THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 373 
ventilated and frequently syringed, and they will bloom with such profusion as 
literally to astonish the novice who has taken the proper means to ensure success. 
When grown on briers, the soil should be a stiff loam abundantly manured ; when 
on their own roots, a light soil consisting of peat, rotted turf from a loamy pasture, 
and decayed stabie dung equal parts, will suit them to perfection. ‘Tea roses on 
their own roots should never be planted in the stuff known as ‘ common garden 
soil.’’"—Hibberd’s Rose Book. 
NATURAL FRUIT CULTURE. 
Bacar a meeting of the Maidstone Farmers’ Club, held on October 19th, Mr. 
ve Shirley Hibberd delivered a lecture on “ Natural Fruit Culture.’ The 
\ chair was occupied by A. Chittenden, Esq., President of the Club, and 
there was a large attendance of members ; and also of gardeners, who 
were present by invitation from the committee of management. 
After remarking that every question connected with the home production of food 
acquired increased importance every year, Mr. Hibberd proceeded to deal with the 
subject systematically, saying he would begin with the roots of the trees, and in due 
time find his way among the branches. The primary conditions of soil and cli- 
mate in their influence on fruit production, were instructively illustrated in the 
Agricultural Returns, in which it would be seen that the cultivation of fruit was in 
some sense a local industry. Certain sheltered spots were noted for profitable 
orchards, and on the other hand there were vast tracts of country wherein fruit- 
growiog was unknown. A comparison of the fruit-growing districts with the rest 
of the country would show, first, that a kind climate is a matter of considerable im- 
portance, but a deep fertile soil was of still greater importance, for while much can 
be done to ameliorate the climate, if the soil will not produce a crop of wheat it is in 
vain to ask it to produce a crop of apples. There cannot be a doubt that land on 
which heavy crops of beans, wheat, and roots were raised would also produce fruit 
in plenty; but as every soil will not suit every fruit, so the man who proposes to 
plant largely would do well to consider first, whether the trees he has in his mind’s 
eye will feel themselves at home when they have stood on the site a few years and 
are expected to pay their rent and something over. To create a fruit-producing soil 
is impossible, but it is not impossible to create a fruit-producing climate, and it 
would be found that where hills and woods softened the climate, a fairly good soil 
of some depth would produce almost any of our hardy fruits in reasonable abun- 
dance. The fruit-producing districts of Hereford, Somerset, Worcester, and the 
home e¢ountie:, are all characterized by deep soils and solt climates, and, in a 
majority of instances, the soils that give the best returns are those that possess a 
notable proportion of caleareous matter in their composition. While, however, 
shelter is of the utmost value, and a large plantation usually pays better than a 
small one, because the trees shelter each other, a certain amount of exposure is de- 
sirable, and should be sought for in selecting a site for an orchard. When we have 
found a good soil and a soft climate, it will, as a rule, be more prudent to plant on a 
breezy eminence than in a sheltered hollow, and although the trees will grow less 
fast in the cooler aspect, they will make better returns and last longer. It is in 
damp, close, low-lying situations that canker, blight, and the occasional death of 
large limbs of trees mostly occur ; and it is in such places, too, that the spring frosts 
accomplish the most terrible havoc, year after year sweeping away the crop; and 
when the trees escape injury from this cause, they bear such enormous crops that 
they lose their best limbs from the weight, and are injured in constitution by the ex- 
cessive tax on their energies. On the breezy hill-side the trees begin to grow late, 
and are the safer in consequence. They make less growth every year than they do 
in the valley, and that growth is harder, and soon matures fruit spurs. Hence, a 
certain degree of exposure promotes constant and moderate fruitfulness, which is 
much more to be desired than a glut of fruit in seasons when everybody has plenty, 
and it scarcely pays to carry it to market. And it will be observed that the orchards 
that enjoy a breezy position in a good climate are always clean and healthy. Fresh 
air docs no more suit vermin than pure water does, and in a place where the trees 
grow late, the grubs that come out early are subjected to starvation, and perish away 
December. 
