N0 VEMBER 26, 1898. 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE, 



767 



crispum Prince of Wales 



yuun " ~ 



*T y n0 odontoglossum exhibited in this country during the pre- 

 ^° SSI has been so much admired or widely commented upon as the 

 SeDt Tul'variety introduced by Messrs. H. Low and Co., Bush Hill Park 

 beaut j d * No doubt it is the premier form of O. crispum seen during 

 t for not only is it of great beauty, but it is finely formed. Its beauty 

 9 ' s ts almost entirely in its purity, for sepals and petals are of the 



for the verv faintest tint of blush on a segment in 



in 



is 



ists almost entirely m us yumy, iur bepaib f cwi3 aL ^ Vl liJ 



C ° nS whiteness, save for the very faintest tint of blush on a segment i 

 pUreS two of the dozen flowers the fine spike carried. The extra large lip L 

 °v, with the usual golden disk, with three or four rich red-brown spots 

 here the disk begins. The flowers are four and a-quarter inches 

 j ust ^ cc thp nfttals. thus comparing most favourably with the dis- 



here the disk begins, ine nowers are tour ana a-quarter incnes 

 k H across the petals, thus comparing most favourably with the dis- 

 t and handsomely spotted O. crispum apiatum belonging to Baron 

 eder The accompanying illustration is a reproduction from a life- 

 ■ Sobotoeraph of O. crispum Prince of Wales, taken at Enfield by Mr. t 

 ta on The merit of this grand orchid can be to some extent gauged 

 h the fact that when it was exhibited in June last Messrs. Hugh Low 

 d Co were awarded a first-class certificate by the Royal Horticultural 

 Society, and, in addition, a silver Banksian medal. 



Planting Hardy Fruits. 



Punting has been'somewhat delayed this season by the extremely late 

 defoliation of most trees, but especially apples, in many districts. By 



the adjoining vegetable ground. When a regular or more extensive 

 plantation is to be formed, the method of arrangement and distances 

 require the most careful consideration, because it is necessary to look to 

 future results. Experience shows that it is easy to err in the direction 

 of planting too thickly, and, if thinning is not duly provided for, in a 

 few years an otherwise very valuable plantation will be greatly reduced 

 in productiveness. Many instances come under my observation that 

 illustrate such evils, but two will suffice to show what is meant. In one, 

 the plantation of apples, plums, and pears has been formed about twelve 

 years, and it should now be in full bearing, and as a matter of fact a 

 large quantity of fruit is produced ; but an inspection of the crowded 

 thickets proves not only that the crops are scarcely more than half of 

 what they should be, but the trees are being rapidly ruined. Thinning 

 now would be a difficult matter, as the trees are so drawn up that many 

 would need staking to ensure their safety in storms, for hitherto they 

 have been self-supporting, as it were. Close planting is adopted to 

 obtain as large returns as possible from a limited area of highly rented 

 land, and when the time for thinning comes few growers have the courage 

 to do what is so needful for after good results. 



The other example is quite a young plantation of dwarf apples with 

 bush fruits between, and there the progress and returns have been highly 

 satisfactory up to the present. At the same rate of advance, however, in 

 th ree or four years' time half the trees and bushes will have to be removed 

 to give the others a chance to thrive and bear. In this case the apples 

 are planted at seven feet apart each way, with gooseberries or currants 

 at the half distances between the rows and in \ the"' rows. For>mall- 

 growing varieties, like Stirling Castle or Seaton House, the distance named 



ODONTOGLOSSUM CRISPUM PRINCE OF WALES 



the third week of November in some years I have had thousands of 

 y°ung trees placed in their permanent quarters, or transplanted for 

 nursery purposes, yet now I have numbers that are nearly as green as 

 th w ? re two mo pths ago, and have scarcely lost a leaf. It may be 

 at when the foliage has so nearly completed its woik little injury 



2d K f ven if the trees are hfted before it is all fallen, but that a con- 

 rable eva Poration does take place under certain conditions is readily 

 mlf a sa ^ et y or i n J ur y resulting from moving fruit trees while still 

 atth epends > therefore, to a great extent upon the weather prevailing 

 ine time or immediately following the operation. With bright, sunny, 



che^W tK yS> SUCh as We have had latel y> there is a risk of g ivi ng a further 

 rcaso I n Would result from the mere transplanting alone, and for this 

 down** yif enerall X defer the autumn planting until the leaves are all 

 the rirfif ?°- St i m P ortant point of all is, however, to have the soil in 

 In mv co . ltlon > and especially if it be of a heavy, adhesive nature. 

 tJ 0ns y^ penence I have found that this outweighs all other considera- 

 avail if ih plantin g ; the utmost care in other respects is of little 



» imoenpt S ki wet and cl °ggy> as U is eithe r forced round the roots 

 ^er r?X 1 masses > or it leaves gaps that are almost as bad. It is 



s Seedling, 

 ce would be 



utt th a * 1 — tl . vofti uc wuiavu *icciy, anu, given a vigorous 



Powers \t 'u j- n carefull y lifted, it is surprising what recuperative 

 In H dls Pl a Y in the first season. 



^paSveT 7 ^ arden plantin S the arrangement of th 



e fruit trees is a 



specially set*' m ^K lxs ma tter, because it is seldom that a quarter is 



^s, are nL a f a J 0r them ' as the majority, besides those trained to 



Panted near the walks, where they will not too heavily shade 



will suffice for some years ; but for free growers, like Bramley' 

 Lord Grosvenor, or Cox's Orange Pippin, double the distanc 

 much more satisfactory if a permanent plantation is to be formed. The only 

 way in which such a plantation can be thinned is by removing alternate trees 

 in each row, thus leaving it in the triangular form instead of the square, but 

 while this doubles the distance between the trees in the rows it only slightly 

 increases the distance between the trees in adjoining rows. The same 

 objection applies if the trees are planted in the triangular or alternate 

 system because the thinning would then take the form of removing 

 alternate intermediate rows, thus leaving the trees in the quadrangular 

 system, but with double distances between the rows, while that between 

 the trees in the rows would remain unaltered. 



A system I have adopted with satisfactory results is to form mixed 

 plantations of large and small-growing apples in the following way : The 

 strong growers are planted as bush apples on a Paradise stock at fourteen 

 feet apart each way (quadrangular), then at half distances between these 

 Stirling Castle, or a similar grower ; while again between these goose- 

 berries and currants are planted, and though the latter have not much 

 space yet they will stand for some years, and if the land is clean and 

 fertile they give a good return before it is necessary to remove them. 

 When these and the small-growing apples have to be sacrificed it will 

 leave me permanent trees at fourteen feet apart each way, and the future 

 of the plantation could be still further provided for by having standard 

 aoDles alternately, at twenty-eight feet apart, thus somewhat reducing 

 thP number of dwarf apples but ensuring a more lasting orchard. 



u Fruit Grower. 



