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JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ August 2, 18S4. 



over carefully by my orchard-house manager, and many 

 shoots cut out with a sharp knife, so as to open the head of 

 the tree to the influence of the sun and air. 



Mr. Abbey in one of his articles (I cannot give him credit 

 for much orchard-house practical experience), invites me to 

 send orchard-house Peaches to Bradford, to test them with 

 wall-grown Peaches there. Now, any fruit-gardener well 

 fcnows that Peaches packed from twelve to twenty hours 

 lose all their fine aroma. A really fine-flavoured Peach is 

 seldom tasted in Covent Garden. My method for Beveral 

 years past has been to gather some Peaches from my trees 

 in pots, to take them to my neighbour's fine Peach wall, to 

 place them on a table in front of the wall, and then to test 

 them with Peaches of the same kinds freshly gathered from 

 a wall tree. I have always beaten my neighbour, my Peaches 

 having more succulence and flavour. If Mr. Abbey wishes 

 his orchard-house communications to have the least weight 

 . he must not any longer be a stay-at-home writer. — T. R. 



STEAWBEBEIES. 



"The Strawberry season here is now over. The Alpines 

 were cut down about the 6th of July, in the hopes of some 

 Strawberries in September. These with plenty of sugar are 

 a delicacy, and a good accompaniment to Sherry, or Rhenish 

 wines. They are also delicious with sugar and cream. They 

 should be in every garden. The difficulty is to keep them 

 back till other kinds are over. Probably spring-removal 

 would help to cheek their early flowering. I keep only the 

 old white Alpines, which, I think, are better than the red. 

 After cutting them down, I manured them highly, and have 

 kept them well watered, and I shall see with what result. 

 If size is wanted, they should be occasionally raised fresh 

 from seed. This is the main reason why newly-raised Alpines 

 are larger than the old sorts. The red and white-bush 

 Alpines, which have no runners, but are propagated by seed, 

 and also by division of the roots, are the largest that I have 

 seen, and great bearers, when newly raised by seed ; but the 

 fruit loses its size by or after the third year. The plants 

 in the second year, under high cultivation, are as high as a 

 man's knees, and look like Horse-Chestnut trees. They will 

 bear a little fruit the first season of their growth. Had I 

 appliances for raising seedlings, I should assuredly keep 

 them. 



I do not believe that the Strawberry season has been good 

 for some sorts, or for lazy people who will not pump ; but I 

 have had a glorious season. I like a West Indian sun, and 

 plenty of pump water, both for Poses and Strawberries. 

 The Queen, and other Strawberries known to be great 

 bearers, in the fine lands of Blandford have been a total 

 failure. In torrid summers the fine sorts suffer most. I 

 have had "nil " from my Scarlet Pines. 



The Strawberries that I have recommended have done 

 gloriously. The crops were huge of these — viz., Eliza 

 (Rivers), Boyal Hautbois (Eivers), Progmore Late Pine 

 (Ingram), Empress Eugenie (Knevett), Wonderful (Jeyes), 

 Marguerite (Lebreton), Bicton Pine (Barnes), and Boisselot 

 .Seedling No. 1, now called La Vineuse, a very good hardy 

 plant, handsome, heavy cropper, uniform in shape, and of 

 good flavour — latish. These are a good lot of Strawberries, 

 and can be recommended safely. My old friend Trollope's 

 Victoria did not come out so well as usual. Eclipse, the 

 best early Strawberry, finest in flavour of the early sorts, 

 and President, a very fine and good early Strawberry, were 

 in single file, and though netted could not escape the hungry 

 blackbirds and thrushes. They may be safely added to the 

 top lot. They would have done well if let alone. 



I have had other sorts, which are good as plants, and 

 heavy croppers ; but they have not been sufficiently meri- 

 torious to name them. The following are partially tried, and 

 I believe that on further trial they will be found to be very 

 meritorious — viz., John Powell (Ingram), Lord Clyde (Dean), 

 and Lucas (De Jonghe). These three Strawberries are the 

 best of the novelties, that have been here for some time. They 

 appear to be worthy of particular description. John Powell 

 has been well and — excepting that I cannot state its mode of 

 growth — rightly described in The Journal of Hobticux- 

 TtrEE by the Editors. It is of an uniform coned shape, firm, 

 .solid to the centre, of good quality of flesh, juicy, and fine- 



flavoured. I cannot at present say whether it will be a 

 cropper, and suited to various soils and situations, and also 

 to divers seasons — all important points. Lord Clyde is a 

 strong grower and cropper, and sure to be a great favourite. 

 It is very sweet, juicy, and fine-flavoured. I think that 

 taking all points, plant, cropping, flavour, and adaptation to 

 trying circumstances, it is one of the best sorts that have been 

 submitted to me for some year's. Lucas is a relative of 

 La Constante and Bijou, but a better grower, and does not, 

 like them, burn in torrid weather. It is a good cropper ; 

 and, as regards flavour, is in the line of La Constante. It 

 is of good uniform shape, and not so slow to run as the 

 above Strawberries. 



In our precarious climate, early running and early estab- 

 lishment are very important. In land peculiarly adapted to 

 Strawberries, and lying well to the sun, they may be planted 

 later for next year's cropping than they can be planted here. 

 An impostor, on being told by me that I would give him 

 nothing, remarked, "Well, sir, you could not give me less: 

 there is no taste in nothing, that I ever heard on." The 

 Queen-growers have found out this ; and no less a person 

 than a coroner gave me a verdict. " Ah ! 'what you wrote 

 about Eliza was true. That is the Strawberry for me ! " I 

 have purchased a good degree in this county by recommend- 

 ing Eliza, Wonderful, Eugenie, and Progmore Late Pines. 

 Add the Eoyal Hautbois, and you see my five best Straw- 

 berries. The last two are great leaps. — W. P. Radclyite, 

 Eushton. 



MY OECHAED HOUSE.— No. 6. 



Sitting in my orchard-house, my custom when the after- 

 noon is cloudy, I was forcibly struck by the various shapes 

 many large trees had gradually assumed. This was the 

 result of growth, and as the building had, meanwhile, re- 

 mained the same, much overcrowding had arisen. The 

 shapes were altered, too, much for the worse, and would 

 have shocked a theorist. The trees were heavily, too heavily, 

 laden, nevertheless the unpleasant fact remained, that all 

 symmetry was gone for this season. 



This is by no means the first time that a doubt has arisen 

 in my mind as to whether we really have the best form for 

 orchard-houses — that is, for those houses which, like mine, 

 are approaching to their eighth season of work. One thing 

 is evident, that those low structures, with sunken paths and 

 narrow dimensions throughout, can never suit for trees twelve 

 years old, in whatever form they may chance to be trained. 

 These houses have done a good work, and done it fairly ; 

 they may even be extremely useful for rearing young trees 

 for succession, and also to receive any tree which, from over- 

 bearing or otherwise, requires a year or two of rest ; but 

 they cannot meet the wants of a more advanced period of 

 work. 



Orchard-houses being a great fact, and certain to be largely 

 built in the future, it is of the highest importance to con- 

 sider the best form they should take. Much profit would 

 result to us all if this subject could be discussed fairly and 

 temperately. For example : it is well known that lean-to 

 houses are warmer and earlier than span-roofed houses, and 

 therefore should be built, in preference, in cold localities. 

 Then span-roofed houses offer many advantages peculiarly 

 their own — such as being loftier at the apex, and thereby 

 giving us space for trees grown as standards, with bare 

 stems, to raise themselves, and nothing can surpass the 

 beauty of this class of tree if properly trained. Span-roofed 

 houses are more light and any ; and indeed I am convinced 

 that potted trees should be turned towards the sunny side 

 of the house several times during the season. In this way 

 the fruit is more highly coloured, the shoots sooner ripened, 

 and the leaves far more healthy. But span-roofed houses 

 have; of necessity, no back walls, whilst these walls, if covered 

 (as is the case with my own house, which is a lean-to), with 

 cordon trees planted at intervals of 3 feet, trained at an 

 angle of 45°, and the whole closely pruned, it is impossible 

 to imagine a better way to produce handsome fruit. Retain- 

 ing, then, a back wall for this purpose, why should not a 

 span-roofed structure start from the centre of this part at 

 right angles to it, and the whole building assume the form 

 of the letter T ? By this combination much is gained, as 

 is evident. The upper portion, losing a lean-to, and not less 



