414 



JOUBNAL OP HOETICUIiTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ November 30, 1871. 



sion another bed should be made every three weeks or a little 

 less. A good deal of judgment must be exercised by the culti- 

 vator, for dung beds are more or less affected by the weather 

 and the state of the manure when the beds are made up ; one 

 bed will not always produce the same quantity as the other. 

 The greatest care must be taken in cutting the produce from 

 off ft forcing bed when the shoots are very thick. They should 

 be cut by a long narrow instrument, thrusting it into the 

 ground almost perpendicularly by the side of the shoot intended 

 to be cut ; if used slantingly the chances are that you destroy 

 the other sucoessional growths, and very much injure the 

 crop. — TnoMis Eecord. 



NOTES FROM A PEACH HOUSE. 



In the warm house Early Beatrice Peach was ripe on May 

 21st, and good ; Early Louise followed in a week ; in another 

 week Early Eivers and Early Alfred, then came Early Silver, 

 and very soon after it Eivers's White Nectarine. None of the 

 old sorts were within a month of any of these, and those early 

 sorts from the middle house were before E-irly Groese Mig- 

 nonne in the warm one. Malta was the earliest of the old 

 sorts, and is one of the very best under glass. Some trees I 

 lept under glass till July, and then plunged outside; one of 

 tSiese was Magdala, and the fruit from it was better than I 

 believed a Peach could be. This variety is first-rate under 

 glass, but I expect it should be grown on a wall to have it as it 

 Bhould be, unless we have recourse to early starting under 

 Klass, and final ripening outside, a method that always gives 

 fruit of the highest flavour. Of the others under glass, Alex- 

 andra Noblesse, Nectarine Peach, and, above all. Princess of 

 Vi^ales, were the best. Dr. Hogg, Crimson Galande, and Dag- 

 mar are all inferior when forced, but very fine in the cold 

 house. 



Of the Nectarines I have less to say, but Albert, Albert 

 Victor, Pine Apple, Stanwick, EIruge, Victoria, and Eivers's 

 White were, as usual, magnificent. One seedling of my own, 

 raised from Hardwicke set with the pollen of Victoria, pro- 

 mises very well, being very like the Stanwick, but early and 

 seemingly having no tendency to cracking. This is its second 

 ."sason of bearing, and I overcropped it and shifted it into a 

 larger pot when it waslstoning, so that I did not think it right to 

 eend you any of the fruit, but it it goes on as well next year, you 

 shall see what it is. This, then, is the result of my experience 

 in the present season. Mr. Eivers's Early Beatrice, Louise, 

 Early Eivers, Early Silver, Eivers's Early York, Magdala, 

 Alexindra Nobles se, and Princess of Wales gave a complete 

 succession from the 21st of May to the end of September, and 

 with Malta are all that anyone need care to grow under glass 

 with a small amount of heat from January to June. 



If Mr. Eivers's new varieties prove as good out of doors, we 

 shall soon cease to hear of the great mass of the older ones. 

 Early Beatrice is quite hardy here out of doors, and ripened 

 even this summer. Early Eivers, Early Silver, and the other 

 derivatives of the White Nectarine will not suit a cold or cool 

 climate, as they are all inclined to be acid. I do not think the 

 Tjrogress of the Nectarines is so great as that of the Peaches, 

 for I think some of the old varieties of Nectarines hold their 

 ground firmly aa yet ; but I trust our old friend may yet live 

 to see as wonderful a progeny from some of his new varieties 

 as he has done from the Peaches, such a success as I believe 

 no pomologist has ever reached before. — W. Kingslet. 



THE GOLDEN HAMBURGH GRAPE. 

 The manner in which this Grape was abused some few years 

 ago will, doubtless, still be fresh in the memory of the ma- 

 jority of your readers ; but, strange to say, I took a fancy to it 

 from the beginning, not because it was supported by such 

 eminent authorities as Messrs. Cramb and Pearson, but simply 

 through its excellent quality and appearance whenever I 

 had seen it. My experience goes to prove that many a good 

 new Grape is condemned and destroyed too hastily. A Vine, 

 more than any plant, requires age — that is, four or more years, 

 to bring out and establish its true character and value. Here 

 a"e two Vines — one in the early, the other in the late house, 

 pUnted, I have no doubt, at the time they were sent out. I 

 never wish for better Grapes than those which came from the 

 former — splendid berries, almost transparent, and well- 

 shouldered symmetrical bunches, averaging from 3 to 4 lbs. in 

 weight. Besides its fruiting qualities, it is a variety of the 

 strmgest coustitntion, making in each case the most vigorous 



growth, not impeded in the least by the impure atmosphere of 

 this locality. I consider it one of the best white Grapes we 

 have for early forcing. 



A great deal has been written lately both for and against the 

 Golden Champion, but as I have not seen it growing, I shall 

 wait until next season, when I shall be in a position to send a 

 report upon it, accompanied with a sample of Grapes. The 

 Vines of the last-mentioned have made extraordinarily strong 

 short-jointed rods for the last two seasons ; so I think we 

 shall be able to form a tolerably correct opinion of what it will 

 be when thoroughly established. — Thomas Tcknek, The Gar- 

 dens, Beaufort Lodge. 



DENDROBIUM HETEROCARPUM. 

 We have recently had a plant of the above flowering with 

 greater freedom than I ever remember having seen. Two of 

 the growths, measuring respectively 11 and 13 inches, have 

 produced, the longer eighteen, the other thirteen flowers. I 

 never heard of more flowers on one growth before, althongh 

 there may have been instances, for the plant is by no means a 

 new inmate of our Orchid houses, having been in cultivation 

 some thirty years. Good old species are often pushed aside to 

 make place for new comers. This certainly ought not to be the 

 case with Dendrobium heterocarpum, for, although it may not 

 be quite so attractive to the eye as some of the genus, it is most 

 deliciously sweet-scented, and its lasting properties should at 

 once make it a favourite ; for if placed in a cool house, and 

 kept comparatively dry, it will continue in good condition from 

 six to eight weeks, forming a splendid object at this dull season 

 of the year. — C. J. W., The Gardens, Ferniehurst. 



LXXSIX 



LABELLING FRUIT TREES. 



I TAKE a thin sheet of lead, and have it cut into pieces about 

 IJ inch long and Jinch wide; then with a blunt chisel about 

 3 inch wide, upon each label I impress numbers in Eoman 

 characters by means of a gentle tap with a hammer. I make 

 a email hole at the left-hand side of the label 

 with a pricker, which can without difficulty be 

 made to penetrate a thin sheet of lead, through 

 which I put a piece of lead wire. The label 

 is then complete and ready for tying on the 

 tree. See the accompanying representation. 



It will be noticed that eighty-nine is the highest number 

 that can be made with the chisel, for the next number (ninety) 

 will have a C in it, but I assume that an amateur will not have 

 so many as eighty varieties of any one species of fruit trees ; 

 but if a higher number than eighty-nine be required, a C can 

 easily be obtained from some of the shops. 



I have a book in which I keep a correct list of all my fruit 

 trees, so that on referring to it I can with ease tell any kind of 

 fruit tree I happen to have, and can almost as easily find such 

 tree. Each page is headed thus — 



Size. Use 



In the first column is the number of a tree, and a correspond- 

 ing number is also on the label attached to the tree. In the 

 second column is the variety of fruit which the tree bears ; 

 and the third and fourth columns are respectively for the size 

 and use of the fruit. I generally arrange my fruit into three 

 sizes, No. 1 being the largest, No. 2 smaller, and No. 3 the 

 smallest. The fifth column speaks for itself ; and in the sixth 

 column is the month in which the fruit is in season. 1 number 

 each class of fruit trees separately and distinctly from the 

 others. For Apples, Pears, &c., I commence with No. 1 re- 

 spectively, and each variety has the same number. If I had 

 ten trees of the same variety of Pear, each tree would have 

 the same number attached to it, and only one reference in my 

 fruit-book.— W. B. A. 



CoRNTCK V. Black. — I do not intend to appeal to any third party 

 to corroborate what I have previously stated, nor hold any controversy 

 with Mr. Cornick. My object was simply to state to the best of my 

 knowledge what I heard in Conrt, and I distinctly remember hearing 

 the defendant's counsel in the course of his address using the words I 

 did, and particularly in reference to some transaction in which more 



