92? 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



November 30, 1912. 



had a failure^ but^ on the other hand, have 

 had to thin the fruit freely on every tree. 

 When the fruit is set^ and seen to 

 be swelling away freely, a light shading 

 is put upon the roof. For this I use, and 

 recommend it also, what is usually known 

 as No. 3 shading. This is sufficient to 

 break or diffuse the bright ra\'s of the sun. 

 The reason for shading is that, if the fruit 

 swells away too rapidly at first, it is liable 



yellow. A 



ed 



Varieties for Forcing:. 



Of black cherries (which appear to bo 

 the most popular colour) we force three or 

 four varieties. The earliest to ripen is 

 Cuigne d'Annonay ; this is about ten daj's 

 in advance of Early Rivers, and is most 

 useful from the point of earliness alone. 

 It is a somewhat small cherry, but it has 

 a relatively small stone, so the difFerence is 



It colours w^ell, and is of 

 too. Earlv Rivers 



not so manifest, 

 excellent flavour 



pleasant 



perience. 



When the fruit is fairly swelling it is 

 just possible that a small caterpillar may 

 do damage to the tender fruit by fastening 

 them and the leaves together. A fumiga- 

 tion of the usual strength will prevent 

 this. Hand picking is also des-irable for the 

 same ends. Of course, the shading is never 

 used M-hen the sun is not shining brightly. 

 The range in which our cherries are forced 

 runs east and west, thus the southern blind 

 is most in use, the opposite one only being 

 in request later on, when the afternoon 

 sun is somewhat warm. One great adi^an- 

 t;ige with cherries produce<l by ti'ees grown 

 in pots is that they remain in good 

 condition for quite a fortnight, and, in 



the next to ripen, 

 the best 



Early n-ivers is 

 This is par excellence " 

 cherry of its colour for forc- 



mg. It crops freely, its fruits are of the 

 largest size, and of the richest flavour, firm 

 in flesh, and yet very juicy. Its consti- 

 tution is also excellent. Bigarreau de 

 Schreken is a fine, handsome cherry, pos- 

 sibly as large as any, and a good cropper ; 

 like all the Bigarreaus, it is firm, with the 

 hammered appearance seen upon the Mill 

 Hill Hamburgh grape. 



Black is only useful 



Knights Early 



substitute 



for Guigne d'Annonay. 



as a 



Of white cherries 

 the two best are Frogniore Early Bigarreau 

 and the American cherry — Governor Wood. 

 The former is very handsome indeed when 

 fully coloured and ripened; it is very firm 

 flesh, and of laree size; also 



in 



a 



good 



,■ * 



■- 



■i - 



PART OF A BED OF GUSTAVE REGIS ROSE AT KEW, 

 This is a further illiustration of the decorative value of peggcd-dow^n roses 



some cases J for three weeks after they are 

 ripe. But little pruning is necessary for 

 cherries in pots, and it is bettor if done 

 early with the finger and thumbs and then 

 only to regulate the growth. 



Trees Not Forced. 



These should be allowed to come on quit-e 

 naturally, and with an abundance of air 

 at all times ; in other respects the treat- 

 ment is practically on the same lines. With 

 these it is possible to dispense with the 

 bees, that is, of having the hive in the 

 house; the bees, however, will find their 

 way in, if there are any about. The use 

 of the camelVhair briish may advisable 

 if there are no bees. The syi iiige may be 

 needed moro frequently U|Mm the non- 

 forfod trees dniing briulit ami suiuiv 

 w^^ather. For \\u^sv tree's I advise the use 

 of a light blind ; it is jmssiljle to dispense 

 with it, hut I i)iefer the safer course. When 

 the fruit is fully ripe the blind serves a 

 two-fold purpose. 



cropper. Governor Wood is somewhat 

 smaller, and, in i>oint of flavour, is one 

 of the sweetest. It is rather liable to 

 bruise, and thereby become discoloured. 

 Elton, a well-known and excellent cherry, 

 may, perhaps, be classed with the whites, 

 but it is, when w^ell coloured, more of a red 

 cherry. It is firm, and crops well. It is 

 most essential to have at least one of the 

 May Duke section— the old May Duke it- 

 self being as good as any. The object of 

 this is for the sake of the pollen to aid in 

 the pollination of the sweet cherries. The 

 fruit of the May Duke is always useful for 

 compotes, and for jellies as well. 



James Hudson, V.M.H. 



ow-berried Holly. — Though 



tin^ iH-rrif's of this are often borne less freclv 



nnif (>r the scarlet-fruited kind^ it is 



t ha 11 



from its distinct appearance and general all- 

 round boauty well worthy of more attention 

 than IS usually ])eRtowcd upon it. Though 

 red bernes are numerous, those of a clear 



W. 



decided 



PEGGING DOWN ROSES, 



In the Gardeners' Magazine of Octo- 

 ber 5 Mr. Osborne drew attention to the 

 desirability of pegging down the growths 

 of very vigorous roses used for bedding 

 purposes. He also gave a list of roses found 

 especially suitable for this method of cul- 

 tivation, and of which there were good 

 examples at Kew. Fran Karl Druschki 

 was illustrated on that occasion, and we 

 now give an illustration of a bed of Gus- 

 tave Regis, a fragrant nankeen-yellow 

 variety that flowers almost as freely in 

 September as in June. This illustration 

 shows a bed of the rose pegged down at 

 Kew, and still further emphasises the value 

 of the method advocated for garden de- 

 coration. 



P^ONY^FLOWERED DAHLIAS. 



I see on page 852 that somebody else be- 

 side " C. T. D." is looking out for trouble, 

 and sure enough he will find it on this sub- 

 ject. Now, if Mr. C. E. Pearson is noted 

 for anything, it is certainly hie pertinacity 

 and thoroughness; when he forms his likes 

 and dislikes I doubt if the prophet Mahomet 

 himself would change him or alter his 

 opinion. Poor Paeony Dahlias, if only a tithe 

 of the epithets Mr. C. E. Pearson has levelled 

 at their ragged heads could have taken effect 

 they would have been off the face of the earth 

 long ago. It is. particularly unfortunate 

 for your correspondent that he has failed to 

 bring this about, for if my memory serves 

 me rightly, when they first appeared in this 

 country, he promised them very short com- 

 mons, and it seems to me that as his unfor- 

 tunate prophecy has never l>een fulfilled, he 

 has never turned his back on his arch enemy. 

 Tlie sight of paeony-flowered dahlias is equi- 

 valent to the proverbial red rag to a bull, and, 

 like the latter animal, he never fails to "go" 

 for them. Thus it happens that we see him 

 endeavouring to assist " C. T. D.'' primarily, 

 but with an eye to the main chance, for I do 

 not think he could let an opportunity pass, 

 even if he were to try to do so, so inherent 

 in his dislike for these flower-s. I am afraid 

 hia comparison between the number of people 

 who appreciate beautiful pictures as against 

 statuary is just a little too far fetched for 

 most of us in the horticultural world. The 

 latter may be the higher art, but it is a for- 

 tunate thing for most of us that we are not 

 educated to that particular degree. What 

 glorious colours we should lose, the shades 

 of marble and bronze do not appeal to the 

 majority of people, neither does form in a 

 flower, thank goodness! If it did, what 

 would become of the majority of our garden 

 and beddinof roses, our perpetual carnations, 

 Alpine auriculae, pansies, violas, etc.? But 

 these examples are^ sufficient to set Mr. Pear- 

 son thinking. If he would only get the 

 preissions, euch as "coloured ra.es/' ''abor- 

 tions/' etc., out of his mind and look at the 

 newer forms of this typo, I feel sure ho would 

 see some little beautv in them, which under 

 present conditionfi he finds impossible. 



rJ, T?. E. 



aen 



■There are few or- 



chids more difficult to manaofe during winter, 

 especially when grown with other plants. 

 When a house can be devoted to them many 

 difficulties pass away. The succulent and 

 sensitive nature ofthe leaves, and the absence 

 of pseudo-bulbs for storing up nourishment, 

 makes phalaenopsis ^susceptible to injury, 

 which renders keen watchfulness on the' part 

 of the erower nece^fiary. P. Schilleriana, P. 

 Aphrodite, P. amabil is, and others that are 

 Ponding UP their flower spikes, should bo kept 

 fairly moi.st at the roots. When giving water 

 care shoulrl l>e taken that none of it remain^ 

 in the centre of the plants. A most humid 

 atmosphere must bo maintained at all time^^ 

 with ftufficient air to allow any excess of 

 moisture to pa^s away.— J. T. Barker. 



