626 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



I usually give these a cooler room, if possible, as unfortunately many fruit rooms 

 at this date are none too cool late in the day, and fruits will keep much longer in a 

 cellar or underground compartment than in a heated fruit room, which is often 

 placed at the back of forcing or hot houses. Any store place that is cool and not 

 too dry will be suitable at this season, and the best store I ever had was an old 

 disued ice well fitted up with shelves, and here we had no difficulty in keeping 

 apples till May. With rooms above ground much may done by having the roof 

 thatched or the spaces between the slates and ceiling to the depth of a foot filled 

 in with some non-conducting material, such as sawdust. Another point is, too 

 much ventilation, as this is not so much needed if a cool temperature can be main- 

 tained, and free currents of air tend to cause shrivelling. But, of course, no 

 matter what kind of store be employed fruits gathered too early will not keep 

 plump and in otherwise first-rate condition. ^ In the case of such excellent kinds ot 

 dessert fruit as Cox's Orange and Ribston Pippin apples, far better gather late than 

 lose the good qualities of the fruit. In many fruit rooms fires and pipes were 

 considered necessary adjuncts to the fitting, they are the reverse, and providing 

 frost can be kept out that will suffice. — G. Wythes, Syon Gardens. 



The Apple Crop. 



Berwick.— I am very pleased to be able to report that with me this 

 year apples are a splendid crop, Ecklinville, Warner's King, Hoary Morning, 

 Lord Derby, Duchess of Oldenburgh, Aitkin's No. 2, and many others ; we 

 have a very large collection of, both on walls and bush trees. Fruit is much 

 larger this year than it has been for a few years past ; largest and finest I have seen 



for a loDg time, owing to the warm weather we had in the second half of August 

 and beginning of September. Ground here very heavy. We are fully a fortnight 

 behind a little further south. Dessert apples a splendid crop. — James Foster, 

 Paxton House. 



Bucks. — Some varieties are bearing excellent crops, whilst others are a 

 failure. The following are a good crop, although rather below the average in 

 size owing to the dry weather : Gladstone, Ingestre (Yellow), Worcester Pearmain, 

 White Transparent, Washington, Ribston Pippin, Seaton House, Mrs. Barron, 

 Newton Wonder, Keswick Codlin, Lane's Prince Albert, King of the Pippins, 

 Kerry Pippin, Duchess of Oldenburgh, Ecklinville Seedling, Gascoyne's Scarlet, 

 Cockle Pippin, Cox's Orange Pippin, Baumann's Red Winter Reinnette, Adams' 

 Pearmain, Cobham, and Margil. — J. Smith, Mentmore. 



Cheshire. — Apples bloomed very abundantly, but as is too often the case we 



were visited with cold winds and some frost when the fruit was setting, the result 



being that some trees have no fruit, some a few, and several bearing good crops, 



but on the whole the crop is scarcely an average one. The kinds bearing best 



are the following : Irish Peach, Worcester Pearmain, Cox's Orange Pippin, Dutch 



Mignonne, Baumann's Red Winter Reinette, Royal Russet, Ribston Pippin, Cox's 



Pomona, Chatley's Kernel, Ecklinville Seedling (fine fruit), Warner's King 



(good), Bismarck, Grenadier, Pott's Seedling, Lane's Prince Albert, Lord 



Suffield, Frogmore Prolific, Lord Grosvenor, Mere de Menage or Combermere, 



Kentish Codlin, Haw thornden, Northern Greening, and Keswick Codlin. — W. 

 Whitaker, Crewe Hall. 



Cornwall. — A very good crop, the following varieties especially so : Astrachan, 

 I hnd it very good on Paradise stock, colours very nicely, would sell well ; 

 Bismarck (mine are young trees), good on any stock, fine variety ; Beauty of Kent, 

 splendid for kitchen, not for dessert ; Blenheim Pippin, a good old variety, 

 always bears well after the first few years ; Bramley's Seedling does well on any 

 stock, and generally bears good crop ; Cox's Orange Pippin and King of the 

 Pippin, the two best dessert apples grown, always bear a good crop, and good 

 colour ; Devonshire Quarrenden, very good in a nice dry soil ; Grenadier, the best 

 oftheCodlins with me; Irish Peach, nice early dessert, sure bearer ; Newton 

 Wonder, good late kitchen variety ; Ribston Pippin, on Paradise stock, is very 

 good, cannot grow it on any other as it cankers ; Sturmer Pippin, splendid late 

 apple for any purpose ; Yellow Ingestre, small but very good dessert apple. The 

 above are some of the best for this soil ; some good varieties I cannot grow because 

 of canker.— S. J. Richards, Mount Edgecumbe. 



Denbighshire. — There is an average crop. Ribston Pippin, good ; 

 Blenheim Pippin, good ; Golden Noble, extra fine ; Lord Suffield was a scanty 

 crop but fruits very fine ; Lady Sudeley is.an excellent variety and does well here ; 

 Ecklinville Seedling fruits are heavy ; Court Pendu Plat, Gloria Mundi, Fearn's 

 Pippin, Hawthornden, and Wareham Russets are a fair average crop. — Henry 

 Forder, Ruthin Castle Gardens. 



Derby.— Apples are a somewhat partial crop, the fruit generally undersized, 

 and some varieties are badly grub-eaten and scabby. Most of the Codlin varieties 

 are bearing average crops of clean fruit ; Blenheim Pippin is bearing well, also 

 Cox's Orange Pippin. That never-failing variety, Lane's Prince Albert, is bearing 

 its usual heavy burden ; many of the early varieties are good, such as Irish Peach, 

 Lady Sudeley, Duchess of Oldenburg, Juneating ; of late varieties, Tower of 

 Glamis, Burchard's Seedling, and Wareham Russet are well loaded. We have 

 young trees of Allen's Everlasting, Wealthy, Gascoyne's Scarlet, Bismarck, &c, 

 heavily laden with good clean fruit.— J. H. Goodacre, Elvaston Castle. 



Dumbartonshire. — Apples are a fair crop, and the most productive varieties 

 : King of Pippins, Warner's King, Ecklinville, and Lord Suffield, of which 

 we have good crops.— W. McIIutcheon, Auchendennan. 



Fifeshire.— We grow about twenty varieties, and Irish Peach, Ecklinville, 

 Warners King, Aitken's No. 2, East Lothian Seedling, have always produced a 

 good crop for the past fifteen years ; all others are very uncertain bearers.— John 

 CLARK, H emyss Castle Gardens. 



Hants.— Apples are a fair crop in this district, such sorts as the early dessert 

 kinds, namely, Irish Peach, Lady Sudeley, Mr Gla "~ 

 bearing good crops. Of later sorts. frVi*. u ..." 



are 



crop 



by 



Piror^AdW^P m PippiD A 9?*' s "Pomona; Cox's' Orange Tippin, Ribston 

 MannuW pL Pe * rma ' n ' Cock »e's Pippin. Those carrying a fair crop are 

 RE? SiiSa^Mfi No A, Mother AppJ , . Rosemary Russet, 



Canada 



Codlin 



ream's Pippin, Emperor Alexander T,' T ?1 

 Sturmer Pippin, Alfen's EmES? Scarlet Nonpare,!, 



apples are Duchess of Oldenburg, Manks Cr 



nSihoraden^ 32 YW^t' Northern Dumpling, Ecklinville, Stirling Castles 

 Prince Albert', Cfolk TWfin 1 Warner's King, Wellington, Lane'r 



i^ch, AlMit^^^^' Seedling, Winter Queening, Winte, 



on, «ortnern Greemng, French Crab, Sandringham, Calville Rouge, 



September 24 , ^ 



Beauty of Kent, Chelmsford Wonder, Tower of Glamis Tf,-«» r-r. 

 Gravenstein.-J. W. McHattie, Slrattyeldsaye ' g ° f Tom P k ^ County, 



—The apple crop in this locality is considerably below the aver*™ u • l 

 I think, be attributed to the sharp frosts and cold winds ™> I g - ' whlch mtt «. 

 spring. Birds are now very troublesome in this neiphh™,rw/ pe " en ? ed late in 

 birds, and are destroying a great proportion of the hhch 

 Through the drought there is no food for them and annle, i", angm g on *e trees. 



fW and even romatos are devoured ,,«!«» L P lum !» P e! «s, outdoor 



figs, and even tomatos are devoured, unless securelv nett^ 



— ~* W-cester' SSJrf by'coS 0^ 



on Pippin Court of \v£f 



Pippin, King of the Pippins 



Cteang 



en 



and Sturrner Pippin. Best culinary are FrogmoreTTolific, fflsXd Gdd 

 Noble, Blenheim Pippin, Cox s Pomona, and Winter Belle Bonne • th * 1 ? • 

 first-rate variety, good m quality, and keeping perfectly sound till thl f \ 

 April. -G. Trinder, Dogmers field Gardens. Y 1 the endof 



c J^ 1 " -1 ? 6 C ™? ° f appkS - is a g ° od avera e e - With the exception of 

 Suffields most varieties are carrying a very fair crop. Amongst the best sort 



that I have found to be the most reliable are the following • Ecklinville \hL 

 seldom fails us, but this year it hu been extra good, not only for size but for Z 

 enormous quantity of fruit carried ; being short-jointed it makes a very coranS 

 and pretty bush tree. Golden Spire, very heavy cropper, one of the very be* 

 culinary apples we have, should be in every garden, and certainly where room! 

 limited ; being an erect grower it can be planted eight feet apart or even less • 

 when carrying a heavy crop we begin thinning the fruits when about the size of a 

 hen's egg, and we are still picking from a tree that we commenced upon a month 

 since. Grenadier, another grand apple worth growing ; heavy cropper, makes a 

 very nice tree. Then for later use we find Stones a really splendid sort ; a good 

 robust grower, heavy cropper, and capital cooker. Warner's King another reli- 

 able sort ; Golden Noble, very nice shapely apple, good cropper, perfectly round, 

 shallow eye, no waste in peeling ; Queen Caroline, much like the foregoing, not 

 such a good keeper, makes a pretty tree, in colour a lovely yellow ; Lane's Prince 

 Albert, very heavy bearer, needs much thinning to get the fruit good sized ; a good 

 late kind. Newton Wonder, this is a splendid late kind, a cross, I believe, 

 between Blenheim and Wellington. Messrs. Pearson, of Chilwell, I see are 

 bringing the merits of this sort before the public, and certainly it deserves all the 

 publicity possible. Amongst dessert kinds Lady Sudeley ranks very high wit! 

 me as an early kind ; Mr. Gladstone I find a poor cropper, after this year I shall 

 cease to grow it. Worcester Pearmain is another very desirable early variety, very 

 heavy cropper ; loses flavour within a day or two after being gathered, but eaten 

 direct from the tree it is not to be despised. I have just seen some bushes four to 

 five* feet in height carrying three to four dozen highly-coloured fruits. Rihstons 

 and Cox's Orange are good, but owing to the drought are not so large as usual. 

 Wealthy has done well with me for several years ; a very bright and attractive 

 fruit, seems to me one that would make a good market apple. Owing to the con- 

 tinued drought we have experienced for weeks apples, and especially pears, are 

 rather smaller than usual.— George Woodward, Barham Court. 



Kirkcudbright.— Apples are very poor with us this season. The varieties 

 bearing the finest crops are : Keswick Codling, Nonsuch, Lord SufHeld, Hawthorn- 

 den, Ecklinville, Nonpareil, King of Pippins, Early Harvest, and Kibston Pippin. 

 — James Hannah, Cairns-more Gardens. 



Meath.— We had plenty of bloom, but owing to severe weather the flowers 

 failed to set, consequently we have a very indifferent crop of apples.— Jami^ 

 IIounslow, Headfort Gardens , Kells. 



Middlesex.— Apples this season throughout this district are but a partial 

 crop ; in some places fairly good, in others very thin. Some gardens and orchard 

 have been better favoured than others. Trees looked very promising in early 

 spring, but what with the continued east winds and prolonged drought the crop 

 here is almost a failure. We have a perfect plague of wasps and flies, which are 

 compelling us to gather fruit before it is properly ripe, as they are devouring 

 everything.— A. R. All ax, Hillingdoti Court Gardens. 



Norfolk.— On young trees good ; older trees, owing to the dryness of the sub- 

 soil, are looking bad, and have dropped their fruit— where they have "tainea 

 the fruit it is small, and of poor quality. The rainfall in May, with two or three 



rnninne 11- „! - '. 3 l5~Wfr«UM lldl W the SUrlUCC tain) 



season 



Park. 



miserable plight 



Northamptonshire-Varieties most prolific and those on which I ^depend 



Lord Suffield. River's Tnrllin. Warner 



^ w New Haw 



Seauty' of Bath, Kerry -rr-* . 

 of the Pippins, Court p « d ^J K ^ 



main, Cellini Pippin, Small's Admirable, Schoolmaster, " u{ffh Peac h 



Blenheim Pippin, Mr. Gladstone 



™^ r uuuv - Wli uui limestone suu-auu . ~- . > Seedliogi 



(prolific in most places), Cox's Orange Pippin, Quarrenden, Wamieyb 

 Tower of Glamis, Alfriston, with others ; even if they set, the fruit ^ 

 spell of hot weather. Taking the crop on the whole, it is far above tne avc 

 John Hayes, Castle Ashby. 



Bush trees on 



iere this ***** 



The soil is poor 



carefully 



nearly 



on 



the 



the 



spare, also lime rubbish to keep it sweet, uniy iew unu*^«« — ^ mm thc ucC s 



trees ; these, well set with fruit spurs, h^ H » 3 m 



can mature. Kitchen apples, Red Calville, Codhns, 

 heaviest cropping apple ; Lord Grosve „ _ 

 tionally fine this year ; these will maintain a supply 



Cast! 



Lane's Prince Albert* 

 UU four of the best ^ £ 3 



Lady 



„; — *«. in me open in uusu — - Tames Grieve, * 



Worcester Pearmain good ; Irish Peach, Early Harvest James ^ 

 Astrachan fVv^v r\ "L a i?;kc«^n An excellently on wai«i ^ t 



the 

 it 



Paradise stock. The frost in spring does not injure the dwaxf bush so 

 does the tall orchard tree. -George Harris, Alnwick Castle Gardens ^ ^ ^ 



Tipperary. -The apple crop is very much under i the av «Jg pumpl"* 

 favourable month of May working havoc among fruit trees. . in cpojed 



and Cox's Pomona, however, are carrying a full crop, g h * P i| piD , \c. #\ 

 situations The finest dessert apples, as Red Astrachan, Kem j^ . ; 



few and tar between this year. There are over 30 varieties or suu. ip$> A 

 the trees indeed look barren as compared with 1896.— 1* 

 Gardens, Tempkmore. 



