512 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



collections a freestone is found under this name. 

 Synonyms — Roman, Old Roman, Brugnon musque, 

 Brugnon violette musque of the French, from 

 which country it was first imported. 



Violette hdtive. — Leaves crenate ; glands 

 kidney-shaped ; flowers small ; flesh melting, 

 pale yellowish green, tinged with red near the 

 stone, from which it parts freely. Size medium ; 

 form slightly conical. Ripe beginning of Sep- 

 tember. Colour yellowish green where shaded, 

 dark purplish red where fully exposed to the 

 sun ; flavour excellent. One of our very best 

 nectarines, either for forcing or the open wall. 

 Of French origin, but long cultivated in this 

 country. English synonyms — Large scarlet, 

 New scarlet, Lord Selsey's elruge, Hampton 

 Court, Aromatic, Vermash of some, Violet, 

 Early violet, Violet mush, Violet red at the stone, 

 Early Brugnon, Brugnon red at the stone. French 

 synonyms — Brugnon hdtive, Petite violette hdtire, 

 Violette d ' Angervillieres, Violette musque. 



White, new. — Leaves crenate; glands kidney- 

 shaped ; flowers large ; flesh greenish white, 

 separating freely from the stone ; size medium ; 

 form globose ; ripe beginning of September ; 

 colour very pale yellowish green, becoming al- 

 most white where much shaded ; flavour excel- 

 lent. Of English origin, said to be from a seed 

 of the old white nectarine, an inferior sort 

 sown by the Rev. Mr Neate of Whitstone, near 

 London. One striking peculiarity between the 

 old and new white nectarine is stated by Mr 

 G. Lindley, that the former "could never be 

 made to take on the mussel stock, while the 

 latter requires no other." Mr Thompson states 

 in " Fruit Cat. of Hort. Society," p. 108 : " In a 

 favourable soil and warm exposure both sorts 

 of white nectarines acquire excellent flavour, 

 under other circumstances only indifferent ;" 

 almost implying that they are delicate sorts. We 

 have found both extremely hardy and healthy, 

 both in England and Scotland ; the New White, 

 Red Roman, and Catherine peach having with- 

 stood the severe spring frost of 1849, 1850, which 

 not only stripped one whole wall in the gardens 

 at Dalkeith, but very many both in England and 

 Scotland. We have remarked also, over a period 

 of thirty years, that the white nectarine is less 

 subject to insects and diseases than any other. 



Amongst the newly - introduced nectarines, 

 the following hold a prominent position. Their 

 merits, however, before they can be confiden- 

 tially recommended, will require a longer period 

 of trial. 



The Barker nectarine. — Fruit large ; form 

 obovate ; colour dark red next the sun, palish 

 yellow green on the shaded side ; flavour rich, 

 but less aromatic than the Violette hdtive ; glands 

 of the leaves kidney-shaped; flowers small. In- 

 troduced by Mr Barker from Snedia, a town in 

 Syria, about eleven years ago. The same gentle- 

 man also introduced the much-talked-of Stan- 

 wick nectarine from the same country. Both 

 varieties are, however, very distinct, the former 

 having bitter kernels, while those of the latter 

 are sweet. Mr R. Thompson, in " Journal of the 

 Horticultural Society," vol. vi. p. 25, relates the 

 following curious circumstance connected with 

 the original tree received at Chiswick : " It was 



noted as producing leaves with globose glands, 

 large flowers, and peaches of little merit. Sub- 

 sequently, one small twig was observed having 

 leaves with reniform glands. Buds from this 

 were taken, and worked on a tree against the 

 south wall. Fruit of it has this year (1851) 

 been obtained for the first time, and proven to 

 be the nectarine ! 



Stanwick nectarine. — This fine fruit has turned 

 out, after a very fair trial, to be completely un- 

 suited to the climate of Britain; for we find that 

 even in the Royal Gardens at Frogmore, and 

 when planted in a good situation, it has not 

 ripened even in the unusually fine season of 

 1852. The same want of success has occurred 

 at other places in the neighbourhood of London. 

 When planted by Mr Rivers in one of his span- 

 roofed orchard-houses, alongside of the Elruge 

 and Violette hdtive, neither particularly early 

 sorts, it did not ripen along with them in the 

 first and second week of September, their 

 usual season ; but the fruit remained hard and 

 green till past the middle of October, when it 

 cracked, and did not ripen at all. It must, 

 therefore, now be regarded as a forcing-house 

 fruit, to which its great merits as to flavour en- 

 title it. As it appears to be a very late variety, and 

 of delicious flavour, it may, if crossed with 

 such as the two varieties named above, become 

 the parent of a race of high-flavoured late necta- 

 rines, and, although requiring fire-heat to ripen 

 them, if planted in a house by themselves, ex- 

 tend the season of the fruit to a much later 

 period of the year than at present. 



American varieties of nectarines of high re- 

 putation, which it might be advantageous to 

 introduce to our forcing-houses. On our open 

 walls, the want of climate will ever preclude 

 them from general cultivation in Britain : — 



Boston. — According to Downing, u the largest 

 and most beautiful of all nectarines." Raised 

 from a peach-stone. Fruited at Downton Castle, 

 Herefordshire, by Mr Knight, in 1823, and in the 

 collection of the London Horticultural Society's 

 gardens. 



Bloomfield. — Glands obscurely reniform ; size 

 large ; form roundish ; flesh yellow, and adher- 

 ing closely to the stone. Ripe end of Septem- 

 ber. Colour dull yellow where shaded, dingy 

 red where fully exposed to the sun. Flavour 

 second-rate. 



The Americans do not seem to excel in nec- 

 tarines as they do in peaches. Those described 

 by them are chiefly our English and French 

 sorts. 



The names of the following nectarines are 

 pronounced as under : — Brugnon Violet Musque 

 ■ — Brune-yon Ve-o-lay Meus-kay ; Brugnon Mus- 

 que — Brune-yon Meus-kay ; D' Angleterre — 

 Dahn - glet - are ; Due du Tellier — Deuk - du 

 Tel-yay. 



Diseases. — The peach and nectarine, as may 

 be supposed, when transplanted from the genial 

 climate of Persia to the variable one of Britain, 

 are liable to various diseases, the effect of cli- 

 mate, and wholly unknown in their native 

 country. Of these the most serious are — canker, 

 mildew, gum, honey dew, wrinkling of the 

 foliage, and blotches on the young wood, as if 



