1853 was twice as great as 

 it ought to have been ? The large crop of 1853 was, of course, owing 



