314 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 6, 1881. 
of staging 4 feet wide. They are in the best of health, and 
are just commencing to flower. Eventually the display will be 
remarkable both by its extent and the great variety of colours 
that must necessarily be represented. 
- The following gardening appointments have been 
recently made :—Mr. Wm. Cruickshank, late gardener to R. E. 
Warburton, Esq., Arley Hall, Northwich, has been appointed 
gardener to the Hon. Jas. Saumarez, Saumarez Park, Guernsey; 
Mr. Jas. Fletcher, late foreman at Frogmore, succeeds Mr. 
Cavanagh as gardener to J. E. Taylor, Esq., Coppins, Iver; and 
Mr. Alfred Waters, late foreman at Norris Green, Liverpool, 
succeeds Mr. McKellar as gardener to C. Magniac, Esq., M.P., 
Colworth Hall, Sharnbrook, Beds. 
- We agree with the Journal of Forestry that the general 
cultivation of fruit trees has never been practised by the 
rural population in this country with the same intelligence and 
industry which we see so common in fruit-growiDg countries on 
the continent, where neither soil nor climate are in any way 
superior to our own. Throughout most of central Europe fruit 
trees are planted by the farmers and cottagers with judicious care 
and discrimination in their fields and gardens. In an ordinary 
season they gather abundance of luscious fruit—not only enough 
to supply their domestic wants, but also to send large quantities to 
market, from which they realise an acceptable addition to their 
income. This is all done without losing a square yard of ground 
that could be profitably devoted to any other food crop. The 
trees are planted along roadsides, on the margins of the fields, in 
the hedgerows, and in other odd places and corners, where they 
occupy ground that cannot be conveniently or profitably cultivated. 
- “ P. T.” writes, “Pyrethrum uliginosum is a telling 
object in the flower garden at this season. Perhaps it is better 
suited for the shrubbery, as its tall and rather coarse habit is 
more adapted for such a position. The flowers are large, very 
showy, and of pure whiteness. It is what some people would 
call an ‘ effective ’ plant.” 
- The Jamaica Government are offering great advantages 
to those who are inclined to embark m the Cultivation of 
Cinchona. Suitable land is offered at a very low rate, and it 
seems to us that, with proper methods and selection of the right 
kind of plants, there is room in Jamaica for a limited number of 
plantations of this kind. In connection with this, Mr. D. Morris 
has issued a valuable series of “ Hints and Suggestions for Raising 
Cinchona Plants from Seeds, and Establishing Cinchona Planta¬ 
tions.”— {Nature.') 
-A recent visitor to Sandlea House, Datchet, observes 
that “ There are few small gardens more charmingly situated, as 
it is close to historic Windsor, a portion of the home park with 
its magnificent trees facing it, and the Thames running by the 
side of the well-kept and tastefully laid-out pleasure grounds. It 
is in the possession of Mrs. Fowler, and was laid out some years 
since by Mr. George Eyles. The gardens and houses are kept in 
admirable condition under the superintendence of Mr. Thomas 
Fraser, the head gardener, who has been for some years in his 
present position with credit to himself and his employer.” The 
same correspondent remarks that “ Carpet bedding on the Wind¬ 
sor Castle slopes is very beautiful, and well worth the atten¬ 
tion even of those who decry this system of gardening.” 
- From every part of the country we hear of the abundance 
of the crop of wild fruits. Crab Apples appear to be a 
heavier crop than has been seen for many years, and Sloes are 
fully as abundant. The Mountain Ash is loaded with “ Rowans,” 
and the thrifty housewife is rejoicing at the prospect of the dozens 
of wine she can make from the abundant supply of Elder berries. 
The Yew is thickly sprinkled with its juicy scarlet berries, on 
which thrushes and blackbirds, besides smaller fry, are enjoying 
a rare feast. When these fail them Haws and Holly berries, 
which are enormous crops, will keep up the supply of food for the 
woodland songsters till the return of spring. The store of such 
food has not been so large for a good many years, but we hope 
that the abundance of these wild fruits does not presage the 
approach of another severe winter, in accordance with the popular 
belief.— {Journal of Forestry .) 
- Special articles on popular subjects that appear from 
time to time in the daily papers usually bear the impress of 
ability on the part of the contributors and sound judgment on 
the part of the editors ; but we are unable to congratulate either 
the editor of the Standard or his contributor on an article on 
trees near towns that found its way into print on the 28th ult. 
That the writer has little knowledge of the subject on which he 
was permitted to instruct others is apparent and perhaps excusable’ 
but he might have taken the trouble to have referred to some 
books before preparing his wordy yet empty and inaccurate 
lecture. He refers to Araucarias as “ Monkey-puzzlers,” but we 
have not to read far before finding that there are man-puzzling 
trees as well. He falls very foul of the Plane tree, because, like 
some others, it is not English “in any sense,” although it has 
been with us for more than three centuries; and if trees “of its 
class ” must be had we are to plant Sycamores, “ as they have in 
a measure become acclimatised.” In what “ measure ” a native 
tree has become acclimatised it would be interesting to know, but 
it is amusing to be told it is in the same “ class ” as the Plane. 
In his zeal for English and his contempt for exotic trees the 
specialist goes into ecstacies over the Horse Chestnut among others, 
in blissful ignorance that, like the Plane, it can hardly be English 
“ in any sense,” seeing that it is an exotic of much more recent 
introduction than the Plane. In one place we are told if a young 
Oak springs up in a garden it is cut off at once, as “it would 
spoil the Laurels,” and in another place “ the cold-blooded Laurels 
kill everything else.” We ought to have had Oaks, Elms, and 
Beeches on the Thames Embankment, then rooks would have 
come to the Oaks and woodpeckers to the Beeches, the “ sound of 
one of these birds being worth ten thousand Laurels ; ” and if a 
Hawthorn is planted “ almost every bird will come to it, from the 
wood pigeon down to the wren,” and “Ash attracts turtle doves,’’ 
and so on with similar nonsense. The Lime, it is stated, will run 
a race with any tree ; but he forgets one, and an English tree, 
that will leave it far behind. But, seriously, our author does not 
appear to know that the trees he urges for towns have been tried 
and failed. Does he not know of thousands of Elms near London 
that are mutilated because of the liability of the tree to cast its 
limbs in storm and calm ? This is a grand but dangerous tree, 
and people are warned not to go under the majestic specimens at 
Windsor. He seems to forget, too, that before the woodpecker 
comes to the Beeches they must be old and decayed ; and before 
huge Oaks and Beeches are flourishing on the Thames Embank¬ 
ment the celebrated New Zealander will be pointing out the site 
once occupied by the great metropolis, and the weary pedestrian 
in the post-railway period will be resting his weary limbs under 
the Wayfaring Tree, which we learn for the first time is the Bar¬ 
berry ! Our author then soars amongst the stars and plays with 
Sirius, Arcturus, and the Pleiades, and there we leave him to find 
his level; but in the meantime, if our important contemporary 
desires to maintain its reputation as a standard authority on the 
subjects on which it treats, its specialists must show that they 
have at least a fair amount of practical knowledge of those sub¬ 
jects on which they are encouraged to write. Perhaps, however, 
the article was only intended for a burlesque! 
A Selection of Apples and Pears.—T he following varieties, 
ripening or being fit for use in the order named, are suitable for 
