September 19, 1895] 



NATURE 



509 



Cariutlieis, Mr. George Murray, and others, visited 

 Woburn to make the first formal inspection of an institu- 

 tion which, under the above somewhat unpretentious title, 

 has Ijccn estaliHshcd by the joint action of the Duke of 

 ISedford and Mr. .Spencer l^ickering, F.R.S., in order to 

 supply what has hitherto been a great national want. 



The object of this institution is to provide an experi- 

 mental station where all matters connected with horti- 

 culture, and especially with the culture of hardy fruits, 

 may be investigated both from the scientific and practical 

 point of view. 



The origin of such an enterprise is always a matter of 

 some interest, and it becomes all the more so in after 

 years, \vhen, too often, the details of its conception and 

 evolution are irretrievably lost. In the present instance 

 we may trace the origin to an accident in a chemical 

 laboratory. It was owing to such an accident some years 

 ago that Mr. Pickering, whose work in physical chemistry 

 is well known, was driven to seek health in a partial 

 existence in the country. Not having the means, how- 

 ever, to procure this in the orthodox manner without 

 abandoning his scientific work, he resorted to the some- 

 what unusual means of getting air and exercise by 

 becoming an agricultural labourer at Rothamsted. From 

 an agricultural labourer to a small farmer and land- 

 owner the steps were not so tedious as is generally the 

 case, and for some few years past Mr. Pickering has 

 turned his attention, after the manner of many landowners, 

 to horticulture and practical fructiculture. To any one of 

 a scientific turn of mind the unsatisfactory basis on which 

 the culture of fruit depends cannot fail to be apparent. 

 Its present condition is little better than that of horti- 

 culture some fifty years ago. It rests mainly on the hard- 

 earned and often one-sided experience of practical men, 

 gardeners, for the most part, or nurserymen. 



But the pressure of business will rarely allow a nursery- 

 man to indulge in anything approaching to systematic 

 research, and even when he does obtain any important 

 results, they are liable to be looked on askance, as being 

 possibly tinctured by mercenary considerations. More- 

 over, even amongst the highest practical authorities there 

 is hardly a single point in the cultivation of fruit on which 

 unanimity of opinion prevails ; indeed, on some of even 

 the most elementary processes there seem to be as man)- 

 opinions as there arc so-called authorities. 



The desirability of having some station where such 

 matters might be patiently investigated, and from which 

 results might issue free from any taint of commercial ex- 

 pediency, was e\ ident to Mr. Pickering, and not having 

 himself the capital or land necessary for such an under- 

 taking, he applied for assistance to a former college 

 friend, the Duke of Bedford. The Dukes of Bedford 

 have during generations past identified themselves with 

 the progress of agriculture and horticulture, the present 

 holder of the title showing no tendency to be eclipsed 

 by his predecessors in these matters. .-\s was probable, 

 such a scheme met with the hearty approval of the Duke, 

 and the result was the establishment of the present insti- 

 tution, conducted jointly by himself and .Mr. Pickering. 



The fruit farm is on the Duke's land near Kidgmount 

 Station, and almost adjoins the land which is given 

 up to the use of the Royal Agricultural Society as an ex- 

 perimental agricultural station. .-Vbout twenty acres have 

 been devoted to the purpose, and of this some fifteen have 

 already been planted. 



Everything at present justifies the anticipation that this 

 station will be conducted in the liberal and thorough- 

 going manner which alone can produce results capable of 

 commanding the confidence of horticulturists, and the 

 cneryy with which the work has been commenced indicates 

 that no time will be lost in obtaining trustworthy results. 

 It is but twelve months since the field was bearing a crop 

 of roots and weeds (especially the latter;, yet in spite of the 

 adverse season, the ground has been thoroughly cleaned, 



NO. I 35 I, VOL. 52] 



roads, hedges, and fences have been made, a house built 

 on it, and over 500 experimental plots have been planted ; 

 also an extensive nursery has been planted, as well as 

 collections of various ornamental and useful trees and 

 shrubs. A fine crop of eighty different varieties of straw- 

 berries has been already gathered. With such work 

 accomplished, it is scarcely necessar)- to say that an 

 able manager is resident on the farm. The present 

 manager, Mr. L. Castle, is a man whose experience and 

 knowledge will command the confidence of practical 

 horticulturists. 



It is only possible here to indicate briefly the character 

 of some of the experiments instituted. Besides straw- 

 berries — the investigation of which will embrace not only 

 the respective merits of different varieties, but also the 

 comparative values of the varieties at different ages, and 

 the effects of certain manures on the crop — apples have 

 been selected for the majority of the experiments already 

 begun. Sixty different experiments are arranged to test 

 different methods of planting, of root and branch treat- 

 ment, and different manurial treatment, each experiment 

 being made on eighteen trees, six of each of three varie- 

 ties, all of the same age, and all raised on the same stock. 

 These trees are all dwarf trees, and certain of the experi- 

 ments are repeated with standard trees on the free- 

 growing stock, and also with other dwarf trees of a 

 fourth variety. Thirty-eight plots have been devoted to 

 ascertaining the influence of different methods of train- 

 ing on the quantity and quality of the crop, and a 

 collection of about 120 good varieties of apples has 

 been made, each variety being grown on difterent stocks, 

 and subjected in each case to different methods of treat- 

 ment. This collection of apples is also so arranged that 

 it may be utilised for the investigation of insecticides, 

 without destroying the value of the results as regards the 

 comparison of the different varieties. A smaller but 

 interesting collection of apples of Scotch, Irish, and 

 foreign origin has also been made. The numerous 

 shelter hedges which have been planted are also of con- 

 siderable interest, since, from an economical point of 

 view, they also are experimental. They are composed of 

 different varieties of nuts, plums, damsons, crabs, quince, 

 medlars, and berberries. 



Other experiments of greater scientific interest than 

 the above are, we understand, either in progress or in 

 contemplation ; amongst these may be mentioned the 

 influence of different stocks on the scion, and the great 

 question of the effects of self- or cross-fertilisation. Such 

 experiments, however, necessitate the lapse of a consider- 

 able amount of time before they can be said even to have 

 been started, if they are to be started on a really 

 satisfactory basis. 



Those who are familiar with Mr. Pickering's chemical 

 work will not fear that sufficient attention to minute 

 details will be absent from the present undertaking. As 

 instances of the thoroughness with which small ques- 

 tions are being examined, we may mention experiments 

 on the relative merits of different arrangements of the 

 same number of trees in a given area, and of the different 

 direction in which the rows run as regards the points of 

 the compass. Or, again, experiments on the influence of 

 the nature, position, and inclination of the cut given in 

 pruning a branch, and also the improvements which are 

 being devised in methods of measuring the evaporating 

 power of the air. 



But it is vei-y noteworthy that the strictly practical and 

 economical aspects of horticulture will receive more 

 attention than is usually the case at experimental stations. 

 Six demonstration plots of a quarter of an acre each have 

 been planted to illustrate how land may be most advan- 

 tageously cropped b>' farmers, growers, and cottagers 

 respectively. The initial cost of each of these plots is 

 known, and an accurate account of the incoming and out- 

 going connected with each will be kept. In the nursery, 



