September 29, 1870. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



243 



that fashionable town ; it is a soil that must not be meddled 

 with when it is wet, but when properly tilled, and the season 

 is favourable, it works like velvet, as a farmer friend observed, 

 its texture being so fine. Most trees seemed to thrive well in 

 such a soil, as well as many vegetables ; perhaps the Cabbage 

 tribe required more lime. 



I cannot draw tbia communication to a close without men- 

 tioning that the Apricot was succeeding better than it does 

 in most plaoes, for it is often in an unsatisfactory condition ; 

 here the trees were healthy, well-formed, and fruitful. It 

 may be said they are young, only nine or ten years old at 

 most ; but Mr. Seale took me to look at a couple of old trees 

 growing against a house, which two centuries or more ago was 

 the dwelling of his employer's ancestors. This residence Btands 

 on the edge of the park, in lower ground than the piesent 

 mansion, and is one of those timber-framed buildings with the 

 upper storey overhanging the lower one, which are now less 

 frequently met with than formerly, though they have not 

 entirely vanished from our old towns. Against this residence 

 were two Apricot trees that might almost equal it in antiquity ; 

 they were standards, or what are sometimes called riders, with 

 Stems showing but few symptoms of decay, certainly nothing 

 of the shell-like character which such trees often present even 

 when the top is healthy. The circumference of one was 

 45 inches, and that of the other 38 inches at the smallest part 

 of the 5 or 6 feet which formed the bole. Mr. Seale thought 

 they were of the Breda variety, and that their age was from 

 150 to 200 years. The soil, although partaking in some 

 respeots of that of the rest of the garden, was much less invit- 

 ing at the spot where the trees were growing ; nevertheless, 

 there they were, showing that in a suitable soil the Apricot 

 is a much longer-lived tree than it is often supposed to be. The 

 tops, though showing signs of great age, and no doubt affected 

 by a drain having been cut near, still possessed sufficient 

 health to warrant the belief that they would outlive another 

 generation, and the fruit was said to be as good and as plentiful 

 as from younger trees of the same variety. Some other old 

 trees and shrubs surrounded this anoient abode. The Yews 

 were not at all satisfactory, but some old Box trees had at- 

 tained unusual dimensions, showing that although certain soils 

 and situations will grow almost anything, there are, neverthe- 

 less, species which thrive better than others in particular soils. 



I have, in conclusion, to thank Mr. Seale for his courtesy in 

 pointing out the various features connected with this fine place, 

 and hope both he and his employer will long enjoy the grounds 

 they may be said to have created, and which they have furnished 

 in so short a time. — J. Robson. 



STOCK SPREADING TO THE SCION OF A 

 PLUM TREE. 



I saw recently at Yatton Keynell Kectory, Wilts, a Plum 

 tree nailed to a wall. It had made to my mind a remarkable 

 sport. The tree was grafted low, as usual, and immediately 

 above the graft it branched out, covering a good space of wall. 

 From one limb there had issued, about 4 feet from the ground, 

 a branch of the pure wild stock, while below it was a branch 

 on the opposite side bearing the proper fruit, and just above 

 another piece also bearing the same. Is this kind of growth 

 yery uncommon, and what can be the cause ? 



A friend's Laburnum tree has made a sport which bears 

 purple flowers. Will the seed from those flowers^ produce 

 plants bearing purple flowers ? — A. H. 



[Most probably not. The influence exerted by the stock 

 over the scion is subject to many anomalies, and they, as well 

 as sports in the colours and forms of flowers, are among the 

 unexplained facts of the vegetable kingdom.— Eos.] 



STOCKS FOE. APPLE GRAFTS. 

 Can some of your arboricultural or pomological genealogists 

 favonr us with the pedigree of the Apple stocks called 'English 

 Paradise, French Paradise, Pommier de Paradis, tDouoin, Burr 

 Knot, and Stibbert, and describe any characteristic peculiarities 

 of growth, and hue of bark and foliage ? We have heard many 

 wonderful tales of dwarfing stocks such ai are named and of 

 precocious crops from such stocks, and it would be as interest- 

 ing to learn how nearly allied to the Crab or Apple these some- 



* Query, ii dwarfed Crab stock. 

 + Query, ii French Paradise steak. 



what alien stocks are, and how far the produce is that of hybrid 

 or pure Apple culture. 



1 am but an amateur, though I will venture to say that the 

 Crab alone is the stock for fruit true to itself in colour, flavour, 

 and size alike. The genus of the stock and the scion, what- 

 ever variety of Apple is grafted, is the same: hence the truth 

 of the produce. And dwarf Crab stocks are, I think, drawn 

 from Crab seedlings constitutionally so, the stouter seedlings 

 going for standard trees ; at least I have dwarf Crab stocks 

 robust, round, and dwarfed, and pyramidal, in my ground. But 

 though the Crab is my choice, tbe history of the Paradise, and 

 other stocks would present to your readers the choice of stocks 

 in use by our nurserymen. Aud can we be told to what extent 

 the Apple stock from Apple seedlings — the cultivated Apple, 

 not the Crab or wild Apple Btock — is used, and its results ? — 

 Reader. 



HORTICULTURE AMONG THE MORMONS. 



On our tour to California we spent a few days very pleasantly 

 at Salt Lake City. The houses of the inhabitants are em- 

 bowered among hundreds of choice shade trees along all the 

 public streets, while the gardens are full of fruit trees of great . 

 health and luxuriance. We could hardly believe that, only a 

 month beforehand, a plague of grasshoppers had descended 

 from the mountains and cleared the gardens and trees of every 

 living leaf, and now all was bright and cheerful again. The 

 trees were loaded with fruit, and Apples, Pears, Plums, Apri- 

 cots, and Cherries wore hanging with ripe specimens from 

 nearly every tree. It is curious to see the Apples hug the 

 branches and stem, as closely as if fitted for their place, while 

 with us every fruit hangs from a twig or dangles from the end 

 of a limb. The climate is exceedingly favourable, frosts rarely 

 occurring after vegetation has really started in the early spring. 

 The days are always pleasant, rarely very warm; the nights 

 always cool, with agreeable breezes; and the abundance of 

 water for irrigating purposes favours the growth of almost 

 every species of fruit. Elder Smith showed me a row of 

 Apricot trees, planted eight years ago from 6eed obtained from 

 the Department of Agriculture at Washington. They had been 

 fruiting four years, were an average of 15 feet high, and proved 

 to be of four different kinds. The specimens we saw, left from 

 the attacks of the grasshoppers, were as large as a good-sized 

 Peach, and fair quality, but not as delicate in flavour as our 

 own varieties of the Atlantic States. The Peach trees have more 

 compact heads, less spreading, leaves are of a deeper green, 

 leading shoots do not grow quite as long. We have more side 

 shoots than they, but the entire top of their trees is a mass of 

 dense leaves. No curculios, borers, or insects of aDy descrip- 

 tion are known. The yellows have never been seen, and appa- 

 rently there is no natural enemy. The Apple tree bears in two 

 years from cuttings or grafts, and fruit is beautifully coloured. 

 Several specimens of Red Astrachan and Sweet Bough Apples 

 attracted my special attention ; the latter for its size, being 

 12 inches in circumference ; the former for its deep bloom, 

 which, where brushed off, revealed a brilliant red-coloured 

 surface, equal to the tiuts of the rainbow, or the finest sun 

 painting on the clouds of a sunset sky. We have nothing to 

 equal it. Undoubtedly the dryness of the climate, and the soil 

 composed of the washings of the mountains, helped materially 

 in the rich colouring of the fruit. Ail the soil is full of mineral 

 matter, and this exerts its natural effect in high colour. 



The best garden of the place is that of Mr. William Jennings, 

 the richest man of the entire territory, and a successful merchant, 

 who favoured us with conveniences for a visit to his garden. 

 His home grounds occupy about five acres, devoted almost 

 entirely to fruit. A lovely lawn in front of his house, with its 

 deep velvety green carpet, was skirted with rows of flowers, 

 Fuchsias, Dahlias, Roses, Geraniums, and Lilies. From the 

 balcony windows of the parlours we catch an exquisite view of 

 the snow-capped mountains of the distant ranges. 



The city is surrounded in all directions with lofty peaks, 

 varying from ten to fifty miles distant ; and many with snow- 

 topped summits, glittering bright and brilliant against the deep 

 blue sky. 



Cherries are a favourite crop with the proprietor, several 

 varieties being planted, of which the Napoleon Bigarreau is 

 most favoured. The flavour is more rich and exquisite than 

 with us, but it is not so finely coloured. With the other kinds 

 the family enjoy Cherries for a season of six weeks. 



Peaohes were thriving admirably. In fruiting time they have 

 i gathered specimens fully 13 inches in circumference. 



