'with Botany in Public Gardejis. 61 



each fruit tree, of classifying and ascertaining the quahties of 

 those ah'eady known, of introducing new varieties ; and, lastly, 

 of reducing into order the apparently impenetrable chaos of 

 synonymes, which presents so formidable an obstacle to the suc- 

 cessful cultivation of this department of horticulture. 



In your Encyclopcsdia of Gardening you allude to the imper- 

 fect knowledge possessed of the varieties of the vine. Now, it 

 appears to me, that, if those places where botanical gardens are 

 established would generally attend to this subject, and commu- 

 nicate with each other and with the Horticultural Society of 

 London, much might be done to clear up all such difficulties. 

 Thirdly, besides increasing our actual knowledge, this plan 

 would greatly facilitate the diffusion of new and superior varie- 

 ties. Although the practice of forcing has of late years become 

 much more general than formerly, and few gardens are now 

 without glass, it is to be feared that the quality of the fruit has 

 by no means kept pace with the quantity. In grapes, espe- 

 cially, most people in limited establishments seem to content 

 themselves with Black Hamburg, and one or two of the com- 

 moner white sorts. One of the principal reasons why rare and 

 valuable kinds are not more commonly cultivated is, undoubtedly, 

 the difficulty of procuring them genuine from country nurseries. 

 Their lists abound, it is true, in names, but their grounds are 

 miserably defective in the reality ; and certainly nothing can be 

 more disheartening to a purchaser, than, after having paid a high 

 price for pretended choice sorts, and after having watched them 

 for years with anxious care, to find that both his money and 

 his pains have been thrown away upon either common or 

 worthless varieties. On a small scale, this has happened to me. A 

 Cannon Hall turns out a Black Hamburg, a Black Lombardy 

 the same ; some apricots purchased for Moor Park are Brussels, 

 and a Ribston Pippin is some other unknown sort. A gentle- 

 man in this neighbourhood, of great horticultural skill, has for 

 years been making a collection of choice plums, but he has long 

 given up applying to the nurserymen, finding, as he says, that 

 they always send him something, which, though dignified with 

 the appropriate name, partakes of the qualities of the sloe and 

 the damson. His plan is, whenever he meets with fruit of which 

 he approves/* to get grafts, and transfer them to his garden. In 

 this manner he has succeeded in procuring the Imperatrice, 

 from a noble tree at Darnington, which annually produces 

 abundant crops. But, although this method may with advantage 

 be followed by those who have great horticultural zeal and skill, 

 it is evidently unsuited for persons who wish to attain the same 

 results with less trouble, and in a shorter time. If, however, at 

 Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Derby, and all other bo- 

 tanical gardens, there were extensive depots of all the most 



