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JODBNAL OF HORTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



[ February 3, 1876. 



years, but to grow "sticks" to the greatest perfectioQ the 

 ridges should be renewed aunually, and shouM consist largeJy 

 of manure. I am sure this rational mode of growing credit- 

 able Horseradish is worthy of more gmeral adoption. It is 

 surprising what a largo supply of roots miy be raised from 

 even a small extent of ridge. No tima is better than the 

 present for planting the roots.— ^y. B. J. 



OLD APPLE TREES. 

 I HAVE real with much iaterest " EiDicAL Conservative's" 

 articles entitled " Old Tree?," bat in regard to tham he seems 

 more " conservative" than " radical." 



He kindly refers to a passage ou this subject in my 

 " Christmas Greeting," and I think I must ask space to give 

 a few words of explanation. 



First, I alluded only to Apple trees planted iu vegetable 

 gardens and not growing on grass. Secondly, only to old 

 trees of inferior varieties and which cropped badly. I am 

 fully aware of the value of old and good trees, but in this 

 part of England in cottage and farm gardens, as a rale, the 

 Apple trees are of local and inferior varieties. When I see old 

 straggling, moss-grown, useless, or half-useless, trees shading 

 a bit of land which but for them would grow vegetables that 

 would go towards many a dinner for a cottag«r s family, I 

 always urge their removal ; but I am met with the " Conserva- 

 tive" objection — "Well, there now, sir, they have been there 

 this miny a year." And so the trees remain. 



The two trees that paid the rent of the cottage mentioned 

 by " Eadical Consebvative " were the opposite to these ; 

 and his loss partly arose, a5 I think he teems to imply, by 

 having his dozen pyramids of various sorts and not of one 

 or two. 



Having become much interested in hardy fruits I seldom 

 pass a tree, or see an Apple or a Pear, without taking special 

 note of them. As with Eoses so with Apples, handsome and 

 good varieties will no^ doubt find their way into email gardens, 

 and these will be more profitable. Why is' the Blenheim Pippin 

 Bo popular ? Because it is beautiful as well as useful. I would 

 that in all fruit catalogues Apples should be specially marked 

 as " handsome and useful." Soft wretched Apples, neither 

 good to eat nor good to cook, and having no good looks to 

 recommend them, are still— in this part of England at least- 

 far too commonly met with. "An Apple is an Apple" still 

 with many, and I desire to fee an improvement in this branch 

 of horticulture. I do not speak of large trees iu orchards, but 

 of small trees in kitchen gardens, specially in the gardens of 

 the poor. Handsome and good fruit would command a better 

 price, and the n-eatly-dressed cottager's child with her basket 

 of tnch fruit would bring home "more money to mother" 

 than such as are generally grown. But how "is this to be 

 accomplished ? Orchard trees are long in becoming produc- 

 tive, Eo I again say by recommending pyramids. 



Passing by small gardens, I am inclined to think that Apples 

 are not thought enough of even in large gardens. Upon inquiry 

 I often have tba answer that—" Wo are not well-off for Apple 

 trees." This should not be, now that good varieties are easily 

 to be had and when fruit-growing has become an art. 



" Eadical Conservative" speaks of trees not coming " true 

 to name." This is most vexing, but perhaps to be excused at 

 " an auction sale." I have my tale to tell on this subject. 

 About twenty years ago when I came to this place I found the 

 garden in a bad condition as to trees, so sought out a neigh- 

 bouring nurseryman. (I like to deal with my neighbours. I go 

 to no Civil Service stores ou principle. Live and let live — not 

 kill tradesmen— is my rule.) I ordered named Gooseberries of 

 different colours. I like the contrast of colour on a dessert- 

 dish. I ordered Plum and Apple trees, and one specially — a 

 .Taneating for my cbiidteu, remembering how I liked that early 

 toothsome Apple when I was a boy. Well, hear the result. 

 My Gooseberries proved all of one colour; Coe's Golden Drop 

 Plum came a small, poor, yellow Plum of bad flavour; and 

 my Jnneating turned out to be a Hawthornden, which I 

 already had. Mark you, all these trees bore their labels white 

 and flaunting on them. N.B.— I did not trouble that nursery- 

 man again, especially when on my complaining he said—" One 

 sort is just as good as t'other." I feel bound to say since the 

 old man's death his nursery, in the care of a young enter- 

 prising man, is conducted on wholly different principles to 

 the any thing-will- do system. However, to continue my story, 

 being determined recently to renew my garden and wishing to 

 be quite sure this time, I had my trees from Mr. Eichard Smith 



jf Worcester, knowing that every tree from him would come 

 •' true to name." 



Leaving orchards quite out of the question, I am sure that 

 the cultivation of hardy fruits in gardens of moderate dimen- 

 -ions, and I may add by amateurs of moderate means — in 

 fact, iu such gardens as are usually attached to the parsonage, 

 and by men of such means as the general run of clergy are — 

 is a very agreeable pastime, adds interest to a garden, and pays 

 its expenses. We have not all vineries or even greenhouses, 

 but we clergy in the country have all of us gardens walled or 

 unwalled ; if the former all the better, if the latter we can 

 take refuge in pyramid Apple, Pear, Plum and Cherry trees, 

 and mark and watch their growth and progress ; take notes 

 of appearance and flavour ; fill up many a spare minute pro- 

 fitably and healthfully in the open air; and, more than all, 

 increase our knowledge ; and an increase of knowledge always 

 brings an increase of pleasure. This is what I seek for my- 

 ssif, and this is what I wish others to enjoy as well as myself. 

 The country is never dull to those who have eyes and well use 

 them, and active minds that are always adding to the know- 

 ledge of their owners. — Wiltshire Eecioe. 



I FEEL considerable diffidenca in sending my opinion on the 

 subject of old trees, because I am not by any means a learned 

 gardener, and have never before written on any subject be- 

 longing to the profession. If you were to take me into a 

 conservatory I should probably not know the names of one- 

 fourth of the plants therein ; but I was born iu a large orchard 

 and lived in it, I might say, for the first twenty-five years of 

 my life. I began to prune Apple trees, &o., as soon as ever I 

 could a-e a tiny saw, my father standing below and giving 

 orders. 



Now I must say that I entirely agree with "Eadical Con- 

 servative" in all he has said on ibis subject, and I must 

 venture to differ with Mr. Eobson, because my experience has 

 taught me that an old tree if healthy in the trunk and main 

 branches may often be grafted and form a fine tree, and bear 

 first-class fruit in far less time than similar fruit can be had 

 by planting new trees. For instance, the only trees we had of 

 Blenheim Pippin were grafted on old stocks ; I cannot re- 

 member the time they were grafted, hot before I was old 

 enough to notice such things, but when I left them they were 

 large trees bearing good crops of the finest fruit I ever saw. 



Again, we had a row of Manks Codlins which produced 

 plenty of fruit, but so small as not to be worth gathering ; 

 they were knotted, and gnarled, and eaten up with American 

 bug, but on being " buckheaded," as we used to call it, and 

 the .stumps well die3Eed witli lime, soot, cow dung, &o., they 

 threw out strong shoots and a great many of them — of course 

 the weakest were " rubbed out " — and iu a very few years they 

 were fine healthy trets, bearing good-sized clean fruit fit to go 

 anywhere. 



I know one tree of a kind known in the east-midland counties 

 as Normauton Wonder (What is it called elsewhere '.' In my 

 opinion the beat winter Apple for kitchen use grown). — [Dnmo- 

 low's Seedling and Wellington. — Eds.j It was blown down 

 flat to the ground, and although the trunk was nearly 18 inches 

 in diameter the top was cut oft', and the stem reared upright 

 and securely propped, and when I saw it last it had grown 

 snftlcieutly to produca about thirty pecks of as fine fruit as 

 anyone need wish to send to market. 



I could multiply examples on this subject if it would do any 

 good, but space and time will not allow. My advice to any 

 who have standard fruit trees is this — If of a' good kind, but 

 growing small fruit, " buckhead " them, and if you wish to 

 change the sort graft them v/ith something else, only mind that 

 it is something better. A very few years will show whether they 

 will make good trees again or not, and then when you have 

 tried them, if they do not promise fairly, say, " Cut them down. 

 Why cumber they the ground ?" 



I may add that I had some Damson trees that had been 

 " buckheaded," and they had grown again into large trees 

 bearing splendid fruit.— J. J., LaiwasJiin. 



THE REV. H. COTTINGHAM'S GRAPES. 



Eveeyoxe who cultivates a garden as a source of relaxation 

 and pleasure has some object of which ho makes a special 

 hobby. There are not a few who " go in " for Eosea and 

 bestow on this queen of flowers unremitting attention. Others, 

 not eo refined in their tastes, and who wish to blend the use- 

 ful with the ornamental, have a fancy for growing certain 



