APRICOT 



59 



AQUARIUM 



round, and of a yellowish colour, tinted with red on 

 one side. 



2. Large Early, or Precoce. Ripens next in order. An 

 oblong fruit, of a palish-orange colour, with a very agree- 

 able juice. 



3. Blenheim, or Shipley's. One of the most useful 

 Apricots in the kingdom ; for, although inferior in flavour 

 to the Moorpark, it is a much greater bearer, and a sure 

 ripener. An oval fruit, middle-sized, and of a palish- 

 lemon colour. This kind is allied to the Moorpark ; 

 possibly a seedling from it. 



4. Hemskerk. Another of the Moorpark section ; 

 somewhat earlier. This also ripens safer than the Moor- 

 park, and such is a weighty consideration with northern 

 horticulturists. A roundish fruit, somewhat flattened 

 at the crown ; colour, orange and red. 



5. Breda. A well-known preserving fruit, and most 

 eligible for growing, as an ordinary standard, in our 

 southern counties, or on any trellis device. Called 

 " Brussels " by some. A small fruit, generally of a 

 cramped or angled appearance ; of an orange colour, and 

 richly flavoured. 



6. Royal. A good fruit, of very rich flavour, ripening 

 just a little before the Moorpark. Of a large size, oval, 

 and of an orange complexion. 



7. Moorpark. The first Apricot in the kingdom, taken 

 altogether. A full-sized, roundish fruit, ripening about 

 middle season ; flavour first rate. No garden of any 

 pretensions is complete without a Moorpark or two. 



These are all that are truly essential either to the 

 amateur or the cottager. For the amateur who, in a 

 small garden, has room for three only, and those dis- 

 tinct kinds, we recommend Nos. 3, 5, and 7. If four, 

 then take Nos. i, 3, 5, 7. If five, then Nos. i, 3, 5, 6, 7. 

 For cottagers, we say, Nos. 3 and 7. Above all, we 

 would recommend the " Shipley's " to the cottager, as 

 being a hardier and a larger tree, and a much surer 

 bearer. Besides the above, there are the Black, the 

 Almond, Musch-Musch, very sweet, of the Breda 

 section ; the Orange, fitter for preserving than dessert, 

 a good bearer ; the Roman, another good bearer ; the 

 Turkey, a useful late variety ; the Kaisha, a Syrian kind, 

 delicious, and possessing a sweet kernel. 



Choice of Trees. Those who have to select, whether 

 from stock of their own or from the nursery, should first 

 see that the junction between the stock and the scion is 

 complete, and thoroughly healed. If any gum or other 

 exudation appear on any stem, by all means reject the 

 tree as to present use. 



Two or three years' trained trees are the most eligible, 

 and such should possess at least two branches on either 

 side, and a central one if possible. Care should be taken 

 to select those in which the side-branches are of about 

 equal thickness. 



Propagation is best done by budding. Some choose 

 the Apricot stock, or those from the kernels ; others 

 prefer the Plum stock : the latter, however, has been 

 much complained of in late years. Our nurserymen have 

 what is called a " commoner " stock, which appears to 

 be a sort of wild Plum, and which, in general, answers 

 pretty well. 



For dwarfs, bud at 8 inches from the soil ; for half- 

 standajrds, at 3 feet ; and for standards, at 5 feet. 



Period of Planting. Those who wish to gain time may 

 plant successfully in the first or second week of October : 

 any time, however, from that period until the early part 

 of March will do. 



Soil. A good, sound, and rather unctuous loam is 

 best, using a little ordinary vegetable matter, but no 

 manure, unless on the surface. See MULCHING. Do not 

 make the soil deeper than 18 inches. See article 

 STATIONS. 



Aspect. A south aspect is best in the northern parts 

 of the kingdom ; but the east and west frequently pro- 

 duce superior fruit in the southern counties, where very 

 warm aspects are apt to produce mealy fruit in hot 

 seasons. Standards can only be grown in our southern 

 districts, where they are sometimes very prolific and 

 high-flavoured. As standards, they are several years in 

 coming into bearing. 



Training. The branches should be on an average 

 from 6 to 8 inches apart, and kept as horizontal as 

 possible. The espalier is a very good form ; but the 

 ordinary fan- training is very well adapted, if care be 

 taken to pinch over-luxuriant shoots in time. 



Pruning must be regulated by the knowledge that, 

 with the exception of such as the Moorpark, many 

 varieties bear chiefly on the shoots of the previous year ; 

 the Moorpark mostly on spurs two and three years' old. 

 Summer Pruning. Take off all fore-right shoots, and 

 others that are irregular and misplaced, reserving those 

 that are not too vigorous, and that will train in well 

 for next year's bearing. If done early in May, the finger 

 and thumb will supersede the necessity for the knife. 

 Continue to nail the shoots to the wall, as necessary, 

 during the summer, tying down or nailing in all short- 

 jointed, weak-looking spray. Over-vigorous shoots may 

 be stopped early in June, and be thus induced to put 

 forth more fertile laterals. 



Winter Pruning had best be done as soon as the leaves 

 have fallen, though it may be carried on until the buds 

 begin to swell, in March. Cut out any naked-looking 

 shoots not more than four or five years old, avoiding 

 amputations in the larger limbs, and get their places 

 reoccupied by younger and better branches. Keep a 

 ! leading shoot at the end of each branch. Vigorous shoots 

 of the last year shorten as far as the points seem ill- 

 ripened weaker shoots about one-third. This promotes 

 the production of laterals for next year's fruiting, and 

 gives a fuller supply of sap to the blossom-buds. Cut 

 off gross, fore-right spurs; but lateral spurs may be 

 retained, as they sometimes produce blossom-buds, as 

 they nearly always do in the Moorpark. Let also all 

 decaying or imperfect points be pruned off. 



Espaliers are to be formed as those on walls ; standards 

 only requiring dead, crowded, or chafing branches to be 

 removed. 



When an Apricot gets diseased, it is much more 

 profitable to replace it by a younger, than to attempt 

 its renovation. 



Gathering should take place before the fruit is dead 

 ripe, or it will be mealy. 



Thinning should commence as soon as the fruit is large 

 enough for tarts, in May, or early in June ; no fruit 

 being left nearer, finally, than about 5 inches to another. 

 The thinning may be done, however, at twice. 



Insects. Wasps and flies are best kept off by a net, 

 at least a foot from the walL See EARWIG, SEMASIA, 

 and APHIS. 



Mildew is often the most formidable assailant of the 

 Apricot, as it usually arises from excess of moisture to 

 the root. Draining the border, and mixing lime with 

 the soil, has, in such case, been found efficacious as a 

 preventive ; and, at the same tune, sulphur, as a well- 

 known and powerful antagonist of the mildew, may be 

 l carefully dusted over the tree. 



Protection of Blossom. We know of no fruit that more 



j requires or deserves the fostering care of the gardener 



i than this. Blossoming, as it frequently does, in the end 



i of February or beginning of March, it must expect to be 



rocked by not only the " rude, imperious gale," but, 



what is much worse, to be subjected occasionally to a 



temperature of some ten or fifteen degrees of frost. We 



have ever found it the best policy to protect carefully, 



; using a rather thick covering, and taking care to remove 



i it on every possible occasion. Nothing can be better 



! than a stout canvas. Some, however, use bunting ; 



i some, ordinary garden-mats ; and not a few, the fronds 



i of fern, spruce-branches, and even wisps of straw. 



General Maxims of Culture. First of all, a sound, loamy 

 soil, with very little manure, is most suitable. It is well, 

 nevertheless, in order to gain time, to use a little generous 

 soil, to start the plant into free growth ; second, to 

 persist in summer stopping, in order to equalise growths ; 

 and, thirdly, after careful summer training, to remove 

 all superfluous spray which shades the embryo fruit buds 

 in the end of August. In addition to this, top-dressings 

 in May, and the application of liquid-manure, when the 

 fruit commences the last swelling, will be found useful 

 adjuncts of high culture. Apricot-branches, especially 

 the Moorpark, are apt to decay of a sudden, without 

 apparent reasons. By persisting in the tying-down sys- 

 tem, however, a succession is ever ready for any gap. 



AQUA RIUM is the place devoted to the cultivation 

 of aquatic or water-plants. The majority of those culti- 

 vated are exotic, and require the protection of glass. If 

 there are only a few of these, they may be successfully 

 grown in cisterns, placed in a stove ; but if the collec- 

 tion be extensive, it requires a separate edifice. The 



