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JOURNAL OF HOETICULTTJEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER [ December 6, 1884. 



a white-washed cottage nestles beneath, the spreading trees 

 in the lanes, and many a welcome from old friends has 

 greeted me as I appeared trowel in hand. 



The Warwickshire lanes abound in Polystichnm aculeatum. 

 It may be found side by side in its varieties of lobatum and 

 lonchitidioides, but the latter is more rare. Polystichum 

 angulare is also to be found. It may be known from acu- 

 leatum by the darker green of the fronds, by their stiffer 

 habit of growth, and by the prickly nature of the pinnae. 

 It is necessary to study both Ferns together to be able to 

 decide with certainty at a glance which Fern is before you. 

 Ophioglossum vulgatum grows in the meadows of "Warwick- 

 shire ; but the Adders-tongue is not happy in cultivation, 

 and it is so common that, lite Pteris aquilina or common 

 Bracken, few care to cultivate it. I transplant Ophioglossum 

 yearly to the fernery, but only to see it yearly devoured by 

 slugs. Eventually I discarded from the fernery nearly all 

 of the large Ferns, planting them in good rich soil in the 

 walks leading to the rockery. Filix-mas, Filix-fcemina, 

 Lastrea dilatata, and the Scolopendriums grow well and 

 handsomely in the shade — indeed they may be said to 

 prefer it. 



One of the handsomest foreign Ferns for out-door culture 

 is the Struthiopteris germanica. Its perfect vase-like form 

 of tender green, throwing from the centre rich-looking spikes 

 of fruit, contrasts well with the dark robust Filix-nias, and 

 forms a beautiful object for the eye to dwell upon. 



Nothing but Ferns should be planted in a fernery, and 

 great care should be taken to make good drainage at the 

 bottom of each separate space allotted to a Fern. In plant- 

 ing them you must be careful that a large Fern does not 

 overdrip a small one. 



On my return from Scotland I planted Septentrionale in 

 an open space in the full sunshine, with good earth and 

 drainage, and it has flourished well. I put a specimen of 

 each Cystopteris in the fernery, turning the others into a 

 border for a fiat fernery I made without rock. They grew 

 well in this situation, increasing rapidly, so that in a couple 

 •of years I could have stocked three or four ferneries. 



Dryopteris and Phegopteris I planted on the lower range 

 and at the sides of the rockery ; but they are troublesome 

 in cultivation, the creeping roots finding their way into each 

 other's houses, and becoming a confused but always beau- 

 tiful tangled mass of green. — Fiux-FasaiiNA. 



MY OECHAED-HOUSE.— No. 12. 



Absence, on a visit to those districts of Franee which are 

 most celebrated for their fruit culture, has caused an inter- 

 termission of some weeks in these papers. The time, how- 

 ever, has been busily occupied in examining into matters 

 which, however important to the amateur, he cannot always 

 command the opportunity of seeing for himself. Having no 

 object but to be useful to my brother amateurs, it shall be 

 my future care to present to them the results of these notes 

 on fruit culture in France. The day has, happily, long gone 

 by when to allude to the works of any of our neighbours 

 was viewed with suspicion and dislike. Though England is 

 confessedly at the head of all in her horticultural triumphs, 

 she never could have attained to this had she despised the 

 progress made in other parts of the world, in similar pur- 

 suits. Each nation has its peculiarities and special pro- 

 ficiencies, and the speciality of the Englishman is that he 

 is not above learning from even uncivilised communities. 

 Though considered abroad as the most prejudiced of man- 

 kind we are really the only cosmopolitans. If these things 

 really be so, they are the secret of our success in every great 

 undertaking. And when we consider how much horticulture, 

 as^a practice, and not merely as a theory, is influenced by 

 differences of climate, soil, and locality, it is evident that 

 there is very much to learn still, and that every humble 

 contributor to the general stock of knowledge has his ap- 

 pointed post in the work. 



Looking also at the subject from another point of view, 

 each individual effort which is made to promote free ex- 

 change of thought among neighbouring nations conduces to 

 the growth of good feeling and peaceable dispositions. It 

 is this thought which makes many of us rejoice in the spread 

 of horticultural pursuits, for we know that they civilise men, 



and calm angry jealousies. My brethren, the clergy of 

 England, know this well, and they are especially unanimous 

 in recommending a taste for these homely and quiet objects. 

 No one feels this more than the amateur in foreign lands, 

 for he is sure of a kindly welcome when he presents himself 

 as an inquirer. A bond is at once established between utter 

 strangers, and it is his own fault if the traveller fail in 

 bringing back some new and valuable information. Having 

 myself, from ill health, spent much time on the continent, 

 I can testify to the truth of these things, and having de- 

 rived many advantages therefrom in former times, it was 

 very interesting to revisit these localities after a lapse of 

 seven or eight years. Perhaps, some notes made may 

 interest my brother amateurs. 



The places visited were Angers, Chartres, this year, and 

 Montreuil (near Paris), last year. We may take these places 

 as types of the most advanced French cultivation. They 

 are essentially different in their " school," as it is there 

 termed, but present nevertheless points of resemblance. 

 The practice at Montreuil is that which most resembles 

 good English open-air pruning (I speak of the Peach at 

 present) ; that at Angers differs somewhat from it, but both 

 are essentially " long pruning." At Chartres, on the other 

 hand, is a " school," about a quarter of a century old, founded 

 and directed by M. Grin, aine, which advocates the very closest 

 pruning. That of Orleans is a development of this system, 

 and has numerous adherents. As it is proposed to place 

 these matters on a larger scale before the readers of this 

 Journal, our remarks here shall be confined to Chartres. 



Chartres is a town situated on the western line of rail, 

 and not far from Paris. It is very accessible to any amateur, 

 and well worthy of a visit. The summer climate is very 

 favourable for fruit culture, but the winter is cold, and the 

 soil, generally, not deep, nor abounding in rich matter. 

 Science, therefore, has to be called in aid here as well as in 

 England, and from what I heard from other quarters, horti- 

 culture, until M. Grin showed the way, was at a low ebb. 

 This kindly-disposed and intelligent gentleman has a small 

 property of his own close to the public gardens, which are 

 beyond the promenades. It is necessary to remember this, 

 as the French are not clever at directing Messieurs les 

 Anglais. Having, however, managed to overcome these ap- 

 parently insurmountable difficulties, we were amply re- 

 warded. Indeed, few things have given me more pleasure 

 of late than this visit. 



The system advocated by M. Grin lies at the basis of all 

 orchard-house pruning. It consists mainly of extremely 

 close summer pruning, in the simplest and most rational 

 way possible, and as M. Grin has devoted nearly his whole 

 life to the study of fruit trees, and notably of the Peach, 

 and has inaugurated a novel and a successful system, ama- 

 teurs will be especially interested to hear something of it. 

 M. Grin has confided to me the -task of representing his 

 opinions to the English public, of which he speaks highly, 

 and as this system is, in the main, similar to that described 

 in my own work, " Cordon Training," published in 1860, 

 this may serve the better to describe it. 



As these lines are not written for the great and learned 

 gardeners of the nobility, but simply for amateurs and in- 

 quirers, I may here again say that all Peach pruning con- 

 sists of " long pruning," and " close pruning." M. Grin is 

 the person, undoubtedly, who has introduced this last 

 system, and who has perfected it. So novel a revolution 

 has caused a storm of angry contention among French cul- 

 tivators. While it has been assailed and criticised by some, 

 others have endeavoured to supersede it by introducing 

 systems developed from a similar basis. These systems 

 have, nevertheless, their own merits, and shall be con- 

 sidered in due time. 



I myself, have long been convinced of the value of close 

 pruning. Having, in 1857, heard of it from M. Leroy, of An- 

 gers, while I was there attending lectures on fruit culture, 

 on returning home I immediately cut back very closely all 

 my Peach tree3 in the open air, and have continued up to 

 the present time to grow very fine and regular crops from 

 trees closely spurred. Not one of the shoots on these spurs 

 have been tied-in. They have simply been pinehed-in in 

 the summer to three leaves, and several shoots being formed 

 on each spur, one or two were selected in the winter to bear 

 the fruit, and those not wanted were cut back to two eyes 



