HC, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The show of Pitmaston Duchess on Doyenne du Cornice is 

 simply superb ; on the four branches I calculate there are at 

 least 120, so that I hope when the fruit sets I may be able to 

 steel my greedy heart so much as to reduce the fruit from two, 

 three, and four on a spur, as was the case last year, to one, and 

 then I may hope for much larger fruit. The promise on Swan's 

 Egg is no less astonishing ; in fact, I think almost every cross is 

 well represented as far as the gift of bloom is concerned, although 

 the parent has, I think, on all its wide range of 3G ft. in width 

 and 10 ft. in height not more than two bloom spurs, whereas on 

 the various crosses there are hundreds of most promising bloom 

 spurs. This is the case all over my garden, the walls are 

 covered with what will be in April a simply magnificent display 

 of pure beauty for an artist's eye to feast upon. It is the same 

 with all my standards trained downwards ; they are marvels of 

 beauty. One word more and I am done. My good and faithful 

 servant, who has been with me for many years, now in his 

 twenty-fifth year, loves all my surroundings as dearly as I do 

 myself, takes as great a pride in all, and carries out everything 

 that I wish, and guards all as only love and faithful service can 

 and will do. 



ARTIFICIAL MANURES AND THEIR BEARING UPON 

 HORTICULTURAL PRACTICE. 



By Mr. J. J. Willis. 

 [Read April 13, 1897.] 



In studying the history and progress of horticulture, we find 

 that one of the very first requirements for a healthful condition 

 and a subsequent successful progagation of any plant consists 

 in adapting a well-devised system of soil preparation and of 

 manuring. 



I emphasise these points, not only on account of their 

 intrinsic importance, but for the further reason that their 

 management is in a controlling degree within the individual 

 direction of every practical horticulturist. 



