22 Transactions of the Botanical and Horticultural Society 



cherries, and plums, more particularly adapted to this part of 

 the country. Difficulties arising from inferior soil may always 

 be overcome ; difficulties from unpropitious climate are to be 

 met by those varieties whose habits and blossoms are hardier 

 than others. All varieties that blossom late and have close 

 blossoms are very desirable for this district. The most eligi- 

 ble situation is a southern declivity, well sheltered from " the 

 cold winds of the east coast, and from the violent equinoctial 

 gales fx-om the west ;" but not " too near a river, as the fogs 

 which i-ise from water are very prejudicial to the setting of 

 the blossoms of fruit trees." The soil most desirable is a 

 great depth of fresh rich loam on a sound clayey bottom. 



A common error in the district has been, planting the 

 early bearing sorts, such as the Red Streaks, Juneatings, 

 Lemon Pippins, Leadingtons, &c., which soon become un- 

 healthy and useless. 



" It is, I believe, invariably the case, that fruit trees which 

 produce a great deal of fruit, are comparatively shortlived ; 

 and to this 1 would attribute the circumstance of several of 

 the older Hawthornden apples in this neighbourhood be- 

 coming unhealthy, and their fruit being very liable to spot, 

 which, no doubt, arises from the decreasing energies of the tree. 

 " Much has been said and written on the disease called 

 canker in apple trees : it generally seizes old varieties and 

 great bearers ; but the soil, and especially the subsoil, have 

 often a great share in producing it, and some varieties have a 

 far greater tendency to it than others, as Sir Walter Blackett*s 

 Favourite, the Royal Russet, &c. &c. Mr. Knight conceives 

 that this disease, as well as the wearing out of the old varieties, 

 arises from the age of the variety ; for, of course, in all cases 

 of propagation by grafting or budding, the scion or the bud is 

 of the same age as the original plant. Yet, as it is engrafted or 

 budded on a vigorous seedling stock, I imagine that its growth 

 is by this means in some degree renewed. And I think this has 

 been clearly proved by a very ingenious experiment made by 

 a gentleman in Herefordshire, who, having a very old Golden 

 Pippin apple tree which was in a dying state, planted 

 around it several young seedling crabs, and, when they had 

 established themselves, engrafted or inarched them into the 

 trunk of the old tree ; the consequence was, that in the course 

 of a year or two, the old tree became nearly as healthy as ever 

 it had been, from the vigour that was infused into it by the 

 sap of the young crabs that had been introduced into it. [We 

 very much wish some of our correspondents would repeat this 

 experiment on various trees.] And yet I am strongly induced 

 to think that the scion, in some cases at least, has a very great 



