378 
THE ORCHARD AND FRUIT GARDEN. 
damper to young beginners. Mr. M'Intosh 
says — 
" The inconveniences to which the cultivator 
is subject, owing to the present defective state 
of nomenclature, are innumerable. One of 
these may be instanced in the case of the 
Grosse Mignonne peach, one of our very best 
French sorts, and one which ought to find a 
place not only in every garden in Britain, but 
in every forcing-house where peaches are 
grown. Yet such is the confusion in regard 
to nomenclature in this case, that this excel- 
lent fruit is sold in the nurseries and cultivated 
in many gardens, under no less than thirty- 
three ( ! ) different names; the Bellegarde under 
eight or nine, and the equally excellent Late 
Admirable under nine or ten, and so of some 
others. The consequence of this is, that after 
a gentleman has purchased perhaps fifty peach- 
trees under different names, with a view of 
obtaining a selection of the most valuable sorts, 
and after he has undergone all the expense of 
planting and cultivating, and the trees have 
come into a bearing state, he may find that, 
instead of a collection of fifty sorts, which 
ought to prolong the season of this fruit to its 
greatest extent, he is in possession of three 
sorts only, which, although excellent in them- 
selves, afford him neither much variety, nor a 
sufficiently early and late supply for his table. 
" On this subject Mr. Loudon offers the 
following judicious remarks : — 'There are pro- 
bably not half so many distinct sorts as there 
are names in use ; and of that half, most likely 
two-thirds are not worth cultivating. Of most 
of the sorts originated from seed, sufficient 
time has not elapsed to judge of their merits ; 
they are all described as good, but unquestion- 
ably many of them are worth little in com- 
parison with the best old sorts. Some of the 
cherries and peaches might be adduced as 
examples : and the Poonah grape, lately im- 
ported from the East Indies, and stated to be 
" a valuable addition to our gardens," has been 
in the country (in the Brompton Nursery, for 
example,) an unknown length of time, under 
a different name, and scarcely worth cultivat- 
ing.'"— Pp. 3, 4. 
We have always been averse to long lists, 
because we require something striking to re- 
commend every one that is selected; and even 
in these very pages we find the author, who 
gives us a hundred and thirty-six apples and 
seventy pears, actually protesting against large 
collections. He says — 
" In forming collections of fruits, it will 
always be found more satisfactory not to at- 
tempt too great a number of sorts, and to 
endeavour to fix upon those that are already 
well known, and also such as are found to suit 
the latitude and circumstances of the situation. 
There has unfortunately been a kind of mania 
for collecting endless varieties of fruits ; and 
in many cases some of our oldest and best 
sorts have been cast out of gardens, or cut 
down and grafted with others far inferior to 
them in every respect. Many French and 
American fruits have been also introduced, 
which, though perhaps excellent in their native 
climate, are quite unfit for many parts of Bri- 
tain. These fruits, consequently, have not only 
fallen into considerable disrepute from incon- 
geniality of climate, but the proprietor has 
sustained a serious loss. As to such fruits as 
strawberries, gooseberries, &c, which bear 
early, the disappointment is of little conse- 
quence, because a year or two at most will 
rectify the mistake ; but in the case of apples, 
pears, cherries, plums, &c, which require a 
number of years to bring them into a bearing- 
state, the disappointment becomes serious. 
Suppose, for example, that a Crassane pear is 
intended to be planted, but, from inaccurate 
nomenclature, a Crawford, or some equally 
worthless sort, should be purchased and planted 
instead — and few could detect it until the ap- 
pearance of the fruit — there is not only a very 
serious loss of time before the error is detected, 
but a great additional delay in bringing the 
desired variety into a state of productiveness. 
" In considering the propriety of making 
selections of the best kinds of fruits, w r e find 
Mr. Nicol, even in his day, complaining of the 
mania for collecting varieties. 'I have long 
made it my business,' he says, ' to persuade 
my employers, in the planting of new gardens 
and orchards, to limit the varieties of fruit, in 
the firm conviction that I was acting for their 
interest; for certainly the rage for multiplying 
them, and of having a numerous collection, 
has too much prevailed of late. It were better 
to be contented with a few good kinds, that 
produce well in most seasons, than to plant 
many sorts for the sake of variety, of which a 
crop is obtained, perhaps, once in three or 
seven years. It is no doubt of very great 
importance to select and adapt the kinds to 
the climate, soil, and aspect; and in some 
situations a greater variety may be planted 
with propriety than in others. This matter 
must be determined by existing circumstances, 
by the fancy of the proprietors, and by the 
discretion of the gardener." — Pp. 4, 5. 
The subject of fruit, though it has occupied 
many pens, has been obscured by the theo- 
retical whimsies of certain pruners, who made 
mountains of molehills, and insisted upon dif- 
fering from others in things of no consequence, 
while they let matters of importance, that 
every body would have understood, untouched 
upon. Our notions upon the question of thin- 
ning the fruit on standard trees are well 
known to almost everybody. This work has 
always inculcated the necessity of thinning 
