56 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 20, 1876. 



curl caused by aphides." In answer to Mr. Luckhurst's 

 challenge, I have stuck throughout to the true blister of Peach 

 leaves as caused by the fungus, and distinct from injured 

 leaves as punctured by insects or damaged by bad weather. I 

 know all conditions of the leaves equally well. — W. G. Smith. 



To Mr. Smith's statement, that Peach blister " often occurs 

 with great virulence inside the most carefully protected houses," 

 I can only reply that I have never seen it in such houses, and 

 I have been intimately connected with Peach trees for a quarter 

 of a century. I have seen Peach blister under glass, but never 

 when the foliage haB been " carefully protected," the evil in 

 every oase coming under my notice having been directly trace- 

 able to careless ventilation or the sweeping of the wind through 

 crevices. 



Mr. Smith speaks of " one form " of blister, but the blister 

 which is such a terror to gardeners, ruining their crops and 

 frequently their trees, is — according to the experience of Mr. 

 Luckhurst, Mr. Taylor of Longleat, and Mr. Taylor of Hard- 

 wicke — caused by the extreme cold of spring, and is prevent- 

 able by the protection afforded by glass or canvas. That is 

 also my own experience. 



If the blister were caused by fungus it is not preventable by 

 protection, but I cannot permit such a dogma of despair being 

 established without recording my protest against it. 



The Peach blister which gardeners have to combat is pre- 

 ventable. If means of protection are afforded and are applied 

 we should have fruit where we have barrenness, and healthy 

 instead of unhealthy trees. That is the great object which is 

 sought for, and which is attained by those who carry out that 

 practice. 



I have frequently seen the curl under glass, but seldom th9 

 blister, and I cannot help thinking that Mr. Smith has con- 

 founded the two evils to which the Peach tree is subject. 



I am not surprised that a paragraph recommending the 

 daubing of the wood in winter to prevent blister affecting the 

 leaves which appear three months afterwards should have been 

 smiled at by some and confuted by other practical men, for the 

 practice is an old and exploded one. 



Science has done much for gardening, and Mr. Smith is a 

 most industrious and successful investigator of matters hidden 

 from ordinary observers ; but however necessary the microscope 

 may be to reveal the first cause of a malady, it is not necessary 

 to show the remedy for Peach blister, for that remedy is glass 

 in spring to protect the foliage, and not " lime ; soot, and 

 sulphur " besmeared over the wood in winter. It is only fair, 

 however, to note that Mr. Smith does not advocate daubing. 



The loss of even one crop of many a Peach tree is as costly 

 as would have been the glass to cover it, and the good effects 

 of the protection are permanent in securing blister-proof trees 

 and full crops of fruit in after years. Daubing the trees in 

 winter may do no harm, but it certainly cannot prevent blister, 

 even were it caused by fungus, but efficient protection is a 

 certain remedy of the evil complained of. This I have proved 

 repeatedly, and am fortified by the successful practice of many 

 able gardeners. — A Subbey Gabdeneb. 



THE GLASTONBURY THORN. 

 This mysterious shrub or tree, which in the middle ages was 

 an object of sacred interest, is now chiefly interesting on bo- 

 tanical reasons. I believe it has not been referred to in print 

 for some time, but a correspondent of " Notes and Queries," 

 who signs himself " J. B.," gives an account of a recent visit 

 to Glastonbury Abbey. London, in his "Arboretum Britan- 

 nicum," mentions the early-flowering or Glastonbury Thorn 

 under the name of Crataegus oxyacantha precox, stating that 

 the variety comes into leaf in winter, and the flowers following 

 speedily, it may be, occasionally in mild seasons, in flower 

 at Christmas, according to the legend. And he had ocular 

 evidence of the fact, as he had specimens sent him from Glas- 

 tonbury in 1833 and 1834 during December, the branches 

 having on them flowers and ripe fruit also, the latter, of course, 

 produced from flowers of the previous May. He found, on 

 inquiry, that plants at Loddige's nursery and in the gardens 

 of the Horticultural Society would occasionally flower in the 

 winter, and at other times in the early spring. The traditional 

 story, which is pretty generally known, is that the original 

 tree was the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, who, coming to 

 Glastonbury, drove his staff into the ground in winter, when it at 

 once put forth leaves and blossoms, continuing to do so at the 

 same season, a tale which brought some profit to the monks. 



" J. B." states — " The tree shown to me was a young tree, 

 probably about fifteen years old, and to my surprise I found it 

 with a great many double blossoms opened on April 19, which 

 is a full fortnight or more in advance of the very earliest Haw- 

 thorn in the Regent's Park." This, however, is nothing very 

 remarkable, but he was assured by a man in charge of the 

 Abbey grounds that "it invariably blossomed twice a-year, 

 once at Christmas and once in April or May." And he adds, 

 " There seems no reason to doubt that the Glastonbury Thorn 

 is a peculiar variety, which blossoms twice a-year, once being 

 about Christmas time, but with a variation of a month or 

 more according to the weather, as is the case with the Furze, 

 the Mezereon, and the Hazel." But there still seems a diffi- 

 culty in getting to the bottom of the history of this Hawthorn 

 variety, for supposing a winter-flowering as is stated, it is 

 more reasonable to expect the second flowering would not be 

 earlier than the average, but rather later. Nor am I aware 

 that the assertion made by some writer has been verified — 

 namely, that seedlings of the Glastonbury Thorn exhibit the 

 normal habit only, and to obtain winter-flowering specimens 

 propagation must be by cuttings. — C. 



THE WEST OF ENGLAND ROSE SHOW. 



Nemesis, dire revenge, has overtaken the writer of this article, 

 and many will be the chuckles and expressions of delight which 

 will proceed from the mouths of "D., Deal" Mr. George Paul, 

 and notably Mr. Lacharme when he sees these pages ; for, 

 astounding fact though it be, it is also true that my Baroness 

 de Rothschild was beaten by Madame Lacharme at Hereford on 

 July 13th, 1876 ! For five consecutive years had I taken the 

 first prize with the Baroness in the class for twelve blooms of 

 one variety, and I fondly hoped I should do it again ; but the 

 fates in the persons of two of the finest Judges in England, Mr. 

 George Paul and Mr. Cant, decided that I should sing second to 

 Madame Lacharme. This was the only drawback to a most 

 successful Show — a Show, too, which was, I think, the finest 

 ever seen at Hereford. 



Four nurserymen were in magnificent bloom. Messrs. Cran- 

 ston & Mayos, Messrs. Paul & Son, Mr. B. R. Cant, and Mr. Davi- 

 son of Hereford, all put up superior stands. The schedule was 

 a most liberal one, for in addition to the ordinary prizes for 

 seventy-two varieties, was another open to the United Kingdom 

 with the exception of the county of Hereford, and for this 

 seventy-two no less a sum than £W was given for the first prize, 

 £10 for the second, and £o for the third. These grand prizes, 

 however, only produced three competitors, and one of these was 

 not at all in form. Messrs. Paul & Son and Mr. Cant, however, 

 staged remarkably well, and it was a great treat to go over their 

 stands and notice each bloom carefully. I and Mr. Baker were 

 the two Judges, and I do not think I ever enjoyed anything 

 more than judging those stands with him. We had kindred 

 minds and the same ideas as to the rules of judging. "We took 

 each bloom singly, and determined not only whether it was a 

 grand bloom, but whether the variety was represented in proper 

 form. We did not expect to see a Duke of Wellington the size 

 of an Etienne Levet, or a Countess Nadaillac as large as a Gloire 

 de Dijon. And that I think and contend is the right way to 

 judge, and the teBtof a good judge is to be able to know whether 

 each Rose was in fair form, fresh colour, and in perfect condition. 



Mr. Cant was first, and considering that one of his boxes mis- 

 carried and did not turn-up till too late to be of service to him, 

 and also taking into account the length of the journey and the 

 time (thirty hours) that his blooms had been cut, and not for- 

 getting what tremendous heat they had to contend with, I 

 think that no greater triumph has ever been achieved than his 

 winning the first prize at Hereford for the open seventy-two. To 

 mention his fine blooms would be like marking seventy-two of 

 the finest sorts from one of his catalogues and writing "superb " 

 against each. There was hardly any tail, I do not think three 

 blooms could be found which the severest censor could find 

 fault with. But some of the blooms I admired most were Mons. 

 Noman, a variety always shown well by the ColcheBter grower ; 

 Mdlle. Marie Finger, Francois Michelon, and Madame Lacharme 

 among the lights ; and Pierre Notting, Reynolds Hole, Charles 

 Lefebvre, Marie Rady, and Auguste Newman among the darker 

 varieties. 



Mr. George Paul showed some excellent Teas, among which 

 was one I had never seen good before — Mons. Furtado. He 

 had the most perfect bloom of this in his close seventy-two 

 stand, and one nearly as good in the open seventy-two. He also 

 6howed some marvellous blooms of old varieties which we rarely 

 see good now, notably Queen Victoria, a Rose raised at Cheshunt ; 

 and La Duchesse de Morny, Therese Levet, and Madame Clert. 

 In his seventy-two were grand proofs of the benefits he has 

 conferred upon the Rose world in general, for he showed no less 

 than six of his own seedlings — namely, Empress of India, Duke 

 of Connaught, Reynolds Hole, Richard Marnock, Sultan of 



