January 6, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTIC0LTDRE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



especially to those about emigrating to a warmer country than 

 Great Britain, and any light that can be thrown on the matter 

 will be a boon to the public at large ; for the merits of qui- 

 nine, great and valuable as they are, were not known a few 

 years ago, while at the present time every quarter of the globe 

 admits its valuable qualities. Arguing from that, we have no 

 right to doubt the utility of the Eucalyptus as a health-pre- 

 Berving agent. At the present it is only employed in England 

 as a subtropical decorative plant, where, from its distinct 

 form, and also colour of the stems and foliage, it is very 

 ornamental. — J. R. 



OLD TREES. 



Well done, "Radical Conservative!" what a suggestive 

 letter is that of yours about old trees on page 581. I heartily 

 agree with every word of it, and hasten to contribute my quota 

 upon so congenial a subject, and one, too, of such great 

 importance. 



I will at once proceed to offer a few hints on the value of old 

 fruit trees. I have had trees of Green Gage Plum in many 

 forms, from closely pruned dwarf bushes up to tall unprnned 

 standards, and it is a singular fact that I have never had such 

 fine Green Gages as I used to obtain at Egerton off a couple of 

 very old fan-shaped trees trained to an east wall. These trees 

 had spurs projecting quite a foot from the branches, many of 

 which were actually decaying and hollow, and yet most of the 

 fruit was absolutely magnidcent, betokening such inherent 

 vigour in the sturdy old trees as enabled them, even in decay, 

 to bear the palm from trees quite free from decay or disease of 

 any kind. I allude to this fact because it taught me never to 

 lay violent hands upon old fruit trees or to adopt hasty or 

 sweeping measures to remodel or improve them. It was a 

 lesson of the greatest value to me, for previously I had been 

 somewhat of an ardent reformer in the treatment of such old 

 trees, regarding crooked limbs and large spurs as monstrosi- 

 ties. Well, there they were together with a grand old Apricot, 

 a Jargonelle, and Beurru Diel Pear, and an immense old Brown 

 Turkey Fig, all with crooked limbs and rugged bark, unkempt 

 and semi-wild ; but then they gave good fruit and plenty of it, 

 and when visitors used to exclaim at my droll-looking trees 

 and perchance go away with a somewhat doubtful opinion of 

 their management, I considered myself anything but an object 

 of pity, regarding my bushels of Figs and Apricots and my 

 splendid Gages and Jargonelles as so fair an equivalent for an 

 nnsightly tree or two, that I would certainly not exchange them 

 for their trim young trees, and dozen or two of fruit, upon any 

 consideration. These observations may, at first sight, appear 

 somewhat antagonistic to what was said lately about old Peach 

 and Nectarine trees, but in reality they are not so ; for while I 

 was content to do no more with the Plum, Pears, Apricot, and 

 Fig than to thin crowded branches and to keep all within 

 bounds, some old Peach trees were cut quite down and made 

 to throw young wood as was stated. 



Apricot trees are proverbially tender subjectE ; canker rides 

 rampant over the majority of them, destroying here a branch, 

 there half a tree, or perchance killing the tree outright, acting 

 in a fitful, capricious, almost mysterious manner. And yet all 

 are not prone to suiier from its insidious attacks. There are 

 notable exceptions in trees both young and old, but the most 

 remarkable are those very old trees like that at Egerton, hale, 

 sturdy, and vigorous, without a blemish, and yielding year by 

 year abundant crops of excellent fruit. Such trees are by no 

 means uncommon, and they are, in my opinion, just so many 

 examples of the good eiJects of suitable stocks, the result of 

 chance rather than of any wisdom or penetration of those in 

 whose hands the trees originated. I am convinced that a fall 

 and sufficient trial has not yet been given to this matter, and 

 that a great deal has yet to be learned on the selection of 

 stocks which are best suited to certain soils. This subject, 

 however, I may approach at a future time. 



The treatment of old Apple trees is a matter of too much 

 importance to receive fall justice in a paper of this kind, but 

 it may be well to touch a little upon its mora salient points. 

 This may be done with some confidence, as I have had several 

 orchards of such trees in my hands at different times. Their 

 characteristics are moss-laden crowded branches — some decay- 

 ing, others dead, yet as a rule having abundant healthy 

 branches thickly set with bloom buds, the centre of the trees 

 a dense thicket, and with many of the outer branches closely 

 overlapping each other, usually decked with a cloud of lovely 

 pink-tipped blossom in spring, followed in favourable seasons 



by an abundant crop of fruit, a large proportion of which is, 



however, very small. 



Now let us take the case of a young man fresh from a first- 

 class establishment where only trees of clean growth and 

 model form were to be found, taking charge of such an 

 orchard of old trees. Well may we inquire. What will he do 

 with it ? and that too not without anxiety, for has he not been 

 taught that all crowded growth— aye, and crowded fruit too — 

 is wrong? that in order to keep a fruit tree healthy air and 

 light must circulate freely among its branches ? If his train- 

 ing has simply made a routine practitioner of him, working 

 strictly by line and rule, his treatment of the trees is pretty 

 certain to be wrong; but if he be a thoughtful man, and has 

 come to recognise the fact that there are exceptions to all 

 rules, and sees, moreover, that one such is before him, he wUl 

 proceed with caution and prudence, waiting and watching for 

 a season or two, trying simple measures upon a few trees, 

 and so avoiding any very glaring blunder, for the nature and 

 treatment of old trees is not to be mastered in a season 

 or two. 



The results of considerable experience teach me that it is 

 wrong to much thin the growth of old Apple trees ; that para- 

 sitical lichens are not hurtful to the thick old bark; that there 

 is always an ample play of light and air among their branches 

 to promote health, however dense may be the growth ; and 

 that the fruit is quite as useful as that of younger trees, 

 although much of it is small. The mode of treatment which 

 is therefore usually followed is simply to cut away all dead 

 branches, to dust some quicklime upon the smaller branches 

 on a damp winter day, and then to laava them alone. Simple 

 enough, is it not, and very different to the energetic measures 

 which one so frequently meets with ? Never shall I forget the 

 dismal aspect of a quaint old rectory garden which I once saw 

 after it had undergone the manipulation of a " new hand." 

 What had been picturesque and tolerably productive old trees 

 were shorn of all their beauty and very much of their utility ; 

 hacked and trimmed into conventional form, daubed over with 

 a thick coating of whitewash, there they stood in gaunt un- 

 sightliness a miserable example of misguided zeal and faulty 

 practice arising from overweening assurance and thoughtless- 

 ness. — Edward Luckhursi. 



GKOS COLMAN GRAPE. 



In your issue of the 23rd ult. you ask for the experience of 

 growers of the above Grape. We have here three Vines of it, 

 all of which have finished-oS excellent crops of fruit. The 

 bunches average 4 lbs. weight : the berries are of an immense 

 size, from 4 to 4J inches in circumference, and ns black as 

 sloes. They were quite ripe at the end of September. There 

 are about a dozen bunches still hanging, and the berries are 

 as plump as when first ripe, thus confirming Mr. Tymon's 

 opinion as to its being a late- keeping Grape. 



As to quality Mr. Wildsmith's opinion is, that when better 

 known it will prove a formidable rival to Lady Downe's. It 

 requires a strong heat to grow it well, and takes a longer time 

 to colour and ripen than any other Grape I know. — Thos. 

 TuETON, Foreman, The Gardens, Heckfield. 



Spent Hops for Makiso Hotbeds. — The way I used them 

 was as follows : In any cold pit or frame that might be at 

 liberty I simply placed the hops on the top of any previous 

 hotbed — that is to say, if there was head room enough 

 between the old bed and the glass to add from 12 to 15 inches 

 of hops. They are apt to heat violently if placed too thickly 

 together, and require some watching ; but I found them a 

 capital medium for softwooded plants. They are apt to run 

 very close together; and it is a good plan, where there is any 

 old tan which might previously have done duty for hotbeds, 

 to riddle it over and take the email out, the rough to be 

 equally mixed with the hops, and the bed will not heat so 

 violently and will be more lasting than if made of hops alone. 

 — G. R. A. 



OUR BORDER FLOWERS— SPIDERWORTS. 



We wonder why such strange-sounding terms wers given to 



flowers, names which now are seldom used. The family in 



hand is only a small one, but if small must not be pa^ed by. 



The Commelynas are dwarf plants of pleasing habit, with a 



