3°4 



FLORA AND SYLVA, 



but the lights are so made that they can 

 be-lifted for free ventilation, even to the 

 present| time (end October). The depth 

 of soil and water is 1 8 inches — first a 

 layer of coarse rubble and then soil— in 

 all about 9 inches with another 9 inches 

 left for water over the soil. This consists 

 of good turfy loam, road grit, and leaf 

 mould, but no manure of any kind is 

 used. We start this Lily into growth in 

 February or March. Till that time, from 

 now onwards, the temperature of the 

 water is allowed to drop to 5 5 to 60 de- 

 grees and the plants go comparatively 

 speaking to rest, nor do we disturb them 

 until growth re-commences. Each one 

 is then lifted with the live roots attached 

 and laid aside in water whilst the tank 

 is cleaned, being then replanted. We 

 have now a large number of seedlings in 

 active growth from this year's seed sown 

 as soon as ripe; these will flower in June 

 or July of next year. A first-class cer- 

 tificate of the Royal Horticultural So- 

 ciety was, I think, unanimously awarded 

 to this new variety in Julylast. The plants 

 began to flower in May, and have been 

 in flower ever since, but their size is now 

 much diminished. I had the original 

 stock of N. gigcmtea from Mr. Low, gar- 

 dener to the Duke of Grafton at Eus- 

 ton Hall, Thetford, who told me that he 

 had flowered it for several seasons in 

 a tank in the stove. On seeing my first 

 exhibit of this seedling he agreed that it 

 was distinctlyfiner than the parent plant. 

 This was at the last Holland House 

 Show. Mr. F. W. Burbidge and other 

 lovers of Water Lilies agree that it is a 

 good addition to our aquatic plants for 

 warm water. JAS. HUDSON. 



PEAR ORCHARDS FOR 

 BEAUTY. 



Some of the most beautiful things in our gar- 

 den or home landscapes are the orchards of the 

 West of England, more often planted with the 

 Apple than with the Pear. The Pear tree in this 

 country is neglected in this respect, and should 

 be much more grown as an orchard tree for its 

 beauty even if not for its fruit, yearly growing 

 in value. Some Pears gained in our own time, 

 like Doyenne du Cornice and Beurre Dumout, are 

 worth a score of the old kinds. It should be re- 

 membered that the Pear tree is finer in form 

 and stature than the Apple, and it is not rare to 

 see trees in Worcestershire of the size of forest 

 trees, and such trees, with their varied and pic- 

 turesque form, are worth thinking of when 

 planting for beauty. 



The use of the Quince as a dwarfing stock 

 for many years past in England has been rather 

 against the Pear as an orchard tree, because any 

 kind grafted on this stock never succeeds as a 

 standard tree — the only form we now have in 

 mind. In our fertile valleys and the rich soil of 

 gardens the Quince is often a good stock, but 

 over a large area of poor sandy and chalky land 

 it is worthless, and its wide use has done much 

 harm to Pear cultivation upon such soils. In 

 using the Pear or natural stock we maybe sure 

 that it will do well on any land, be it heavy 

 Wealden clay or the lighter upland soils. It is 

 true we must wait for results ; the standard Pear 

 is a forest tree in its way, and must be allowed 

 time to mature, but it is surely better to let the 

 years run by in that way than to plant trees 

 which may never succeed as standards. For 

 trees so planted to endure we should choose 

 good kinds that ripen in our country, and see, 

 in every case, that they are grafted on the wild 

 Pear — their natural stock — since we cannot 

 easily have them on their own roots, though it 

 would interest me much to see them on their 

 natural roots, and I have two Pears so grown 

 which look far healthier this autumn than any 

 others. The most important point of all is that 

 of varieties. We should never plant any but 

 good Pears, which, as standards, will ripen in 

 our country under any fair conditions. Here 

 are the names of those found to possess these 

 qualities: — Beurre Giffard, Jargonelle , Beurre 

 Goubault, Beurre Dumont, Beurre d" Amanlis, 



