October20, 1881.] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 353 
Warner’s King Apple. —Permit me to advise “ It. P. B.” not 
to rely solely upon this Apple for a midwinter supply, but also to 
plant some other good sorts, such as Golden Noble, Tower of 
Glamis, and Hanwell Souring. The fine fruit of Warner’s King 
is keeping badly this year—so badly that I cannot hope to have it 
really good after the present month. The trees of it here are 
correctly named, and the fruit usually keeps good much later in 
the year. Premature ripeness and decay will, I fear, be found 
prevalent among many other Apples this year. Is this a result of 
the extraordinary heat ?—A Kentish Grower. 
Gooseberries. —A desire to know all about Gooseberries in¬ 
duced me to supplement the rows of Warrington and such other 
sorts of proved excellence as Early Sulphur, Pitmaston Green 
Gage, Red Champagne, Lion’s Provider, Green Overall, Dan’s 
Mistake, Ironmonger, Whitesmith, Snowdrop, Rough Red, and 
Ploughboy, by making a mixed plantation of some eighty sorts, 
all of them quite unknown to me, but presumably good, as they 
were afforded a prominent place in the catalogue of a fruit¬ 
growing nurseryman of considerable note. Never was I more 
disappointed, for hardly any of them proved worthy of culture, 
and I turned the lesson to account by discarding the whole of the 
worthless sorts and adding to the number of those which I knew 
to be good.—E. L. 0. _ 
Beurre de Capiaumont Tear. —This is a variety that ought 
to be in every collection. Grown as a pyramid or standard it 
never fails to produce heavy crops of excellent fruit. When 
gathered about the middle of October it remains in good condition 
until Christmas. During the past unfavourable seasons which we 
have had this variety never failed to give a plentiful supply, and 
though the fruit was small it was of good quality. 
Napoleon Pear.—T his is a large and fine variety I highly 
commend to be added to every collection. It has all the qualities 
of a good Pear, and the advantage over many by being a good 
keeper. We have it as an espalier, and find that it bears the close 
pinching process better than many varieties. 
Beurre de l’Assomption Pear. —I obtained a pyramid tree 
of this variety from a well-known nursery firm nearly four years 
ago, with it a very high character as to its free bearing, as well as 
other good qualities. I find it a very free bearer, but otherwise it 
is worthless as a pyramid. I am afraid I must have the wrong 
variety. Will any of your correspondents who may have given 
this Pear a trial kindly state their experience and oblige ?— 
Leadeniiam, Grantham. _" 
Pruning Apple Trees.— The Keswick Codlinand Dumelow’s 
Seedling produce finer fruit on the young wood than when kept 
pruned-in on the spur system. There are many varieties of Apples 
from which the produce would be better, both in quality and 
quantity, if the knife were not used quite so freely. In the 
orchard Apple trees ought not to be pruned too hard. Finer fruit 
is gathered from trees which are occasionally thinned-out and 
kept within bounds than from trees which are annually cut-in as 
close as those which occupy a place in the kitchen garden. Some 
Apples bear the knife better than others ; Blenheim Orange, 
Cockle Pippin, and King of the Pippins, all bear well when 
kept spurred-in. Would it not be an advantage if your correspon¬ 
dents were to state what soil their trees are growing in ? Our soil 
is very poor and shallow, partly on chalk and partly on gravel. 
The varieties I have mentioned have borne excellent crops this 
season. Dumelow’s Seedling ought to be in every collection. 
—Cantab. 
Nuts.—C osford is very prolific; nut large, oblong, shell thin, 
large, well-flavoured kernel, and early, not keeping so well as 
those with thicker shells. Pearson’s Prolific bears in a young 
state very freely, and is a dwarf grower; nut obtusely ovate, 
shell medium as to thickness, fine kernel, and excellent. Lam¬ 
bert’s Filbert is the same as Kentish Cob (but is not a Cob, which 
are roundish and thick-shelled), very large, oblong, and com¬ 
pressed, kernel very full, and keeps well, not being full flavoured 
until kept a time. Red Filbert, medium size ovate ; kernel full 
with red skin, and very rich in flavour. It bears freely. White 
Filbert is similar to the Red, but with white skin, medium-sized 
nut, full kernel; quality excellent. Purple Filbert, ornamental 
foliage, and similar to Red Filbert as regards the nut. only the 
skin is deep purple ; quality excellent. Frizzled Filbert, nut 
small, kernel full, shell thick. This is a late sort and a great 
bearer, producing the nuts in clusters. From its deeply frizzled 
husk its appearance is unique. Cob, large nut and kernel, and 
capital for early use, but does not keep well ; the tree is a great 
bearer. Merveille de Bolwyller, large and excellent in every 
respect, the tree being a great, constant, and early bearer. The 
three first-named are best; but all are good and desirable for 
variety.—G. Abbey. _ 
Glass Coping for Apricots. —We have a considerable num¬ 
ber of Apricot trees in the garden under my charge, in fact more 
than are wanted, simply because four large specimens protected 
by Rendle’s glass coping yield extraordinary crops of fruit, quite 
sufficient for the demand. Owing to the Apricot’s habit of early 
flowering, and the delicate nature of their blooms, extra pre¬ 
cautions have to be taken to protect from frosts, and nothing I 
have tried equals the coping above referred to. The light yet 
warm nature of the blinds used in connection wfith the coping 
affords ample protection from both frosts and destructive easterly 
winds without unduly shading and weakening the blossoms. The 
crops are also forwarded considerably, and, what is of great im¬ 
portance, the growth ripens early, abundance of sound blossoms 
invariably resulting. The blinds during the summer are employed 
for shading purposes, and the glass is taken out and stowed in 
boxes till required again.—W. C. N. 
Three Early-bearing Apples. — Growers of fruit cannot 
always afford to wait many years for “returns,” and for this reason 
varieties of Apples disposed to bear fruit when in a comparative 
young state are oftentimes selected. A friend of mine a few 
years since planted some hundreds of Apple trees, some of which 
bore freely during the third season, and carried excellent crops 
during the fourth season, without any apparent injury accruing to 
the trees. Cellini was one of the first to commence bearing, and 
Manks Codlin and Jolly Beggar also distinguished themselves. 
The two former are well known and appreciated ; but the Jolly 
Beggar, according to my experience, is not so much planted by 
private growers as it deserves to be. It is a culinary Apple, of 
good size and flavour, in season from August to October.— Essex. 
Apples for Market. —Those who plant fruit trees with the 
intention of marketing the whole or part of the crops should first 
ascertain which are the most saleable culinary or dessert varieties. 
Those in the secret are well aware the former are invariably in 
much the greater demand, and of course plant accordingly. If 
varieties can be grown suitable for both purposes so much the 
better, and fair-sized bright-coloured fruit are generally preferred. 
These qualities are to be found in Blenheim Orange, King of the 
Pippins, Emperor Alexander, Fearn’s Pippin, Cox's Pomona, and 
Gravenstein. Another lesson—market growers are not satisfied 
with selecting suitable varieties, but are very particular what soil 
they have them off, and also to have them perfectly free from 
American blight. What they prefer are trees that we should 
term “ scraggy,” well knowing that such, on their comparatively 
poor soils, are the first to form good trees. Vigorously grown 
trees are apt to “stand still” for years after removal, and those 
affected with American blight soon became cankered and worth¬ 
less.— W. Iggulden. 
A RUN TO TIIE WEST. 
It is necessary to say at the outset that the starting point was 
London, the route the Great Western Railway, and the terminus 
Frome, so that the above heading may be intelligible, for obviously 
no place can be in the “ west ” to all the readers of this Journal. 
The question may now arise, What interest does Frome possess 
to the horticulturist ? In itself it possesses little if any interest ; 
but as it is the station for Marston House, the seat of the Earl of 
Cork and Orrery, whose garden is in charge of Mr. Iggulden, and 
as Longleat, the noble patrimony of the Marquis of Bath and the 
field of Mr. William Taylor’s labours, is within easy distance of 
Marston, it will perhaps not be a matter of surprise that the busy 
Somersetshire town was so intimately connected with this run to 
the west. 
The run was sharp and the stay brief, therefore no elaborate 
account will be given of the two gardens. Their salient features 
may, however, be noticed, and some impressions recorded that 
will not be unacceptable, and possibly may be useful. But last 
week, it may be premised, was not favourable for visiting gardens, 
so far, at least, as their attractiveness was concerned, for Dahlias 
and similarly tender flowers were killed by the frosts-—“ vrastzes,” 
a native termed them—of a few days previous. Still, even 
“vrastzes ” cannot demolish the interest of a garden nor obscure 
the work of good gardeners, and both outside and in there was 
