JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 20, 1882. ] 
capital condition, the ground gradually descends until the Rose 
garden is observed in a beautiful position well screened by trees 
and shrubs, and yet not too much shaded. The beds are of good 
size and simple in design, being cut out in the lawn with a good 
portion of grass between them. The plants are dwarfs, and appear 
to be doiDg well. The wood was remarkably strong, and gave 
promise of an abundance of fine blooms, especially the plants 
forming a bed of Capitaine Christy. The varieties are not 
numerous, as each bed consists of only one kind, and free- 
flowering varieties have been selected. The shoots are all pegged 
over the bed, and when in flower and viewed from above they 
cannot fail to prove very effective. This pegging-down system is 
carried out in many gardens, but generally the shoots are brought 
close to the soil, and in case of heavy rains the blooms are much 
splashed with the soil. This objection I have heard urged against 
this system of growing Roses ; but with the Eose beds referred to 
no such objection can be raised, as strong pegs have purposely 
been made of thin iron, and the shoots are brought to about 
9 inches or 1 foot from the soil. 
Passing out on the opposite side of the Eose garden we observed 
a small rockery planted principally with hardy Ferns. A portion 
of this had only recently been erected. The flower garden, which 
is also cut out in the grass, is near the mansion on the south side, 
and is kept gay with flowers both in spring and summer. The 
kitchen garden is well proportioned to the extent of the place ; 
it is well cropped and in good keeping. There is a good collection 
of hardy fruit trees in very satisfactory condition. The Apples, 
Pears, and Plums are principally pyramids and bushes, which 
have attained a good fruit-bearing size, and the walls were also 
well furnished. A wall of Apricots looked promising, and I under¬ 
stand they have not failed to produce an average crop of fruit 
for some years. 
The conservatory is a light structure attached to the mansion, 
and was very gay with flowers throughout the year. The plants 
are all arranged in the body of the house in groups and looked 
well, each plant being allowed plenty of room. A narrow stage 
is erected round the sides of the house over the pipes, but is very 
low, so that the plants can be looked down upon instead of having 
first to view the pots and stage as is too often the case. The 
Azalea house is span-roofed and occupied with pyramidal speci¬ 
mens 5 or 6 feet high. A fine Daphne indica rubra was especially 
worthy of note, being in vigorous health and the largest specimen 
I have seen. On one side of the house a low arched trellis had 
been arranged, and the border planted with Tea Roses growing 
vigorously and flowering profusely. Houses in this range were 
also devoted to softwooded plants for cutting and decoration, 
others to stove plants and a few Orchids. In the stove foliage 
plants and Ferns principally predominate. The Vines were in 
excellent condition and bearing fine crops, as were also the Peach 
trees in the two houses, such varieties as Royal George, Barring¬ 
ton, and Grosse Mignonne Peaches, and Violette Hfitive and Elruge 
Nectarines being relied upon. Another house was filled with 
magnificent Camellias in admirable condition, pyramidal in shape, 
7 or 8 feet high, and well furnished to the ground. They are 
planted out in two rows extending the length of the house, one 
row on each side of the walk. Imbricata, Jenny Lind, Cup of 
Beauty, Elegans, Fimbriata, Lady Hume’s Blush, Hendersonii, 
Candidissima, Countess of Ellesmere, and Contessa Lavinia Maggi 
were all fine plants, the last-named producing blooms fully 7 inches 
in diameter. The roof is partially covered with Clematis, such as 
Lucie Lemoine, Lady Londesborough, Miss Bateman, and Stan- 
dishii. The gardens on the whole inside and out were in good 
keeping, order and neatness being prominent everywhere, and 
very creditable to the gardener, Mr. Kipps.— Visitor. 
FRUIT AND WOOD BUDS. 
Some little time ago I wrote a query under the above heading, 
and since then some facts have come under my notice which 
perhaps you might find room for in a corner of the Journal. As 
at the time you were kind enough to say the subject was one of 
much interest, and had not received as much attention as it de¬ 
served, perhaps recording my notes may draw a little more to it 
and interest others. 
My query was, When are wood buds converted into fruit buds ? 
During summer and autumn alone, or during winter and early 
spring ? I think it is generally believed that it is only during 
the first two seasons, and that this is not the case the facts I am 
about to state seem to prove. These are the facts whatever the 
theory be. In 1880 I grafted a number of Plum scions on the 
Mussel stock, then being about half an inch in diameter. In 
the spring of 1881 I placed some of these in 10-inch pots and 
grew them in my orchard house all the year. They are now fine 
329 
little trees, some having more fruit set on them than they could 
bring to perfection. Others grafted in 1880 I left to grow in the 
nursery till the end of October, 1881, when they were placed in 
11-inch pots, and housed in the orch; rd house through the winter 
and up to the present time. 
One of these was the Washington Plum, a very vigorous tree 
fully G or 7 feet high, having been only once headed back. At the 
time of potting the shoots were so gross and vigorous that I had 
not the least expectation there would be a flower bud this year ; 
there certainly was no appearance of fruiting wood. On potting 
it I cut it down to about 4 feet, and pruned-in the side shoots so 
as to make it into a pyramid. In February nearly all the buds 
on the side shoots proved to be fruit buds, and the tree is now in 
wonderful bloom. Another tree of Early Apricot Plum treated 
in the same way has come out in blossom, which, if it had been 
left in the nursery, no one would have given much for its chance 
of having fruit or flowers this year. 
There is only one other of the year 1880 growth I will refer to, 
and though I thought I might possibly have overlooked the fruit¬ 
ing wood in the others at potting time there could be no mistake 
about this. It is a very fine tree of Trince Englebert Plum. 
The first season it grew G or 7 feet, was cut down to 3 feet in the 
spring of 1881, potted like the others in end of October, but not 
then cut down like them, as I wanted it as a tall pyramid for a back 
border. This showed no fruit buds on the side shoots as Wash¬ 
ington and Early Apricot did in February, so as it was so vigorous 
I gave up expecting any to appear ; but last week I discovered 
the top of the main shoot and for about 9 inches down is thickly 
studded with clusters of flowers. This is from all my gardening 
experience the most extraordinary and unlikely place for a young 
two-year-old Plum in a most vigorous state of growth to produce 
flowers, the unshortened main shoot of last year on which they 
are being fully 4 feet long ; the tree 7 feet high. 
Of last year’s grafts two Cherries are now in full flower with 
half a dozen flower clusters each ; these were potted for the orchard 
house in October, 1881, and under most favourable circumstances 
outside would not have shown a blossom till they were at least two 
years old, and probably not till they were three. I have other 
trees that seem to have formed their fruit buds in early spring, 
but none so remarkable as the Prince Englebert Plum. Now my 
idea is, that all this unusual and unexpected fruitfulness is the 
winter and spring work of the trees in the mild atmosphere of 
the orchard house. 
Last summer and autumn were in this region the most miser¬ 
able and melancholy seasons we have experienced for a very long 
time. Their effects on the trees unsheltered by glass or walls are 
very evident. The violent and long-continued east winds in 
autumn in this neighbourhood tore off the leaves long before they 
had completed their tasks. They were torn from their leafstalks, 
which remained attached to the trees all winter and till late 
spring, and as the consequence there are very few flower clusters 
this season. My little year-old—or then they were but half-year- 
old Cherries—had their leaves wrenched off in this way, and yet 
the mild climate of the orchard house coupled with the extra¬ 
ordinary mild winter and spring we have had seems to have 
enabled them to more than make up for their loss, and that 
during a time when they had no leaves to help them. 
Would “ Single-handed,” Mr. Iggulden, or other correspon¬ 
dents notice the matter? It is one in which I am much interested, 
and would like to hear what the observations of others may have 
been.— Irish Rector. 
P.S.—If my letter is not already unreasonably long, might I 
ask if any of your readers know anything of the Columbia Plum ? 
Except in the “ Fruit Manual ” I can hear of it nowhere. I have 
repeatedly applied to nurserymen and cannot get it. There are 
two Apples which used to be sold by Messrs. Lee of Hammer¬ 
smith—the Keeping Russet and Barton’s Incomparable, but they 
no longer keep the stocks, so that there seems a likelihood these 
two excellent Apples may be soon lost, as I have been trying in 
all directions to get a scion and have failed. Perhaps some 
reader might either have, or know of someone who has, a sample, 
as I would like to add them to my kinds for experimenting on in 
the cold north. One more question. Does anyone know what 
the correct name of the baking Apple, here and throughout the 
north of Ireland called the Ballyfatten ? It is above medium 
size, with prominent ribs and dark red cheek, an excellent keeping 
Apple.—I. R. 
EUONYMUSES. 
These evergreen shrubs are not employed for decoration at the 
present time nearly so much as they deserve. Some of the varie¬ 
gated forms are beautiful, and are almost as imposing in cool 
structures as Crotons are in the stove. It is surprising some of 
