208 



HORTICULTURE. 



Fruit 

 Garden. 



of delicate flavour. The tree grows vigorously, and is a 

 free bearer. 



The Black Eagle was from the graffion, with the 

 pollen of the mayduke, and the tree and its fruit re- 

 semble the mayduke in a considerable degree. 



The Waterloo was of the same origin. " It sprang 

 (says Mr Knight) from the largest and finest ambree 

 cherry that I ever saw ; and I imagine it was the best 

 fed ; for it stood alone upon a tree which was well ca- 

 pable of bearing at least half a dozen pounds of cherries." 

 The Waterloo is somewhat later than the black eagle. 

 It is nearly as hardy as the mayduke ; and it has been 

 obserTed to acquire tolerable perfection even in cloudy 

 and rainy weather. On approaching maturity, one side 

 presents a dark livid colour ; but in ripening, it acquires 

 a rich and deep red colour, nearly black. It is larger 

 than the black eagle, and more conic towards its point. 



All of these three varieties possess valuable qualities, 

 and deserve the attention of cultivators in every part of 

 the country. The only plants of these yet brought to 

 Scotland, as far as we know, are in the garden of Sir 

 George Mackenzie, Bart, at Coul in Ross-shire, where, 

 as it is situate far to the northward, their qualities in re- 

 gard to climate will be put to the proof. They who pos- 

 sess opportunities should also attempt the production of 

 new kinds. The cherry, it is believed, sports more exten- 

 sively in variety when raised from seed than almost any 

 other fruit ; and Mr Knight justly remarks, that it is 

 probably capable of acquiring a higher state of perfec- 

 tion than it has yet attained. 



105. The finer kinds of cherries are trained against 

 the wall, chiefly in the fan manner : they are placed 

 about twenty-four feet distant from each other, and, at 

 the first planting, a temporary tree is usually put in 

 between each. When favoured with a south aspect, they 

 not only produce early, but large and excellent fruit, 

 highly worthy of a place in the dessert. To prolong the 

 cheny season, some of the duke and heart varieties are 

 generally placed against a west wall. The morello being 

 chiefly wanted for preserves, has frequently a north 

 aspect assigned to it. This variety in so far differs in 

 habit from the others, that it is produced rather on the 

 young wood of the former year than on spurs ; it is 

 necessary therefore, at the time of pruning, to have a 

 supply of young wood in view. Cherry-trees are some- 

 times trained on espalier rails ; and in this case, as in 

 wall-trees, it is a great object to keep up a stock of 

 young wood, or at least a quantity of young spurs, or 

 curzons. The branches are generally tied to the rails 

 by means of willow-twigs, or strands of bass-matting. 

 All stone-fruit trees being liable to become gummy at 

 places where they are galled, attention is necessary 

 that the tyings do not injure the bark. Cherries, it 

 may be added, succeed much better as half-standards 

 or dwarf standards than as espalier-trees. 



It is a general rule to bud or graft cherries at the 

 height where the head is intended to begin. Some 

 prefer having only two main branches for a wall cherry- 

 tree ; but three branches are, in general, found more 

 commodious. Miller suggests, that budding heart 

 cherries on stocks of the birdcherry (Prunus padus), 

 might have a similar effect as grafting apples on para- 

 dise stocks ; that not only might the tree be thus kept 

 in less compass, but rendered more fruitful. 



In pruning cherry-trees, the shoots are not shortened, 

 for they produce many fruit-buds at the extremities. 

 It is a common remark of practical gardeners, that 

 cherry-trees dislike the knife. The branches there- 

 fore are trained at full length, superfluous fore-right 



shoots being displaced by the hand in the early part of Fruit 

 summer. Much fruit is produced on small side-spurs Garden. 

 proceeding from wood two or three years old; these ^ "V"" 

 side-spurs are therefore carefully preserved. 



When the fruit begins to colour, it is assailed by 

 blackbirds, jays, and other birds. The most effectual 

 remedy is found in hanging a net in front of the tree, 

 or over it, if it be an espalier or dwarf-standard. In 

 gathering the fruit, care should be taken not to break 

 the fruit-spurs, which are very brittle : to avoid the 

 risk of this, some gardeners are at the pains to cut the 

 fruit-stalks with a pair of small scissars. 



Apple. 



106. The Apple-tree (Pynis Mains, var. saliva,^.) be- Apple, 

 longs to the class Icosandria, order Pentagynia, and 

 natural order Rosaces: of Jussieu. The crab-tree, P. 

 mains, is a native of various parts of Britain, and is fi- 

 gured in English Botany, t. 179. Like the wild pear, 



it is armed with thorns. Many of the cultivated kinds 

 have been imported from the continent at different 

 times ; and many others have been raised from the 

 seed in this country. Ray, in the close of the 17th 

 century, described seventy-eight sorts, then accounted 

 good : several of these still retain their character, but 

 many more have either lost it, or have entirely disap- 

 peared. The costard-apple, which was then so com- 

 monly sold in London that dealers in apples were styled 

 costard-mongers, is not now known. At this time 

 among the favourite cider apples were the redstreak, 

 the golden pippin, the gennet-moil, the white and red 

 masts or musts, the fox-whelp, and the stire ; all of 

 which, as remarked by Mr Knight, are now fast hasten- 

 ing to decay and extinction. Several new apples, how- 

 ever, possessed of excellent qualities, have of late years 

 been brought into notice; and so many amateurs of 

 gardening are now engaged in raising new varieties 

 from seed, that there seems little reason to apprehend a 

 deficiency. This is as it should be ; the apple being 

 doubtless the most useful of the fruits freely produced 

 in this country. 



107. Forsyth, in his Treatise on Fruit-trees, describes 

 no fewer than 196 varieties, exclusive of many, of which 

 he gives the names only, without descriptions. In this 

 place only a few of the finer apples can be noticed ; 

 such as are commonly cultivated in gardens, as wall or 

 espalier trees, or as half and dwarf standards. The 

 other standard apples used for baking or in the manu- 

 facture of cider, will be treated of under the article 

 ORCHARDS. 



Golden pippin, 

 Balgone pippin, 

 Nonpareil, 

 Scarlet nonpareil, 

 Ribston pippin, 

 Oslin pippin, 

 Hawth orndean, 

 Margaret, 

 Jenneting, 

 Nonsuch, 

 Margil, 

 Quince apple, 



Aromatic pippin, 

 Royal Russet, 

 Codlin ; Royal, Kent- 

 ish, Carlisle, and 



Keswick. 



Newton pippin, 

 Spitsenberg. 



and 



Rennets, grey, golden, 



and Canadian. 

 Violet apple. 



The Golden pippin is a well known excellent fruit, 

 ripening late in autumn ; when fully matured it keeps 

 long, and forms, during winter, one of the choicest 

 dessert apples ; it is generally small, but beautiful, and 

 the juice is sweet and high flavoured. The tree re- 



