October 17, 1908 



HORTICULTURE 



507 



Horticulture at the Franco -British 

 Exhibition 



FRUIT AND FRUIT TREES 



All the fruit exhibited here is of course under 

 cover and is mostly found in the great buildings de- 

 voted to the produce of the English colonies. It is 

 remarkable that by far the greater number of colonial 

 fruit is limited to apples although among the fresh 

 fruits there are a few pears, but si Mi apples are to be 

 found in an overwhelming majority. 



At the temporary Fruit and Flower Show of June 

 24th held in the Palace of Music there were several 

 noteworthy exhibits of fruit. The Government of 

 South Australia staged some bright, well colored speci- 

 mens of apples. The Forceries de la Seine staged 

 peaches in baskets; the variety was Precoce de Hall. 

 They also showed nectarines. 



A fine show of fruit trees in pots came from T. 

 Rivers & Son; among them were nectarines Early Riv- 

 ers and Dryden ; plums, Blue Bock, The Czar " and 

 Early Prolific; peaches, Boyal George, Dagmar, Dr. 

 Hogg, Perequine (new), Early York; cherries, May 

 Duke, Bigarreau de Schreken. George Bunyard & Co. 

 showed strawberries as did Millet & Son of Bourg-la- 

 reine who had about 50 varieties in boxes. 



In the permanent exhibits, by far the most imposing 

 display is that made b\ the Dominion of Canada. In 

 a large space inside their building we find a painted 

 picture representing a view in an apple orchard such 

 as can be seen in many parts of Canada. The time is 

 the apple harvest and the pickers are busy at work gath- 

 ering and packing the fruit. In front of this and en- 

 closed within a railing is a large number of tables upon 

 which stand plates of the different Canadian varieties. 

 At each end of this exhibit which is 57 feet long are 

 shelves holding bottles of many kinds of preserved 

 fruits. 



In the Australian Palace, each colony has a section to 

 itself. That of Victoria contains many samples of 

 dried and preserved fruits of all kinds. Apples of 

 course in quantity. Tasmania has also an exhibit of 

 apples. South Australia has a fine lot of dried and 

 bottled fruits, raisins, currants, prunes, apricots, sul- 

 tanas, nectarines, etc. In the department of Western 

 Australia the show is not so fine. There are a few un- 

 named varieties of apples grown in the region of Pres- 

 ton River. New Zealand shows some nice specimens of 

 apples and pears in very presentable form. These are 

 set up in small pyramids on plates in a glass case. 



Trained fruit trees are planted outdoors by some of 

 the most famous of the French fruit culturists. They 

 are arranged in two double rows along the sides of the 

 Machinery Halls on the extreme edge of the French 

 garden. They comprise apple, pear, peach, plum and 

 every conceivable kind of fruit tree trained in all the 

 fancy ways that only the French gardener seems to have 

 the secret of. They are a source of much curiosity on 

 the part of many visitors and are an important contri- 

 bution to the display of French horticulture. The 

 leading exhibitors are M. Lecointe, ('rout & Son. Nom- 

 hlot-Bruneau. and Pinguet-Guindon. 



Dendrobium^Phalaenopsis 



Dendrohium I'halaenopsis is certainly one of the most 

 beautiful and useful orchids in cultivation and ought to 

 be represented in every collection, however small that 

 collection may be. It is not a difficult subject to grow 

 and if properly treated will increase in size from year 

 to year making pseudo-bulbs as large as and larger than 

 those made in its native home. 



Newly imported plants should be potted up at once 

 on arrival, using a little osmunda fibre with an equal 

 quantity of fresh sphagnum moss as compost. Use 

 very small, common flower pots with three holes in them 

 for suspending, filling about two-thirds with small 

 crocks, then pin the plants in position and tie to the 

 wires used fur suspending; pack the peat and moss 

 firmly around the base of the plant, taking care not to 

 cover up the eyes. All old roots should first be cut 

 away. Then the plants are hung up near the roof of a 

 moderately warm house where they can be syringed 

 every bright day. 



Towards spring nearly every dormant eye will break 

 away freely hut the treatment is not changed until the 

 new growths have made a good headway and when the 

 new roots appear the plants are moved in to their grow- 

 ing quarters, which should be the hottest place obtain- 

 able and then the amount of water given is gradually 

 increased until the roots have taken a firm hold of the 

 compost. From that time until the flowers have faded 

 ot have been cut plenty of water must be given and a 

 dip in weak manure water once a week will greatly help 

 1o build up strong pseudo-bulbs ami' long flower-spikes, 

 with flowers of good substance and lasting quality. 

 After flowering the plants are removed back to cooler 

 quarters a night temperature of 55 degrees suiting them 

 well during the winter, and very little water, only 

 enough to keep the plants from shrivelling, is given un- 

 til thev start to crow again and the treatment above 

 described i^ repeated. 



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