162 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Gages. — These should only be planted in a nice warm shel- 

 tered situation. The Old Greengage, Oullin's Gage, Bryanstone, 

 Denniston's, and Purple Gage are all good sorts, though pre- 

 ference should be given to the Old Greengage and Oullin's Gage 

 (the latter always sells well). The other varieties named are 

 free croppers on our soil, Denniston's especially. 



Damsons. — Damsons form a good shelter, and do well 

 planted round the outside of fruit plantations. The Damascene 

 is largely grown in the Evesham district, and, like the Per- 

 shore, may be grown from suckers ; it is a free cropper, and can 

 generally be relied upon for a crop. The Blue Prolific is a good 

 early variety, Shropshire or Prune Damson is one of the best, 

 and the Farleigh or Crittenden is a great cropper, and is also 

 grown from suckers. The picking varies from lOd. to Is. per 

 cwt., and the crop may be taken at 2 tons per acre on an 

 average. 



Apples and; Pears. — Apples and Pears may be grown either 

 as dwarfs or standards. Dwarf or pyramid trees (Apples on the 

 Paradise stock, and Pears on the Quince stock) produce fine 

 fruit, and come into bearing far earlier than standard trees. At 

 five years a dwarf Apple on the Paradise stock yields a good 

 return, while it is ten or twelve years before a standard Apple is 

 in profitable bearing. Dwarf trees may be planted 8 feet apart 

 while standard trees should not be less than 30 feet apart. In 

 planting standard Apples or Pears, dwarf trees of the same 

 variety as the standards may be planted between. These are 

 eventually cut down when the standards want more space. In 

 the meantime they have been yielding good returns. Pears 

 grow best in nice sheltered spots, and do better in the Southern 

 Counties. Foreign supplies have enormously increased, and I 

 recommend planting good early varieties of cooking Apples, 

 which would come in about August, at a time when the foreign 

 supply is at its lowest. In 1882 Apples imported amounted to 

 2,386,805 bushels, valued at £783,906, or 6s. per bushel ; and in 

 1892 to 4,514,700 bushels (nearly double the quantity imported 

 in 1882), valued at £1,353,812, or 6s. per bushel. It is worthy 

 of note that although the foreign supply has nearly doubled in 

 the past ten years, the price remains the same, showing the 

 increased demand. There are many excellent varieties of 

 Apples and Pears ; the following do best in our district 



