134 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE, 



February 17, 1912. 



turity of t;he tubers. Store the latter in 

 tlieir pots during the winter in the same 

 way that gloxinias are. 



If a few old tubers are started very early 

 in spring in two batches^ the flowering 

 period' will be KX>nsiderably prolonged. 

 Ko<l, yellow, an<l orange are the prevail- 

 ing colours. The flowers are borne on 

 stout stems, well above the 'eaves, and do 

 not look at all stiff or formal. 



A light 



syringing will be beneficial occasionally up 

 to the flowering stage. As the roots are 

 fine— very fibrous — do not give strong 

 stinnilants. Geo. Garner. 



FINELY^FLAVOURED PEARS. 



We grow over seventy variotie^^ of pears, 

 and most of these are useful in their sea- 

 son, though, of course, some are better than 

 others, and in some seasons certain varieties 

 do better than othei-s. 



One of the earliest and best is Beurre 

 GifFord, a pear of medium size, melting, and 

 very juicy, and in a good season it has a 

 beautiful colour ; this does well on pear or 

 quince stock, and either as a bush, cordon, 

 or horizontal trained tree. Clapp's Favoiirit? 

 is a very large and hamlsome pear^ and 

 when taken from the tree in tlie proper 

 condition is decidedly an acquisition. It is 

 highly coloured and a fine fruit for exhibi- 

 tion. To ripen it on the tree it mu>t be 



secured with ties, w*hen it will develop a 

 splendid flavour, but it will not keep long 

 after being gathered, wtiile, if gathered 

 before it is ready, it never <levelops its true 

 flavour. This is an August pear. 



The two earliest pears are Doyenne d'Ete 

 and Gitron des Carmes, hut both are small, 

 round fruits, ajid not of much value. Tar- 

 gonere and Williams' Bon Cliretien are two 

 rejiiarkalble pears, 'both very old, and both 

 unsurpassed in their season. The former is 

 best when eaten as gathered from the tree 

 on a west or south-west wall. If gathered 

 iibout twenty-four hours before ripe this 

 pear will ripen w^ell, and the flavour be 

 good. If required for packing, it will 

 stand gathering two days ahead, and still 

 be passable. Williams' Bon Chretien, if 

 the true type is secured, is a I'eally first- 

 rate pear, and I daresay the most popular, 

 as the familiar " William is amongst us 

 from France long before our own fruits are 

 ready. The English type is by far the best, 

 and I have gaithered fruits of it over a 

 pound in weight from a west wall. The end 

 of August a.nd the first ha^f of vSeptember 

 is the time for these pears, and they are 

 of the finest flavour, hut the ''William'' 

 jnay be gathered and ripened quite easily 

 by artificial means, and thus give a longer 

 season. It should be grown in several por - 

 tions to doubly ensure a long supply. The 

 tree bears well as a cordon, bush, espalier, 

 or fan-trained. There are two varieties; 

 one is much smaller and earlier than the 

 other, and stripe<l. 



In Septemherand October there is rather 

 a glut of pears, and for general use many 

 are not really necessary. Yet where one 

 variety fails, another one does well. One 

 will -do probably better on a light soil and 

 another on a heavy soil ; it really takes 

 some time for one to discover which varie- 

 ties are likely to do well, and vice versa. 

 The best method would be to h:^,ve a look 

 around the district, and see what varieties 

 do well under normal conditio]i>. plmit ac- 

 cordingly, and then compare iiotf s. 



Marguerite Marrillat is one of tiie very 

 b<^t peaa's in the month of Septomber; it 

 i< a strong grower, and has very l:ir^<' fruit, 

 juicy, and of good flavour. It tine for 

 home use and exhibition, ^rows extra larf»;e 



on walls, and does well as a bush or pyra- 

 mid. Souvenir du Oongres is another good 

 pear, very large and highly perfumed ; 

 splendid on a south-we^t wall, does fairly 

 well as a pyramid or bush, and is a very 

 consistent cropper. The fruits require to 

 be heavily thinned. Fondante d'Autamme 

 is a fine old pear ; large and deliciously fla- 

 voured ; does well in sjny form, and is most 

 useful for orchard culture. Dr. Jules Guyot 

 is a large fruit, much resembling a Wil- 

 liams', but with more colour. It is of goad 

 flavour, and the tree is a rare cropper. 

 Triomphe de Vienne has very large and 

 handsome fruits of fine flavour, and is quite 

 one of the finest peajrs for all purposes, but 

 does not last long in good condition. 



Beurre Hardy is, I consider, one of the 

 best of October peairs when well grown and 

 the fruit well developed. It is (both large 

 and handsome, and of verv rich flavour. 

 Beurre Superfinis o-f a similar character and 

 an excellent bearer in all forms. Comte de 

 Lamy is small, but of excellent flaivour, 

 and requires a Avail to do it justice. It does 

 well as a cordon, fan, or horizontal trained 

 tree. Great care must bo taken in pruning, 

 as it fruits on the ends of the branches. 

 This tree is not a strong grower, but, never- 

 theless, Comte de Lamy is one of the best 

 dessert pears. Emile d'Heyst is a finely- 

 flavoured, moderately sized fruit, quite in 

 the front rank, and after the style of Marie 

 Louise. It often fruits w^hen the latter 

 fails, and should always be planted, as it 

 is very free; the fruits require severe thin- 

 ning. Marie Louise is now considered by 

 many to 'be the hest j>ears of its season. 

 Unfortunately, it is rather tender, and not 

 a very robust grower on some soils. 



Louise Bonne of Jei-sey is both large and 

 very handsome, quite hardy, a,nd is first 

 irate on walls. The best of all autumn 

 pears, it keeps a long time in perfect con- 

 dition, and the tree is an abundant bearer. 

 This variety does well in most places a 

 standard, and is usually so grown in Wilt- 

 shire, and atCompton Basset there are the 

 largest and best trees of the variety I have 

 ever seen. 



Coming to November pears, Doyenne rlu 

 Cornice, when grown well R,nd from walls, 

 is second to none, being large, of good 

 shape, sweet, juicy, and very handsome 

 when the fruits are exposed to the sun. 

 I have grown this up to l^lb., but the best 

 fruits for general purposes are those that 

 weigh about half a pound. The variety 

 does well as a single cordon or a trained 

 tree, but it should be grown in several posi- 

 tions and aspects to secure as long a season 

 as possible, hecause the fruits are always 

 in demand. Fondante de-Tliirriot is a very 

 fine pear of the finest flavour, a real good 

 grower, and abundantly prolific. Charles 

 Ernest is a fine large yellow fruit, with 

 faint red colouring next the sun. It forms 

 a good pyramid, but is best on wa^lls, bears 

 freely and quickly on the quince stock. 

 Thompson's is smal! to medium sized, sweet, 

 aromatic, of excellent flavour, and con- 

 sidered by some to be the best of pears. It 

 requires -a wall to do it justice. Beurre 

 Alexandre Lucas has large golden fruits, 

 melting, ajid of rich flavour, something like 

 Louise Bonne, keeps well, and is very pro- 

 lific. 



Among December pears Glou Morceau is 

 an old favourite, and generally crops well, 

 especially near the sea coast. The fruits 

 should be thinned, and not gathere<l until 

 really ripe, or they will shrivc\ 1 liavp 

 left them on the trees until XovemlxM* li js 

 well advanced, netting thcin over to give 

 shelter from frost. Winter N( lis is a rather 

 small pear, but of most delicious flavour, 

 being quite of the front rank, and probably 

 tlu^ very be^st in its season for private use ; 



a rather shy grower until well establishe^l, 

 and should be grown against a warm wall' 

 it is not so hardy as some pears. Santa 

 Clans is a new introduction, and regarded 

 as the Doyenne du Comice of its season. 

 This pear is destined to have 

 future. 



a 



gredt 



Easter Beurre, on light, well-drained 

 soils, is an ideal pear for use from January 

 to March ; it crops well, and is of most re- 

 freshing flavour ; requires a warm wall and 

 plenty of water during the growing seasou. 

 On clay soils I have not found it do verv 

 well. Beurre de Naghin is a large pear cf 

 the highest excellence for January and Feb- 

 ruary, aaid makes a fine addition to late 

 pears. It bears freely, and requires thin- 

 ning to allow the f ruits to properly develop. 

 Josephine de Malines is a first-class dessert 

 |>ear when w^ell ripened, and its season 

 extends from February to April. It takes 

 a long time to ripen, and sihould not be 

 gathered until it comes away easily, or it 

 will not keep well. Olivier des Serres is an 

 old variety, hut a good grower and cropper, 

 and often succeeds when others fail ; an 

 excellent pear of the finest flavour; Feb- 

 ruary to March. 



Le Lectier is a fine late pear, and a. real 

 good grower and cropper, and is quite one 

 of the best introductions of recent years. 

 Ne Plus Meuris is rather small^ but one 

 of the best pears for Apri' luse. It bear<^ 

 freely and in large clusters w^hich should 

 be severely thinned. This pear also should 

 be left on the tree to the last ipossible 

 moment; it requires a waJl, hut in warm 

 localities will grow well as a bush. Doyenne 

 d'Alencon gives goo<;l-sized fruits for us^' 

 in January ; a good bearer, requires high 

 culture to bring out its merits, and a warm 

 wall to grow against. Bergamotte f^s- 

 peren is a good pear after a hot season, 

 f^malJ, hut of nice dessert size; requires 

 severe thinning, is a good grower, and a 

 very dependable cmpper. Duchess de Bor- 

 deaux is a good hearer, and when Avell de- 

 veloped is a very fine late pear; requires 

 high culture and attention during the grow- 

 ing season ; good in March and /pril. 

 Knight's iMonarch, a rather small, round 

 pear, is a very hardy and a great Let rer; 

 must be thinned early, or it -lasts a lot of 

 its fruits; should be aP^owed to hang on 

 the tree as long as possible, when, if pi'<> 

 perly matured, it lastsi to May and June. 

 This variety should he more genera ily 

 grown; must be very carefully 'jrnned, as 

 it beai^ on the exti*emities of the shoots. 

 Blickling is an old pear that has recently 

 come to the front ; of very fine and Ticli 

 flavour, and most valuable in January. 



The hest -flavoured stewing pears are Cat- 

 tillac, Grosse Calabasie, and Uvedale's St. 

 Germain. 



Most pears, more especially those on the 

 quince stock, require a good deal of feccling 

 when the fruits are swelling, and especially 

 is this necessary during July and August. 

 Against walls the roots are liable to b^' 

 come very dry, and therefore the crop fails. 

 Pears on the pear stock should he root 

 pruned or the roo-ts will push down into the 

 cold subsoil and suffer in that way. A good 

 mulching is very beneficial, and a. liberal 

 watering with liquid manure several tune* 

 during the growing season is valuable, anc 

 if soot, bone-meal, and kainit are prickea 

 into the soil during the growing season, or 

 just as the roots are moving, it will \yorK 

 wonders, and in a very short space of tinjO. 

 AH pears reqiiire to be most carefully 

 gathered : in fact, one <'ann()t be too careful 

 that tlie fruits do not become b»'"*«^^, 

 Many failures with pears are bruised by 

 incorrect harvesting, or thoy are not 

 into table at the proper time. 



Leon a. r<lslee Gardens. AV. A. Cook. 



