132 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



[ Angiut 22, 1887. 



It 13 evident that strength of growth is not all we require. One 

 would imagine that if a tree grew well, made strong shoots, and 

 large leaves, it would also produce good fruit, but the Tine 

 worked on the Sarbelle l''rontignan grows very strongly, and yet 

 its fruit is not nearly so good as that produced on the ungrafted 

 Vine ; whilst the Vine growing on the Black Hamburgh is a small 

 two-years-old plant which has hardly had time to grow strongly. 

 Again, those who have grafted the Barbarossa, a remarkably 

 Strong- growing kind, say that every variety of Grape tried upon 

 it is injured. It must be clear that vigour oJ growth is not all 

 we require. — J. E. Peaeson, Chilicdl. 



PRUNUS PADUS AS A STOCK FOR PEACHES. 



I LiTED when a boy in a district where the Bird Cherry 

 (Prunus padus) abounded, and used to wonder why it was called 

 a Cherry, when it seemed to have no resemblance of any kind 

 to a Cherry, but in leaf and smell was not very unlike a Peach. 

 So, when eight years ago I settled in Yorkshire, and found the 

 Bird Cherry again indigenous to my district, I thought it would 

 be worth while trying it for a stock, in order to find out its 

 affinity, but it was not until last year and the present that I 

 was able to put my wish into practice. Curiously enough, 

 when I went in the autumn of 1H65, to look for some young 

 specimens of the Prunus fit for my. purpose, all the Peach 

 trees in the district were smothered with a sudden blight of 

 aphides, and on arriving at the glen where the Prunus was 

 growing, I found the same aphis in the same abimdance. This 

 80 far favoured my old notion. 



On removing the stocks, I planted some in the open ground, 

 and some in pots. All, however, suffered a very severe check, 

 and when I tried to bud them last autumn, the bark would not 

 Tiin, so that I set no value upon the results of last year. Those 

 in pots were placed in gentle heat in February, along with an 

 equal number of Black Damask Plum stocks, and when the sap 

 was fairly active all were grafted— the Prunus padus with Plums, 

 Cherries, Apricots, and Peaches. lu some oases all four sorts 

 were worked on the same ijtock, and the Cherries were either 

 .May Duke or Morello. The result was, that in almost every 

 case the Peaches grew on the Prunus padus, the Cherries grew 

 for a time, and then stopped, the others gave little hope of suc- 

 ■ oeeding. Of those worked on the Black Damask Plum about half 

 succeeded. These were worked only with Plums and Peaches, 

 and were used merely to compare the stocks under the same 

 treatment, which was by no means the best for the purpose, as 

 I had no proper material for plunging the plants after being 

 grafted, and they were in consequence not plunged in anything. 



As soon as the growth of the scions and Prunus was suffi- 

 cient to show which would thrive and which would not, they 

 were cut down again, and regrafted, putting Cherries and Plums 

 on the stocks where the Peach had succeeded, and Peaches on 

 those on which other fruits had failed. The only scions which 

 grew after this severe treatment were the Peaches, which again 

 succeeded in almost every case. Few, however, are now growing, 

 through their having been exposed to the frequent action of 

 crinoline. One (Dr. Hogg) I was careful to keep securely, and 

 it was regularly stopped, and finally repotted a month ago, and 

 is now a very promising tree, with well-developed buds, having 

 been allowed to attain a height of about 4 feet, and with laterals 

 li foot long at the bottom. 



It now remains to be seen how far the Prunus padus, which 

 elaborates so much prussic acid, will affect the flavour of the 

 imit. Next year will, I hope, enable me to give an opinion upon 

 this question that will be of value. My preseut belief is, that 

 unless some amount of foliage is allowed to grow on the stock, 

 the flavour of the fruit is only influenced so far as the growth 

 of the scion is healthy or otherwise. I once by mistake grafted 

 an Apple on the Quince, and the two trees so worked grew most 

 ■vigorously for one season, and then became unhealthy. In one 

 case I allowed the Quince to put out about a dozen leaves 

 below the scion, and the next season the Apple so treated grew 

 again, the other died. It is most probable that in this case 

 the sap sent from the Quince roots was suited to the Apple ; 

 but that the sap sent down from the Apple leaves did not suit 

 the root of the Quince. This is, however, just one of those 

 questions that require a careful set of experiments to furnish a 

 correct answer.— W. Kingsley, South Kilcinijtun Rectory. 



plant, early in June, I could cut upwardsof fifty splendid blooms, 

 all open at the same time. It certainly does not flower freely 

 the first season after budding, but that does not alter its after- 

 value. — BisNJAMiN II. Cant, if. John Street Nursery, Oolcliester. 



Makechal Niel Rose. — .V correspondent in a recent number 

 ■has written disparagingly of this beautiful Rose. If he will grow 

 It on a south wall I think he will alter his opinion. From one 



ABOUT THE LAND'S END.— No. 2. 



SiKCE I last wrote I have been over and about nine miles 

 of the region bordering on the coast between Marazion and 

 Lamorna Cove — names savouring of Gaelic, and reminding 

 forcibly of Ossian, which justifies my stepping aside to observe 

 that Gaelic, Armoric, Manx, and Cornish are really variations 

 only of one and the same language. Now to my jottings on 

 these nine miles of coast country. 



The first object which attracted my notice is the entire ab- 

 scence of stiles and gates where a division is needed across a 

 path. Instead of these nuisances, even to unencumbered legs, 

 and most exposing nuisances to those crinoline-euclosed, broad 

 bars of granite, usually five in number, are placed parallel to 

 each other, level with the ground, with a space of a foot width 

 between each and its neighbour bars, in _^__^^__- 

 this fashion. There is no difliculty in the — _^..^— — ^— 

 way of a rational being walking across — ^^— ^— ^— — 

 these ; but the irrational — namely, horses, ^^^^^^^^^^~ 

 cows, sheep, and pigs — evidently suspect — — — =— ^— ^ 

 that it is a trap, and for that, or on account of some other 

 fear best known to themselves, never attempt to cross these 

 mystic bars. 



The cottage gardens in this district are scanty in dimensions 

 and badly cultivated, notwithstanding there is a society at 

 Penzance, which offers prizes to those cottagers who rise supe- 

 rior to their fellows in gardening. However, whether cultivated 

 well or ill, I almost invariably see Leeks, Garlic, Parsley, and 

 Onions are within each enclosure. The reason for these never- 

 absents, I am told, is that they are the invariable ingredients 

 of Cornish pies — a form of culinary compounds so prevalent, 

 that it is a common saying, "If a Cornish man caught the 

 devil he would put him into a pie." Compounds they are of 

 no ordinary richness, conger-pasty being formed of conger eel 

 and Onions ; Leeky pie of Leeks, bacon, and clotted cream ; 

 star-gazy pie of pilchards, with their heads piercing the centra 

 of the crust in a cluster, as do the legs of Pigeons when similarly 

 cooked; crocky stew is served in a metal pan, and is com- 

 pounded of meat. Onions, and shces of batter pudding ; squab 

 pie is made of meat. Apples, and Onions, covered over with a 

 crust ; and veal and Parsley pie has under its crust a mixtara 

 of veal, chopped Parsley, and clotted cream. 



These savoury constructions seem to be no modem inven- 

 tions, for there is a record, bearing date 1369, which is explic- 

 able only on the supposition that a part of the rent reserved 

 had regard to a provision for these Cornish pies. In that year, 

 42 Edward III., Margery, wife of William Whitestone (careful 

 housewife that Margery), granted to John Ermyce two gardens 

 in Stratton, a north-eastern district of Cornwall, ou condition 

 that he rendered annually, among other things, a hundred 

 roots of Garlic at Easter. Norden, who wrote his " Speouli 

 Britanniie " in the reign of James I., says, speaking of Stratton 

 Hundred, " The inhabitants are to be comended for planting 

 orchardes, which yeldest greate store of Apples, Peares, and 

 such-like frute, whereof they make syder and perye, healthsome 

 and profitable to drink. There is also great aboundance of Gar- 

 lick, the use wherof the countryman holdeth salutarie, wherof 

 they also make a comodious vente into manie other shyres." 



The said John Ermyce was also bound to dye of a red colour 

 yearly for the said Margery four ells of cloth, and this leads 

 me to remark further upon the old local names of plants, and 

 upon the suggestive names of most Cornish localities. The 

 red-coloured cloth coveted by the provident Margery must have 

 been dyed by the aid of Madder (Rubia peregrinn), which is a 

 native of the neighbourhood of Stratton. Now, this is a plant 

 still retaining its old Cornish name, Maddre, and I observe 

 that the names of many of our other native plants may be 

 similarly traced to this early language of our island. Thus, 

 hjilm, is still the name of the Holly ; and the parentage of our 

 modern names can be discerned in Idhis, Ivy ; Pluman, a 

 Plum; Ciircti/ii, a Carrot; Pamez, a Parsnip; Tunuipan, a 

 Turnip ; and Kai-atsJi, a Cabbage. 



On the other hand the old Cornish names of plants intro- 

 duced by the Romans acknowledge that origin. Thus, Per, a 

 Pear, from the Latin Pyrus ; Pipes, Figs, from Ficus : fAlie, a 

 Lily, from Lilium ; Favan, a Bean, from Faba ; and Bos, a 



