350 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



fruits could be grown to perfection, either planted out or in 

 pots. Orchard houses are noted in the Florist for 1854, and 

 proved to be a boon to many who lived in unfavourable climates, 

 or had no walled gardens, and to Mr. Thos. Rivers again we owe 

 the introduction of this special mode of culture. 



At this time also the Continental Pyramidal, Cordon, Bush, 

 and fancy trained trees on the French system came into vogue, 

 and still further advanced our culture and enabled growers to 

 prove new sorts quickly ; as when planted on restricting stocks 

 (the Quince and the Paradise) it is not unusual to get fruit on 

 one and two year old trees. 



It should be mentioned, however, that the new system fell 

 into discredit owing to the sale of Apples on Crab, and Pears on 

 free Pear stocks ; which, while preserving the pyramidal form and 

 making fine, shapely trees, yet, so to speak, missed the spirit of 

 the subject, and, becoming infertile and rampant in growth, cast 

 discredit on the new style of culture for a time ; but this has now 

 been corrected. 



Nowadays every good gardener has added to the regular 

 garden routine, root pruning of all fruit trees that grow so 

 rapidly as to become void of fruit buds. This practice has 

 perhaps more than any other helped on the culture of garden 

 fruits ; and by maintaining a proper balance between the anchor 

 roots, which develop the woody growth, and the upper or fibrous 

 roots, which are supposed to nourish the fruit, has thereby 

 ensured success, should the English spring weather prove 

 favourable. 



There is no doubt that root pruning, combined with the 

 summer mulching and feeding of those trees that are carrying 

 heavy crops, embodies the most conspicuous advance in fruit 

 culture of the Victorian period. 



It may be remarked here that the increase in size of Exhibi- 

 tion Apples and Pears has been wonderful ; even those figured 

 so recently as 1885 in the " Herefordshire Pomona " are now 

 exhibited nearly double the size. 



A large share of the present practical store of knowledge we 

 possess as to varieties, culture, and novelties must be justly said 

 to be due to the energy and painstaking reports of the horti- 

 cultural press of the past fifty years, not forgetting the publica- 

 tions of the Royal Horticultural Society and its valuable work at 



