October 20, 1888.] 



THE GABDE NEBS' CHRONICLE. 



453 



Gilles, and Bellissime d'Hiver, in good and well- 

 coloured samples. 



Mr. Turner had Catillac, Clairgeau, Uvedale's St. 

 Germain, and Beurre Diel. 



Messrs. W. Paul, Saltmarsh, and J. Hudson also 

 showed good all-round fruits here. In the Society's 

 collection, Uvedale's St. Germain, Vicar of Winkfield, 

 Gilles-6-Gilles, and Besi de Louvade were to be 

 seen. 



Fruite from Trained Trees, §c. — The classes for 

 Pears from various forms of trees were not re- 

 sponded to so well as they might have been. The 

 fruits from walls shown by Messrs. W. & E. 

 Wells, Hounslow, and Mr. Charles Warden, Cla- 

 rendon Park, Salisbury, were fine in form and size, 

 bat all lacked colour. Messrs. Wells had better 

 looking fruits in the collection from pyramids, 

 bushes, or cordons, Marie Louise d'Uccle especially 

 so ; and here were to be seen some really magnificent 

 fruits from bushes under glass in pots from the Rev. 

 W. Wilks, Shirley Vicarage, Croydon. Pitmaston 

 Duchess were beautiful, extremely large, and re- 

 markably clean. Beurr6Baltet pere, Beurre Dumont, 

 Doyenne du Cornice, Beurr6 d'Anjou, Josephine de 

 Malines, and a large Andre Leroy were all remarkable 

 fruits in the collection. Mr. W. Wildsmith also 

 showed a fine lot of clean specimens of Pitmaston 

 Duchess (pyramids), General Todtleben (cordon), 

 BeurrS Diel (pyramid), Duchesse d'Angouleoie (open 

 cordon), Beurr6 Hardy (bush). The specimens in 

 this section going far to prove the value of trained 

 trees for obtaining the finest fruits. Fruits from 

 standards were, however, excellent from Mr. K. 

 Dean, Bedlont ; Messrs. Wells, and Mr. J. Watkins, 

 Pomona Farm, Hereford. Mr. Dean had Dr. Jules 

 Guyot as is best; and Souvenir du Congres from 

 Mr. Wells. 



The Market Pears were as attractive as the market 

 Apples, and it was in this class that Messrs. Wells 

 showed some of the finest Pears to be seen in the 

 show. Souvenir du Congres was specially remark- 

 able, and others were Pitmaston Duchess, Doyenne 

 du Cornice, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Beurre Diel, and 

 Hessle, all splendid samples. 



Messrs. G. Bunyard & Co. also showed a fine lot 

 here, and they were well coloured, too, especially 

 Durondeau and Louise Bonne, Pitmaston Duchess, 

 Fertility, and Doyenne Boussoch were also well 

 shown. 



In the New or little known Pears there were but 

 very few exhibitors. Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons were 

 the chief, with five dishes, containing, among 

 others: — Triomphe de Vienne, Princess, Beurre 

 rouge, De Livre, B. Baltet Pere, Williams' Victoria, 

 Fondaute de Malines, Admiral Cecil, among others, 

 all looking well, and many of them creeping into 

 favour. Messrs. W. Paul & Son had Merissca, Nevill, 

 and Maude Hogg, Caroline Hogg ; and A. H. Smee, 

 Esq., sent Breadwell, a small green fruit with a red 

 cheek. 



Miscellaneous. — Mr. Allen, Gunton Park, Norwich, 

 had some good clean frnit in a collection, the best 

 being Marechal de la Cour, Beurre Clairgeau and 

 Mad. Treyve, General Todtleben, Beurre Supertin, 

 and Marie Louise d'Uccle, which were fairly large 

 specimens. 



Messrs. Dicksons, Limited, Chester, and T. Rivers 

 & Snns, Sawbridgeworth, completed the chief 

 exhibits. 



DISCUSSION ON THE PAPERS READ ON 

 THE SECOND DAY (WEDNESDAY). 



De. Hogg in the Chair. At the opening of the 

 proceedings.'the Rev. W. Wilks, Shirley Vicarage, 

 Croydon, said they had had a request from the 

 Melbourne Exhibition Committee to send out to 

 them a representative collection of English Apples 

 and Pears to be shown at the Exhibition in Aus- 

 tralia. The request would be acceded to, and he 

 wished to ask growers of Apples and Pears who were 

 exhibiting here to be good enough to let Mr. Barron 

 choose one or two specimens of different sorts and 

 varieties which he should think worth sending out. 

 Of course, sending out in that way was really sending 

 a representation of what England conld do, and he 

 hoped they would not fail in giving their specimens 

 for so good a purpose. 



The Chairman said for some time past they had 

 been treated to the observations of the theorist and 

 doeirmawe as to what was the best way of develop- 

 ing fruit culture iin this country, but they had 

 now come to the practical part of the exhibition, 

 from which he had no doubt great good would 

 result. 



Apples for Profit. 



Mr. Bunyard read his paper, printed at p. 435. 



In the discussion which followed, Mr. Le Maitre 

 (Acton) asked whether he should prune back every 

 year, or let the tree grow in its own fashion? 



Mr. Shirley Hibberd asked if The Queen was a 

 marketable Apple? 



Mr. Wright said he had tried experiments on a 

 small scale with regard to pruning, and although he 

 had seen trees without being pruaed doing well, on 

 the whole the advantage had been in favour of 

 pruning after planting. He thought it was wise to 

 prune in the first year. 



Mr. Bunyard said he had every faith in The Queen 

 becoming a very marketable Apple. It had one 

 objection — that of being flat — and he knew market 

 people had a preference for conical Apples. It was, 

 however, extremely beautiful and fertile, which 

 placed it in the first rank. As to pruning pyramids 

 the remarks which applied to standard trees after the 

 second and third year were also intended to apply to 

 dwarf trees. It would be necessary to preserve the 

 dwarf trees by pruning, and it must be left to the 

 judgment of the grower and the state of his soil as to 

 whether he pruned in four or five years or not. In 

 Kent it was the custom to prune very hard indeed, 

 and he thought it was carried too far. He was of 

 opinion that they might allow Nature to have her 

 own way more. No Apple tree should be cut the 

 first year of planting. Plum trees could be cut in 

 the first year, but Pears and Apples and Cherries 

 should be allowed to grow at their own sweet will. 



Mr. Roupell maintained that removing a tree 

 well answered the same purpose as pruning if it be 

 done in its growth. The effect of removing a tree 

 made it more fertile and obviated to some extent the 

 necessity or pruning. 



Mr. Bunyard said when a tree was taken up the 

 soil was seen at once. If three or four roots were 

 found they were shortened down and removed — re- 

 moving being only a common-place name for root- 

 pruning. 



Mr. Shirley Hibberd objected to that definition. 

 Lifting and root-pruning were very different. Root- 

 pruning as it was commonly understood was a bar- 

 barous business. 



Mr. Pearson (Notts) said the most profitable 

 orchard apple in his district was the New Northern 

 Greening. As to grafting he had found that old 

 Apples were very impatient to work. Pears would 

 stand it very well, but apples did not like it at all. 



Mr. Wood (Kent) said he grew seven acres of 

 Councillors [or Yorkshire Beauty] and he did not 

 know anything better to grow. It was one of the 

 best Apples they could grow in Kent. 



Mr. Bunyard said that when market growers 

 demanded a thing, they might be quite sure that it 

 was a thing worth having, he had a very high 

 opinion of the New Northern Greening, but he 

 omitted it, wishing to speak from his own experience. 



Fruit Culture for Profit. 



Mr. Paul then read his paper (see p. 4.36). 



A gentleman asked why Mr. Paul left Jefferson 

 ont of the Plums ? 



Mr. Paul replied that it was one of the finest 

 Plums, but was not a suflicient bearer. 



Another gentleman asked what was the age of the 

 plants when put in the ground, if they were not to 

 be pruned until four or five years ; and Mr. Paul 

 replied two years. 



A question was asked whether it was legal for 

 the tenant mentioned in the paper to clear away his 

 Strawberries ? 



Mr. Wood (Kent) said it was legal to clear away 

 Raspberries and Strawberries and such-like, but not 

 Pears or Apples. 



Mr. Dean (Hounslow), replying to a further ques- 

 tion, said a market gardener had no power to destroy 

 his top trees except he replaced them by others. He 

 was, however, entitled to destroy what was known 

 as ground crop. Trees should not be looked to to 

 return a profit under four or five years, during which 

 time an income might be derived by planting under 

 them Violets, Wallflowers, &c. 



Mr. Shirley Hibberd, speaking on the subject of 

 frost, said its effects were different according to the 

 strata of the atmosphere. At 10 feet above the 

 surface frost was usually less intense than imme- 

 diately in contact with the surface. There was more 

 risk up to 10 feet than above it. 



Mr. Paul said that was not so always, as some- 

 times they had a better crop of fruit at the bottom 

 of trees than at the tops. Bnt as a rule the frost 

 was more severe close to the ground, especially in 



spring and autumn, than it was at certain heights ; 

 but he did not think it was universal. 



Mr. Roupell said, that a cutting wind at the top 

 was worse than a frost at the bottom. A Duchess 

 Oldenburg Apple was in full bloom in 10° of frost, 

 and remained uninjured, while taller trees were verv 

 much more affected, because of the wind blowing a gale. 



Mr. Le Maitre (Acton) asked why British Queen 

 was omitted from the Strawberries ? 



Mr. Paul replied, that he had a high opinion of 

 the British Queen, but he should not plant it for 

 market. He preferred Dr. Hogg. 



Mr. Tones could quite understand why it was left 

 out. He grew a large number of Strawberries, but 

 he could not get the British Queen to fruit at all on 

 his ground. 



Mr. T. Bunyard spoke as to the effect of climate 

 on fruit trees. Everything had been considered but 

 dew. He had noticed on fruit trees, that while the 

 lower branches had been saturated with dew the 

 upper branches were quite dry. He thought frost 

 would have a more injurious effect on dew-saturated 

 blossoms than on the dry ones. The water got in 

 and ruptured the germ, and there was an end of 

 the fruit. 



Mr. Pearson, speaking on the subject of " sticking 

 trees," said one source of trouble and disappoint- 

 ment was, that trees were planted nearly always 

 three times too deep. He could not consider any- 

 thing more unjust to the fruit tree than to have its 

 roots shoved down so deep, so that it could not get 

 sun or air. He was against deep planting, and he 

 would suggest that planting should be done on a 

 mound. The more they prepared the land the better 

 would be the results. Replying to a question as to 

 how deep he would plant, he said there was alwajs 

 a mark round the tree as it grew in the nursery, and 

 if they planted to the same point again they could 

 not go wrong. 



Mr. Shirley Hibberd said he should like to point 

 out a source of danger in private gardens where 

 " sticking in " was done. Wherever a tree had been 

 for any considerable length of time it was dangerous 

 business to plant another in the same spot, for nine 

 times out often there would be in the soil a residue 

 of the old roots which would breed a mass of fungus. 



Mr. Dean said his rule was to plant Plums where 

 Apples had been, as while Plums took one consti- 

 tuent out of the soil, Apples took another. 



Mr. Wildsmith then read his paper (see p. 4.37) on 



Dessert Pears. 



Mr. Tones asked why Jargonelle was left out of 

 both lists? 



Mr. Wildsmith said he had a conscientious 

 objection to the Jargonelle, as it went to sleep too 

 soon. Replying to a question as to the nature of 

 his soil, Mr. Wildsmith said it was a sandy gravelly 

 loam. It was not a bad loam if it was well done, 

 but it was no use diguing it — as digging was under- 

 stood. He never dug a bit of ground but always 

 trenched, even for cabbages. He found no difficulty 

 in growing Pears of a very good quality on a sandy 

 gravelly soil. 



A gentleman instanced how he had ripened 

 successfully some Josephine de Malines by placing 

 them on the hot air pipes for ten days, when their 

 owner, who had discarded the tree from which they 

 were taken, praised them highly. 



Mr. Wildsmith said he had also ripened the late 

 Pear, Bergamotte Esperen, in the same way. 



Pruning. 



Mr. Shirley Hibberd then read his paper (see 

 p. 438). 



Mr. Pearson thought Mr. Hibberd rather meant 

 to talk about bad pruning v. good pruning than the 

 non-necessity of pruning. 



Mr. Wright said the longer he lived the less he 

 should use the knife in pruning if his object was to 

 get the greatest possible amount of fruit. He re- 

 ferred to the Pear trees at Cardiff Castle, and said 

 they had been allowed to assume their natural 

 habits, the pruning they had been subjected to being 

 the taking out of a few branches here and there 

 so that the sun could shine through. Those 

 trees were bearing 3 or 4 bushels of fruit 

 as good as could be found in the exhibition. 

 The great object was to let light shine through 

 the trees, which would then form natural spurs. 

 There were, however, in the garden some good 

 examples of pruning and non-pruning. On the 

 whole, for commercial fruit growing, people, Mr. 

 Hibberd, he considered, was right in his principles 

 and philosophy. 



