226 THE FLORIST. 



THE FRUIT CROPS OF THE PRESENT YEAR. 



I ATTACH great importance to observations made throughout the yenY 

 on all matters relating to horticulture by practical men, — such as those 

 of your correspondent " G. F.'' in your June number ; and as I have 

 acquired much practical knowledge by a comparison of similar remarks 

 with my own observations, it is, therefore, with much pleasure that I 

 respond to your correspondent's w^ish ; and whilst on this all-important 

 subject of fruit crops, 1 beg to offer a few remarks, which, as the past 

 winter and spring have been unusually severe, may be of some interest 

 to many of your readers, and which may induce some of them to give 

 us the result of their experience. 



A number of observations made in different localities in a season 

 like the present, and faithfully recorded, would be of much value ; the 

 young gardener who starts wdth little but theory will infallibly fail if 

 unsupported by experience. In making this remark I wish it to be 

 distinctly understood that I by no means undervalue theory ; quite the 

 contrary. I attach the highest possible value to it, and would strongly 

 advise young gardeners to store their minds well with it, but not to 

 think themselves perfect in their profession until they can support it 

 with some practical experience. In every science, and particularly in 

 that of horticulture, theory and experience should go hand in hand ; 

 idle is the theory that cannot be supported by experience, and our 

 experience would be a confused jumble of facts without sound theory 

 to digest and generalise them. 



Success in horticulture depends on the knowledge of the scientific 

 principles upon w^hich the art of culture depends, and the best way of 

 deducing these principles is from collections of facts recorded with 

 accuracy by careful observers. 



From the middle of January to the end of ]\Iay of the present year 

 we have had a continuance of cold weather unprecedented w^ithin the 

 memory of our grandfathers. After this dreary time it is quite cheering 

 to find all accounts representing the fruit crops this year as very good ; 

 and this is attributed partly to the fine dry warm w^eather of last 

 autumn, and partly to the lateness of the present season. In my 

 opinion we are not at all indebted to the lateness of the season for the 

 GENERAL good crop of fruit this year, but principally to the failure of 

 the crop in previous years. The trees by this means stored up a 

 quantity of organised matter, and under the influence of the fine warm 

 weather of last autumn the wood and buds were thoroughly ripened. 

 To these causes I attribute the general good crop of this season, and not 

 to the lateness of the season. This season, though dry, has been any- 

 thing but favourable to the setting of fruit. 



In a notice of the Horticultural Society's garden, in the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle of the 2nd inst., it is stated that Apples and Pears are a good 

 crop this year, more especially on standards, which have apparently 

 suffered much less than dwarfs. What will ]\Ir. Rivers say to this, 

 who so strongly advocates a crippled and unnatural system, and who so 

 boldly asserts that we cannot keep our fruit trees too near our parent 

 earth ? 



