DtCiiMCER 14, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



959 



OLD FRUIT TREES ON 



WALLS. 



Kxperienced cultivators never allow trees 

 11 walls to become overcrowded with long 

 purs ou which floM ers appear in large nuni- 

 ors but few fruits. I am referring to pears 

 lore especially than to any other kinds, 

 iut one oft-en sees such specimens on walls ; 

 hey are pruned every yoar, surface dressed 

 ith manure, and otherwise attended to, 

 lit are not remunerative. I have seen 

 iiniy trees gi'owing several feet above the 

 tps of ratlier low walls with great clusters 

 ( spurrod-back branches varying in length 

 'oni 9in. to 18in. Now% of course, such a 

 :>iidition obtains through wrong treatment 

 hile the trees were in a young state, 

 lainly, though it is a fact that well-man- 

 ged trees have come under the charge 

 f incompetent persons, and then they are 

 eglected,' and have become unsightly ob- 

 ^cts in a very short time. 



I have had to deal with such specimens 

 ivself, and have removed them from walls 

 )* more open quarters, training the main 

 l anches to the wires isupporting other es- 

 alier-trained specimens. The roots found 

 vw down in an almost dust-dry medium, 

 vre pruned, and the long spurs were 

 ^verclv thinned out, only a few shorter 

 >urs bearing fruit buds being retained, 

 he trees soon presented a ibetter appear- 

 ice, and fruited satisfactorily after a 

 >arse showing of blossom. 

 It often happens that when a pear tree is 

 mast smothered with blossom very few 

 nits set. This is mainly owing to two 

 , uses— over-dry ness of soil round the roots 

 id lack of leaves which support the 

 )wers. A tree bearing a rather thin 

 )i-inkling of flowers, with a fair number of 

 aves developing, will have a better crop 

 fruit than one laden with flowers, pos- 



J 



■'s^ing feAv leaves, and dry at the roots at 

 'le same time. 

 It does not matter how well-managed a 

 ?ar tree may 'be; if it is very freely 

 ^wered much thiivning of blooms will be 

 x-essary if a satisfactory crop of pears is 

 ) be secured. There is no time better than 

 IB present for lifting entirely, or partly, 

 eglected trees which are cn-owiner near 



alls. 



growing 



G. B. 



BEGONIA IMPERIALISM 



There 



is a small group of begonias 

 ith iin<^ foliage, consisting of the Mexican 

 ogonia imperialis a ad two distinct forms 

 ereof. One scarcely knows whether to write 

 them in the past tense or not, but they are 

 itainly now far less plentiful than they 

 M'e twenty years ago. At the time of the 

 \gonia Conference in 1893 Mr. \Vat?.c)n, of 

 o\v, included B. imperialis in his selection 

 the fifty best begonias, a position it was 

 en at least fully entitled to. Compared 

 th B. Eex. it may be described as of weak 

 owtli, the broad oblique leaves lieing from 

 ur to six inches across, and so thickly 

 vered with hairs as to present a quite yel- 

 ty appearance. The colour is brownish, 

 th irregularly-shaped bands of bright 

 een along the principal veins. This species 

 ts first introduced into Europe in 1859, and 

 IS given a second-class certificate by the 

 tyal Horticultural Society in the spring of 

 >2, There i^^ a A'crv beautiful variety — 

 laragdinu. in which the entire velvety leaf 

 of n vivid green, and a form known as 

 to Forstcr, which is very distinct and 

 uallv charminsr. The last-named, which has 

 vcs of the >anic velvety appearance as the 

 icrs. ha^ the ])riiici])al ]>(n*tion of the leaf 

 = ' In-ioi-lit silverv-^reen, wliilo the spaces be- 

 ■ n Ihe principal veins, except for some 

 le distance on either side of the miHrib, 



occupied by brownish blotches. S.W. 



of 



EUCRYPHIAS. 



In your valuable paper (pa^ 8391, your 

 correspondent, W. D./' ^ives some practi- 

 cal hints on the cultivation of these Ix^auli- 

 ful shrubs, but I am surprised lo iind him 



have some dozens, in difiercnt positions, all 

 of which flowered extra well tliis season. 

 We find that seediinpf i»laiits do very juuch 

 Ix^tter than thot^e from layers ; 1 hey ^^row 

 iK'tt cr and (juickor. and Mower at a very 

 < arl v s1 aije. It is a itit v 1 hat crnuieous 

 ideas should ho spread abroad, ae they very 



PEAE PITMAtSTON DUCHESS, 

 A well-cropped tree, gTo\vn by Messrs. T. E ivers and Son^ Sawbridgeworth. 



statinor that eucryphias dislike root disturb- 

 ance. I thouo^ht this old belief was quite for- 

 gotten. I liave pointed out on more than 

 one occasion that eucryphias are as eat^y to 

 move a> almost any other shruV> ; wo move 

 many annually without ever losinor a sjxH-i- 

 nien, or in any way stopping^ growth, and "we 



often deter people from planting one of the 

 best August-flowering shrubs we have in 

 tlie country. As a general rule Eucryphia 

 ])innatifolia sets scihI very well; these ger- 

 minate readily, and make quite useful plants 

 in about three vears. W. A. Cook. 



Leonardslee Gardens, Horsham. 



