December 14, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



505 



Apples. The fourth row on each side I would have Pears — 

 one row of Beurre de Capiaumont, and one of Bergamotte 

 Esperen. The former is a very compact grower, free baarer, 

 and a good market Pear ; the latter being one of the best aud 

 most hardy of late varieties. The fifth rows on either side I 

 should have PlumS' — one Victoria, and the other Mitohelson's, 

 both great bearers ; and the Bixth and last rows on both sides 

 (the back rows) I should have Pears — one Louise Bonne of 

 Jersey, and the other Beurre Diel. The former is a Pear of 

 great excellence, and the other is of great size ; both are good 

 bearers, and are "run after" in the markets. I have thus 

 named four rows of Pears in four varieties, four rows of Apples 

 in three varieties, and four rows of Plums in three varieties, 

 making ten varieties altogether. 



I should plant fifty trees in eaoh row, whioh would be about 

 9 feet apart ; the rows also being 9 feet apart, which, having 

 the outer or back rows at 6 feet from the boundary, would 

 afford ample room for a central walk. Each tree in a spaoe of 

 9 feet would have room to develope itself, and form a useful 

 and handsome specimen. I do not believe in pigmies, and any 

 extreme crippling process to make and keep them so. No 

 doubt there are hunchback slaves who are useful, and stunted 

 animals which are serviceable ; but I have a decided prefer- 

 ence for stout development and good form in man, horse, or 

 tree, as suoh I believe are the most profitable. 

 I will assume in an arrangement like the one proposed by 



Mr. H that few will dispute the wisdom of planting eaoh 



row with the same variety of fruit. If otherwise the orchard 

 would have a " dotted " and unlevel appearanoe, and would 

 not " look well." Also by having at least fifty trees of a sort 

 there would be a sensible bulk of produce to send to market. 

 Further, by limiting to a few sorts, care and labour in storing 

 and keeping the fruit separate is minimised. Not many experi- 

 enced growers will, I think, find much fault with the plan, but 

 they may differ considerably in the selection of varieties. Now, 

 it occurs to me that these differences if expressed might be 

 very useful, and I am constrained to ask of those who may 

 dissent from the selection here given — What varieties would 

 you select instead, and why ? I ask this question frankly, and 

 with a desire for information for the many who are concerned 

 in fruit-growing. By judging of the merits of varieties of fruit 

 for forming the most profitable rows o! fifty trees in eaoh, it 

 occurs to me that we grapple with a question of great im- 

 portance. It is not what is termed a toy or fancy question, 

 but a matter bearing direotly on the fruit supply in its broad 

 and most useful aspects. 



I felt that in replying to the above letter that I had a diffi- 

 cult task before me, and I confess to a feeling of wishing the 

 letter had been sent — well, anywhere but to me ; yet, as I did 

 not feel at all disposed to shirk the matter, and as I trust I 

 shall never be unwilling to render my mite of assistance as 

 leading to a better supply of useful fruit — profitable to the pro- 

 ducer and advantageous to the consumer — I made the best 

 selection that oocurred to me. The question is this : Given 

 twelve rows of trees, fifty in each row, of Apples, Pears, and 

 Plums, what sorts would you plant to be most profitable ? 

 Replies to that question could not fail to be useful, even to 



Mr. H , whose letter I have quoted, for I have not quoted 



it all. It contains a postscript, and a very sensible one, in the 

 following words : — " P.S.— I do not intend planting this 

 season, but my plan is to manure the ground and work it well, 

 to take a crop of Potatoes, which I find to be a good ' clean- 

 ing' crop, and plant the trees next autumn. My object ia to 

 obtain the best information I can in good time, so that I can 

 give notice to my nurseryman to supply me with good trees, 

 and to leave him without an excuse for sending them either 

 inferior as to quality or untrue as to names." 



I shall be much surprised if such wise caution and thought- 

 ful preparation do not lead to success. — A Midland Counties 

 Feuit-seowek. 



WINTER LETTUCES. 

 I have noticed lately that the subject of obtaining a good 

 supply of this very useful vegetable (which I am glad English 

 people are beginning to find out is not poisonous in the winter 

 months) has been ventilated in the Journal. I have for many 

 years used, greatly to my satisfaction, for this purpose Looker's 

 acme frames. They are very little trouble, and all through 

 the early spring months they have afforded ma a good Bupply 

 of clean good Lettuces. The cleanliness is a great point, for 

 out of doors it is almost impossible to have them clean. My 



frames have remained in the same place for years ; and imme- 

 diately after the Lettuces are pulled I put on some manure 

 and dig it in, removing the glass, but allowing the sides to 

 remain. I either leave it fallow during the summer or prick 

 out Celery into it, to be removed as soon as the plants are fit 

 for the trenches. The Lettuces that I use for winter are Vil- 

 morin's White, Sutton's Commodore Nutt, and Wheeler's Tom 

 Thumb, none of them being so ready to run as the old Ham- 

 mersmith, which is, however, very hardy. I have oftenj won- 

 dered that these frames are not more used, especially injsmall 

 gardens, for they are useful for a great many purposes and 

 are neat in appearance. — D., Deal. 



A GARDEN OF HARDY FLOWERS.— No. 3. 



Veey numerous are the gardens in which space cannot be 

 afforded for such a border as was described in page 440, but 

 there is not one garden, however small it may be, wherein a 

 selection of the best flowers might not happily be introduced. 

 It is surprising how much may be done by turning every patoh 

 and corner to account. In many a small garden it ib cus- 

 tomary to convey all the mowings, sweepings, and general 

 refuse to a rubbish heap in some out-of-the-way corner, behind 

 some such screen as a shrub border affords. Access to this 

 corner is gained by a path winding among — often beneath — 

 the branohes of the shrubs. In so oonfinod a space even this 

 walk looks inviting, especially in the hot Bummer days, but it 

 is of course avoided. Now suppose we turn this rubbish heap 

 to its legitimate purpose of enriching our borders, and convert 

 the corner into a cosy little fernery ; fringing the Bides of the 

 walk too with Ferns, concealing the enclosing wall or fence 

 with Ivy — not all of one sort, but with a mixture of several — 

 and shall we not add a charm to the garden which very few 

 would fail to appreciate ? If Ferns are cared for very much 

 we may extend our collection by converting the wall itself into 

 a fernery. There are many ways of doing this ; but the most 

 simple and best plan is to drive a few stout staples into the 

 wall, to which some common wire netting can be fastened with 

 wire, keeping the netting about 6 inches from the wall, packing 

 the intercedent space with moss and rough leaf soil, and we 

 have a model fernery in which moBt Ferns will flourish. Nor 

 need we confine it entirely to Ferns, for we may readily impart 

 variety by the introduction of Buch Sedums as Sieboldii and 

 its variegated form, with such other plants as the common and 

 golden varieties of Moneywort, Oxalis corniculata rubra for its 

 dark foliage, and Oxalis Bowiei for its fine crimson flowers. 

 With a little eontrivanoe and management of the soil there 

 need be no difficulty in cultivating many other plants upon 

 our wall, and which I hardly need select, as my readers will 

 all have their own especial favourites ; and I have no wish to 

 dogmatise, but would rather point the way and leave each one 

 to turn my hints to account in accordance with the promptings 

 of fancy or taste. 



Thus much for the Ferns and the fernery to which I have 

 unintentionally strayed ; and it occurs to me, before I revert 

 to those perennials which we cherish for the beauty of their 

 bright flowers, that it may be well to note here a few really 

 choice Ferns that are not much known, but which are so dis- 

 tinct and striking as to merit general attention. The first of 

 these is Lomaria magellanica, the Falkland Island Fern, to 

 which I drew attention very lately as flourishing so well in the 

 rock garden at Newick Park. The pinnate fronds are remark- 

 able for their stout texture, stately appearance, the glossy green 

 upper surface of the pinnae, and the deep pink huo of the 

 sturdy stems. The Ostrich-plume Fern, Struthiopteris ger- 

 maniea,is another fine hardy Fern with most elegant frondage 

 that in old plants grows fully a yard high ; these tall but 

 sterile fronds, springing up around the crown in a oircle of 

 singular precision, enclosing an interior growth of compara- 

 tively dwarf fertile fronds ; the entire plant presenting a striking 

 and most ornamental appearance. Another Fern having this 

 interesting characteristic of producing fertile and sterile fronds 

 is Onoclea sensibilis. It is a distinct and most desirable 

 species, especially adapted for moist damp situations, putting 

 forth creeping stems which spread underground with con- 

 siderable rapidity. Adiantum pedatnm with fan-like fronds, 

 aud the more common form of Maiden-hair Fern, A. Capillus- 

 Veneris, are also very distinct and good. Without entering 

 further upon descriptions I may strongly commend Woodwardia 

 radicans, the two Osmundas — gracilis and spectabilis, and Cys- 

 topteris bulbifera. I would also here draw especial attention 

 to the value of Selaginella denticulata for clothing with its 



