49O GENERAL REVIEW. 



pert florists half starve their seed-bearing stocks in pots, and so 

 obtain about seventy per cent of double varieties. Pyrus spec- 

 tabilis Riversii, a beautiful spring-flowering tree, is a hybrid 

 raised at Sawbridgeworth from seed of P. spectabilis crossed 

 with P.japonica, and is similar to P. spectabilis roseo-pleno. 



Mr T. A. Knight raised several good seedling Pears, a de- 

 tailed account of which is given in the 'Trans. Hort. Soc.,' 

 1835, P- I0 3- Of these, Knight's Monarch is perhaps the 

 best. Mr Rivers has also raised several useful sorts. Little 

 has yet been done in the way of careful cross-fertilisation, most 

 of the popular kinds now in cultivation being chance seedlings 

 from self-fertilised flowers. See Hogg's ' Fruit Manual ' (fourth 

 edition); Scott's 'Orchardist;' Lindley's 'Orchard and Kitchen 

 Garden ; ' also Leroy's ' Dictionary of Pomology,' and the 

 ' Transactions of the Horticultural Society,' for the origin and 

 history of Pears, Apples, and other rosaceous fruits. 



Apple Stocks. Seedling Apple or Crab stocks for standard 

 or orchard trees. Seedling stocks are best, but hillock-layering 

 is resorted to by some nurserymen in the propagation of Apple 

 and Paradise stocks. Mr Rivers of Sawbridgeworth has raised 

 two or three forms of the Paradise stock from seed, and he 

 describes the Nonesuch Paradise and the Broad-leaved Para- 

 dise as being both remarkable for the fertility they give to 

 Apple-trees. The latter is like the French Doucin, but has 

 leaves less pointed ; like the Nonesuch Paradise, it keeps pace 

 with the graft, so that it does not swell over the stock, disturb 

 the health, and shorten the life of the tree. These two vari- 

 ties of the Paradise Apple were raised from seed here many 

 years since, and they have proved of great value : from the 

 same seed a variety was raised so dwarf as to form a perfect 

 miniature Apple-tree ; yet, like the French Paradise, which is 

 not nearly so minute in its proportions, it bears our climate 

 bravely, and has been named the Pigmy Paradise Apple. 



The true French Paradise is now fairly established as the 

 best dwarfing stock for choice Apples, such as Cox Orange, 

 Reinette du Caux, Calville Blanc, and Ribston, and the fer- 

 tility and beauty of young trees two or three years from the 

 graft on this stock is most wonderful. Mr W. Robinson de- 

 serves the thanks of all intelligent fruit-growers for his efforts, 

 which have led to its general adoption in this country. See 

 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' vol. xxviii. (1869), for interesting dis- 

 cussion on the best stocks for Apples. The Common Bur- 

 Knot Apple forms an excellent stock for most Apples. 



A very interesting collection of Apple stocks has been formed 

 in the gardens at Chiswick by Mr A. F. Barren. Among these 



