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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[October 6, 1888. 



tion of fruit trees and Roses. Attention should be 

 given to the draining of the heavy soils — an important 

 point. The soil of this nursery is a good deep loam, 

 in every way suited to the cultivation of fruit trees 

 and Eoses, as is to be seen in the healthy condition 

 of the stock growing in it. 



On entering by the middle walk we come upon a fine 

 quantity of pyramid Apples, three to four years old, 

 worked upon English Paradise stock, many sorts 

 bearing in a remarkably free manner, the following 

 being the most noteworthy : — Lord Suffield, that 

 truly never failing sort, the largest and earliest Apple 

 that goes into market ; it bears well on almost any 

 kind of soil, but prefers a warm loam to keep the 

 tree healthy and to have fine clear fruit. These 

 remarks may also be applied to such sorts as Cox's 

 Orange, Duchess of Oldenburg, American Mother, 

 Melon Apple, and Northern Spy. A few of our best 

 dessert sorts delight in warm gravelly or sandy loam, 

 while some of the large culinary sorts, such as Wel- 

 lington, Ecklinville Seedling, Warner's King, Blen- 

 heim, Northern Greening, and Alfriston, are not so 

 fastidious as to soil ; they like a good heavy loam. . 

 To refer again to Stirling Castle — twenty years' 

 experience of this Apple with Mr. Cannon has taught 

 him that it is a tree that wants all the nourishment 

 it can get — liberal top-dressings — and then in the 

 form of bush trees it will produce fruit nearly as fine 

 as Blenheims. We counted on one small tree thirty 

 of its fine fruits ! Continuing sorts noted, may be 

 mentioned King of the Pippins, Cox's Orange Pippin , 

 Cox's Pomona, Cellini, Annie Elizabeth, Lord 

 Derby, Potts' Seedling (what a fine sort!), Dutch 

 Mignonne, Ecklinville Seedling, Erogmore Prolific, 

 Winter Hawthornden, Lord Grosvenor, Manx 

 Codlin, Warner's King, and Stirling Castle. Frog- 

 more Prolific and Potts' Seedling should be noted as 

 never failing croppers, and deserve to be more 

 largely planted than is at present the case. 

 These excellent cookers are held in high esteem at 

 Ealing. A late-keeping free-bearing sort is Winter 

 Hawthornden. Many newly introduced sorts seem 

 to lack keeping qualities, with the exception of 

 Lane's Prince Albert (excellent here), Bramley's 

 Seedling, &c. So many sorts of Apples coming into 

 use in the autumn at one time enhances the valuable 

 qualities of Winter Hawthornden. Another good 

 keeper is Northern Greening — it is especially valu- 

 able on account of its keeping good until March. 

 Worcester Pearmain, that brilliantly coloured 

 Apple, was well represented. Another good 

 coloured Apple is Scarlet Pearmain. What a hand- 

 some and fine-bearing sort is Warner's King ! Lady 

 Henniker may also well be classed amongst the 

 handsome Apples. Ecklinville Seedling, that fine 

 Apple, always bears well here. Dutch Mignonne is 

 a splendid sort, and is a good keeper: Peasgood's 

 Nonsueh was observed in good condition ; ' Lord 

 Derby, very large ; Cox's Pomona, highly coloured ; 

 Sturmer Pippin, good late sort : Ribston Pippin, 

 light crop ; Lord Grosvenor, very free. 



We noticed thousands of Apple stocks worked 

 this season with all the popular and new sorts, such 

 as Lady Sudeley, Bismarck, The Queen, Sandringham, 

 Brown's Codlin, Bramley's Seedling, Baumann's Red 

 Wiuter Reinette, Gascoigne's Scarlet Seedling, &c. 

 Near to the pyramid Apples are a quantity of cordon 

 Apples on Paradise stocks, bearing good crops of 

 the sorts already referred to. We noted a few good 

 fruit of Peasgood's Nonsuch ; near to this fine new 

 sort is the old Nonsuch, very like the first-named, 

 but much smaller, the abundance of its fruits making 

 up for the size of the former. 



As we journeyed through the various quarters we 

 were struck with the very large stock of standard 

 Apples grown, having clear stems and good heads, of 

 such sorts as Lord Suffield, Lane's Prince Albert, 

 Worcester Pearmain, Mr. Gladstone, Frogmore 

 Prolific, Ecklinville Seedling, Keswick Codlin, King 

 of the Pippins, Cellini, Potts' Seedling, Golden 

 Noble, Warner's King, Hanwell Souring, Irish Peach 

 and Blenheim Orange. 



Mr. Cannon regards Blenheim Orange as the 

 best Apple to plant for orchard, especially where 

 the ground is heavy. To those having capital, and 



who can therefore afford to wait, this is the Apple 

 to plant. It does not begin to fruit for six or seven 

 years after planting ; by that time the tree attains 

 large size, and commences to bear flue fruit which 

 (desirable qualification to the grower !) fill the 

 bushel, and always command, no matter how much 

 the market may be glutted, a high price. It bears 

 well, and so makes up for lost time. Even in old 

 age this fine Apple is to be found doing well — an 

 instance of which we recorded recently of a tree 50 

 years old, bearing 9 bushels of fruit. 



Pears are fruiting best here on the Quince 

 stock. Care is taken only to work such kinds as 

 do best on it. A good many sorts, especially late 

 ones, fail to grow on this stock unless double worked. 

 Attention is given to this operation in order to 

 include some of our best Pears on this stock. 



Standard Pears are largely grown, also a consider- 

 able quantity of pyramids on Pears. On these and 

 horizontals we noticed some good fruits of Souvenir 

 du Congres, Williams' Bon Chretien, Beurre Capiau- 

 mont, Beurre Clairgeau, Beurre Diel, &c. Of other 

 desirable kinds that we noted as doing well may be 

 mentioned : — Louise Bonne of Jersey, Marie Louise 

 d'Uccle, Marvellous, Pitmaston Duchess, Fondante 

 d'Automne, Belle Julie, Forelle, or the Trout Pear, 

 Bergamotte d'Esperen, &c. 



Amongst miscellaneous fruits worthy of note 

 may be recorded the fine collection of Peaches and 

 Nectarines — a noteworthy feature here. Very close 

 personal attention is given to these, every sort is 

 studied as to the best stocks upon which to work 

 them. Several thousands of fine trees are grown. 

 We noted a lot of good extra-sized trees with from 

 twenty to thirty shoots, and although the season 

 has not been one of the best for even growth, we 

 certainly never saw them so fine at Ealing before. 

 The same may be said of the standard, half-stan- 

 dard, and trained trees. The last fortnight's fine 

 weather has done much to ripen the wood. There 

 is evidently special attention given to this stock. 

 Standard Plums are plentiful, especially of such 

 sorts as Victoria, Black Diamond, Gisborne's, Pond's 

 Seedling, that largest of Plums ; Orleans, Prince of 

 Wales, and Early Prolific. Some of the pyramids 

 are also bearing well. McLaughlin's Gage is regarded 

 here as a fine early Gage, larger and earlier than the 

 old Green Gage, very richly flavoured. A large 

 stock is being worked up of The Czar, one of Mr. 

 Rivers' seedlings. This Plum is an immense bearer, 

 large, red, culinary, coming in at the end of July; 

 therefore a variety to be looked after, and well suited 

 to market growers to fill the void between Early 

 Prolific and Victoria. We noted a fine breadth — 

 quite a thicket, in fact — of that popular market 

 Damson, Crittenden Cluster — very fine stock. 



The Floral Nursery, Maidenhead. 

 Mr. Owen is one of the few nurserymen who have 

 made a special culture of Chrysanthemums and Be- 

 gonias, his nursery at the present time being well 

 worth a visit by admirers of these flowers. Of 

 Chrysanthemums the season is yet early for the 

 majority of varieties, but a grand lot of plants 

 is in course of development, and includes many 

 novelties, promising a fine display at a later date. 

 A good selection of early-flowering novelties is 

 now in bloom, both indoors and in the borders out- 

 side. These are admirabl) adapted for planting in 

 herbaceous borders, to succeed earlier flowering 

 plants in the flower garden, and will continue to 

 flower until cut down by frost. A selection should 

 include the following, which are now nicely in 

 flower:— Mrs. Cullingford, very free white of dwarf 

 habit; Fiberta, bright golden pompon; Nanum, 

 blush-white, good ; Frederic Marronet, orange striped 

 scarlet ; La Vierge, fine white ; Canary, dwarf yel- 

 low pompon ; William Bealby, creamy-pink ; Mrs. 

 Burrell, primrose. Others, flowering in pots, were 

 Feu de Bengale, bronzy-orange ; Capucine, buff; 

 Sam Henshaw, rosy-pnrple, a seedling from Comte 

 de Germiny ; M. Pynaert van Geert, golden-yellow ; 

 and Mr. William Holmes, dark crimson with golden 

 reverse, a fine early decorative variety. 



Begonias are, however, just at this season the 

 leading flowers here, both indoors and out. Several 

 houses are filled with a magnificent collection, the 

 doubles being very fine. Mr. Owen has been suc- 

 cessful in raising some excellent varieties, and some 

 of very large proportions. I noted among the best 

 Mrs. Graham Smith, delicate flesh-colour, very good; 

 Miss Hammersley, apricot ; Shirley Hibberd, deep 

 rose ; General Gordon, red ; Scarlet Gem, bright 

 orange-scarlet, very showy ; Serapis, deep pink of 

 drooping habit ; Dr. Livingstone, rich crimson ; Lord 

 Beaconsfield, primrose ; Royal Purple, distinct purple ; 

 and Davisii fl.-pl. superba, of dwarf habit, erect 

 flowering, and very free, a good decorative variety. 

 Arranged on shelves suspended on either side of the 

 pathway in the houses, the drooping varieties had a 

 very good effect. 



Among single varieties, Mr. Owen's Imperial 

 strain includes some of the largest and best yet 

 raised, and is characterised by an erect habit, ren- 

 dering sticks in most instances unnecessary. On 

 comparing some of the individual blooms with that 

 figured in a recent work on the tuberous Begonia, 

 it was found that several flowers were decidedly 

 wider, the blooms more circular, and therefore of 

 better shape. Many of the best have been named, 

 and are increased by cuttings, for which there is 

 a demand, although good flowers may be obtained 

 from the seeds of this strain — and this is the 

 quickest means of raising a stock. Some 25,000 

 plants — this year's seedlings — are planted out in soil 

 which is rather poor and stony, the situation exposed 

 and bleak, yet they are flowering freely. Some 

 thousands of last year's raising, similarly treated, 

 are now a mass of flowers, quite eclipsing the bed- 

 ding Pelargonium this season. Those of similar 

 habit and colour are grouped together as much as 

 possible, with a view to raising distinct batches of 

 seedlings. C.H.D. [We have not observed that these 

 flowers have done very well generally this year. It 

 has been too cool and rainy for them. Ed.] 



Colonial Notes. 



NEW ZEALAND. 



Auckland. — The summer season, which commences 

 here about December 21 (corresponding with June in 

 Great Britain), has entered very bright and dry, the 

 past few days having been extremely warm — a rather 

 sudden change after the late frequent and copious 

 showers. 



At mid-day the thermometer ranges from about 

 70° to 75° in the shade. The temperature to-day 

 December 24) at noon was, in complete shade, 73i° ; 

 under verandah, subject to sun's rays 82.J-°. The 

 following are meteorological observations taken at 

 Auckland in December, 1886 : — Mean temperature, 

 63°'4 (average for previous twenty-one years, 65°'2) ; 

 maximum temperature, 73° ; minimum temperature, 

 49°. Total rainfall, in month, in inches, 2'50 (aver- 

 age for previous twenty-one years, 3225) ; number 

 of days on which rain fell, five (average for previous 

 twenty-one years, ten). 



The public gardens and recreation grounds of 

 Auckland, of which the Albert Park and the Domain 

 are the principal, have at present a very gay appear- 

 ance, many of the principal kinds of European 

 annuals and perennials, which here as at home have 

 to a large extent superseded much of the old familiar 

 bedding stuff, are forming just now quite a floral 

 display. 



The Albert Park is beautifully laid out on an 

 eminence situated almost in the centre of the city, 

 and from the highest elevation, on which an imposing 

 fountain is erected, an excellent view of the spacious 

 harbour and the greater part of the city is obtainable. 



The domain is a very fine public reserve, upwards 

 of 200 acres in extent, the greaterportionbeingthickly 

 wooded with indigenous and other trees and shrubs. 

 A short time ago the City Council accepted a design 

 for laying out this reserve, and the work, in the 

 shape of carriage-drives and walks, is now being 



