126 



THE GARDENERS 7 CHRONICLE. 



[August 4 



known them to bloom better than they did this 

 season, and the plants are now carrying heavy crops 

 of fine fruit of first-class quality. A. Ward, Stolce 

 Edith Park, Hereford. 



Apples are a very disappointing crop after 



the fine show of bloom we had in the spring. Some 

 orchards have hardly a leaf on the trees owing to the 

 ravages of the caterpillar. I have heard there are a 

 few exceptions where they have a good crop. C. 

 Denning, Holme Lacy. 



The fruit crops in this locality are partial 



and irregular, but on the whole better than many 

 growers at one time anticipated. I see from spring 

 frosts we must go back to the past year of heat and 

 drought for the cause of failures or partial blindness 

 amongst Strawberries and some fruit trees which 

 were too weak to form and mature their flower-buds. 

 Apples, on the other hand, set an abundance of per- 

 fect flower-buds, also in due course plenty of fruit, 

 but the unprecedented attack of grub has greatly re- 

 duced the crop, and in some orchards completely de- 

 foliated the trees. In this garden we have been 

 obliged to thin Apples and Pears, whilst Blenheim 

 Orange and some other varieties of Apples in orchards 

 are bearing heavier crops than usual. Plums have 

 failed through lack of blossom. Apricots, I believe, 

 are far from plentiful. Peaches and Nectarines have 

 required much thinning, also more attention than I 

 have given to them for some years past. Green-fly, 

 fostered by slow growth, has been most persistent, 

 but soap-suds has been our only insecticide and the 

 trees are now clean and quite to my mind. Goose- 

 berries and Currants, netted from bullfinches in the 

 spring, are an enormous crop, clean and fine. Straw- 

 berries are an irregular crop, and the fruit, owing to 

 the absence of rain combined with unseasonable cold, 

 is much affected by mildew. With the exception of 

 a few sorts of Apples and Pears, and choice Plums, 

 which are quite a failure, our fruit crops are above the 

 average. The fine rains have wrought a marvellous 

 improvement, but unless we have a great rise of tem- 

 perature, and that quickly, the crops will be late and 

 deficient in flavour. W. Coleman, Eastnor Castle 

 Gardens, Ledbury. 



Worcestershire. — Taken all round we have an 

 excellent crop of fruit, with the exception of Plums, 

 which were very thinly flowered. Apples are a very 

 heavy crop — more than we have had for many years, 

 and the same may be said of Pears, both on walls 

 and standards, and they promise to be highly 

 coloured ; Marie Louise, Glou Morceau, Passe Col- 

 mar, Beurre Ranee, Madame Treyve, Easter Beurr6, 

 Josephine de Malines, and Pitmaston Duchess are 

 heavily laden. Strawberries are an immense crop, 

 and very fine, Sir J. Paxton and Sir C. Napier being 

 the best, although the first named has been on the 

 same quarter for five seasons. All bush fruits are a 

 heavy crop, notably Black Currants, Raspberries, 

 and Gooseberries, the latter exceptionally so. Both 

 Nuts and Walnuts are very good. W. Child, Croome 

 Court, Severn Sto/ce. 



The Apple crop was much reduced by the 



depredations of caterpillars, and where trees 

 escaped their visitations very heavy crops may be 

 seen, notably Blenheim Pippin, Lord Suffield, Kingof 

 Pippins, Ecklinville, Keswick Codlin, Pomona, Cellini, 

 Stirling Castle, and a local kind known in Worces- 

 tershire as Maltster. Pears are a better crop, even 

 better on pyramids and standards than on walls, but 

 they and Plums suffered from insects — the latter 

 from aphis ; still, there are fair average crops to be 

 seen. Apricots are clean, and an excellent crop. 

 Peaches and Nectarines are much damaged by per- 

 sistent attacks of aphis. Cherries plentiful and 

 good, as are also bush fruits. Strawberries a failure, 

 only young plants bearing satisfactorily. W. Crump, 

 Madresjield Court, Malvern. 



Apples and Pears are much under the aver- 

 age, and both have suffered to a very great extent 

 from the depredations of the caterpillar and maggot, 

 the former denuding the trees of the foliage, and the 

 latter damaging the fruit. Peaches and Nectarines 

 bloomed well and set good crops of fruit ; but owing 

 to the prolonged drought and cold east winds follow- 



ing the blooming period, and the subsequent dull 

 wet weather, the crops are in a very backward state ; 

 however, notwithstanding these drawbacks the trees 

 and foliage are in a clean and healthy condition. 

 Apricots generally are good, the produce promising 

 to be fine, trees healthy, clean, and vigorous. Both 

 Plums and Cherries are much under the average ; 

 the fruit and foliage of the latter also suffered from 

 the attacks of caterpillar in the earlier stages ; and 

 now, owing to continuous rain and sunless weather, 

 the already meagre crops are rendered almost useless 

 and unsaleable by cracking and rotting. Straw- 

 berries and all small fruits are abundant and fine ; 

 the former, however, up to present date, almost 

 useless from want of sun and drier weather. J. Austen, 

 Witley Court, Stourport. 



Shropshire. — Apples partial,and slightly under aver- 

 age ; some sorts are good crops, others entire failures. 

 Here Codlins, Golden Winter Pearmain, Tower of 

 Glamis, Ribston Pippin, Grosse Sucree, Hawthorn- 

 den, and Red Astrachan, are our best examples. 

 Pears are average, and doubtless will " swell oft" " 

 well after the recent copious rains. Wall fruit 

 scarce, although some trees are carrying full crops. 

 Cherries good crops, especially Morellos. A. Kemp, 

 Broadway Gardens, Shifnal. 



Apples in this district are very partial, 



only the varieties Hawthornden, Lord Suffield, Rib- 

 ston and Orange Pippins, and Stirling Castle, are 

 bearing good crops, and all trees have been sadly 

 affected by caterpillars. Pears are also under aver- 

 age, with the exceptions of Beurre Diel, Williams' 

 Bon Chretien, Jargonelle, Winter Nelis, Jose- 

 phine de Malines, and Glou Morceau, which are 

 carrying heavy crops. Strawberries are exeptionally 

 good this year, the copious rains having just come in 

 time to swell them off. Peaches and Nectarines 

 were badly affected by blight. E. Milner, Sundome 

 Castle, Shrewsbury. 



Cheshire. — Apricots are a fair average, but only 

 a few trees are grown. Plums a very poor crop. 

 Peaches and Nectarines fair, but they were very 

 much troubled with blight in the early stage of 

 growth. Pears a fair average crop, Marie Louise 

 being a thinner crop than usual. Winter Nelis, Ne 

 Plus Meuris, Beurre Royale, Napoleon, Autumn Ber- 

 gamot, Louise Bonne of Jersey, and a few others are 

 carrying full crops. Apples are average. Keswick 

 Codlin, Lord Suffield, Pott's Seedling, Ribston Pip- 

 pin, Hawthornden, Margil, Mere de Menage, John 

 Apple, and Irish Peach are full ; other kinds thin. 

 Strawberries about half a crop. J. Atkins, Tatton 

 Gardens, Knutsford. 



Pears may be said to be about average, as 



some kinds are full in crop, though others have 

 very few. The same remark applies to the Apples. 

 AmongstPears Williams' Bon Chretien, Louise Bonne 

 of Jersey, and Jargonelles have good crops ; and of 

 Apples Grenadier, Lord Grosvenor, Pott's Seedlings, 

 Ribstons, and King of the Pippins are bearing 

 freely, and at this early date are looking very well. 

 Victoria Plums and Damsons are good crops. 

 Morello Cherries and Late Dukes are looking fair, 

 so are Currants and Raspberries, but Strawberries 

 are a failure — the worst crop that has been here for 

 many years, which we attribute to the excessively dry 

 summer last year. S. Mae/cellar, Abney Hall, Cheadle. 



SOUTHERN COUNTIES. 

 Middlesex. — In this market-garden district, where 

 Apples form such an important crop, it is 

 unpleasant to have to report that not only are they 

 under average, but very much so. Since the 

 original setting large quantities of fruit have 

 fallen, either because of defective fertilisation 

 or else that the excessive rainfall has promoted an 

 unwonted ascent of sap, which pushed off all the 

 weaker fruits. What are left, however, will be fine 

 and clean. Pears are very good indeed, although 

 ordinary market sorts are of no special value. 

 Plums generally, Victorias in particular, and 

 Damsons, are abundant ; so also are sweet Cherries 

 and Morellos, both being unwonted good crops. 

 Gooseberries have been but a moderate crop, but 



clean and good, whilst both red and black Currants 

 are very fine and plentiful. So also are Raspberries. 

 Strawberries were only a fair crop at starting, and 

 suffered severely from excessive rain, so that on the 

 whole it has proved a light produce. A. Dean, 

 Bedfont. 



Surrey. — The prospect for a fruitful year never 

 looked more promising, every tree having abundance 

 of bloom, most of which were fine and fully developed, 

 and the set was a very good one. Then the trees 

 were attacked by the caterpillar, which almost 

 denuded them of their foliage and fruit, and what 

 little of the latter is left is so gnawed that there will 

 be but few clear specimens left. The above remarks 

 apply to Apples more especially, but Pears suffered 

 in nearly as bad a degree. Strawberries are abund- 

 ant and fine but lacking in flavourowing to the low 

 temperature and continuous rain. Raspberries, 

 Gooseberries, and Currants are plentiful and fine, 

 free from Caterpillars. Peaches and Nectarines set 

 a fine lot of fruit, but owing to the blister and sun- 

 less season, I am afraid they will not ripen. A great 

 many fruits were damaged by the heavy hailstorms 

 on June 18, which quite riddled everything and 

 washed even pyramids of Pears, 8 feet high, out of the 

 ground. I registered li inch of rain and 

 hail in fifty minutes. Pears and other fruit lay 

 under the trees quite thick. A. Evans, Lythe Hill, 

 Haslemere. 



Our fruit crops are very satisfactory with the 



exception of Peaches and Nectarines. There are, 

 however, round here many orchards, which have lost 

 nearly all their leaves and fruit from caterpillars, 

 and the Apple crop generally will be very short, 

 though there are a few favoured spots where there 

 are good average crops. Strawberries are very good 

 in crop and quality. J. Burnett, The Deepdene, 



Kent. — I am right in the fruit growing district, 

 and round here Plums are plentiful, and promise to 

 be good in quality. Apples and Pears are thin, 

 owing to maggot, which, however, since the recent 

 rains have quite disappeared. Cherries are good, 

 especially Morellos. Bush fruit, on the whole, are 

 good, particularly Gooseberries and Raspberries, 

 which are abundant and large. Strawberry crops 

 poor, lacking colour and flavour, mildew having made 

 its appearance in Sir J. Paxton — a kind much grown 

 for market — but Myatt's Eleanor and Elton Pine 

 promise to be good. F. Moore, Blendon Hall, Bexley. 



The fruit prospect in this neighbourhood is 



anything but cheerful. A dry season like that of 

 1887 soon makes even comparatively young planta- 

 tions unprofitable, and last year did more than pre- 

 vious years to destroy them, consequently the acreage 

 was smaller this year — less than usual — hence the 

 good prices realised ; the continual wet weather has 

 rotted large quantities in low-lying fields. Rasp- 

 berries promise to be the most abundant crop known 

 for years. H. Cannell, Swanley, Kent. 



The fruit crop is not quite satisfactory. Small 



fruits of all kinds are plentiful and good, but the 

 Apple crop will be deficient. It would be well to 

 mention those kinds which are a full crop, and the 

 following are those in the gardens here : — King of 

 the Pippins, Cockle Pippin, Mere de Manage, Norfolk 

 Beefing, Winter Hawthornden, New Hawthornden, 

 Betty Geeson, Sturmer Pippin, Lady Henniker, 

 Fairy Apple, Hanwell Souring, Adam's Pearmain, 

 Hughes' Golden Pippin, Striped Beefing, Wellington, 

 Duke of Devonshire, Mannington Pearmain, Gra- 

 venstein, Queen Caroline, White Paradise, Lane's 

 Prince Albert, Kerry Pippin, and Winter Queening. 

 The trees did not bloom till the month of May, and 

 one would have imagined that we should have had a 

 good crop, but the weather was cold, dull and 

 unfavourable, and the extraordinary crop of last year 

 left us but few fruit-buds, and those weak — another 

 instance of want of judicious thinning and the short- 

 ness of labour in all our gardens. J. Bust, Eiidge 

 Castle, Tunbridqe Wells. 



Sussex. — The fruit crops in the surrounding dis- 

 tricts are very variable. The most important crop — 

 Apples — is, generally speaking, a failure ; our own 



