9i2 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



December 7, 1912. 



ESTATE 

 FRUIT PLANTATIONS 



Planting: and Pruning. 



(Continued from page 896.) 



ad 



i&ed 



to 



roots 



as it is filled in j and, above all things, avoid 

 deep planting. The soil mark on the stems 

 will tell how far they should be put into 



rimin 



good spikes of flowers, but they looked 

 ansemic and too delicate for the present-day 

 requirements of pot plants. Nowadays 

 nearly everyone needs sturdy subjects, bear- 

 ing flowers which boldly flaunt their 

 charms, whereas the plumbagos under 

 notice are of such retiring disposition that 

 such a trifle as being moved from the 

 houses in which they have been grown is 

 quite sufficient to cause them to tempo- 

 rarily droop, and present the unhappy 

 appearance manifested by the plants in- 

 stanced. 



It must not be inferred from these re- 

 marks that the plants have no decorative 

 value outside the houses in which they 

 have been grown, for such is far from 

 being the case, but the plants or cut 

 flowers must be allowed twenty-four hours 

 to recover from the disturbance. 



This type of plumbago is, in many re- 

 spoctSj valuable for winter decorations. 

 Personally, 1 do not favour large pliiits. 

 except to provide cut flowers, or for grow- 

 ing Plumbago ooccinea as pillar or low 

 roof plants, in which latter case large 

 examples are, of course, necessary, liut 

 1 have found that the best decorative 

 effects are obtained from plants growing 

 in Sin. and 5in. pots, for these plumbagos 

 are not suitable for the massing which is 

 so popular at the present time, in order 

 to produce broad colour effects. In many 

 instances this style of arrangement is ne- 

 cessary and very harmonious, but the 



piac^ of the plumbago is in the daintier 

 and more artistic combinations. Their 

 rose-coloured flowers require a foil and a 

 setting, and when large plants are used it 

 is iSome\\'hat difficult to conveniently hide 

 the pots, which, as a rule, seem to be 

 somewhat out of proportion. Nothing can 

 exceed the beauty of small, well-grown 

 plants of Plumbago rosea, when tastefully 

 placed in jardiniere^s. or similar recep- 

 tacles, with suitable companions. 



The commonest mistake made in the cul- 

 tivation of the rosy -scarlet Phimbago 

 rosea and its variety coccinea is that of 

 growing them as stove plants. We are too 

 apt to conclude that because a plant is a 

 native of, as in this case, the West Indies, a 

 tropical climate is the only one in which 

 it will grow. we place it in a house 



which has a tropical temperature, and, 

 still worse, keep it in almost the same 



temperature all the year round, entirely them are household words, 

 overlooking the fact that, in spite of the In the way of dessert apples^ the types 



the ground, 

 bated point, and I have no wish to open up 

 another controversy in respect of it, bui: 

 simply to say that my own rule, which has 

 answered very well in practice, is to remove 

 any superfluous side shoots when planting 

 that are not wanted in the formation of 

 the tree, but not to shorten back leading 

 shoots. I prefer to leave the latter until 

 the trees have stood in their permanent 

 positions for a year, and then shorten the 

 leaders to about one-third their original 

 length. The object of this pruning is to 

 create growth, and the cutting back of 

 leaders may go on for a few years until 

 there are enough branches and the tree is 

 formed. 



ted 



ooseberries should be 



pruned hard to start them into growth, 

 but afterwards judicious thinning of over- 

 crowded shoots is all that is required, and 

 to spur back young wood year after year, 

 as is often done in privato gardens, only 

 leads to an overwhelming amount of useless 

 shoots. Red currants, for which there is 

 not so much demand as for blacks, or goose, 

 berries, should be pruned hard aft^r plant- 

 ing, and then be grown in cup-shaped form, 

 with the main branches radiating from the 

 central stem, and the side shoots on these 

 main branches should be spur pruned. Cut 

 black currants nearly to the ground after 

 planting, and when the bushes are fruiting 

 take out annually old wood that has done 

 its work to make room for young shoots 

 from the base. 



Varieties. 



In arranging a fruit plantation avoid too 

 many varieties, but select those of known 

 market value, and endeavour to grow fruit 

 of each in quantity. A commercial fruit 

 show like that recently held at Maidstone 

 is the place to see the apples that are best 

 suited to market culture, and the names of 



alluring railway advertisements, Nature 

 does not provide an equable temperature. 

 The tropical climate, as well as ours, is 

 capable of great variations. 



The aim of the cultivator of such peren- 

 nial winter-flowering plants as these plum- 

 liaucN should be to grow them as short- 

 join tcil and sturdy as possible throughout 

 the summer months, and this may best 

 bo done in a cool house or a light, airy 

 pit. Cold rains are dangerous, but artifi- 

 <'ial fire-lieat is not necessarv until the 

 middle of September, when the plants 

 f^hould be removed to a stnicture which 

 has an intorinediato temperature. Stove 

 heat causes tlir flower-spikes to become 

 spindly, and the petals lack substance. It 

 will be found that plants gi-own under the 

 conditions indicated will show very little 

 signs of distress when moved from the 

 house in which thev are flowering, 



Cecil Aitbrey. 



National Auricula Society. ^ 



This sncictv will hoM it< annual exhibitioTi 

 m 1913 at tlu^ li(>tani<-n! Card^-ns. Eflg- 



baston, Birnunt:;li:im. on Api il ;50 and 

 Mav 1. * 



select 



main (one of the best for market), Alling- 

 ton Pippin, Cox's Orange Pippin (on good 

 land), King of the Pippin, Gascoyne's Scar- 

 let, Rival, and Court Pendu Plat, a late- 

 flowering variety of pleasing appearance 

 that keeps well. Good commercial culinarv 

 apples are Ijord Grosvenor, Pott's Seedling, 

 Stirling Castle, Warner's King, Lord 

 Derby, Bismarck, with Lane's Prince Al- 

 bert, Bramley's Seedling, Ne-wton Wonder 

 and Annie Elizabeth, the last four being 

 good for late use. A few good pears are 

 Hessle, Williams' Bon Chretien, Louise 

 Bonne of Jersey, Clapp's Favourite, Fer- 

 tility, Pitmaston Duchess, and Beurre 

 Clairgeau, but in the selection of pears a 

 goofl deal depends on the situation and 

 naturo of the soil. Early Prolific, Victoria 

 Czar, Pond s See<lling, and Belle de Louvain 

 are amongst the pick of the plums, but in 

 some districts there are local varieties like 

 the Pershore, which are prolific and profit- 

 table m their own localities. Keepsake, 

 hiulmm ^; Industry, Crown Bob, and Lan- 

 cashire I^d are popular market ecose- 

 berries. Raby Castle is the leading rerl 

 currant, and there are several large-fruited 

 black currants of the Baldwin type, but the 

 great thmg in black currants is to get and 



keep them free from *'big bud." If this 

 can be done they are a very remunerative 

 crop, particularly on strong, retentive land. 



Spraying:. 



It is not the object of this article to 

 deal with insect pests, because the whole of 

 the space at my disposal would be wanted 

 to do this adequately, but let me say ^hat 

 the commercial fruit grower of to-day, like 

 his neighbour abroad, cannot afford to 

 ignore spraying and insecticides. It is the 

 cleanest, brightest, and best fruit that 

 brings the most money, and, in order to 

 get this in abundance, not only must the 

 cultivation be good and the manuring ade- 

 quate, but a sprayer of some approved 

 type must be part of the apparatus^ and 

 this must be used as nart of the 



cultural 



to prevent, so 



routine ; in 



far 



as part 

 the first 



place 



as possible, and 

 secondly to eradicate the fxmgus diseaises 

 and insect foes which not only spoil 

 fruit and reduce crops, but cripple the 

 energies of the trees. No more need be said 

 here except to add that the establishment 

 of an estate plantation should be accom- 

 panied by a study of the diseases to which 

 fruit trees are liable and the insect pests 

 that are capable of doing so much damage. 



Packing: and Marketing;. 



The system of marketing fruit in this 

 country is anything but perfect, and its 

 faultiness is very frequently responsible for 

 the gluts and low prices that prevail in 

 some seasons, but until there is more co- 

 operation amongst growers and better ways 

 adopted for bringing the fruit from the 

 producer to the consumer, these periodical 

 disappointments will remain. And much 

 more might be written on this subject. Let 

 it be added, however, that the starting of 

 an estate plantation should be accompanied 

 by the provision of storage accommodation 

 for apples that will keep, so that produce 

 can be kept back if necessary until there 

 is a better demand for it. I am convinced 

 that the bad English apple trade which 

 often prevails in the autumn is brought 

 about by the desire of many growers to get 

 their fruit into market with the least pos- 

 sible delay. 



Much might be written about packing 

 and the need of improved methods, but ob- 

 viously the desire of the grower should be 

 to place his fruit before the consumer in 

 the best and most presentable condition. 

 What will be the particular type of recep- 

 tacle in general use for marketing fruit in 

 the future is an open question at the mo- 

 ment, but it is not unlikely that boxes of 

 standard sizes will prevail for the best 

 apples and pears, and chip receptacles will 

 be used for soft fruits. A splendid illus- 

 tration of the use of light non-returnable 

 boxes for apples was seen at the recent 

 commercial fruit show at Maidstone, and 

 it looks as if the day of the wicker-work 

 basket or sieve is reaching its end. 



Retailers do not want to be bothered with 

 returning empties; to get them back is 

 a source of trouble to growers, and very 

 often a good market is lost because the pro- 

 diicer has nothing to pack his fruit in. The 

 non-returnable box for aoples and pears 

 does away with this, and in the present 

 season many growers have used light chip 

 baskets for sending away soft fruits, and 

 are so pleased with the results that, though 

 the annual outlay on chips is considerable, 

 they will not go 'back to the old-fashioned 

 sieve or basket. Whatever the receptacle 

 is, however, honest packing is the only 

 right method where the commercial grower 

 is concerned, and, while in his own interest: 

 he should display his fruit to the best ad- 

 vantage, he must ]>e honest to his customer 

 - the public— by giving the same samp^^ 



the bottom as at the top. 



H 



