September 15, 1888.] 



THE GABDENEBS' CHBONICLE. 



291 



ing the end of August and beginning of September, 

 which is so fertile that grafted on the Pear stock it 

 may be planted at the same distance as the Plum and 

 the Apple ; the Fertility, which is equally fertile either 

 on the Pear or Quince ; and the Conference, which is 

 not yet introduced to the public. The two former 

 are already well known. Of recent foreign Pears 

 which are hardy, Madame Treyve, Souvenir du Con- 

 gres, Marie Louise d'Uccle, and Emile d'Heyst are 

 marketable sorts ; of baking Pears the Catillac is 

 probably the best. The Pear differs in analysis from 

 the Plum and Apple. It contains : — 



Potash 



... 5469 I Iron 



... 1-04 



Soda 



... 8-52 Phosphorus 



... 1520 



Lime 



... 798 Sulphur 



... 5-69 



Magnesia 



... 5-22 | Silicon 



... 1'49 



The best class of tree for planting is the two and 

 three years old on the Quince stock, excepting the 

 Souvenir du Congres and the Beacon, which should 

 either be double grafted or on the Pear stock. 



The Morello Cherry on the Mahaleb stock makes 

 a very prolific bush. Grown in this way or trained 

 to iron wires it may be easily protected with netting. 

 Between the rows of pyramid or half-standard trees 

 Currants and Gooseberries can be planted without in 

 any degree injuring their produce, care being taken 

 to return to the soil by chemical manure the con- 

 stituents of which it is deprived by the growth and 

 fruitfulness of the trees. By attention and occa- 

 sional analysis there will be no more difficulty in 

 doing this than in providing for the ordinary farm 

 crops. 



Pruning. — In a farm orchard it is not necessary to 

 prune trees severely. Pears and Apples iu unfruitful 

 seasons should have the shoots stopped in June, and 

 should be occasionally examined and the inner growth 

 lightened to let in the sun and air. About the end 

 of September the shoot made after the first pruning 

 should be shortened to four or five buds. As soon 

 as the trees are fruitful very little pruning is re- 

 quired. Plum trees require as little pruning as pos- 

 sible, but all gross shoots should be removed when 

 observed. The sorts of Plums I have named fruit 

 so early that they do not grow into very large trees. 

 In these garden orchards it is not well to allow the 

 trees to grow to more than 10 to 12 feet. Avoid the 

 use of long ladders as much as possible, and the con- 

 sequent expense and delay in picking, which ought 

 to be done by women and boys. 



Drying. — It is lamentable to hear of the shameful 

 waste undergone when we have what is called a glut 

 of fruit, and we shall hear no doubt in another paper 

 of the proper means to be taken to prevent this loss. 

 I have heard of tons of Plums in Worcestershire 

 rotting because of the excess. There is no doubt 

 that all this material could be saved and turned into 

 food. The Persian shepherd goes out to his work pro- 

 vided with a bag of dried Peaches, which are so hard 

 that he chastises his dogs with them. The dried Misch 

 Apricot is a staple caravan food, made into cakes 

 and carried in a small compass. We pay a large 

 sum to the Prench for dried Plums, and the ladies in 

 Portuguese convents are properly employed in pre- 

 serving the delicious Guimaraens Plums. The 

 absence of sun is no excuse for our being so back- 

 ward in these matters. We can and do ripen Grapes 

 as well as the hot sun of Spain, and artificial help 

 will serve us as well for drying fruit as for ripening 

 Grapes. 



The disastrous malady termed canker may be much 

 alleviated by attention to the soil constituents, and 

 in a paper read at Birmingham Mr. Tonks stated 

 that he had removed the disease by the application of 

 chemical manures, potash being the principal 

 ingredient. 



The trees in my soil are almost entirely 

 free from the disease, and this immunity is probably 

 owing to the abundance of potash, which should be 

 returned to the soil at every opportunity. The 

 dressing applied by Mr. Tonks consists of nearly 

 equal quantities of superphosphate of lime, nitrate 

 of potash, nitrate of soda, sulphate of lime. Although 

 pruning may be carried to excess it must not be 

 neglected, as it is desirable to grow fruit and not 

 wood. It can be seen by measurement that mnch 



room is wasted by profitless and barren shoots. 

 With judicious pruning this need not occur. 



The Royal Agricultural Society has, for the first 

 time, offered prizes for preparations of fruit next 

 year. It has been a long time recognising the fact 

 that land produces other necessaries than corn and 

 cattle. We fruit growers have done very well with- 

 out this recognition, which has come a little late in 

 the day. It is, however, a step in the right direction. 

 The advance of pomology during the last thirty 

 years has been quite as rapid as the advance of agri- 

 culture, and we may be certain that there is no 

 finality. Fruit-growing, I beg leave to state, is not 

 the handmaid, but the helpmeet of agriculture, and 

 I believe the best interests of the land would be 

 served if landlords and tenants would meet to dis- 

 cuss the conditions under which they can advance 

 the cultivation of fruit to their mutual advantage, 

 and if these meetings were made public every village 

 in England would be benefited ; in time competent 

 advisers would be provided, and as the interests are 

 national, it is hoped that means would be found of 

 advancing money at a low rate of interest. There 

 can, I think, be no fear of the supply overtaking the 

 demand, and it is certain that foreign competition 

 would not prevail against home-grown fruit if 

 produced in sufficient quantity and of good quality. 



The production of fruit under glass requires capital 

 and skill, and although not national is, and will 

 become, an industry of great importance. Nearly 

 forty years since my father proved that the cultiva- 

 tion of Peaches and Nectarines could be carried on 

 in unheated glass houses with a certainty of success 

 unknown to wall culture. The orchard bouse has 

 now become an established fact. For some time 

 before this system had been in full work the only 

 early Peaches — that is, those ripening in July — were 

 the Early Nutmeg, the Early Ann, the Double de 

 Troyes, all of them almost worthless except for 

 precocity ; now, however, we have ripening the 1st 

 July, the Alexander, an American Peach, closely 

 followed by the Early Beatrice, Early Louise, Hales' 

 Early, Rivers' Early York, ripening during a month 

 in which thirty years ago there was not a Peach 

 worth having. During the months of August, Sep- 

 tember, and part of October there can be grown a 

 continuous series of Peaches. The advance in 

 Nectarines is equally conspicuous, the Lord Napier 

 beginning a supply of Nectarines of high quality in 

 August, which other sorts continue until the end of 

 September, and ceasing with the Victoria. With 

 these varieties, which were certainly not available 

 thirty years since, an .orchard house will give a 

 continuous supply of Peaches and Nectarines for 

 four months ; a house 100 by 24 feet properly 

 managed will produce over 3000 fruits of high 

 quality. Such a house was built in 1855 at a cost 

 of £147, and has produced for the last twenty- five 

 years between 3000 and 4000 fruits annually. The 

 cultivation of Grapes is advancing in onr own 

 islands with extraordinary rapidity, and although we 

 hear complaints of the lowness of price, we do not 

 hear that building Grape houses is declining ; a good 

 proof that no fear is entertained of the future pros- 

 pects of Grape-growing. 



Cold Storage. — The principle of cold storage is 

 likely to be of very great importance in the future, 

 and experiments are now being made with regard to 

 the preservation of fruit under the influence of cold. 

 Now I am convinced that if a low temperature can- 

 not be usefully applied to keeping fruit, it may be 

 made very useful for the storage of trees, particularly 

 of Pear trees on the Quince 6tock. What I have to 

 suggest is that Pear trees on the Quince stock may 

 be placed in pots in a cold storage in a temperature 

 not lower than 36° Fahr., and retarded until the 

 middle of April. By this means the blooming season 

 may be kept back until all danger from spring frosts 

 is past. The fibrous roots of the Quince and the 

 slow growth of the Pear render this class of fruit 

 tree particularly suitable for this method ; and as 

 large Pears are worth in November and the succeed- 

 ing months from &. to 8s. per dozen, cold storage, if 

 possible, and if room for trees can be providf d, will 



give^a handsome profit. I triedjsome few years since 

 to find a system which I could employ, but I was 

 then offered small receptacles like a miniature chest 

 of drawers, when I wanted room for hundreds of trees. 



In Belgium it is customary to form clubs of fruit 

 growers to compete at the various horticultural 

 shows ; the combination of growers enables each 

 man to choose his own particular fruit to show with 

 his club. These contests are very interesting, and 

 would, I think, if carried out in England, cause much 

 friendly rivalry, and advance the interests of pomo- 

 logy. I must conclude by saying I cannot, hold out 

 any hopes of creating a large fortune by fruit grow- 

 ing ; but it is an investment and an occupation which 

 affords a more or less certain income, which will 

 become more certain with improved means of 

 preservation. 



[Mr. Rivers' paper was followed by one on packing 

 fruit by Mr. Webber, to illustrate whose remarks we 

 introduce illustrations showing various methods 

 recommended for adoption.] 



PACKING FRUIT. 

 By Mr. J. Webber, Covent Garden. 



Ignorance displayed in packing and want of know- 

 ledge of the condition in which fruit should be sent 

 to market are the principal causes of loss to the fruit 

 grower in this country. In packing we are far be- 

 hind our continental brethren, for while they study 

 not only the condition most suitable for travelling, 

 but even the package in which the fruit is to be sent, 

 we frequently send it too ripe, and make use of any 

 package that may come to hand, with little regard 

 as to whether it is too deep or too shallow, or will 

 hold such quantities as are ordinarily marketable. 



Packing is such an important factor in the attain- 

 ment of good prices for market produce that it ought 

 to be one of the essential points in the education of 

 a gardener ; for what is the use of growing the best 

 fruit in the world if it be spoiled in transit ? At 

 least one-third of the hot-house fruit sent to market 

 is depreciated in value, and sometimes rendered 

 worthless, by the bad packing ; whereas, if all came 

 in marketable condition the price would be lower to 

 the consumer, the supply being larger, and a better 

 result all round would accrue to the grower. Bear- 

 ing this in mind, I beg to submit the following 

 remarks as applying to London markets. 



There are three golden rules to be observed in 

 sending- fruit to market. 



1st. Never send it too ripe. Peaches especially 

 should be packed bard, as they travel better in that 

 condition, and are rarely used by the shopkeeper till 

 two or three days after purchase. : 



2nd. Never, if possible, send it for Saturday's 

 market, as with the exception of Strawberries the 

 retailer invariably provides himself beforehand with 

 what he requires : Monday and Tuesday for the first 

 part of the week, Wednesday and Thursday for the 

 latter part. In hot weather, when frnit ripens fast, 

 small consignments may be sent on Friday. 



3rd. All fruit should be sorted into bests and 

 seconds, and in some cases into thirds, as there are 

 always buyers of bests, and buyers of seconds and 

 thirds, but seldom buyers of mixed qualities. 



Grapes. — Among hothouse fruits, Grapes being 

 most important, as growing all the year round, claim 

 our first attention. There are two sorts of baskets 

 in which Grapes may be sent to market — viz., the 

 " handle " and the " baby." The former (see Fig. 37, 

 p. 293) is more useful for ordinary work and is safer 

 as the handle is used for lifting, and to a certain ex- 

 tent is a protection to the fruit in preventing other 

 goods being placed on the top. A little packing should' 

 be placed in the bottom of the basket, then a lining of 

 white paper. The bunches should be packed close to- 

 gether, shoulder upwards, and the basket tied over 

 with a sheet of stiff paper with a label " Grapes 

 with care " on it. Grapes packed in this way will 

 travel any distance. Special bunches travel in 

 " handles," each bunch tied to the basket, without 

 the centre being filled up. The latter mode is re- 

 commended in the case of special fruit only. The 

 "baby" basket should only be used for short dis- 



