50 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTIOULTURE AND COTTAGE QABDENEB. 



[ January 18, 1877. 



of having a " wild rush " through these fruit gardens examining 

 nothing, I would have given that attention to them that they 

 well merit. I have used the plural, "gardens." It is correct, 

 for there is not simply one walled enclosure but several, devoted 

 almost entirely to the cultivation of hardy fruits, especially 

 Apples and Pears. There are acres of ground, miles of wire, 

 and thousands of trees in these six large walled gardens, which 

 I thinkno member of " the craft" could see without admiring. 

 He may not admire the system adopted, for that depends on 

 taste, and almost everyone has his fancies and prejudices; but 

 he cannot,! think, help admitting that the system (whether he 

 agrees with it or not) is here well and extensively carried out, 

 and it is impossible that he can ignore the extraordinary high 

 quality of the fruit which that system and good management 

 produce. There are those who are powerful in their advocacy 

 of growing fruit on the natural system ; they would have no 

 pruning, no pinching, no training. Others consider no plan 

 equal to the bush or pyramid system, and regard both root- 

 pruning and summer-pinching as indispensable. Others, again, 

 are powerfully predisposed in favour of espaliers, and believe 

 that by no other mode of culture can so much superior fruit 

 be obtained oft' a given extent of ground as by training the 

 trees to wire trellises. It is not diffioalt for the advocates of 

 the respective systems to adduce testimony that each plan is 

 worthy of adoption, and has, indeed, proved satisfactory. The 

 fact is, that any, or all, of the plans named are good when ably 

 carried out, and they can only be justly denounced when the 

 systems have been or are abused. 



The advocates of the wiring or espalier system — the French 

 system — can point to Barham for evidence of its value, that 

 being the mode which is there extensively and almost exclu- 

 sively adopted. All the walls are whitewashed, and all the 

 trees are trained as diagonal cordons, palmetto verriers, or 

 some other " Frenchified " mode of training, but the diagonals 

 preponderate. The quarters of the gardens are devoted to 

 espaliers, long trellises of wire being erected, running from 

 north to south, each of the tallest being 10 feet high, with 

 about the same distance between the trellises. These are all 

 connected together with cross wires at regular intervals, these 

 cross wires being fastened to the tops of the walls. These 

 wires will no doubt be some day covered with " cordons," and 

 will contribute much to the appearance of the gardens, and 

 they at the same time impart stability to the whole wire- 

 work arrangements. Some of the trellises are double, and 

 have cordons planted on both sides, the trellises being a foot 

 or more apart. This plan is much liked as economising space, 

 the trees bearing as well as on the single trellises. There are 

 other trellises 6 feet high, most of them, also the walls, being 

 occupied with Pears. Near the sides of the walks are double 

 and single horizontal cordons of Apples, which at the time of 

 my visit were bearing prodigious crops of splendid fruit. There 

 are_ also bush trees more or less miniature, which were bearing 

 fruit not " miniature " but magnificent. 



The Pears are fast reaching the tops of the walls and 

 trellises, and were bearing some of the finest, if not the very 

 finest, fruit I ever saw growing. Amongst the autumn Pears 

 which appeared to be grown in quantity were Beurre Hardy, 

 Louise Bonne of ,7ersey, Williams' Bon Chretien, Beurre 

 d'Amanlis, Doyenne du Comice, Beurre de I'Assomption, 

 Beurre Superfin, &o. Later sorts — Pitmaeton Duchess, Passe 

 Crasanne, Marie Benoist, Easter Beurre, Winter Nelis, Jose- 

 phine de Malines, Doyenne d'Alen9on, Olivier de Serres, Prince 

 Napoleon, and others. 



Amongst the most noticeable of the Apples were the hori- 

 zontal cordons of Api Rouge or Lady Apple, veritable lines of 

 beauty, and splendid crops of remarkable fruit of the Winter 

 Calville and Bed CalviUe. The finest of the Winter Calvilles 

 (Calville Blanche d'Hiver) were produced on low cordons 

 trained near the front of the south wall. Other sorts excep- 

 tionally fine were Eeinette du Canada, Keinette de Gaux, 

 Eeinette d'Espapnp, Cox's Pomona, Cox's Orange Pippin, 

 Eibston Pippin, Belle Josephine, Belle Dubois, Beauty of 

 Kent, Cornish GiUitlower. These are only a few impressed 

 on my memory, for all the best kinds in cultivation are in- 

 cluded in the collection. A sufficient proof of the high 

 quality of the fruit produced in this garden was afforded at 

 the autumn show at the Royal Horticultural Society, when a 

 gold medal was awarded to Mr. Haycock, Mr. Leigh's gardener, 

 for a collection of Pears and Apples, which for colour, size, 

 and general high quality has been rarely equalled at any ex- 

 hibition of English-grown fruit. 



There is also a considerable extent of glass. Besides the 



conservatory and plant stove referred to there is a vinery about 

 80 feet long in three compartments. Peach houses 100 feet long, 

 Pine pit of a similar length, a span-roofed plant house also 

 100 feet in length, Gacumber and Melon pits 50 feet long, and 

 an excellent orchard house 70 feet by 22 feet. The Vines were 

 thinly trained, moderately cropped, and the Grapes were well 

 coloured and of good quality. Peaches were gathered except 

 Salwey, and the crop of this was highly superior. Figs in 

 pots were bearing excellent crops. Melons were cut, but a 

 fine lot of fruit of A. F. Barron were unused, this proving to 

 be a good keeping variety. Pines were of medium size. Deco- 

 rative plants in good order, and fruit trees in pots were numer- 

 ous and excellent. Many of the glass structures were of com- 

 parative recent erection, and all were in capital working order. 



The vegetable crops evidently received the same care that 

 was bestowed on the fruit trees, the regularity and cleanliness 

 of the several crops being very noticeable. Asparagus is 

 largely grown, the plants being in hollows, with their tops sup- 

 ported with stakes, and the " grass " was robust and luxuriant. 

 Tomatoes were " a sight." Stout posts had been fixed in the 

 ground, and to these supports boards were nailed, forming a 

 " wooden wall " 3 to 4 feet high ; this was limewashed, and on 

 the south side were trained the 'Tomatoes. The crop was pro- 

 digious, and certainly of greater value than the cost of the fence, 

 while this was sufficiently substantial to last for some years. 



The gardens at Barham Court are eminently worthy of in- 

 spection daring the late summer months, before the fruit 

 crops are gathered. At the period of my flying visit their 

 cleanliness was remarkable — the white walls, the neatly-trained 

 trees, the full vegetable crops, and the absence of weeds afford- 

 ing evidence that no crop was neglected in favour of another 

 more highly prized department. The owner of this excellent 

 garden is clearly a liberal patron of horticulture, and it is 

 equally clear that the gardener is as skilful and attentive as 

 the owner is earnest and liberal. — J. W. 



THE TREE OB MULTIPLYING ONION. 



I HAD a few given to me about four years since. Last year I 

 had nearly half a bushel. I set in March last year 24 square 

 feet of ground with bulbs, 6 inches apart. When I took them 

 up in October last they quite surprised me, for at some of the 

 roots there were three or four good-sized Onions. Besides, on 

 the stem, about a foot from the ground, was a bunch of three 

 or four more Onions, and above them another bunch or cluster 

 of eight or nine smaller bulbs, about the size for pickling, and 

 in a few instances even another cluster about the size of horse 

 beans. We have cooked some several times, and think them 

 milder than most Onions. They have kept well till now, hut 

 the weather being so mild they begin to grow. They are very 

 hardy. I have had odd bulbs left in the ground all the winter 

 grow and produce well the next summer. They are worthy of 

 a place in any garden, for if the other Onions fail they can be 

 relied upon, and anyone bestowing the trouble to tie them to a 

 stake renders them a curiosity, but they do very well to fall 

 about and grow as they like. I forked the ground over, and 

 gave it a slight dressing of dnng from the spent hotbed of the 

 year before, and then planted the bulbs, and did nothing more 

 to them except keeping the weeds down. — C. E. Braoebbidgb, 

 Kilshy, Rugby. 



[This is a variety of the common Onion, and has been in our 

 gardens many years under the name of Garden Boooambole. 

 —Eds.] 



CLIVE HOUSE SEEDLING GEAPE. 

 For this Grape the Fruit Committee of the Royal Hortioul- 

 taral Society at their meeting, December (ith, 1876, awarded 

 Mr. D. P. Bell, Clive House, Alnwick, a first-class certificate, 

 to which (»8 a seedling) he had no claim whatever. It was 

 raised in the garden of his Grace the Duke of Northumber- 

 land at Alnwick Castle by William Caseley twenty years ago, 

 who then, as now, was employed in the forcing houses there. 

 The female parent of it was Black Morocco impregnated with 

 the pollen of White Syrian, for the purpose of causing the 

 former to set its fruit better than it had been in the habit of 

 doing. By the time that the Grapes were ripe some of the 

 lierries were noticed ns being of unusual size. From these Mr. 

 Caseley saved seeds, which were sown by him and produced 

 several plants, the fruit of some being black and of others 

 white. After being fairly tried all but two were found to be 

 nearly worthless. These two are still in cultivation in the 

 houses there, that for which the certificate was awarded being 



