302 



HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



between the roots and the branches — by operating 

 more upon the former and less on the latter than 

 has been the practice in bygone days. jNot, 

 however, that root-pruning is altogether a new 

 idea, for it was, to a certain extent, recommended 

 by Bradley and others of our older authorities, 

 to be employed upon extraordinary occasions. 

 It has now been reduced to a regular system, 

 and those enlightened individuals who have 

 adopted the practice place much greater reliance 

 upon its due administration than upon all the 

 systems of branch-pruning recommended by 

 former practitioners. 



With a view to convey something like a cor- 

 rect idea of fmits, it has been suggested that 

 nurserymen should keep specimens of their 

 fruits, modeUed in wax, for the guidance of 

 purchasers. A more economical way would be 

 for the nurserymen of Britain to join together 

 in the pubHcation of a pomological work with 

 coloured figures, somewhat similar to Hooker's 

 " Pomona Londonensis," the " Pomological Ma- 

 gazine," or the " Pyrus-Malus Brentfordensis," 

 the colouring to be under the direction of a 

 competent person, so that uniformity might be 

 insured. We are aware of the cost of such 

 works, and also that neither of the first met 

 with such encouragement as to induce their 

 proprietors to continue them ; but in the case 

 to which we refer, a share of the expense ought 

 to be borne by the purchasers as well as by the 

 nurserymen, by a shght additional price on each 

 ti-ee. Both would be equally benefited, and 

 therefore both should bear their share of the 

 expense. The late Messrs Ronalds of Brent- 

 ford published their beautiful " Pyrus-Malus 

 Brentfordensis" at their own cost; and we 

 have their authority for stating that the ex- 

 pense was covered in a few years by the in- 

 crease in their sales of apple-trees, these being 

 the subjects illustrated. It is not at all unusual 

 for nurserymen to go to the expense of figuring 

 new fruits, but the public have no great con- 

 fidence in these representations. Some have 

 also had many of their fruits modelled in wax, 

 and very beautifully coloured, — ^the Messrs Law- 

 son of Edinburgh are doing so at the present 

 time ; and, beautifully as these specimens are 

 executed, the misfortune is that the next nur- 

 seryman who follows their example, by employ- 

 ing different artists, and procuring the speci- 

 mens from either better or worse localities, will 

 produce models as different as the fruits them- 

 selves would be in these circumstances. It 

 would be otherwise with coloured figures ; they 

 would be all engraved from the same plates, 

 and aa the colouring is done in general by 

 hand, a great difference might occur here, if not 

 under the direction of some competent indivi- 

 dual. No doubt they might be coloured by a 

 process employed in France for several years, 

 and exemplified in the coloured plates in vol. i. 

 of this work ; but this process, although much 

 more correct, is attended with much greater 

 expense. Collections of fruits, engraved and 

 coloured, are much more portable, and far less 

 liable to injury than specimens of them modelled 

 in wax, and coloured ever so correctly. A short 

 lettei'press description, somewhat in the tabular 



form, as adopted by the Horticultural Society in 

 their catalogue of fruits, would not add much 

 to the expense of such a work ; and if so exe- 

 cuted, sufficient confidence would be placed in 

 it by the public, as it would render both de- 

 scription and figure, as it were, stereotyped, and 

 completely remove the impression formed, that 

 little confidence can be placed in nursery de- 

 scriptive catalogues in general. 



One of our very best pomological writers (Mr 

 Errington) has very lately remarked in " The 

 Cottage Gardener," — "Since the million willhave 

 gardens, and possess the desire, without the 

 practical knowledge, to avail themselves of su- 

 perior fruit, some means should be placed with- 

 in' their reach, of knowing at a glimpse what 

 wiU suit their purpose. Catalogues they imder- 

 staud not ; neither have they time nor inclina- 

 tion to collect facts by a slow and tiresome de- 

 tail, which would put them in a position with 

 the really practical man, in adapting kinds to 

 their necessities, or as subordinate to their 

 schemes." No doubt, even the best executed 

 coloured figures of fruits would only satisfy so 

 far as actual appearance goes ; but this goes a 

 great way with fruit, as well as with a section 

 of humanity it might be deemed rudeness to 

 name. Size, colour, and form would be identi- 

 fied ; but flavour, quality, and season of maturity, 

 would only be obtained from a short letterpress 

 description. 



Of such importance is the settlement of the 

 nomenclature of fruits, which, notwithstanding 

 all that has been done of late years, is stiU in a 

 state of very great confusion, that the Belgian 

 government has very recently issued a royal 

 commission, not only with a view of settling 

 the nomenclature, by reducing the names by 

 which they are at present known to a common 

 standard, but also to collect and publish all ex- 

 isting information concerning their merits and 

 cultivation. Much gratified we are that our 

 hints thrown out above have already been thus 

 anticipated, and that to the extent of being car- 

 ried out under the auspices of one of the most 

 enlightened sovereigns in Europe. We are also 

 glad that the interests of Great Britain in this 

 matter are intrusted to the care of two of her 

 most accomplished pomologists, Mr Rivers and 

 Mr Thompson, who, we have no doubt, vinll see 

 that the publication is made available to our 

 cUmate and circumstances — both of which are 

 so different from those of Belgium, that a work 

 adapted to the one country, however credit- 

 ably executed, would be of little value to the 

 other. 



In regard to the extent to which we have 

 carried our select lists of fruits, it may be con- 

 sidered by some that they are too exclusive, 

 while others may think them by far too much 

 extended to come directly under the denomina- 

 tion of selections. Our object has been to bring 

 together as many of the best varieties in each 

 class as we know to be worthy of general culti- 

 vation, bearing in mind, at the same time, that 

 many of them that are adapted to one purpose, 

 or to one locality, are by no means fitted for 

 others ; and also, that the tastes and require- 

 ments of different individuals are nearly as vari- 



