50 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[ February, 



and the mnrket price i-s often doubled by the 

 operation. The rule is to leave one peach on a 

 shoot six inches long, and two on a limb a foot 

 long. Make the .spaces between them a.s even a.s 

 practicable. For thi.s jnirpose it is often neces- 

 sary to remove nine-tenths. Finish one branch 

 at a time ; work from the centre of the tree. It 

 saves labor at the regular picking, assorting and 

 packing. Another important advantage is, in 

 preventing the exhaustion of the trees. The 

 work is done soon after the fruit seta. 



Vegetable E.^tixg. — We often fancy foreign- 

 ers misrepresent us, but if so, it is no more than 

 the fate of all nations. We have been reading 

 recently a report on English Gardening, by Dr. 

 Mertens to the Belgian Government, in which he 

 says the English grow "hardly any vegetables 

 but Rhubarb and Seakale, and these they greedily 

 devour." 



Peach Dlsbase in California. — The yellows 

 do not appear to be troublesome to a Californian 

 Peach orchard, but the curl is a fearful pest. 



Peach Disease in the South. — A correspon- 

 dent of Oar Home Journal, writes of a mysterious 

 disease which attacks the Peach trees down there. 

 As the lowest temperature is seldom more than 

 5" bolow freezing point, it cannot be from cold. 

 He B.ays : — " Many of the trees are dead, root and 

 branch. Some are dead down to the roots, from 

 which a few suckers are springing up, from each 

 of which I mean to train up one to see what it 

 will do. The trees that are not dead have a 

 sickly and wilted look — scarcely any leaves, and 

 perhaps half a dozen peaches to the tree. 



My orchard is on the warm, southern slope of 

 a sandy ridge or tongue of high land, projecting 

 into the salt marsh, with water on both sides, 

 and sheltered on the north by a heavy growth of 

 live oak and magnolia. The sap flows earl}% but 

 I have never known the fruit germs killed by 

 frost. And this season, as I have said, two-thirds 

 of my trees have exhibited no signs of life at any 

 time, and now stand leafless and sapless." 



American Blackberries in England. — With 

 their knowledge limited to the wild fruit of 

 the hedges, it is no surprise that the Engli.sh, 

 wonder at the popularity here of our improved 

 sorts. But one who has tried the Lawton in 

 England, writes to the London Journal of Horti- 

 culture, that it is really " delicious." 



The Cornish Gilliflower. — Early in December 

 we saw a barrel of this variety on sale in Phila- 



delphia, the first time we had seen it in many 

 years, and were really surprised to find how 

 superior was its excellence. The vendor could 

 give no guess as to the locality it originally 

 started from. 



We are reminded of this sort now by a beauti- 

 ful engraving in the Garden, which gives the 

 following accountof its history : — "As far as I can 

 remember (says Mr. Boscawen), a certificate was 

 given to Sir C. Hawkins, of Trewithan, Cornwall, 

 in the year 1822 or 1823 by the Horticultural 

 Society of London for fruits of this apple. Sir 

 C. Hawkins found it in a cottage garden near 

 Truro. It is my opinion that it is a seedling 

 from a very old Cornish variety called the Spice 

 Apple. There are two, if not three seedlings 

 from it in Cornwall — one at Mr Richard Boli- 

 tho's, in Penzance, which is earlier than the one 

 I sent you, but not so good. I have heard of an- 

 other, but can't say anything about it. The 

 apples I sent were from a graft of the original 

 apple at Trewithan, and therefore is the true 

 Gilliflower, or July Flower, as it is sometimes 

 called. The name, I believe, was given in conse- 

 quence of its scent being like that of a Gilli- 

 flower Carnation. I have found the apple easily 

 cultivated, not only in Cornwall, but in the Mid- 

 land Counties. One year when the crop failed 

 in Cornwall, apples were sent down here from 

 Berkshire quite as fine, if not finer than those 

 usually grown in Cornwall. This apple likes an 

 eastern aspect, and must be pruned carefully, as 

 the blossom buds are at the ends of the shoots. 

 It keeps well, and is ripe about the end of 

 November. 



The Baldwin Apple. — The American Cultiva- 

 tor, says : "The original tree found in a wood, is 

 still standing on the Baldwin farm, at Woburn, 

 Mass. Loammi Baldwin was then the proprietor. 



Cultivated Pine Apples.— People accustomed 

 to the miserable stuff sold in the markets for 

 Pine Apples, have no idea of the delicious char- 

 acter of cultivated fruit, as grown by gardeners. 

 And yet because " Pines " can be bought cheaply, 

 they are seldom grown. At a recent meeting of 

 the London Horticultural Society there was an 

 award to Mr. Ross, Welford Park, Newbury, for 

 four smooth-leaved Cayenne Pine Apples, weigh- 

 ing respectively 7 lbs. 4J ozs., 8 lbs. 5 ozs., 9 ft»s. 

 22 ozs., and 10 lbs. 5^ ozs. The suckers which 

 produced these fruits were potted in 6-inch pots 

 in June, 1875, and shifted into 11-inch pota in 

 April, 1876. 



