120 



THE FLORIST AND POMOLOG1ST. 



vigour to what the Times calls "beds of broken glass and coloured gravel," 

 just in the same way as they prefer neatly-clipped Yew or Arbor Vite hedges 

 to a brick wall, or a verdant piece of turf to a large breadth of gravel. The 

 introduction of masonry however embellished — of the substitution of retaining 

 walls for grassy slopes, and polychrome beds for real flowers, artistic as they 

 undoubtedly are — are not so telling in the way of contrast as a more natural 

 arrangement would have been ; at least an arrangement which might have 

 been in the same style, but which would have left room for more colour in the 

 way of flowers, less of masonry, and far greater space for planting than can 

 now be afforded. 



I have been induced to send you my ideas on this subject, which are 

 strengthened every time I visit the garden, by noticing some remarks of 

 yours in your last Number in reference to the Society's alleged treatment of 

 florists. 



A Country F.R.H.S.* 



IRISH PEACH APPLE. 



WITH A. N ILLUSTRATION. 



Synonyhe. — Early Crofton. 



Generally speaking very early fruits are much inferior in quality to those 

 that ripen at a more advanced period of the season. Very early Pears, 

 Apples, and Peaches have mostly been held to signify very indifferent examples 

 of those varieties of fruits, and were it not for their property of earliness. they 

 would not be admitted into cultivation at all. There are, however, exceptions 

 to this, as there is to most other rules, and the subject we have chosen for 

 our present illustration is one of these. Though perhaps not quite so early 

 as the Joanneting, the Irish Peach is so far superior to it, and to every 

 other early Apple, as to render the few days difference in their period of 

 ripening of no consideration to the private grower who requires quality as 

 the primary object. To market gardeners and others, who grow fruits for 

 commercial purposes, the difference of a few days earlier or later is of great 

 moment. 



The fruit of the Irish Peach has a fine fragrant scent, and is about the middle 

 size, being about 2f inches wide, and 2^ inches high. The shape is roundish, 

 somewhat flattened and angular, the angles running into the basin of the eye, 

 and forming, in some instances, prominent ridges on the crown. The skin is 

 smooth, and very highly coloured on the side which is exposed to the sun, and 

 the colour extending even to the shaded side, though in a paler degree. The 

 colour is a fine deep crimson, covered with broken streaks of deeper crimson, 

 and this is strewed all over with yellow dots. The eye is small and closed, set 

 in a rather deep and angular basin, which is lined with thick down. The 

 stalk is short, thick, and fleshy, and inserted in a pretty deep cavity. The 

 flesh is greenish-white, tender, and crisp, abounding in a rich, brisk, vinous, 

 and aromatic juice, which, at the season when it ripens, is very refreshing and 

 agreeable. The fruit is ripe during the first week in August, and lasts all 

 through that month. 



This is a most beautiful, and certainly one of the most excellent summer 

 Apples, possessing all the rich flavour of some of the winter varieties, with 

 the abundant and refreshing juice of the summer fruits. Like most of the 

 summer Apples, it is in greatest perfection when eaten from the tree, which 

 is hardy, vigorous, and an abundant bearer. 



