2l6 



FLORA AND SYLVA, 



Cluster Pine (P. pinaster), Weymouth Pine 

 (P. strobus) , Austrian Pine, Monterey Cypress, 

 Scotch Fir, and Cedar of Lebanon are good 

 provided they are planted in sufficiently wide 

 belts. Yew is an admirable wind-screen, but is 

 very slow in growth, and Holly may easily be 

 kept low without becoming formal in appear- 

 ance. The common Box makes a dense shrub, 

 and yuniperus Sabina, a pretty spreading bush 

 about 6 feet in height. Other shrubs useful 

 for providing wind-breaks are Euonymus japoni- 

 cus and Escallonia macrantha, both of which 

 are used for this purpose in the Isles of Scilly, 

 thelatter beingvery pretty when inflower, but 

 being tender is only to be recommended in the 

 southern counties ; Berber is Darwinii, of which 

 I have seen hedges in Cornwall, is very bright 

 with orange flowers in the spring. In Nichol- 

 son's " Dictionary of Gardening " its height is 

 given as 2 feet. I have, however, seen it a huge, 

 spreading bush over 25 feet high. Veronica Tra- 

 versi makes a good 5-foot high shrub, and is I 

 practically hardy in thesouth. O/earia Haasti, 

 Skimmia fragrans, and Pittosporum tobira may 

 all be employed, and I know a hedge of Pitto- 

 sporum tenuifolium near Falmouth. Choisya ter- 

 nata is far from tender, but would be best on 

 the inside line of the shelter-belt. Brooms of 

 all kinds are useful, but with these, as with all 

 other subjects that are not very close-growing, 

 a considerable width must be planted to break 

 the wind. Griselinia littoralis is sometimes made 

 use of, and the Snowberry (Symphoricarpus) , 

 Osmanthus, and Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis fru- 

 ticosd) will provide a low wind-screen. The 

 Sea Buckthorn (Hippopha? rhamnoides) and Ta- 

 marisk are excellent sea-side shrubs, and may 

 be planted even where they are sprinkled with 

 the salt spray. Near Falmouth the Tamarisk 

 is growing on a narrow beach which is covered 

 by the salt water at high spring tides, but is in 

 perfect health. The Buckthorn is extremely 

 pretty when bearing its orange-berries. Both 

 should be planted in good breadths to form an 

 effectual wind-break. Even with such hardy 

 things as these an artificial shelter in their 

 early stages is advisable as it means saving of 

 time in the end. Furze is an excellent com- 

 mencement of a shelter-belt on windy hillsides, 

 and should be sown where it is -intended to 

 grow. Shelter fences are only necessary where 



rooted plants are put out, and are not needed 

 when seed of any kind is sown. The common 

 Laurel and Portugal Laurel cannot be recom- 

 mended, as even in the south they often are 

 badly cut in severe winters. Clipped Laurels 

 are an abomination, and it is only when grow- 

 ing as a natural tree, 25 feet or so in height, 

 and bearing its white bloom-spires, that this 

 ubiquitousalien possesses any decorative value. 

 The Sweet Bay, or true Laurel {Lauras //obi/is), 

 is far superior and hardier. 



S. W. FlTZHERBERT. 



The Flavour of Fruits. — The indifference 

 of many English people as to the flavour of 

 fruits is curious to those who know that fla- 

 vour is the main thing as regards the fruit 

 we grow. It is folly to grow hardy fruits of 

 poor quality, considering the time and cost 

 needed to bring the Pear and Apple to a bear- 

 ing state. Knowing this, we must say we 

 have been taken aback by this note in Mr. 

 Rivers' fruit catalogue: — "Within the last 

 few years exhibitions of pears and apples have 

 become so deservedly popular, that large va- 

 rieties are absolutely necessary for those who 

 intend to exhibit, as without size there is no 

 chance of success, flavour being entirely set 

 aside."'' And this from the house most famous 

 for raising new fruits. These ideas, unfor- 

 tunately too common, lead to the presence in 

 gardens of much fruit of a poor quality. In 

 our country the trouble is very often to get 

 any fruit at all ; and when we do get it, to 

 have it of third rate quality is no great gain 

 to us. Pears and apples quite common in gar- 

 dens, and included even in the conventional 

 list of first-rate kinds, have no trace whatever 

 of a first-rate quality. The public have a truer 

 appreciation than the professional grower, be- 

 cause we see, in the market, kinds of fine quali- 

 ty taking their due place ; and the American, 

 New Zealand and other growers have the wit 

 to see that it suits them best to have first-rate 

 kinds. So that the home-growers will soon 

 have to face, in our markets, apples of the very 

 best quality for cooking, or eating, like Stur- 

 mer, the Newtown, Spitzbergen ; and pears, 

 like Winter Nelis, and Easter Beurre, which 

 are well grown in quantity in our Colonies 

 and in America. 



