Dec. 22, 1855.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



S37 







the gold fields absorb all attention and all labour ; 

 and I have not heard of a greenhouse in the whole 

 colony. Now for ourselves ; and the remarks which I 

 lhall make are for the most part applicable to all these 

 eolonies. 



The people of all young countries are utilitarians ; they 

 cultivate for family use or profit, but rarely for orna- 

 ment. If you ask what flower they like best, it is the 

 Cauliflower ; if you urge the planting of forest trees, 

 the reply is, "Why should I plant for others hereafter ?" 



approach the form of those just enumerated, and it 

 would have aided the memory as well as classification 

 of them if they had been designated by the above 

 generic names. The ignorance of some who have been 

 in too great haste to designate these varieties by proper 

 names only has produced a confusion much to be 

 regretted by deviating from the elementary rules of a 

 rational system of classification. 



It must be acknowledged, however, that there exists 



at the present time several mixed or intermediate forms, 



If you object to a tree because it is short-lived, you j which differ from those which are known and admitted 



hear, " Oh, it will last my time. Thus we have very 

 few forest trees ; there are Oaks, Elms, Ash, Poplar, 

 and two or three more, grown by two or three persons, 

 and also a few ornamental Firs, and that is all. I 

 believe that there is not a Birch, Beech, Hornbeam, 

 Larch, Scotch ^ Fir, Evergreen Oak, Tulip tree, Plane 

 tree, or Cedar in the whole colony. Nor yet have we 

 imported from the Cape of Good Hope, New Zealand, 

 or elsewhere, any equivalents for them. Of fruit trees 

 we have a goodly number, but people plant for the most 

 part the rapidly-bearing though short-lived trees, as the 

 Apricot, the Peach, &c., which grow as dwarf standards, 

 and do not remain in perfection more than 12 years, 

 In their season Peaches and Apricots are about 2d 

 each. Apples are now 2*. 6d. a pound ; Oranges, 8d. 

 each. ^ Grapes are very excellent ; the finest Muscats. 

 Frontignans, Damascus, Grand Turque, Raisin des 

 Dames, and Constantia Grapes ripen in the open air. 

 Melons are magnificent in growth, but rarely of good 

 sorts, as may be supposed from all varieties being grown 

 together, and the seed never changed. These things 

 are all very cheap. 



The nursery trade languishes except in the case of 

 fruit trees, of which there is an enormous sale. Root- 

 grafting, done over the* fireside in the evenings, is very 

 common ; Almonds, moreover, grow large enough in one 

 year to graft the second, and the trees become saleable 

 the same season at three or four shillings each. All the 

 trees here are dwarf standards ; the wind is too high for 

 tall trees, at least the gardeners say so, but I rather 

 think the true reason is dwarfs are got out of hand 

 soonest. 



As to ornamental gardening, the colony is at a very 

 low ebb, which is partly owing to the climate, where 

 sometimes no rain falls for 4 or 5 months, and partly to 

 indifference. There are no pot plants here in windows 

 or houses. There are only, I believe, 3 greenhouses 

 in the colony, and no hot-house properly so called; thus 

 there is no collection of tropical plants, very few 

 lents — Orchids, Heaths, Camellias ; no Rhododendrons 

 or Azaleas : no Ferns 





8 or 10 of Fuchsia 

 Cistus tribe : 



; about 50 varieties of Rose ; 

 3 or 4 Pseonies ; none of the 

 only 8 or 10 varieties of Chrysanthemum 

 and Pelargonium; 2 ornamental Rihes; no Box edging; 

 no Stonecrops; and very few annuals or bulbs, except 

 Cape bulbs. The ornaments of our gardens are chiefly 

 Oleanders, and there are magnificent China Roses, the 

 Oxalis tribe, Sparaxis, Ixia, double-flowered Peach, 

 Almond, and a few others. Let not therefore the 

 English gardener be deceived by too favourable repre- 

 sentations. It is a noble colony for Wheat and wine, 

 rich in its mineral resources and its flocks, in its mag- 

 nificent soil and its splendid prospects. But our tracts 

 of country are over large, and general drought han^s 

 over all. There is no rotation of crops, no winter 

 Turnips and spring Wheat, no Cabbages succeeded by 

 Unions ; all is green and luxuriant for six months — all 

 brown and scorched for the other six ; the thermometer 

 often stands above 100°, and the soil is hard as a stone. 

 There is no gardening then except picking fruit, which 

 is truly and indeed the gardener's harvest, for he may 

 pick 100 dozen of Apricots from a tree six years' old, 

 and Grapes 15 tons to the acre ; but present prices 

 cannot be expected to last, as the planting year by year 

 for exceeds the increasing demand. Gardeners have 

 been told that they can get 20s. per day here as wages ; 

 "Ut the teller has not the caudour to add that it is only 

 Perhaps for a fortnight in the year, and given then 

 only by a few persons to get their grafting done quickly. 

 Inese statements are deceptive and therefore wrong. 

 4 Constant Reader at the Antipodes, Aug., 1855. 



JOINTS OF EXCELLENCE IN A SEEDLING 



PEAR TREE. 



The principal object of raising seedling Pear trees 

 being to obtain varieties suited for cultivation in orchards 

 tu the coldest climates f our regions, it is of the greatest 

 importance that the trees should be possessed of great 

 Yi gour, and that they should be decidedly hardy and 

 productive. The fruit should also be of a fine f«.rm, 

 ahould possess the requisite degree of flavour, and 

 ■nould ripen in long succession. 



The handsomest form of Pear is acknowledged by all 

 amateurs to be that known as the Colmar. In fact, a 



as types ; and in course of time others will come into 

 existence. To one of these mixed forms Van Mons 

 gave the appellation of Esperen, the name of his col- 

 league, Major Esperen, of Mechlin. Bouvier, the name 

 of Triomphe de Jodoigne (his naive town of which he 

 was also burgomaster), and Choix d'un Amateur. The 

 successor of Van Mons called another variety without a 

 distinct character by the name of Provost (the name of 

 the editor of the Awnales / omologiqius de Rouen.) There 

 are doubtless many distinctive denominations for forms 

 of an unknown type ; but when the fruit has the most 

 striking characters of any type it is absolutely neces- 

 sary to apply it as the generic name in preference to 

 any other. We may add, that up to the present time 

 no other system of classification has prevailed either in 

 England or in Belgium ; and it is best to keep to that 

 which is generally known and admitted. 



Too long and too slender a stalk is a defect in a new 

 variety, the cultivation of which is consequently limited 

 to a wall or dwarf pyramid. The defect depends on 

 the size of the fruit. Whatever the vigour and hardi- 

 ness of a new variety may be, if the size of the fruit 

 be not proportionate to the strength of the stalk it 

 becomes impossible to cultivate it sueceMfully as a 

 standard. This is an important consideration, and it 

 is necessary to be satisfied upon this point before a new 



variety can be ranked amongst those proper for culti- 

 vation in an orchard. 



'1 he principal merit of a fruit is its flavour, which is 

 found in the flesh, in the juice, and in the aroma. An 

 experienced taster recognises these qualities in the dif- 

 ferent tinges of the skin. Whatever its shade or colour 

 may be, the skin should be thin and closely attached to 

 the flesh ; the latter should be melting, buttery, without 

 grit or fibre of any sort. From the eye to the stalk 

 and around the core, no strong concretions should be 

 found. A fine white flesh, pale pink, or a slightly 

 greenish hue, and melting like butter in the mouth are 

 indispensable properties. The flesh should contain 

 abundance of vinous, saccharine juice, slightly aromatic, 

 but without too strong a perfume. These intrinsic 

 qualities really exist in many varieties, the fruits of which 

 ripen from September till April. We may, therefore, 

 be permitted to hope that similar qualities may be found 

 in recent seedlings from these varieties, combined with 

 sufficient vigour and hardiness to suit the climates in 

 which they have been raised. It will be easily under- 

 stood that in order to obtain all these qualities in the | 

 fruit, it is essential that vigorous trees should be planted 

 under the most favourable conditions ; that they should 

 be submitted to a rational mode of culture in a suffi- 

 ciently rich soil ; and that in this their roots should be 

 for several years firmly established. 



A var ety combining the qualities above enumerated, 

 ripening not all at once, but in succession during 

 several months, showing the pemod of its maturity to 

 the experienced eye by the shade of the skin and other 

 signs, and without decaying first at the core, may be 

 justly considered to have attained a high degree of 

 perfection. The nearer these qualities approach such 

 as are most to be desired, the more reason there is to 

 be satisfied. It is however very rare to find every 

 desirable requisite in the same variety. The higl 

 degree of perfection indeed is very rarely to be met 

 with amongst works resulting from the genius of man ; 

 and perhaps still more so in the productions of nature 

 which he admires. 



It is for the human mind to seek for the means of 

 deriving the greatest possible advantages from nature, 

 and to overcome the obstacles which it encounters. It 

 is by the application of scientific principles, in conjunc- 

 tion with judicious practice, that we shall eventually 

 obtain one or more new varieties of Pear, combining 

 every desirable degree of perfection in our climate. 

 Shal? we be indebted for this result to chance, or to the 

 reasoning powers of the human mind \ Who can with 

 certainty resolve this question ! J. De Jonghe, Brussels. 



Home Correspondence. 



Osmunda Regalis.— There are many truly^ noble 



specimens of this Fern in Cornwall, and many in this 

 neighbourhood grow to a large size, especially in 

 he<ige banks and other shady places where they are 

 pretty well supplied with moisture in summer as well 

 as during winter ; it is a very common thing to see their 

 fronds from 6 to 7 feet long, and in some favourable 

 instances they are even longer. About 30 years ago 

 my employer wishing to plant a low marshy piece of 

 ground had a number of parallel open drains cut 

 through it, a little deeper than the surface earth, which 

 was about 1 foot thick of a fibrous, spongy, and peaty 

 nata e ; and where, previous to these drains being cut, 

 rhe ground could not be walked over in winter owing to 



ts holding id much water, Owntradw bad originally 



V*«y recognised when the fruits acquire their full -rown well in this situation, some of these surface 

 Uev elopment. drains had never been cleaned out, and many plants 



Amongst the new varieties there are several which of the Osmunda had grown in their sides, and some of 



jhe fruit of the Colmar type, such as the Beurre Gns, 

 Urbaniste, or Winter Nelis, offers, amongst all the 

 *nown varieties of Pear, the most attractive object t«» 

 *ne eye of even a very common observer. This class 

 °* Pears, well and regularly grown, and furnished with 

 •footstalk in proportion to the size of the fruit, neither 

 *°o long nor too slender, combines all the conditions of 

 . e finest form. Next to the Colmar, the most pleariny 

 Jj* 1 " is that of a fine Bergaraot ; then that of a Doyenne, 

 j™ 1 * Chretien, Bezi, Calebasse, and, finally, that of a 

 **°U 5 selet. These seven forms are very distinct, and 



eaail 



them had gradually extended themselves down into the 

 bottom, where their roots were always moist. A few 

 years ago I saw a number of these removed, and 

 amongst them were some that had attained a 

 very large size, especially the roots. One of the 

 latter had rais i itself above the adjoining ground from 

 15 to 18 inches, was more than Z feet in diameter, and 

 had nine royal crowns ; its roots forming, as is well 

 known, a close mass of a strong black wiry-looking sub- 

 stauce. It was removed in summer when in full 

 freshness, and took four men to carry it on a hand- 

 barrow. Some of the other plants were about half the 

 size of this one. A number of the largest British Ferns 

 grow well here, and amongst others I may name one 

 plant of Athyrium filix-icemina, which has grown in 

 the course of years to a very large size ; its stem is 

 about 1 8 inches above the ground. Near the surface it 

 is 6 inches by 8 inches in diameter, but at about 6 inches 

 high it suddenly swells out, so much ho that at it niches 

 high it is about 20 inches in diameter, having eight or ten 

 crowns. Its stem presents a thick and compact appear- 

 ance, and during the summer this plant has a very fine 

 and graceful aspect ; many of its fronds an* often nearly 

 4 feet in length. Q. i son, Enpt, Cornwall. 



Longevit / Seds. — It Is trident that much informa- 

 tion might he collected on this and other subjects if 

 observers would only take the trouble to make public 

 the results of their investigations. Several circum- 

 stances which have come under my «>l>eervation have 

 convinced me that many seeds, wbsfl placed under cer- 

 tain conditions, will retain their vitality for a much 

 longer period than they ever do when kept in the- ordi- 

 nary way, that is, in drawers, canvas bags, or paper 

 packages; and one of the most striking of th< j the 

 following, which occurred in the well-known Vin 

 yard Nursery, Hammersmith :— In the year 1823 

 piece of Delaware Kale was reserved for seed, much of 



which was shed before and during th* period of gather- 

 ing ; the ground was afterwards trenched to the depth 

 of 2 feet and planted with fruit trees. After a lapse of 

 19 years the ground was again cleared and trenched to 

 the same depth as before; the broken soil which re- 

 mained in the bottom of the trench after the second 

 " spit" was thrown out, and which is technically termed 

 the tt crumb," was thrown over the freshly dug surface. 

 This * crumb," it will be observed ^ was tVie or»g ; nal sur- 

 face soil, and it produced during the following spring 

 an abundant crop of Delaware Kale, which was evidently 

 produced from the seed which had been buried ]!' vears 

 before, and which had preserved its vitality uninjured 

 and unimpaired during that period, which is consider 

 ably more than double the time it will keep under ordi- 

 nary circumstances andconditiona /. /«*., I/awmertmith, 



Cankered Pear Trees. — My soil is rather rich for fruit 

 trees— a tenacious clayey loam from the bottom of 

 marsh ditches, upon a well drained gravelly and sandy 

 stratum. Here Pears and Apples bear surprisingly 

 year after year without failure after their first exuberant 

 growth has been somewhat checked by root pruning. 

 I grafted an espalier Jargonelle three years since on one 

 side with Beurre' Ranee, the other with Glou Morceau* 

 The grafts of this latter must have been taken from 

 cankered parent, for I have not a sign or spot of 

 canker in my garden. They never crew well, like 

 the other sorts grafted at the same time, and are still 

 cankered. The Pears on these are small, spotted with 

 black patches in rather deep and irregular depressions, 

 and altogether unlike, in size and appearance, what a 

 good handsome Glou Morceau should be ; yet after a 

 week or fortnight's housing they are as sweet as sugar, 

 and most deliciously melting. Do you think I should 

 regraft the Glou Morceau side of my espalier, or is 

 there any hope of the canker disappearing ! Can one 

 sine of a tree be grafted while the other is growing ! 

 and will not this growing Bide be roadeViver luxuriant 

 by the sudden loss of one half of the tree, and during 

 the two or three first?, years of the growth of the new 

 grafts! Novice. [We should try the result of ar other 

 year. Can't you throw vigour into the Glou Morceau 

 by stopping its exuberant neighbour ?] 



Holms Saccharatus.—The following is my method of 

 treating this plant. Early in spring I sowed three seeds 

 of it, only one of which vegetated ; this 1 kept growing 

 in the stove, shifting the plant into larger sized pots as 

 required until June. When it was in a 15 inch pot, I 

 then removed it to the greenhouse, the sa^h above it 

 being left open for the summer. In August it sent up 

 a large feathery panicle of flowers, 1 foot in length. 

 From these I have gathered 2000 fine ripe eeeds, as you 

 will see by the sample I now send you. The stem or 

 cane, which is also ripe, is 12 feet high, and 1 inch in 

 diameter at 3 feet from the root. Would not this plant, 

 with its long drooping foliage, answer well as an orna- 

 mental plant for the clumps or borders of the pleasure 

 ground ) It should be raised in heat early, and planted 

 out in June. John Southern, Didabury. 



The Mussel Scale.— I have a quantity of Fear and 

 Apple trees that are being destroyed by this pest. 

 I have also a receipt of a solution which should destroy 

 it, viz. :— Soft soap, 2 lbs., flour of sulphur, 2 lbs., leaf 

 or roll tobacco, 2 lbs., nux vomica, 4 oz , turpennne, 

 one gill, boiled in eight gallons of soft water down to 

 s x. If any of your readers have anything better I 

 should feel obliged if they w 11 make it known. //. C 8. 

 [Hot-water varying from 150° to 160°, applie* to the 

 trees in mild weather when the leaves are off, is the 

 best remedy for this insect.] 



Potato Disease.— Lust spring a composition advertised 

 in your columns was stated to be a complete remedy 

 for this disease. I was therefore induced to purchase 



