April 20, 1882.] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
323 
dollars a year is not vital to men who count their income by the hun¬ 
dred thousand ; yet it is curious with what interest the rise or fall of 
a few cents in the Rose market is regarded even by them. New Jersey 
has more than her quota of these millionaire florists. Already we have 
four in Madison, one in Summit, and two in Orange (New Jersey), and 
it is said that there is as much interest manifested by them in the 
prices at which, in the technical slang of the flower shops, “ Cooks,” 
“Jacks,” “ Mermets,” and “Perles” are quoted in Broadway as is 
evinced in Wall Street in “Wabash,” “Lake Shore,” “Erie,” or 
“ Central.” It is true that one at least of these gentlemen gives all 
the profits that accrue from his Roses to charitable purposes ; but it 
is feared that he has few imitators among his compeers in this par¬ 
ticular. Only last week a gentleman entered into negotiations with 
a greenhouse builder in Jersey City to construct at his country resi¬ 
dence, some sixty miles from New York, nearly 15,000 square feet of 
glass as a “ beginning,” which furnished, heated by hot water, and 
stocked will cost not much less than 15,000 dols. It is true that many 
of these amateur florists will get their fingers burnt, and will not only 
never realise a dollar on their investments, but will work at a loss, for 
an oversupply may quickly change the fashion, for assuredly when 
the plebeian Smiths or Browns can buy Rose buds suited to their 
limited means the Flora McFlimseys will turn up their aristocratic 
noses even at the Rose.” 
CORDON FRUIT TREES. 
In the midst of the abundance of all kinds of fruit which we 
had last summer, a gentleman, the owner of a small garden which 
had been made some twelve or fourteen years, came to me with 
the plea that he was without fruit, and would be glad to know 
what could be done to render his garden worthy of the name, 
which under the circumstances he was doubtless right in con¬ 
sidering it was not. Two of the most important items of advice 
given by way of remedy was to protect Peaches and Nectarines 
upon walls with an unheated glass house, and to plant cordons of 
more hardy fruits against every other portion of wall space avail¬ 
able, and also away from walls around the quarters of the garden; 
or, if other trees were already established there, to make three or 
four rows of cordons 6 feet apart, training them upon wire strained 
upon posts at either end of each row. 
Although the garden in question was only a small one that was 
kept in order by a couple of men, yet the advice given would be 
equally applicable to the largest garden with the palpable addition 
of more trees in proportion to its size, for the single cordon fruit 
tree is emphatically the best of all forms for every garden. This 
self-evident and most important fact obtains recognition very 
slowly, and yet the term of cordon precisely as applied by us to 
fruit trees now has been before the horticultural world for thirty 
years. Why, then, has the value of the system and its adapta¬ 
bility to all gardens, all positions, all climates where fruit will 
grow not sooner been seen and turned to account ? Because it is 
so easy and so simple. This certainly must be the reason, for it 
is impossible to suppose that prejudice or ignorance would bar 
the way of real progress. No doubt the change from the old- 
school life business of elaborating a huge tree with its tiers of 
horizontal “ gun barrels ” to bear fruit for another generation to 
the rearing of cordons from which really fine fruit may be had in 
a couple of years was too great, and its promise too high, to be 
readily turned to account. 
Proof must be had before a system so entirely revolutionary in 
character could be expected to make its way among us. It has 
been put to the test in many gardens now, and has proved so 
successful as fairly to exceed our expectations. The doom of 
monster “ horizontals ” is certain. It is undoubtedly true that 
many such old trees were heavily laden with fruit last year, and 
that the old boast of bushels instead of dozens of fruit was fully 
sustained ; but we must not be misled by a single year of abnormal 
abundance, for it is plain that the only safe test lies in the results 
of a reasonable number of consecutive years. Take the last six 
or eight years, and how many of them can fairly be claimed as 
fruitful years for trees under the old system or the new ? The 
entire number would contribute to swell the tale of the cordon’s 
triumph, but could we find another to add to last year for the 
horizontal’s ? Often have I heard lamentations over grand old 
trees that year after year had borne no fruit, and although graft¬ 
ing as a means of renovation has been advised, yet it is not often 
that a remedy involving the mutilation of branches that look so 
very much as if they ought to bear fruit is applied. 
My recent praise of palmette verriers must not be considered to 
clash with all that can be said in favour of cordons. Palmette 
verriers are useful trees in gardens sufficiently large to afford 
space for them—not by any means to the exclusion of cordons, 
but rather as supplementary to them, and worthy of a place as 
exemplifying another branch of the modern system of fruit cul¬ 
ture. The palmette verriers which I planted against a west wall 
in 1870 have not yet quite covered the wall space allotted to 
them, nor have some of them yet borne much fruit; but they are 
yearly growing in beauty and utility, and form one of the most 
striking features in the garden. The cordons planted on the east 
side of the same wall three years later have with few exceptions 
filled their space, and bear fruit regularly notwithstanding the 
unfavourable aspect. Without them I should often have been at 
a loss for Pears, and may usefully repeat here a sentence written 
about them two years ago —“ There stand the huge pyramids, each 
of them large enough to bear a bushel of fruit, and yet the crop is 
lost year after year ; while the little cordons upon a wall facing 
due east go steadily on year by year bearing fruit, which becomes 
finer and more abundant as the trees gain size.” It is not, of 
course, intended to assert that every cordon has an annual crop 
of fruit, but there is always fruit upon so many of them as to 
warrant the assertion that with some few exceptions fruit is to be 
had every year from them. Again this spring blossom is abun¬ 
dant upon most of the cordons, and the results of the last eight 
years justify me in saying there will be a fair average crop of 
fruit. It is this certainty of fruit that renders cordons of such 
value. Again and again when the large trees upon walls and in 
the open garden and orchard have failed the cordons have kept 
the supply unbroken. 
It is high time that the disparaging remarks about the dozens 
Fig. G5. 
Fig.6G. 
of fruit which cordons bear should be met and answered. Taking 
the early summer and autumn Pears, and bearing in mind for 
how short a time they continue good, a few dozens of really fine 
fruit are ample for the wants of ordinary establishments. Bushels 
of this class of Pears are not usually required. Summer Doyenne, 
Citron des Carmes, Beurre Giffard, Jargonelle, Summer Beurre 
d’Aremberg, Desire Cornelis, Colmar d’Ete, Williams’ Bon Chre¬ 
tien, Beurre de l’Assomption, Beurre d’Amanlis, Madame Treyve, 
Doyenne Boussoch, and Fondante d’Automne all come under this 
category. One or two cordons of each ought, therefore, to afford 
an ample supply of fruit. Ample provision of the fruit of later 
sorts is had by planting a few more trees, and considering the 
quick return for capital expended in their purchase the cost is 
unimportant. Strong maiden trees can be had for 12s. per dozen, 
and cordons two years old with blossom buds only cost 6s. a dozen 
more. 
In the accompanying woodcuts fig. 65 represents a maiden tree 
one year old, to be shortened by about one-third as soon as the 
leaves fall in autumn ; fig. 66 showing a cordon tree two years’old, 
to be shortened by about one-fifth in autumn. — Edward 
Luckhukst. 
(To be continued.) 
The Keeping Properties of the Champion Potato.— There 
is no greater admirer of this Potato than myself, yet, from several 
years’ experience, I am reluctantly obliged to confess I find it almost 
useless after March for kitchen purposes owing to black patches 
or lumps that ultimately extend all over it; yet, strange as it 
may seem, this is not disease, for decomposition does not follow 
