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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



613 



^ matured specimens of the Easter Beurre ami I latter will cause 



Ranee are in request, leaving the greener and 



in 



perfect of these, and a few of some other sorts, to 

 Zpke occasionally the appearance of supply during the 

 jpriDg months — 

 quite inadequate, 

 however, to meet 



anvthing hke * 

 itgular demand, 

 jocb as would cer- 

 tainly be made if 

 Pears could be 

 well kept in abun- 

 dance till that 



period. 



* The high state 

 of (perfection 

 which fine speci- 

 mens of Pears 

 laTe been fre- 

 quently exhibited 

 jo the Society by 

 Mr. Moorman at 

 periods of the sea- 

 ion much later 

 jan the varieties 

 usually keep, ren- 

 dered it very de- 

 sirable to obtain 

 an account 

 od by 

 w 



condensation of the moisture con- 

 tained in the air in contact with the fruit, just as a cold 

 glass becomes dewed over when brought into a warm 

 atmosphere. If the air is indeed very dry then a pro- 



takes 

 J hit 



of the 

 which 





in 



served f in 



pre- 

 such 



SCALE OFI.l 1 I I 



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Fig. 1.— Plan of Mr. Moorman's Fruit-Room. 



admirable condition. 



On applying to Mr. Moorman he portionally greater difference of temperature is neces- 

 iindly afforded every information with regard to the * * 



■ode by which his Pears are kept; and he also 

 permitted Mr. Sibthorp, the superintendent of 

 works at the Society's Garden, to make the accom- 

 panying drawings, which will give a correct idea 

 of the place. 



" The room was not originally constructed for a 

 fruit-room; but, by a little adaptation, Mr. Moor- 

 man has succeeded in rendering it a most excellent 

 one, as is f proved by the prizes awarded for the 

 productions exhibited from it — not in any one year, 

 but repeatedly, year after year. It is a partitioned- 

 off portion of a loft, which extends over a coach- 

 house and stables, and is that part which is above 

 the coach-house. It was originally fitted up for a 

 karness-room, the walls, as is usual in such places, 

 being lined with wood. The roof is slated. The 



range of {building is detached, and faces the south- 

 west 



"It will be observed that there is a cavity, c, be- 

 tween the boarding and walls. This, I believe, is an 

 important circumstance, and so is the wooden 

 lining, because air and wood are known to be slow 

 conductors of heat. The ceiling on the north side is 

 double, and the floor is wood above a ceiling. We 

 •may therefore conclude that a uniformity of tem- 

 perature in the interior of the room is insured to a con- 

 siderable extent. 



"There is the 

 small stove, rf, 



but it is seldom 

 ased, and never 

 *ith the view of 



banning the air 

 of the room, un- 

 less the tempera- 

 ture is actually 

 below freezing. 



The fruit is there- 

 fore 



The 



dow, e, 



sionally 



opened ; 



* all 



covered 



kept cool, 

 swing-win- 

 is occa- 

 a little 

 but it is 

 times 

 with a 

 roller-blind, so 

 that the fruit is 

 te pt in the dark. 

 A little fire in the 

 f^ v e, air being 



j^y admitted 

 by the window at 

 &e same time in 



*f7 Misuse- 

 ,ui for speedily 

 Roving any 



^P which may 

 ^ from the 

 **t The shelves, 

 ««> have a layer 



sary to produce the above effect ; but in winter the 



the limit, a contrary action— that of evapoi 



place, and the surface of the fruit becomes dry. 

 this wet tin % and drying must prove ry injurious ; 

 whilst its cause, alternations of temperature, must like- 

 wise affect the specific gravity of the juices of the fruit. 

 Mr. Moorman's fruit is not exposed to such vicissitudes ; 

 for when the weather becomes frosty, it is several days' 

 before the thermometer in his fruit-room is affected as 

 much as one degree. 



44 It may be remarked that in giving air a period of 

 the day should be chosen when the thermometer outside 

 indicates the same temperature as that in the room. 

 No deposition of moisture can then take place 

 t onsequence. 



ki W nli regard to coolness, it is well known that this 

 condition is favourable to the long-keeping of fruit : for 

 we act on the contrary when we wish to render any 

 variety fit for use fore its usual time. The fruit-room 

 in question must be eoolcr <m an average, than if it had 

 been on the ground, for the latter, u ier a building 

 particularly, is much warmer than the air in winter. 



" Light accelerates the maturity and ultimate* d< f 



fruit expo^ 1 to its influence. If the sound* -i -cimens 



are picked and plac I opposite a window, they soon be- 

 come much inferior in nppearam compared with those 

 from which the light is excluded, all other cin-u instances 

 being the same. In Mr. Moorman's fruit-room, the 

 light is excluded by a blind, even when air is given. 



"By such atiftagsments as those above detailed, Mr. 

 Moorman keeps the Marie Louise in fine condition till 

 after Christmas. He possesses a selection of the best 



varieties of Pears, which he grows chiefly on Espaliers, 

 which are well managed by his gardener, Mr. Tu< ■ r, 

 in the Clapliam -road. He 'had some remarkably hand- 

 some specimens of the Winter Nelisinhis fruit-room in 

 .January, much larger than that excellent variety usually 

 grows. We have also seen very large specimens of the 

 Marie Louise, grown at his seat at Box Hill, in Sussex. 

 The tree which pr luecd them is trained against the 

 <;able end of a barn, about a quarter of a mils from the 

 sea, and this tree is exposed to the strong sea-breezes 

 from the south-west. It wa« planted in good soil, and a 

 spring below it was discovered when digging the hole for 

 the compost, previous t<> the tree being planted." 



Fig. 2. — Ioterior View. 



hygrometer seldom requires to be cooled more than a 

 few degrees before it indicates a deposition of moisture. 



fruit 



a consideration of all the above details it may 

 r ed, that if a fruit-room be built over a place 



» mvm J '"A Uf\ff 



. c, ?n-drawn straw laid across them, and on this the 



ta, t: is placed singly 



from a cmiaifioi. 



be infer 



teiU? tu 6 1S a * ree circulation of air, its roof double 



**een th "^ ! ! ned . wl * wood > a cavity be5ng left be " 

 ati\, se tw o, it will possess the essential properties 



W the one under consideration. 



to with* more ' ra P°rtant principles necessary to attend 



ofVm re £ ar( * to the long keeping of fruit, are uniformity 



*Tf ?u PatUre > coolne ss> and darkness. 



Fig. 3.— Longitudinal Section. 



a. 

 6. 



Home Correspondence. 



Clofh of Gold Rose.- I see that " A Correspondent n 

 pleads the cause of this Rose, 1 think that it is sup- 

 posed to bo more difficult to manage than it really is. 

 I hare had one now for several years, which has bloom' 1 



well and freely. It m<ls against a south wall, has no 

 other plants against which to struggle intruded upon it, 

 is well fed, and sharply pruned ; it grows in a soil which 

 is; naturally poor and sandy, but it has a barrow load 

 made up of stable litter and burnt refuse, or of stable 

 litter and loam, given to it each year. I think it pos- 

 sible that Cloth df Gold has got the character of being a 

 shy bloomer from being grown upon its own roots ; in 

 that form I do not think it will succeed ; at least, 1 do 

 not know of any plant of it thus grown successfully. 

 Mine is budded upon a l>og*rose, but Celine, I 

 believe, makes a better stock for it than any other 

 Rose does. I have found some of my best blooms come 

 from shoots which I have laid into the ground, after 

 drawing them down from the wall against which my tree 

 grows. Such shoots have thrown other strong fleshy 

 shoots from the point at which the laid shoot comes out 

 of the ground again, and upon these I have had splendid 

 blooms. I believe that Cloth of Gold only requires 

 liberal treatment, and a little patience, in order to secure 

 such a bloom as will amply repay the grower of it. 

 C. K C, Shirty. 



L< je Scariet Thorn. — In the kitchen garden, at 

 Elderslee House, near Renfrew, in Scotland, is a scarlet 

 flowering Thorn 30 feet high, 39J feet across the 

 branches, from east to west, and rather more from south 

 to north, the stem bring 6 feet 5 inches in circumference, 

 at 18 inches from the ground. Its age is not known. 

 It is about 80 years since the garden was first formed ; 

 but before that the old Mansion House of King's Inch # 

 i stood close to where the kitchen garden now is, and the 

 tree may perhaps have been growing there, and spared 

 when the garden was inclosed. It is in vigorous health, 

 and appears to be liberally availing itself of the good 

 things provided for its humbler associates, the lower 

 branches touch the ground, and in some places, having 

 struck root, are growing vigorously. When in full 

 bloom it is a splendid object. Q. Aitken, Kilmarnock. 



The Mocking Bird. — I have often been surprised that 

 none of your correspondents have noticed the wonderful 

 imitative powers of the mocking-bird (Sylvia salicaria), 

 whose notes hit off with such exactness so many of the 

 other small birds. In listening to one, the other day, 

 for about a quarter of an hour, I heard it give the notes 

 of the sparrow, swallow, whinchat, spring wagtail, star- 

 ling, martin, chaffinch, whitethroat, greenfinch, little 

 redpole, and whin-linnet, besides the notes of half a 



1 I I _ . I a. > H b I _ — — __ — — -— _ ah A- I A I 4. ■ a-. •* <»- J*tt V% rf^ 





dep 



e temperature is uniform, there can be little or 



*«t if ° h tl0n - ° f rnoisture on the 6Urface of the fruit ; 

 *arm u a * r °^ tne room should be, say 10 degrees 

 er thar * the fruit, then the relative coldness of the 



e. 

 9> 



EXPLANATION OF THE LETTERS. 

 Shelves made with battens, H inch wide, and 1J inch apart. 

 Close boarding around the sides of the room. 

 Air space between the boar is and the wall. *u« **^i »— v . . , . M . . .. . . ., .. i m , mmmm , 



has an air epace on the north side between the two plaster ! right to assert that they were not imitations because 



ceilings, as shown on the section. T 1:1 —* Ue% — — *** " — : ~~ * u ™ Th* »l*rm 



Stove. 



Tie roof also ' dozen birds which 1 did not know ; at least I have no 



Circular window nuns on pivots, and fitted with a roller- 

 blind. 



Partitions of open work similar to the shelres, 

 Cjach-house under fruie.ro.t?n. 



Fruits, with smooth, glossy skins, in close contact with 

 the cold substance beneath them, are those most pro- 

 fusely covered with moisture from the above cause. 

 In russeted varieties their dry, rough coats, serve as 

 non-conductors of heat, and hence less moisture is 

 deposited on them. When the air becomes colder than 



I did not happen to recognize them. The alarm 

 notes of other birds are those most frequently 

 imitated ; but though this is generally the case, it in not 

 invariably so, for instance, in addition to the alarm 

 note of the swallow "chizzee, chizzee," it also had 

 the * Whit, whit," which the swallow uses as it flies 

 about, and the chatter of satisfaction, not the 

 which one often hears when two swallows are 

 arranging their plan of operations in a barn in the 

 spring. Again, in addition to the shriek of the martin, 

 there was the note it utters when on the wing, in pursuit 



song, 





