142 
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
possibly to treat them more fully at some future time. The 
concluding portion I have devoted to the enumeration of the 
principal varieties recommended to fruit growers, whether to the 
amateur for home consumption or to the farmer for com- 
mercial purposes. 
Through its middle-class manufacturing and agricultural 
population the United Kingdom has always encouraged our 
efforts by itself marching constantly in the forefront of fruit- 
tree culture, by its illustrious pomologists, by its eminent 
^gardeners, and by the example and influence of the indefatigable 
and renowned Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain. 
Pakt I. 
FRUIT CULTURE FROM A BUSINESS POINT OF VIEW. 
The Apeicot (Aemeniaca). 
The Apricot is a good fruit both for the table and for trade ; 
its cultivation does not necessitate any special requirements. It 
has remained wild in its native country to the present day, and 
it is to France that we owe all the cultural improvements which 
it has at present received. 
From a commercial point of view there may be said to be 
three great centres for the trade production of Apricots, namely : 
1. Lyons, on the banks of the Rhone, in the south of the 
department of that name, and in the Iscre towards Viennc. 
2. Clermont, in Limagne d'Auvergne, where Apricot jam 18 
extensively made. 
3. Avignon, the centre of a district including the depart- 
ments of Gard, Bouches-du-Rhone, and Vauclusc. 
One might add to these the Paris, Bordeaux, and Boiirgognc 
Tarieties. 
I have myself visited those difTcront centres of production, 
and find them very interesting as well as renowned in the fruit 
market. 
The first consignments to the Paris market arrive in June, 
and come from Spain and Algiers ; these are quickly followed 
by others from I*rov(>nco, Vaucluse, Gard, and Pyren6es- 
Oriehtales. These again are succeeded by those from Bordelais, 
Agcnais, Anjon, Lyonnais, ]')Ourgogn(!, Auvergne, and Touraine. 
Paris Ayricots. — Under this name in the market is understood 
