200 THE GARDENER. [May 



many cases proved "father to a crop" where failure before "had 

 held supreme sway." I hope to be able to show that outdoor culti- 

 vation in even bad localities is not incompatible with a good and well- 

 ripened crop of Apricots. 



Apricots have been classified by various writers, but to Mr Thomp- 

 son must again be awarded the palm for having given us in his 

 ' Gardeners' Assistant/ at once the best, most complete, and easiest 

 understood of all which have come within the range of my observation. 

 He has divided them into two classes — the first, those with kernels 

 bitter * the second, those with kernels sweet. 



Class I. — Division 1. Fruit small, round, early; flower small. 

 Division 2. Fruit large. This division is further subdivided into — 

 1. Channel of the stone closed up, flesh parting from the stone. 2. 

 Channel of the stone closed up, flesh adhering to the stone. 3. Chan- 

 nel of the stone pervious. 



Class II. — Division 1. Flesh parting from the stone. Division 2. 

 Flesh adhering to the stone. 



I would first treat of the propagation of the Apricot, which may be 

 done in one of three different ways — viz., by seed, budding, and graft- 

 ing. Mr Thompson, in the ' Gardeners' Assistant,' states : " There are 

 some sorts which reproduce themselves with considerable exactitude 

 from the stone, and are accordingly propagated in that way. The 

 Moor Park is one of these, . . . and it and several others are 

 frequently raised from seed by the French." We have no experience 

 of this ourselves, but from the above work, and books on French fruit- 

 growing, it would appear to be a favourite practice, followed with 

 considerable success, on the Continent. It is to be noticed, however, 

 that none of these authors are prepared to state that trees so produced 

 are in all respects the same as the parents ; so that, if particular varie- 

 ties are wanted, the best and surest plan is to have recourse to bud- 

 ding, which is preferable to grafting. If new varieties are wanted, then 

 seed is the only way to obtain them. As formerly directed, care must 

 be exercised in protecting the blooms when the pollen is ripe, so that 

 there may be no chance of impregnation taking place save with the 

 varieties intended by the cultivator. For particulars regarding this, I 

 refer the reader to the articles upon "The Pear" in the volume for last 

 year, where he will find the matter fully discussed. Seed should in 

 all cases be saved from young, healthy trees, the stones being selected 

 from the finest and ripest of the fruit. They may be sown in a well- 

 prepared border, moderately rich, with old Mushroom-dung, or, what 

 is perhaps better, rotten leaf- mould. If the latter is used, one-third 

 of the whole may be composed of it. The bottom of a wall having a 

 south or east exposure will answer the purpose very well. The stones 



