Jol; 22, 1869. 1 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



S7 



cold honses. Abundaoce of Apricots; but our trees are 

 trained upon cow houses, &o., so the walls arp, consequently, 

 very warm." 



Thus, then, we have evidence showing that in almost every 

 case when heat was applied, success has been the result ; and in 

 almost every case where beat has been wanting, failure has 

 ensued ; and that the cause of the failure is due to the uncon- 

 genial nature of the spring, not to any overcropping, or the 

 influence of the past season. 



The only single instance of success this season in an un- 

 healed house, is that of Jir. Halliday, at Scone Palace, Perth. 

 Last season these trees were splendid specimens of culture, 

 heavily laden with fruit. This season they are again abun- 

 dantly laden, and Mr. Halliday attributes his success to keep- 

 ing the house as close and warm as possible during the flower- 

 ing and setting period. Mr. Halliday ventilates his house only 

 at the top, and the climate of Scotland being colder than oar 

 own, some such precaution is necessary. Perhaps a little less 

 ventilation on our part, it we could have dissipated the damp, 

 would have saved our crop. 



Peaches, &c., bloomed unusually early this season, and the 

 blooms were as fine as usual, and fully more abundant. The 

 trees remained in blossom a long time, much longer than usual, 

 which of itself was a sign of imperfect setting. They, how- 

 ever, set partially, attained the size of small beans, and then 

 diopped. The trees throughout this long blossoming period 

 had their energies severely taxed, yet on trees where the 

 blossoms were thinned to a minimum, the same result occurred. 

 The whole period daring the blooming and setting was cold, 

 damp, and in every way wretched, about the worst that could 

 possibly have been experienced. There was, however, no frost 

 sufficient to do any injury. Better there had been. The Peach 

 will stand 8' or 10" of dry frost better wlien in flower than 

 stagnant moist air. In April the weather from excessive cold, 

 became suddenly unusually warm for the season, and it was 

 then the fruit fell. The excitement was too great after their 

 long season of lethargy. To this the loss is to be attributed ; 

 for it is a well-known fact to all gardeners, that a sure way to 

 lose a crop of Peaches is suddenly to raise the temperature of 

 the house from a low to a high degree. 



What lessons, now, are we to learn from the experiences of 

 the present season :' or what precautions shall we take to avoid 

 a similar loss in the future '.' Mr. Pearson counsels " humility " 

 — that is, contentment, or an inward conviction that we have 

 done our best under the circumstances ; but, further, he ad- 

 vises " those who can ati'ord it to put pipes in their houses, and 

 so make safe for the future." Pipes are, undoubtedly, of great 

 assistance, but they are also of great expense, and not within 

 the reach of many of those for whom the orchard house is in- 

 tended. It is also doing away with the true principle of or- 

 chard houses, and making them an expensive luxury instead 

 of a cheap enjoyment. Sseiug that it is the "first time," as 

 Mr. Rivers says, " since their invention that orchard houses 

 have failed," but, on the contrary, have continuously produced 

 good fruit, I cannot fall in with the clamour against them, or 

 on the spur of the experiences of a single season recommend 

 the additional expense of heating. By another season the 

 tables will be turned, and Peaches be everywhere abundant. 

 So before spending your money, wait a little longer. — 

 ABCHAiraiUD. 



thoroughly drench the land. My opinion of Lucas and Prince 

 Imperial, alias Marr uis de la Tour Maubourg is, that Lucas is in 

 all respects a first-rate end splendid Strawberry when fully inpe. 

 The Marquis is a handsome plant, with leaves like one of the 

 Laurustinus family, it is a good bearer, handsome, and pleasant. 

 As Mr. Peglar wishes large and profitable Strawberries, I am 

 inclined to recommend for his soil. Sir Joseph Paxton, Cocks- 

 comb, Dr. Hogg (to represent the Queen), Lucas, Trollope's 

 Victoria, Alice Maude, and Empress Eugenie. Such a soil, 

 unless a great quantity of water is used, is too dry for Frog- 

 more Pine, 'Wonderful, and some other good sorts. People 

 who do not water copiously, obtain one or two large berries, 

 and the rest come to nothing. It is not the fault of the Straw- 

 berry. My runners were planted July Ist, 18fi!i. Early estab- 

 lishment is of great moment in this country.— W. F. KiDCLYTTE, 



STRAWBEPJIIES— AND FOR A LIGHT SOIL. 

 My Strawberry party was held July 16th. Eleven dishes of 

 very line fruit were set before the company. Fifteen Cocks- 

 combs weighed 1 lb. The heat was intense ; had they been 

 weighed in the morning, twelve would have weighed 1 lb. The 

 largest {Cockscomb) measured 9 inches round. The sorts used 

 were Frogmore Late Pine, Dr. Hogg, Mr. Eadclyffe, Eliza, and 

 Cockscomb. I never saw eleven dishes cf such fine Strawberries. 

 The company were astonished, as few people have any at all. 

 I keep on two waterers constantly for Roses and Strawberries, 

 that with manure is the reason of my success, and the size of 

 the fruit. Dr. Hogg and Mr. Kadc'yffe did not set all their 

 blossoms, but Elizi. Cockscomb, and Lucas set every one. The 

 Alpines, of which Galande, is by far the best, set every blossom. 

 Mr. Peglar, who sends a query, has a light dry soil overlying 

 gravel and chalk ; such a soil is not suited to the growth of 

 Strawberries ; but if the surface be heavily mulched with rich 

 manure, and the watering pot kept going from the time the 

 berries set till they begin to colour, great crops may be grown. 

 Such was my Rushton land. After the frait-piokicg is over, 



3.\RLY PEACHES. 



In horticulture, as in agriculture, every change brought on 

 by experimental culture, if it be an advance by only a short 

 steji in the way of irayrovement, is a source of real enjoyment 

 to the cultivator. To make two blades of grass grow in a space 

 which one under common culture would occupy, is a gift be- 

 yond calculation ; to mstke two ears of Wheat grow over the 

 whole Wheat-growing surface of England, without incurring 

 a heavier outlay of capital than now invested, would entitle a 

 man to a monument grander than any one of the pyramids 

 of Egypt. 



I have been led into this train of thought by the result — 

 humble enough, of my experiments in raising a new race of 

 early Peaches, so original in their nature as to make me hope 

 that in a few years, by means of them and their offspring, a 

 revolution will be made in the forcing of Peaches, or at least a 

 great reduction in the expense of producing them. I ought to 

 premise, that in desciibing these new and interesting varieties, 

 I have been tempted to it by reading Mr. Brehaufs notice of 

 some of them in your last number, and not with any wish to 

 advertise them indirectly, for they are now in the hands of 

 numerous cultivators, who can supply trees of them. I may 

 as well here describe how I forced my Peaches this season — a 

 very simple mode of culture, and well repaying by the great 

 value of the fruit, the small expense, and little trouble the 

 trees have given. 



About the end of the first week in last January three dozen 

 or so of trees two years old Cone year in pots), were placed ia 

 a lean-to house 10 feet wide, and with two 4-inch hot-water 

 pipes in front, heated by an Aruott-stove boiler (a small saddle 

 boiler). They were in pots from 10 to 11 inches in diameter, 

 and were placed in gentle heat jast in the state they were in, 

 without any surface or top-dressing. In the course of a few 

 weeks, the temperature varying from dO" to CO' by day. they 

 put forth abundance of blossoms ; air was given freely during 

 the day, and they sei a great qn.intity of fmit. This was gra- 

 dually thinned down, leaving at the last thinning, when they 

 were the size of walnuts, from six to ten on each tree. Ai 

 soon as the leaves were developed, and the trees in a fit state 

 to receive extra food, the surface mould was scraped off each 

 pot to nearly 1 inch depth, and a surface-dressing of my usual 

 compost, about 1 inch deep given. This compost, often de- 

 scribed, is kiln dust from the malt houses here — a mixture of 

 fine ashes and ma!i; combs — and horse droppings from the 

 roads ; one-third of the former, and two-thirds of the latter, 

 mixed, and then saturated with strong liquid manure from a 

 cesspool containing (lie drainings from cloacfp and the stable, 

 too strong to be used as liquid manure, but most useful and 

 safe when absorbed by the materials just mentioned. The 

 trees were kept free from aphides, and in sunny weather were 

 syringed in the morning. Under this management they 

 showed fine health, and the fruit swelled gradually without 

 droppiog while stoning. On the 29th of May the Early Bea- 

 trice ripened its fruit, of a deep crimson, and the size of the 

 Acton Scot, remarkably juicy and melting, refreshing, with a 

 nice Peach flavour, but not rich. This curious creature was 

 raised from a stone of my seedling White Nectarine. The 

 flowers fertised with pollen from the Pved Nutmeg Peach, the 

 earhe=t of the old sorts of Peaches, but not larger than a 

 small walnut. Simultaneously with Early Beatrice — I am not 

 sure if it was not a day or two earlier — the Early Louise 

 Peach ripened a nice crop of fruit. These were as large as a 

 medium-sized Royal George Peach (as these Peaches have as 

 yet been grown only in pots, not large, it is to be expected that 



