132 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND 



and all others that liave 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." Mira- 

 belle, 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 in- 

 cludes 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, as already stated, 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 volun- 

 tarily with the Fleet that went against the Pirates in the year 

 1620."^ Sir Hugh Piatt 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 Janu- 

 ary, 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 from the 

 Apricot tree. . . . Take away in time all the head of your plum 

 tree. . . . and so you have gotten many Apricot trees out of 

 ^ Parkinson. " Argier " = Algiers. 



