271 



JOUENAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ September 23, 1875. 



inducing growth rather than blossom. Better effect can be 

 secured in early spring, when hardy ehrubs and bulbs make a 

 charming display. 



PBDNING AND TRAINING FRUIT TREES. 



ScEELY many are too inclined to lay down general laws : one 

 man advocates over- pruning, another hates the sight of a knife 

 or a pair of scissors. There is no such thing as a golden rule, 

 yet different soils and different climates make a corresponding 

 difference in every kind of fruit. Then, again, while one kind 

 of Apple or Pear wOl come into bearing earlier if pruned but 

 little, another may be brought into bearing early by close 

 pruning. Ouce get a fruit tree into good bearing, and let it 

 bear oue heavy crop, it needs very little pruning to make it 

 bear afterwards. Then, again, nearly all fruit trees may be 

 spurred, only if you try to obtain spurs on Peaches and Necta- 

 rines it must be done merely by pinching out the growing tops 

 of young shoots. I quite agree with Mr. Luckhurst ; so long 

 as one can produce a healthy tree and good fruit, it does not 

 matter a bit what the shape is or how it was trained. At all 

 events, in the case of bush fruits or pyramids of Pears, Apples, 

 and Plums, I care very little as to the shape, but merely out as 

 each tree may require it. In some gardens with wet subsoils 

 root-pruning may be a necessity : with me it would be an 

 abomination, except under very exceptional circumstances. 



"W.," in his interesting account of Cleveland House and 

 Mr. Legge's general success, speaks of the fear of fungus in 

 Vine borders from cutting away Vines and leaving the roots 

 in. I believe fungus to be an essily-averted danger, and will 

 never arise where Vine borders are kept sufficiently moist, and 

 a little watering with liquid manure with diluted superphos- 

 phate will soon check it. 



„ Can anyone tell me how Gansel's Bergamot Pear is doing 

 with them as standards or pyramids ? I find the flavour much 

 better and less gritty at the core than off a wall ; and it is 

 bearing very well on oue young tree with me, and on another 

 older tree it always has the peculiarity of never setting more 

 than oue fruit on a bunch. 



My Seckles must this year have set nearly every flower. I 

 have not thinned them, and they are growing eight to ten in 

 a bunch, and on short-spurred branches where the flower buds 

 were near together, they are clustered like Grapes, from twenty 

 to thirty in a cluster. My crops of Marie Louise and Van 

 Mons Leon le Clerc on two largish bush standards are laden 

 from top to bottom, the branches bending down and over- 

 lapping. They ought, of course, to have been thinned, but 

 large trees take too much time to have their crops properly 

 thinned, and so they have had to take their chance, and I do 

 not find that thinning bush standards much increases the size 

 of the fruit.— C. P. P. 



ENVIRONS OP LONDON. 



StJFFiciENT scope is afforded in this wide compass for a few 

 remarks on ornamental gardening. The country seats of the 

 nobility and gentry are centres of attraction to all. They are 

 proud heirlooms of their respective families, and are, further- 

 more, spots which the great mass of the people cherish. By 

 no class are the gardens of the great more highly esteemed 

 than by the Londoner. For one day spent in these highly 

 embellished enclosures he will prepare for half a year, and 

 when the visit has been paid he enjoys a retrospective feast 

 until it recurs. An old church, the blue sea, and a beautiful 

 garden are magnet points of interest to the inhabitants of 

 Britain generally and to the citizens of the metropolis par- 

 ticularly. 



Another trait in the character of the Britisher is that what 

 he hkes to see he also likes to read about. How else could 

 the literature of gardening be patronised to the extent that it 

 is ■'. Not only every great gardener but every little one must 

 have his paper; and beyond all these, thousands who have no 

 gardens delight to fancy they have a share in the craft by 

 conning the current gardening lore which is week by week 

 provided. I am one of these. I am a citizen and have no 

 garden — at least I dare not call it one in the columns of our 

 Journal ; yet I scan its pages weekly, and in fancy — only in 

 fancy — seem to luxuriate in fruit and revel amid flowers. Still, 

 if that fancy affords enjoyment what matters its substance or 

 non-tubstance ? I enjoy it and that suffices, and I believe 

 — nay, I am sure — that I benefit by it, and therefore my en- 

 joyment is after all something more than a vapid dream. 



The Irishman, in one sense, was right who, after walking 

 through Chatswcrth Gardens, observed, " I am better off than 

 the Duke : I enjoy them and he pays for them." 



I am one who believes that such literature as the Journal, 

 which I delight in, has not only done much for gardening and 

 gardeners, but has contributed to the greater enjoyment of 

 many homes by making these homes more attractive by invest- 

 ing them with charms of refining influence. Especially is this 

 so in the adornment of suburban homes of every class. This 

 literature (with the teachings of the public parks) has done 

 wonders in stimulating a taste for gardening pursuits, also for 

 perfecting that taste. The fruits of it are seen on every hand. 

 Not only have great gardens by it achieved gi eater fame, but 

 small gardens have been made models ot attraction, and barren 

 squares have been converted into plateaus of beauty. 



In few things is the change greater (and that change im- 

 provement), than in the surroundings of the villa residences of 

 the metropolitan environs, and of other business centres, 

 during the past twenty years. Where, mayhap, was a Privet 

 hedge, a Lilac bush, and a patch of weedy gravel, now are 

 elegant vases, smooth lawns, striking Conifers, and bright 

 flowers. The attractive force and high keeping of the little 

 frontages of villa residences are amongst the most pleasing 

 feature of the day. The management of these enclosures, and 

 the taste displayed in their arrangement, is in the highest 

 degree creditable to amateur effort. 



I am led into these thoughts by an afternoon's airing. I 

 wanted to revel in the fresh breeze. I thought of the sea, the 

 forest, green fields, and flowers. The sea was out of the 

 question, for I must be at my " breathings " in half an hour. 

 The parks ! No ; I had been there so often. They are beautiful 

 and I shall go again, but I desired something more novel and 

 less formal. I wished to ruralise, and to do it quickly. "Goto 

 Lee station " divined a genial spirit, " and from thence to Lee 

 church and then anywhere." It was enough, being a new 

 idea, and I followed it up as fast as limbs and train could take 

 me. Emerging from the London Bridge station, flying literally 

 over the housetops, the view was a dispiriting expanse of 

 miles of chimneys and a canopy of smoke. By-and-by comes 

 a change, but not much like the country I longed for, yet in 

 fifteen minutes the fields burst in sight — soft hills of verdure, 

 and the fragrant hay ! That is the country almost within the 

 precincts of the city, and I am shortly at my rendezvous — Lee 

 church. 



The old edifice is being restored. This is an age of church 

 restoration, and is one of the happiest signs of the times. It 

 denotes not only that the long past is cherished, and that the 

 works of our ancestors are recognised, but that the still longer 

 future shall have preserved to it a typical impress. Besides 

 the memorials, the churchyard contains Weeping Willows, 

 sorrowful by their drooping yet cheerful by their living green ; 

 Cypresses and Cedars. But it is on the surroundings, of which 

 the fine structure is the centre, that I would give a passing 

 glance. The site is elevated and breezy, and elevated on the 

 elevation are magnificent trees. The roads converging to this 

 vantage point ai'e veritable borders of foliage, and behind this 

 green fringe are detached and semi-detached villas with front- 

 ages containing charming examples of miniature gardening. 

 The very names are suggestive of the nature of the locality. 

 Prominent is The Cedars, the fine place of Mr. Penn with its 

 majestic Elms, its Ivy-capped wall, and fringe of Conifers. 

 Even the outside view is imposing, for it is clear that the trees 

 and grounds are well cared for and tended. Then there is 

 "The Elms," "The Limes," "The Hollies," "The Lilies," 

 and even " The Briars," with a multitude of " cottages " with 

 tree or rural prefixes or affixes. 



Many of these frontages are most attractive, and the owners 

 would seem to vie with each other in good taste and good 

 keeping. In one we find choice Hollies dotted over a faultless 

 lawn, in another a stately Araucaria and cheerful lines of 

 Pelargoniums and Lobelias ; in a third is an elegant Deodar 

 sweeping the ground with its graceful sprays. Then we find 

 terraces, and vases, and window-boxes, and Ferns, and rockeries. 

 These are examples which continually recur in what are not 

 hard cold streets, but bowery promenades, for each garden 

 has its fringe of overhanging trees. 



The favourite trees are the Acacias. The compact yet elegant 

 outUne of these trees specially recommend them for fringes in 

 villa gardens. For this purpose they should never be omitted. 

 The Ailanthus (Tree of Heaven), is also employed, and its 

 dignified grace renders it most appropriate. The Variegated 

 Maple is often dotted in, and ii in proximity to a small Purple 



