November IS, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



3S9 



Dessert Apples— Irish Peach is one of the best early kinds 

 grown; it is a beautiful Apple of rich flavour ; the tree is a free 

 bearer, rip9 the first week in August. Kerry Pippin, a free bear- 

 ing early kind of fine aromatic flavour ; in use during September 

 and October. Cos's Orange Pippin is, taking into consideration 

 all its good qualities, undoubtedly the finest of all dessert fruits. 

 The tree is a great bearer, and the fruit is of good size and for 

 flavour is unsurpassed. Where there is only room for one tree 

 to be grown it should be Cox's Orange Pippin. King of the 

 Pippins is a constant bearer; the fruit is of good quality, and is 

 in season daring the early part of winter. Court-Pendu-Piat is 

 a valuable late dessert Apple, and the tree is an abundant bearer ; 

 it is in use during December and the spring months. 



Of Pears Jargonelle is a good early variety, but will not keep 

 long after being rip9. Williams' Bou Chretien is a very rich- 

 flavoured Pear, a constant bearer, and suitable either for dwarfs 

 or standards. If the fruit of this excellent Pear is gathered at 

 two or three different times the season can be prolonged; ripe 

 in September. Louise Bonne of Jersey is an immense cropper, 

 of splendid quality, ripe during October. Marie Louise, a weil- 

 kaown excellent variety, ripe during October and November. 

 Baurre Diel, a large-sized free-bearing variety, ripe in Novem- 

 ber. Beurre' Bachelier, a hardy, large, handsome, and excellent 

 Pear, ripe towards the close of the year; and if late Pears are 

 required, Josephine de Malines and Winter Nelis may be added. 



Of Plums Green Gage, Transparent Gage, and Coe'e Golden 

 Drop for dessert ; and for cookiog, Prince of Wales, Victoria, 

 and Pond's Seedling. Whit9 Magnum Bonum and Orleans are 

 also useful varieties. 



May Duke, Napoleon Bigarreau, and Governor Wood are ex- 

 cellent Cherries, and the Morello is useful for preserving and 

 for tarts. Three good Peaches for a wall are Royal George, 

 Grosse MignoDne, and Noblesse — these are all free bearers and 

 of superior quality ; and three good Nectarines are Lord Napier, 

 Violetts Hative, and Pitmaston Orange. 



In planting make the stations of sufficient size to allow the 

 roots to be spread out in their natural position, placing the trees 

 about the same depth as they were in the nursery, which will be 

 easily seen by the appearance of the bark. Carefully place the 

 finest and best soil around the fibres, and if the soil is light 

 slightly treading it will make it firm. It is necessary to place 

 stakes to all newly planted fruit trees, and care must be taken 

 to prevent the stakes from rubbing the bark and causing 

 wounds. A piece of matting or cloth can be placed between the 

 tree and stake, which if made secure with tarred string will pre- 

 vent the trees from being blown about, and will enable them to 

 become established the sooner. — J. W. Moorman. 



DOINGS OP THE LAST AND WOBK FOR 

 THE PRESENT WEEK. 



HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



All out-of-doors operations may be performed amongst fruit 

 trees with some degree of pleasure when the weather is so mild 

 as it has been during the last week or two. Pruning and nail- 

 ing wall trees has been proceeded with, not that much of either 

 ia required, but it is always necessary to look over the trees. 

 When the ehreds are very much decayed all over the tree, it is 

 best to remove all of them and to re-arrange the entire tree. 

 This sometimes requires to be done when the branches become 

 weak and are thinly placed at the base of the tree. When this 

 has been the case we have been able to cutout some of the 

 weak branches at the base altogether, and then bring the 

 others down to take their place. The centres of the trees are 

 usually very easily filled-up with young wood. The skilful cul- 

 tivator will manage it bo that nearly the whole of the wall is 

 covered with bearing wood. Everyone knows the tendency 

 that fruit trees have to extend the radius of bearing wood from 

 their base, leaving stems destitute alike of either wood or leaf 

 buds. No amount of Bkilful management can alter the natnre 

 of the trees or altogether counteract the effects of this tendency, 

 but whenever it is possible (as it often is), young bearing wood 

 should be trained over the main stems, not only to hide them 

 but also to increase the area of bearing wood. Trees trained on 

 what gardeners call the fan system are most liable to show a 

 number of naked stems ; but this method of training we fancy 

 is the best for Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, Plum and Cherry 

 trees. Apple and Pear trees are usually trained on what may 

 be termed horizontal cordons — that is, an upright main stem 

 with horizontal branches 9 inches apart. By constant summer 

 pinching or pruning the Bpurs are apt to become crowded with 

 useless wood. This must be thinned-out now, leaving the most 

 prominent buds nearest the main stem. For the largest branches 

 it ia best to use tarred twine to fasten them to the wall, Bhreds 

 are not strong enough. A stout nail Bhould be driven firmly 

 into the wall, then tie the twine to the head of the nail, fasten 

 it round the branch and draw it in tightly, allowing, however, 

 a little room for expansion. 



Tines may now be pruned and nailed to the wall, and we 

 would still insist on the importance of frequently renewing the 



old wood by training-np young rods. If previous directions 

 have been followed this will have been done, and all that is 

 required now will be to cut-out the old and exhausted wood 

 and to shorten the young growths. It is not implied by saying 

 this that all old wood that has borne fruit should be cut out, 

 the young wood of this year will be the old wood at next prun- 

 ing time. What we would do is this : no wood would be allowed 

 on a 6-foot wall older than two years, on a 9-foot wall than three 

 years, and on a 12-foot wall than four years. This treatment is 

 especially applicable to the Royal Muscadine or similar Vines 

 best adapted for cultivation out of doors. The lateral growths 

 6hould not be too closely cut-back to the main stem. We usually 

 allow three eyes, and one of the growths is almost sure to have 

 a buuch of fruit ; the other two may be removed, 



PINE HOUSES. 



We have been cutting fruit of Charlotte Rothschild and 

 Smooth-leaved Cayenne, but were not able to keep the tempe- 

 rature high enough, consequently the fruit, though juicy, was 

 not of superior quality. It will not do at this time of the year 

 to ripen the fruit in a lower temperature than 65°, if it ranges 

 between that and 70° all the better. The utmost caution is re- 

 quired in watering. In careful hands manure water benefits 

 Pines very much, but if injudiciously applied much damage 

 results to the fruit. If the plants are freely supplied with ma- 

 nure water up to the time of the fruit colouring, in all proba- 

 bility it will be black at the core. It is absolutely necessary to 

 leave off using manure water about the time the fruit takes its 

 second swelling. If the soil is moderately moist water must be 

 withheld from the time the fruit shows signs of colouring. In 

 our beds, where the pots are not far from the pipes, there is 

 more danger of the roots becoming dry than there is when they 

 are plunged in deep beds of moist leaves where the heat is kept 

 up by fermentation. 



Suckers that are just established in the small pots in which 

 they were potted early in autumn or late in summer are kept in 

 a temperature of oo° ; they do not receive much water. They 

 might be grown on a little faster if necessary, but usually we 

 have not room to pot them until May. 



We have heard a little of new Pines within the last two or 

 three years, but it will be some time before anything will beat 

 the sorts we have grown for many years. The most recent of 

 ours is the Charlotte Rothschild, but all points considered, 

 although a most noble fruit, it is not equal to Smooth-leaved 

 Cayenne. It is generally understood that there is a good and 

 bad strain of the Cayenne. We have had the fruits decay before 

 they were ripe, but this has generally happened in spring when 

 fierce sun has scalded the fruit, coming suddenly upon it after 

 the dull dark days of winter; we usually just lay a sheet of 

 newspaper over the crown to protect the fruits from iojury. Is 

 it not possible that this weakness in the Smooth-leaved Cayenne 

 has led people to believe that there are two varieties? The 

 Queen holds the same position amongst Pines that Black Hari- 

 burgh holds amongst Grapes, and it is even now more valuable 

 owing to the fact that nearly all the St. Michael's Pines are 

 Cayennes, and these being importtd in quantity at certain 

 seasons very much depreciate the value of home-grown fruit. 

 Good Queens are not only valuable for home consumption, but 

 they always command a high price in the market independent 

 of any glut from abroad. If it is intended to pot any plants in 

 February the Boil for this purpose ought to be put in a dry 

 place, as it will not be in good condition for potting if exposed 

 to the wet during winter. Good, sound, moderately clayey loam 

 from an old common where Brackens grow freely answers well 

 for Pines. 



GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 



If a greenhouse or conservatory is to be furnished in first- 

 class style it must contain specimens well grown of the finest 

 Cape and New Holland plants, but these will not make an 

 efficient display alone. At the present time the different varie- 

 ties of Zonal Pelargoniums make a most effective display, and 

 small plants are more useful than large specimens, as by grow- 

 ing a number of plants in 6-inch pots greater variety is obtained, 

 and the variety is now almost endless. There are pure white 

 flowers, and others blush with pink centres, salmon colours of 

 various shades, rose and pink, red, scarlet, and deep crimson. 

 Then how easy it is to grow them ! The cuttings are inserted 

 about the end of March, one in the centre of a small 60-sized 

 pot. The pots are placed on a shelf near the glass in the green- 

 house, where they receive plenty of air, but not much water 

 until they commence growing, when they are more freely 

 watered. In April they are placed in a cold frame. In May 

 the plants are Bhifted into small 48's, and in July into 6-inch 

 pots. From the end of May until the end of September the 

 plants are placed out of doors, and after taking them into the 

 house they are supplied with manure water at every alternate 

 watering. In order to have a strong healthy bloom in Novem- 

 ber the plants must not be allowed to exhaust themselves by 

 bearing flower trusses in summer ; theEe must be removed be- 

 fore the flowers open. The best potting material is turfy loam 

 four parts, decayed manure one part, and one part of leaf soil, 



