152 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND. 



rarest fruits he can hear of" ; and also " Master John Millen, 

 dwelling in Old Street, who from John Tradescant and all others 

 that have good fruit hath stored himself with the best only, and 

 he can sufficiently furnish any." Gerard says that the greatest 

 variety of plums was to be found in the garden of Mr. Vincent 

 Pointer, at Twickenham, but he adds that " my selfe is not 

 without some, and those rare and delicate." Mirabelle, or 

 " Myrabolane," were grown. Parkinson gives sixty-one varieties 

 by name, but he does not recommend them all ; some are only 

 "reasonable good rellished," others " waterish," and "The 

 Margate plum the worst of an hundred." The list includes some 

 " Mussell " plums, the same as the modern " muscle," so much 

 used for grafting, and Damsons, also " The perdigon, a dainty 

 good plum, early, blackish, and well rellished," doubtless the 

 parent of the Perdrigon violet Hatif, and others. 



The Apricot, which we have seen was introduced in the Tudor 

 period, was grown "in many gentlemen's gardens throughout 

 all England." The " great apricock," and the two Mascolines of 

 Parkinson are types still well known. He distinguishes six 

 varieties in all. The Argier apricock seems rather of the " Musch 

 Musch " type. It was brought by John Tradescant " returning 

 from the Argier voyage, whither he went voluntarily with the Fleet 

 that went against the Pirates in the year 1620." * Sir Hugh Platt 

 gives many hints on the culture of this fruit. He writes, " A 

 grafted Apricot is best, yet from the stone you shall have a fair 

 Apricot." Again : "Mix cow-dung and horse-dung well rotted with 

 fine earth and claret wine lees of each a like quantity, baring the 

 roots of your trees in January, February, and March ; and then 

 apply of this mixture to the roots of your Apricot trees, and 

 cover them with common earth. By this means Apricot trees as 

 never bare before, have brought forth great store of fruit. . . | 

 This of Mr. Andr. Hill." Another of his observations on Apricots 

 is worth recording. " Plant an Apricot in the midst of other 

 plumme-trees round about it ... then in an apt season bore 

 through your plum-trees, and let in to every one of them one or 

 two of the branches of your Apricot tree . . . and lute the holes 

 up with tempered loame ; . . and the next year cut off the branch 



* Parkinson. " Argier " = Algiers. 



