June 22, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



439 



nnder large trees, where it ia stirpiising it bears at all, yet it 

 does so when everything is favourable. The ordinary mode of 

 pruning is objectionable to me ; a too-olose spurring-in causes 

 all the fruit to be collected together, whereas if more young 

 wood were left every year, the fruit would be more scattered, 

 and in cases where it is advisable to let it hang long on the 

 bushes, there can be no question but it keeps better singly than 

 when in large clusters of bunches. 



Black Cueeants. — Differing widely from the last in every 

 way, this hardy fruit is benefited by moisture both in the air 

 and at the root — not that it likes a stagnant wet soil, but it 

 will thrive in a moister one than any of our other fruits, and 

 those seasons when it fails to do well, arising from blight, I 

 believe the cause to be lack of moisture rather than any defect 

 of the bloom, as the plant, although accommodating enough to 

 succeed tolerably well, even on dry stony places, is, evidently, 

 not at home there, finer fruit being grown when it is planted 

 0ear a rivulet, or other moist place. Its hardy and accommodat- 

 ing character, however, gives it a claim to notice, and some twenty 

 years ago it was in great demand as a market fruit, but consign- 

 ments to Loudon from other districts than Kent have kept the 

 prices down, so that it is not so popular as it was. As an under- 

 growth, however, it is, perhaps, the most profitable of any, and 

 as otherwise deserving of attention. 



Filberts and Cob Trees. — I confess not being sufficiently 

 versed in the management of these to make any observations 

 on them at all likely to be useful, but believe them to be the 

 most profitable of all our fruits when well grown, and they seem 

 to do best on the dry slopes, where a good depth of soil rests 

 on a ragstone foundation, portions of the latter in a broken 

 condition being found on the surface, and water only found at 

 the depth of 30 or 40 feet, perhaps ; but I am not well enough 

 acquainted with the management of this tree to give any useful 

 hints upon it, so must pass it over. 



Strawberries. — There is no doubt but that better fruit of 

 this might be grown in the neighbourhood of Maidstone than 

 is done near London, only the carriage is attended with expense 

 and serious loss to the fruit. The success of the growers in 

 the immediate neighbourhood of London I attribute to the 

 lavish application of manure ; the fruit in general not being 

 good-tasted, especially that grown where town sewage is used, 

 but size and appearance are conditions of so much importance 

 at market that all other things fade before them. Believing 

 therefore that the supply for London is already met in the dis- 

 tricts nearer where it is wanted, I should not like to embark in 

 this branch at so great a distance. I may, however, say, that 

 aext to the deep alluvial soils of valleys by the side of rivers, 

 the sandstone formation is most suitable for Strawberries, 

 while calcareous soils, or those tending that way, rarely pro- 

 duce good crops. 



Raspberries — A fruit requiring special gathering for market, 

 and it ought only to be sent there in water-tight vessels as the 

 juices run out. It is often an unsatisfactory article both for 

 buyer and seller, as the first-named often questions whether all 

 the juice the fruit is swimming in when it reaches London was 

 not gathered with it from the bushes ; and certainly there is 

 every scope for iucreaaing the quantity by the same means as are 

 adopted with milk; but as this is not our purpose, we may 

 say that although the Strawberry, as before remarked, dislikes 

 a calcareous soil, this plant luxuriates in one, and the best 

 examples of good cultivation I have met with are of this kind ; 

 depth of soil and a little more moisture than most other kinds 

 of fruit delight in, are also requisite to enable the plant to ripen 

 off its later fruit to advantage. 



Pruning. — From the foregoing remarks it will be seen that 

 little has been said about the pruning of the respective trees, 

 lor the reason that the general mode adopted in the neighbour- 

 hood cannot well be improved upon, excepting, perhaps, in the 

 case of old Apple and Pear trees, which I would certainly advise 

 not to be allowed to go so long without using the knife, as I am 

 of opinion that the severe pruning of an old tree ia bad, and the 

 popular opinion that no good arises from it is, certainly, too 

 true, whereas if a slighter pruning had taken place some years 

 sooner the tree might have been kept in better order, and there 

 would not have been much occasion for those severe cuttings 

 which we so often see ; neither ia it advisable to cut down and 

 regraft old trees, as they very often fail some four or five years 

 afterwards, that it would be better to replace the tree with a 

 young one, or better still to replace the whole orchard , perhaps, 

 for I am of opinion that many of the orchards met with have 

 stood too long to be profitable. Of course, a tenant-at-will is 

 anwilling to incur the expense of rearing a new one, and pro- 



longs the old one year after year, with a decreasing produce. 

 Assuming that some one had the privilege of dictating what 

 would be the best way to perpetuate a certain amount of orchard 

 for one hundred years, the question would be, whether it would 

 be better to have three or four sets of trees during that time or 

 not. My view would certainly be to have four, or, perhaps, one 

 more than that. Of course, this proposition is liable to excep- 

 tions, as trees in some places show unmistakeable appearances 

 of declining health at fifteen years, as much so as others do at 

 thirty, and certain kinds, as the Hawthornden Apple, &e., canker 

 and die off much sooner than others ; therefore I would advise 

 these kinds to be planted by themselves, so that the whole 

 plantation could be renewed at once, and not piecemeal, as is 

 the case where certain kinds dwindle away. In the pruning of 

 young standard trees, the practice of the neighbourhood in not 

 heading them down, or rather not cutting them in, the first 

 year is, I think, excellent, and the moderate cutting they get 

 afterwards is also good, and I may observe I am no advocate 

 for that severe pruning of the Apple and Pear we sometimes 

 see adopted, of cutting away every particle of new wood much 

 the same as ia done with the Filbert and Cob tree. In a very 

 windy place it may be excusable, but I question whether, in 

 point of utility, it matches the ordinary standard, with a well- 

 proportioned head ; while, in point of beauty, it is so far re- 

 moved from everything that can be called ornamental, that the 

 term ugliness ia more appropriate ; but we need say little more 

 on the subject of pruning, beyond the general observation that 

 a vigorous-growing young tree ought not to be so much cut as 

 one of moderate growth, rather try and cut some of its principal 

 roots a bit, to check its growth and throw it into a bearing con- 

 dition. Long gross shoots of Plums might be shortened in 

 summer if they can be got at, but Apples and Pears may as well 

 finish their growth. 



Situation. — Having already given the character of soil best 

 suited to each tree, it is only necessary here to describe the 

 site, and this I am aware that local circumstances often de- 

 termine. One thing, however, I would say, that when the 

 soil and other things seem favourable, a site sloping to the 

 north is not to be despised for Apples and Pears, for, although 

 one facing the west has the advantage of being a little later in 

 receiving the unwelcome visit of a bright sun after a frosty 

 morning, it ia not so exposed to the destructive effects of the 

 south-westerly winds we generally have once or more during 

 the fruit season. In 1869 and 1870, I believe it was about the 

 10th of September each year, and some orchards were almost 

 stripped on the last occasion. A west aspect, however, may be 

 favourable for Plums, for they are mostly gathered before the 

 storms that precede the equinox take efieot. Slopes facing the 

 east are not so good, those to the south are frequently in Filberts 

 or Cobs ; but all have some advantages which it is difficult to 

 describe without knowing the peculiarities of the individual 

 place. 



Planting New Oechaeds. — Where it is contemplated plant- 

 ing a new orchard to produce fruit for market, only the very 

 best soils and situation suitable for such purposes ought to 

 be operated upon. The great competition in the trade, which 

 we may say is yearly increasing both at home and abroad, 

 leaves small chance of our again obtaining those high prices 

 for fruit which were common some thirty or forty years ago, so 

 that the intended planter should well consider what chances 

 he has of obtaining a quantity of good fruit, for it must be 

 quantity that will remunerate him. A fancy price for a small 

 quantity of a very choice kind, however tempting the sound may 

 be, is not the thing to look to ; the buyers of such things are few ; 

 besides, if they were increased, it is not unlikely that the 

 foreign growers would step in and successfully compete with the 

 fancy grower, as they now do with the general one, so that it is 

 only advisable to look to the million as customers ; and if many 

 of the indifierent orchards now in existence were done away 

 with, and replaced with others on more favourable sites, dis- 

 carding at the same time some of the old varieties of fruit, it 

 is likely that this kind of husbandry might again become a re- 

 munerative one. At the same time let it be borne in mind that 

 I only advise fruit plantations to be made on such soils and 

 situations as are described, because they are the most likely to 

 pay, and not because those of a contrary description cannot be 

 made productive. On the contrary, a lavish expenditure of 

 money can make a desert fruitful, but the calculating fruit- 

 grower, who reasonably expects a guinea returned for every 

 pound expended, will naturally pause before he commits him- 

 self to any of those plausible schemes that have for their 

 starting point a considerable expenditure of money, and the 



