January '8, 1896.] 



Garden and Forest. 



15 



Apple, Blenheim Orange. — This is one of the best three 

 apples grown in English' gardens, the other two being Cox's 

 Orange Pippin and the Ribston. The history of the first- 

 named is somewhat remarkable. It was told recently at a 

 plant exhibition in Oxford, and is as follows : " Mr. G. 

 Kempster, who lived at the end of the last century at 

 Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, when a young man, discovered 

 a plant growing in a crevice in the window-sill. He care- 

 fully removed and planted it. In due time it became a 

 tree and bore apples, which were at first called Kempster 

 Pippins, and which were so fine and of such excellent flavor 



Lomaria gibba, var. blechnoides. — A supposed bigeneric 

 hybrid Fern has lately been sent to Kevvby Mr. A. MacLellan, 

 of Newport, Rhode Island, who says it is from Lomaria gibba, 

 crossed with Blechnum Brasiliense. There is no reason 

 why such a hybrid should not occur, these two plants being 

 much more closely related than is indicated by their names. 

 On the other hand, L. gibba is a variable plant, and I in- 

 cline to the view that this and other supposed hybrids of 

 the same kind are merely sports from that plant. At Kew 

 there are plants of L. gibba which are as broad in both 

 barren and fertile pinnte as the Blechnum and others showing 



■ff^tf' 



a 



Fig. 2. — Populus heterophylla. — See page 13. 



that they soon became famous. In 1811, the gardener at 

 Blenheim, the residence of the Duke of Marlborough, near 

 Woodstock, placed some of the apples on his Grace's table, 

 and he so highly approved of them that the name was 

 changed to Blenheim Orange. The original tree was 

 standing in 1826. In September, 1822, five apples were 

 gathered from it weighing from fifteen to twenty-one 

 ounces." Where it thrives, this Apple is one of the most 

 profitable ; it does not fruit freely until the trees are of 

 large size. It is good both as a dessert and as a cooking 

 apple. It is ripe from November to February. 



intermediate characters. The late Air. T. Moore described 

 in 1868 a seedling under the name of I.. gibba major, 

 which is very similar to Mr. Macl.ellan's plant, and it was 

 said to be a cross between L. gibba and L. ciliata. He also 

 refers to a cross between L. gibba and the Blechnum which 

 occurred at Chiswick in 1S70. Messrs. Veitch & Sons had 

 a broad-leaved L. gibba, which was at first called Blech- 

 num platyptera. This is identical with Mr. Macl.ellan's 

 plant, the name now adopted for it by Mr. Baker being 1.. 

 gibba, var. blechnoides. Finally, the late Dr. Asa I 

 to Mr. Baker fronds from a Fern which he described as 



