ii6 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 211. 



South African Fruit. — Some enterprising people inter- 

 ested in the cultivation of peaches and grapes at the Cape 

 have recently made the experiment of importing the fruit 

 into England at a time when they would be most likely to 

 find a favorable market. The first consignment of peaches 

 was sold by auction last Wednesday in Covent Garden, 

 and realized about twenty-seven shillings per box, some 

 fetching as much as two shillings each fruit. They arrived 

 in splendid condition — so good, indeed, that they might 

 easily have been mistaken for the choicest English-grown 

 fruit. The grapes were a failure, owing, I believe, to 

 faulty packing, and possibly to improper treatment during 

 the vo)fage. I have seen and eaten grapes and peaches at 

 the Cape, and can testify to their excellence both as regards 

 size, finish and flavor. If the long voyage, partly through 

 the tropics, can be made without injury to the grapes, 

 there is a certain market for them in Europe. The fruit is 

 as easily grown at the Cape as gooseberries are here. Of 

 course, the result of this first experiment need not be taken 

 as final. Even this badly packed consignment of grapes 

 was described as being "large, well-shouldered in bunch, 

 and full in berry." Sold by auction they realized about 

 threepence per pound. The facilities afforded by the very 

 fast steamers of the present time, fitted, too, with the most 

 approved packing and store rooms, render the transport of 

 delicate fruit, flowers and plants from distant countries 

 much easier and cheaper than used to be possible. As a 

 consequence, many islands and other places in the tropics 

 which are favorable to the production of good marketable 

 produce are being seized upon by enterprising people for 

 the growth of fruit, flowers,, seeds, etc., to be sold in 

 Europe. The lot of the English growers is yearly becom- 

 ing harder. All the skill in the world has no chance against 

 the prodigality of nature in the tropics, combined with 

 cheap labor properly guided. 



Horticultural Training. — The editorial comment on 



what I said with regard to this question (see page 55), 



namely, that if in addition to practice the pupil is instructed 



in some of the principles of the sciences related to the art, 



he ought to be a more intelligent practitioner and a broader 



man, cannot well be controverted. As a matter of fact this 



is the principle which is worked upon at Kew. Applicants 



are expected to take an intelligent interest in the science as 



well as the art of horticulture ; a man who has no desire to 



know the reason wh}^ of his art is scarcely likely ever to 



rise very high in his profession. But the art, i. e., the 



practice, is a sine qua non in men who are expected to grow 



plants well. A knowledge of the theory alone would not 



enable him to do this. Nobody has ever been so foolish 



as to decry knowledge and thoughtfulness in horticulture. 



The more the better. But it will be admitted that no 



amount of book knowledge will enable a man to grow 



plants well unless he has had a practical training in the 



art. We only ask that practice shall be placed first ; that 



the clever grower shall get due credit for a knowledge of 



his art even though he may be ignorant of the scientific 



principles of that art, and that the best gardener shall be he 



who does his work best rather than he who can talk most 



learnedlv about it. „,. „,. 



London. ' W. Watson. 



Cultural Department. 



The Winter Garden. 



IN this latitude the montli of January has been one of rather 

 moderate temperature, with no prolonged period of exces- 

 sive cold and no season of warmths such as is known as the 

 January thaw. In consequence there has been very little 

 movement of vegetation, and even the precocious Chickweed 

 has not as yet shown flower in the garden. However, the gar- 

 den has at no time been entirely bare of flowers. The autumnal 

 Snowdrops still preserved their forms till early in the new year, 

 when Elwes' Snowdrops began to show color, and stray plants 

 of Anemone blanda greeted the lengthening days with their 

 cheerful stars. During February these Snowdrops preserved 

 their purity through all changes of weather, and have been 

 gradually joined by other varieties — Galanthus plicatus, G. Fos- 



ter! and G. umbricus. Some stray blooms of Scillas make 

 dainty spots of blue in the border, and the first of the reticulata 

 group of Irises, I. Bakeriana, has been true to its season. A 

 few warm days will bring forward others of the group, with 

 some varieties of Anemone, to be followed soon by the rush 

 of spring flowers. 



It may as well be repeated that the flowers named are true 

 winter flowers, and are as well adapted by their structure for 

 their winter environments as any summer flower is adapted to 

 its season. As a matter of fact, if protectedfrom blasting north- 

 west winds, they have an endurance beyond that of most flow- 

 ers of other seasons. On the 4th of January I noticed the first 

 Anemone blanda, which had been encouraged into growth 

 in a warm corner by the edge of a mat overhanging a frame. 

 That same flower, now early in March, opens up its face to the 

 sun every bright day, as pure and unscathed as at first. The 

 Snowdrop hides a capacity for heroic endurance under a form 

 of the nrost captivating fragility and helplessness. The reticu- 

 lated Irises vary somewhat, and if the buds are caught in a cer- 

 tain state by an extreme frost they may be injured, but when 

 expanded they endure for a number of days. Over these flow- 

 ers it is well to secure a sash or some contrivance to throw off 

 wet, but they need no coddling from the cold. At this mo- 

 ment my flowers are under the snow, but the first warm day 

 will reveal them again unsullied and as bright as ever. A suc- 

 cession of Snowdrops, Anemones, Scillas, Muscari, Crocuses, 

 Chionodoxas, Irises, Fritillarias, Aconites, etc., will carry for- 

 ward the season to the first Narcissi and large-flowered bulbs, 

 which later fill the garden with gay blooms. Of course, these 

 small flowers, even in considerable colonies, are not showy, 

 and do not make much impression on the general bareness of 

 the garden, but they are distinctly pleasing and always inter- 

 esting, and these are qualities we should insist on in a plant as 

 well as in a friend. 



One of the pleasures in making a winter and early spring 



garden is the constant study and experiment required and the 



difficulty of securing choice material, with the harassing 



doubt at first as to results. Such a garden is never finished. 



One gains new points every season to be put on trial, and is 



pleased if every year shows some slight gain. At present my 



small bulbs are planted in clumps, with clumps of Narcissi 



for succession. Over all is sown a sprinkling of Poppy-seed, 



for the summer succession. The roots of these latter plants run 



deep, and should help to keep the ground sweet. It is, of 



course, a drawback to bulb-culture that beds must be primarily 



devoted to them, and it is better to suffer the sight of bare 



earth rather than cover with vegetation which will interfere 



with the ripening. A bed of this kind is not protected during 



the winter by any covering, plants of at all doubtful hardiness 



being in other quarters. Most of these plants are also capital 



subjects for a cold house. As suggested a few weeks since, a 



pan of Snowdrops, thickly planted, is very attractive, and the 



plants will be furnished with better foliage tlian in the open. 



Iris reticulata forces about as readily as any bulbous plant, and 



its pleasant Violet-like odor is very pronounced under glass. 



There is much difference in the beauty of the flowers of this 



Iris, those of a reddish cast being not attractive. If one has a 



cool house from which frost is just excluded, plants of the 



character under discussion can be grown very effectively and 



satisfactorily in a rockery, on which can also be arranged some 



of the small alpines which sufter out-of-doors from the winter 



rains. ~ ,7 ^ , 



Elizabeth, N.J. J.N. Gerard. 



Variegated Abutilon Eclipse. 



THIS must not be confused with another Abutilon named 

 Eclipse, a large variety with green leaves and flowers, 

 orange-colored, veined with crimson and purple. The latter 

 plant is a standard variety in England, though not common in 

 this country. The variegated one is very distinct and beau- 

 tiful, resembling A. vexillarium in type, being of trailing habit 

 and most useful as a pillar-plant for the greenhouse and con- 

 servatory. Trained loosely, so as to allow the side branches 

 to droop, it is very effective, as it bloom in the winter, when 

 its graceful branches are loaded with lovely bell-shaped flow- 

 ers of orange-yellow, with sepals of reddish brown. The leaves 

 are inotfled with bright yellow and deep green, and the varie- 

 gation is most distinct in the winter months when the sun is 

 not so strong, and this makes it more useful. 



One of the best modes of culture is to grow it as a standard, 

 using any of the ordinary varieties for stocks, and budding or 

 grafting at the desired height. The stock requires to be grown 

 to a single stem, and kept tied to a straight stick until strong 

 enough to support itself. Two and a half or three feet is tali 

 enough, when the top should be pinched off so as to afford 



