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JOUBNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ December 18, 1877. 





they have been taken up, " mossed," and dispatched to the 

 different kingdoms of Europe and to America, and it is not 

 easy to determine which eight was the more imposing ; but 

 either affords sufficient evidence of the great importance of 

 the plants in question. 



Yet these Azaleas are not seen everywhere. They are still 

 comparatively scarce in the gardens of this country, because 

 in the great majority of them they are not represented at all. 

 From many, very many conservatories, too, Ghent Azaleas 

 are absent, a circumstance that can only be explained by 

 assuming that the finer varietiea of them are not knowc 

 Neither have the hardy Azaleas been extensively exhibited at 

 spring and early summer shows. We read occasionally that 

 ''Messrs. Rolliseon sent a fine group of Azalea mollis;" or 

 that " MesBrs. Veitch contributed a splendid collection of 

 Rhododendrons, interspersed with effective plants of Azaleas 

 pontica and mollis in variety." The last-named firm, which 

 are always well abreast of the times, have recently obtained a 

 first-class certificate for a new variety of much promise named 

 Conleur de Paiile. It belongs to the mollis seetion, and is 

 very rich in colour, as if partaking of the nature of the old 

 and valuable Chinese Azalea sinensis, which is so effective for 

 decorative purposes, and even for exhibition. Since the ice 

 is fairly broken it is more than probable that other new va- 

 rieties will be raised or introduced by English growers, which 

 will do much to popularise this useful family of hardy flower- 

 ing shrubs. 



In a future communication I will refer to some new and 

 old varieties. — Nojiad. 



THE APPLE AND THE BOSE ELECTIONS. 



As one interested in the Apple and its manifold varieties I 

 desire to thank Mr. Killick for the very useful and intelligible 

 form he has given us in the election of some of the choicest 

 sorts. For many years I have been anxious for something of 

 the kind being done, and must admit being much disappointed 

 at the Rose being more than once honoured with the distinc- 

 tion of its varied forms being paraded to the world while the 

 Apple remained neglected. It may be all very well to Ou.ll the 

 Rose the queen of flowers, and I suppose it would Bound very 

 much like florieultural treason to dispute the assertion; but 

 have not other florists' flowers held a very high position at 

 the court of the Goddess of Beauty, and have not the flowers 

 fallen into neglect and disregard ? and who is there that can 

 say the Rose will not follow them ? Much as the latter is and 

 has been admired, I do not think that the most enthusiastic 

 of its admirers have gone so far in giving fabulous prices for 

 their pets as did their grandfathers for their favourite Tulips 

 and some other kinds of flowers fashionable in their day; and 

 when we take into consideration the much greater abundance 

 of wealth of the present day to what there was formerly, the 

 honour of riding a hobby very hard in the cause of floral dis- 

 play belongs more to a past generation than to the present. 

 But I will not pursue this matter furthsr, but rather let us 

 take the case of the Appla and see what claims it has on our 

 attention. 



I do not think I am speaking beyond the bounds of general 

 acquiescence when I pronounce it the most important fruit 

 cultivated in this country, and certainly of the most import- 

 ance, not the least of its claims being its antiquity, f ci we are 

 told our Saxon ancestors had their orchards, their cider, and 

 other luxuries furnished by this fruit. What improvements 

 have taken place in the culture and management of the Apple 

 are but very imperfectly handed down to us, and how much 

 altered is the Apple of to-day from the fruit of Saxon times it 

 is difficult to conjecture; and it is not at all complimentary 

 to writers on gardening matters to find the merits of Boses so 

 freely discussed while Apples remain comparatively neglected. 

 Nurserymen's lists, although some of them are highly credit- 

 able, do not furnish all the information needed. Cannot fruit- 

 growers, therefore, give us their own opinions of the respective 

 varieties ? The growers of Roses dilate on the beauty of their 

 Marechal Niels, their Alfred Colombs, and the other thousand 

 and one names, and why cannot the merits of fruit be dis- 

 cussed with the same freedom ? An Apple may and often 

 does present a certain beauty of form which may to its ad- 

 mirers equal that of any Rose, while on the score of utility the 

 comparison is of course all on one side. 



The Apple which has attained about the highest position in 

 this immediate neighbourhood as a good-sized fruit and early- 

 bearing variety has been adverted to by Mr. Killick, and is 



best known in the locality as Stone's Apple, the original tree 

 growing on the farm of a gentleman of that name, the name 

 of the farm being Loddington. I see it has also been called 

 Loddington Seedling; but as Mr. Killick has so well described 

 its general character I need add but little, except my mite of 

 recommendation to its worth ss an early fruit, of its good 

 bearing qualities as a tree, and its general good appearance as 

 an Apple, added to which it keeps better than most Apples 

 that come into use in August and September, for I see it was 

 one in a collection of twelve sent by Mr. Skinner, an extensive 

 grower in the neighbourhood, and whose collection took the 

 first prize at a recent exhibition. 



Now, an Apple that is one of the favourites at market in 

 August and still in good condition in November is in itself a 

 sufficient recommendation, but its good bearing qualities are its 

 most important claims to notice, and so good is it in that 

 respect that it is seldom one meets with a large tree of it, 

 although, perhaps, no single variety has been planted so ex- 

 tensively in the neighbourhood of Maidstone, and its popu- 

 larity does not seem in the least diminished. Its most im- 

 portant opponent as a fruit to send to market in August and 

 September is Lord Suffield, but by many it is considered supe- 

 rior to the last-named popular kind ; and I expect it would be 

 difficult to find specimens of Lord Suffield to exhibit with 

 other kinds at the end of November. It has, however, its 

 admirers. 



I have often urged the claims of the Apple as being quite as 

 important as that of the Rose for consideration through the 

 medium of a gardening periodical, as local varieties are not 

 often known beyond the bounds of the district where they 

 originated. Whether this one originated as Mr. Killick sug- 

 gests is uncertain. I have frequently seen the original tree, 

 as I lived within a quarter of a mile of it for more than twenty 

 years. It is impossible to say whether it has been grafted or 

 not, but it has been pretty widely distributed during the last 

 few years. One of its names, given to it I believe by a London 

 fruit salesman, was Mapson's Seedling; and so high a cha- 

 racter did Mapson's Seedling obtain, that there is a Btory told 

 in the neighbourhood of an extensive fruit-grower having heard 

 of its productiveness procured some grafts, and gave instruc- 

 tions for his Stone's Apple and others to be cut down and 

 grafted with the kind, when after the second year it was found 

 to be identically the same variety that he had cut down — viz., 

 Stone's Apple! Such things I believe have occurred with 

 other fruits ; but when the result is such a good fruit as the 

 one in question it is all very well. As a worthy friend of mine 

 said many years ago when new Grapes " so called" turned out 

 Black Hamburghs, there was no harm done. 



A variety of Apple which seems to be an especial favourite 

 with Mr. Killick, and is also much esteemed by many others, 

 is the Cellini. Mr. Killick will, I am sure, forgive my differing 

 from him in reference to this fruit; for although it is un- 

 doubtedly a fine-looking Apple, it is too tender to oarry to a 

 distance well, and consequently when the baskets of it are 

 opened at market the produce doeB not look so well as when it 

 left home. This defect may perhaps have no weight with 

 many of your readers, but it is important to the growers for 

 market. I simply mention this, not with any view of dis- 

 paraging a really good bearing and pretty fruit, but in fairness 

 the good and bad qualities of each ought to be impartially 

 recorded. At a future time I may possibly advert to the merits 

 or demerits of other varieties of Apples, and I should be very 

 pleased if others would do the same, for it is only by records 

 of experience that we can determine the sorts best suited for 

 different purposes and different districts. I do not want less 

 of Rose lore, which so many enjoy, but more of hardy fruit 

 experience recording, which cannot fail to afford both pleasure 

 and instruction. — J. Robson. 



PICEA NOBILIS SEEDLINGS. 



On clearing a border on which I have a very good and tali 

 Picea nobilis my gardener found three seedlings from it, 

 evidently of one, two, and three years' growth, grown under 

 some Holly trees which stand close by. I am well acquainted 

 with growing seed of this tree, as I now have seedlings 6 feet 

 high, but to do this they have to be sown and carefully pre- 

 served under cover until fit to move. 



I am given to understand also that the seed never ripens 

 properly in this climate, but my experience appears to point to 

 the opposite. The parent tree itself gives every year large 

 numbers of cones which have to be cut away, or their weight 



