FebrauT 17, 1876. 1 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



129 



the manure being exposed for some time before it is dug into 

 the ground. I have not written this paper for the purpose of 

 reviving the discussion, but merely to elicit the experience of 

 other practical gardeners. — W. Ghanes. 



name " is figured as 



PARNASSTA PALUSTRIS. 



EiBCv aiiuatic or mareh plants have been inquired after, 

 and this " pretty plant with a pretty 

 worthy of notice by those 

 who desire plauts of this 

 nature to furnish the damp 

 spots in their gardens. It 

 is popularly known as the 

 'jrass of Parnassus, not that 

 it has any resemblance to 

 the Grasses, but the elegance 

 of the plant and its fabled 

 association with Mount Par- 

 nassus would seem to be the 

 origin of that poetic appella- 

 tion. 



It is a British plant . fonnd . 

 as its specific name implies. 

 in marshy meadows, and is 

 seldom cultivated, ytt is 

 worthy of cultivation. Mr. 

 Robson has written of this 

 plant as being " a low com- 

 pact growing plant, in habit 

 resembling some of the Pri- 

 mulas, with a different class 

 of foliage ; the flowers, how- 

 ever, are its main points of 

 beauty, and they are very 

 attractive, being white, neat- 

 ly fringed, erect, and on 

 stalks that enable them to 

 be gathered for nosegay pur- 

 poses." The plant grows 6 to 

 n inches high, and flowers in 

 July. It only needs dibbing 

 in wet boggy soil, and it will 

 grow and flower freely. 



USEFUL FEUITS. 



Several profitable letters 

 have recently appeared on 

 the management of hardy 

 fruit trees — their pruning, 

 grafting, and dressing, and 

 for a subject so comprehen- 

 sive I am surprised that the 

 different writers are so nearly 

 unanimous. A few differ- 

 ences of opinion there have 

 been, but I think they are 

 more apparent than real, and 

 are suggested by local cir- 

 cumstances. I mean, that 

 had the writers all argued 

 from the same orchard they 

 would have been very much 

 alike in their opinions. That 

 I think demonstrates the 



writers to be practical men, and gives great value to their 

 communications. 



So far as the discussion has gone I perceive the following 

 points are agreed to ; — First, not to hurriedly destroy an old 

 tree before its successor is established ; second, not to prune 

 an old tree, especially if solitary, but leave that operation to 

 Nature ; third, not to hesitate to graft a stock provided it is 

 healthy ; fourth, not to fear the cutting-down of a tree if its 

 stem is clean and healthy, while the upper parts are knotty and 

 gnarled, the sap vessels choked, so that it may produce new 

 parts ; and fifth, to keep the trees, particularly the young wood 

 and fruit-bearing spurs, clear of lichens. 



Those conditions are pretty well agreed upon, and I believe 

 them to be sound. As to the mode of carrying them out, 

 each gardener must adopt that which is most suitable to his 

 oiroumstances. 



Fig. 31.— PABNASSIA PALOSTEIS. 



All that has been said is useful and worth remembering, but 

 something — in fact, a great deal, more is needed to render the 

 discussion completely satisfactory. There are in my opinion 

 two very important matters relative to this subject which as 

 yet have not been alluded to. I should regret for these to be 

 overlooked, and as I take myEolf to be a representative of 

 hundreds of others, I ask that consideration bo given to these 

 two main points — namely, what f rm of tree is the mott useful :' 

 and what kinds of, say Apples, I'ears, and Plums are the most 



profitable for certain Eoile 

 and districts ? 



I am convinced that valu- 

 able information will result 

 fiom a discussion of these 

 i|uestions. The demands for 

 fruit lire immense, and it is 

 only by llie aid of the foreign 

 markets thot these demands 

 can be met. Cannot more 

 fruit be grown at home with 

 advantage to the consumer 

 and with profit to the pro- 

 ducer? Will not fruit culture 

 realise a return as great or 

 greater than devoting all the 

 land to agricultural purposes? 

 These are important ques- 

 tions. Dwellers in cities are 

 apt to envy the position of 

 the rural population with 

 their advantages of fruit- 

 production, but I think it is 

 very near the fact that fruit 

 is cheaper in cities than in 

 country towns and villages. 

 This ought not to be, for the 

 resources of the country are 

 sufficient to meet the aggre- 

 gate demand for fruit if those 

 resources are turned to ac- 

 count and based on the ex- 

 perience that cultivators are 

 now able to adduce on this 

 ijuestion. 



The two main points which 

 I have propounded may pos- 

 sibly have been discussed be- 

 fore, but if so, a vast amount 

 of knowledge has been gained 

 since then , and if that know- 

 ledge could be condensed and 

 brought down to the present 

 time the advantages could 

 not fail to be great. 



It would be further useful 

 to have some data as guid- 

 ance aiding to a selection of 

 kinds, but this cannot be too 

 simple, for many conditions 

 would only perplex. Soil 

 might be named as heavy, 

 Ught, or medium, with an 

 allusion to subsoil ; high or 

 lowness of site, and hght or 

 heavy rainfall, it would be 

 useful to know ; and as to 

 districts a specification of north, south, or midlands will be 

 suflScient for all practical purposes. 



I have long thought of mentioning this matter, but I scarcely 

 knew when and where to do it, but the letters which have 

 recently appeared convince me that now is the time, and " our 

 Journal " the place, to bring the matter forward. If these sug- 

 gestions are by the "powers that be" thought worthy of 

 mention, I will in a future letter give an example of what I 

 mean, by naming the kinds of fruit that I have found the best 

 and most useful in my midland-counties district. — AM-iTEUR 

 Orchardist. 



Royal Hoeticultcbal Society.— The Earl of Mount Edg- 

 cumbe and G. T. Clarke, Esq. were elected, at a special meet- 

 ing of the Council held alter the adjourned Annual General 



