iiMsii (iAi;])i:Ni\G 



Correspondence 

 Spraying Fruit Trees. 



Til Till': i:iiii<'i; .>|- ii;i-ii (. ai;i)i:m \<;. 



Sii!. Tlu- 1. It. Toil this suhjr.t hy Sir F. .\r..(.ic 

 is iiitiTcstin^' ami just itialilf in t In- late (.Iso many 

 notfs in thf ln.iticultural |.rfss on tin- \vis<l<.in or 

 ..th.Twis.- of th.' annual s|. ravin- of fruit lr.--s 

 with alkali wash.-s. (".-rtain .Jistricts favour tiic 

 growth of moss aji.i li<h.-n mmh morr than 

 olh.'i-s. In my cas.- tliis is so: lim- the soil is of 

 a hi-avv ict t-nt i\f nature, accomiianicil witii .m 

 annnaravrairr rainfall of :{2 imln-s ami a stilV 

 im|Mr\ious snhsoil. Sm-h conditions as thcsf 

 fa \ our thr i,no\\th of moss and liclicn on fniit 

 trees, remleiinij s|ira\ini,' at least evei'y \\\i: years 

 an alisolnte necessity to maiut:iin the tiu'cs in a 

 cleaulv comlitioii. 



Alkiili wash.'s. very carefully used and in a 

 weaker condition than sometimes em|ilo\-ed. are 

 no donlit lieneticial in tliorou^ddy deansiiu^- the 

 trees in alternate years, or once in three years, 

 liut I slKudd not advise the use of tlieni annual! \ , 

 havinij; exiierienced adverse results and seen tlie 

 etTects elsewliere. whicli j I'l-hajis was not the 

 fault of the material, l)nt the manner m which 

 it was n]»i)lied. With luindreds of trees to bi 

 sjirayed one lias to depend ui)on su))ordinates to 

 carry out the work, and it is not always in the 

 actual strensjtli of the wa.sh used, but in its applica- 

 tion. that is injurious. 1 luvve .seen parts of trees 

 injured in the bark owing to an extra quantity 

 of the liipiid being given to that part of the tree, 

 no doubt with the idea of thorouyhlv cleansing 

 that i.ortion so l)adly aOected with nu'.ss. There- 

 fore under all conditions lagreewitli Afr. I?ecket1 

 in his caution not to spray too often with alj-ali 

 washes. 



Perhaps outside of Aldenham no one is better 

 acquainted with the gardens there tlian myself, 

 having i)aid at least two visits annuady for the 

 last tw(>nty-seven years, much to my advantage 

 in noting the good work so long carried out there. 

 I have particularly watched the iJrogress of the 

 orchard trees, and have no hesitation in saying 

 that they are some of the finest in the country, 

 nf)t only in appearance, but in the crops of 

 magnificent fi'uit they annually bear. The 

 accompanying illustration of a tree growing there 

 of the variety lilenheiu' Pippin will sei've to show 

 readers of Iiush ( iAi;i)K\i \(i the manner of trees 

 they are. 



Although they receive so little spraying — once 

 in three years — they are i-emarkably clear of 

 moss and lichen. Xot only is the effective 

 manner in which they are cleansed triennially 

 largely answerable for their condition, but there 

 is another element that ])lays no inconsiderable 

 portion in their welfare. I allude to their rude 

 liealth. brought al)o\it by thorough cultivation, 

 in which extra dee]> trenching ])lays such an 

 inijiortant ])art, as it dnes in all matters a])per- 

 taining to the production of all liorticultural 

 subjects at Aldenham. 



This extra dee]) trenching of the stiff clay 

 subsoil provides free ])ercolation for heavy rain- 

 fall, which is all in favour of clean growth. The 

 rainfall at Aldenham is light, some 26 inches 

 annually, which again favour the condition of 

 the trees. 



Swanmore Park, Hants. E. Moi.ynkux. 



Lupins as Manure. 



•ri> 'nil-; kditoi; <m' ii;i>ii (.audkninc;. 



SiK. With ref.-rence to the article on •' The 



!■' 1 of i'lants." itissai.l: ' in the (ixing of 



nilroum lupin excels all the other legundnosa'." 



it iu.i\ int.ie>t your readers to know that 

 lupins were nsi .1 b\ the ancients to make manure, 

 ('..to s.-.i.l : •• ^•ou can make manur.- of litter, or 

 eUr of lupins, straw, beaiistalks. or the leaves of 

 Ih.' li..lm-oak ami (pn-rcus."* 



i'linx ;dso adds : " Tin- soil ..f a lield ..!■ vine- 

 >.ir.l i- enriched l>y tlie growtli of a crop of 

 inpiris: indi-ed. so far is it from standing in need 

 .,r manure, the lupins will act upon it as well as 

 the vc-iy best. -I ^■ouI•s faithfully. 



(iKOlUiK HKNSI,0W. 



TO TMK KDII'oli OK IKtSU ( iA U DKNI N(i. 



Silt. -The following exti'acts fi'om a letter 

 wiilteii l)V an olljrer .il pi'esent with the troops 

 .it the Dardanelles, inav interest some (.f vour 

 readers, ami som.' of them may possil)ly have 

 been in this locality, ami may l)e a))le to give 

 some infoi-mation as to the names of the |)lants. 

 'I'he writ el' was no l)otanist. not even a horti- 

 culturisl. but .in •• obs.'i-ver of nature." 



" P." 



• 'I'he place seems to be covered with dwarf 

 lioll> and juniper. The dwarf holly doesn't seem 

 to have any flou<rs. except a wee tassle of tiny 

 green things, hardly noticeable. I)ut it has lots 

 of green growths on its leaves which turn scarlet 

 and are just the size and colour of holly berries. 

 The ?jUi)liorbia is a murderous thing, looks most 

 in\ iting to sit on or step on. but is awfully prickly, 

 and so strong that it luily gives enough when you 

 step on it to throw \ou off your balance'. Its 

 rather prettv. as the Muing growth is bright 

 vellow. The" wild tbvml- is a l)igger varietv than 



.'it h 1 think. The flower is white with a ting.- 



of lila.-. ami the air gets thick with the sm.-ll. 

 You know 1h.' linv w.'.mI at horn.. .-alL-d. i think. 

 " Hh.'i'herds .l.,y.-- .u- ■■ Sh.'ph.-r.rs W.'ath.r 

 Glass,"" which comes out in. the sun when its 

 going to be tine. Well, there's a lovely kiiul lik.- 

 that here, only the flowers are a deeji ])ure purple 

 with a wee orange s])ot in the {-entre. It only 

 grows about 1 to H inch.'s high. Then there ai'e 

 lots of Convolvulus, chiefly jiink, and any number 

 of kinds of Vetches — one very pretty mauve one, 

 anil I found one lovelv little scarlet Pea. just like 

 the " Blue Pea," only scarlet. There's also a 

 thing with a flower just like a good sized pink 

 rock rose, but not the same leaf, and lots of little 

 Saxifrages, and I'm told Hypericums later on. 

 Then t here"s a l.)t of a thing one sees in gardens 



at h about I to 3 feet high, with a leaf like 



small rabbit "s ear ])lants, and a yellow flower 

 coming (Hit of a buzz of soft stuff. I don't know 

 what it is. Thei-e's no soil to speak of, its all 

 marble rock, and the devil on boots. The funny 

 thing is that though there are so many little 

 flowers, they make no .show, not like at home, 

 in fact " there's no place like home." You get 

 all sorts of beautiful things and fine places, but 



* De Re Bust. 37. 



t Nat. Hist., Bk. xviii.. c. 38. 



