544 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ December 15, 1831. 
and should be potted as soon as rooted in a light rich soil. As 
soon as the pots are filled with roots the plants must again be 
{lotted, and when established the tops may be pinched to induce 
them to branch. After this they may either be grown on in larger 
pots, or planted out in a border in the stove and trained up a pillar 
or under the roof. A. cydoniaefolia is a native of Brazil, and there¬ 
fore requires a stove temperature or an intermediate house. My 
plants have flowered profusely this autumn in a temperature of 
about 00°.—W. K. 
SCRAPS ABOUT FRUIT. 
Jules d’Airolles Pear.— This is not by any means much 
grown, but deserves to be more extensively known. I have it 
against an east wall on the Pear stock, on which it is very healthy, 
fruiting when many other sorts fail ; the fruit much resembles 
Napoleon, but is larger and longer, and carries more colour. It 
is in season in November and December, and is very juicy, well 
and briskly flavoured, resembling in that respect Forelle.— 
G. Abbey. 
Strawberries Flowering. —Have any of your correspon¬ 
dents seen at the present season, in the open ground, Strawberries 
in full flower, just as is seen in summer ? The variety President 
is a mass of bloom. This is grown here largely, being useful for 
forcing as well as for the garden, and I agree with many gar¬ 
deners in considering it the best of all the year-round Straw¬ 
berry. The plants are robust and healthy, and. in their third 
season of growth. The blooms will be decidedly cut down 
by the first hard frost. No doubt the past mild weather has 
caused their flowering so prematurely.—H. C. Ogle, CMlworth 
Manor, Hants. _ 
Comte de Lamy Pear. —In our light soil this is one of the few 
October Pears that succeed on the Quince, the tree beiDg healthy, 
forming a moderate-sized compact pyramid. It crops well, and, 
though the fruit is only medium-sized it is very rich and juicy 
with an agreeable perfume, resembling Seakale in that respect. 
The latter though small is a first-rate sort, succeeding admirably 
as a pyramid on the Pear, forming a good-sized fruitful tree.— 
Yorkshire. 
The Best Twelve Kitchen Apples.— Duchess of Oldenburg, 
Keswick Codlin or Lord Suffield, Lemon Pippin, Golden Noble, 
Cellini, Small’s Admirable, Warner’s King, Nelson’s Codlin, Tower 
of Glamis, Wormslev Pippin, Han well Souring, Gooseberry—twelve 
and one over, which is easily disposed of. If you have a light 
shallow soil discard Lord Suffield, if a deep loam retain it. But 
whatever may be the nature of your soil you will never have 
reason to regret planting Keswick Codlin. for I have never seen 
it suffer badly from canker, as Lord Suffield undoubtedly does. 
Lemon Pippin may be called in question, but I really do not know 
why, for it is an excellent cooking Apple. The tree is hardy, 
grows freely, and rarely fails to yield an abundant crop of fruit— 
so abundant that the sight of a large tree of it in full bearing is 
not soon forgotten, and yet Ido not remember having met with 
it in select lists. Of the other sorts it may be said that all of 
them are remarkable for hardiness, sturdy vigour, and abundant 
produce of sterling quality. Gooseberry Apple, not Gooseberry 
Pippin, ought to be grown by everybody for the good keeping 
qualities of its excellent fruit, which is always left upon the trees 
till late in October, and is then to be had in good condition from 
the fruit-room in the following May and June.— Sussex. 
The Best Twelve Pears.— Your correspondent “Sussex” 
gives the names of twelve Pears (page 494) which he designates 
the best, but it is to be presumed he only means in his immediate 
locality, and with the qualifications he points out in reference to 
soil, stocks, climate, and experience in treatment. All these and 
other circumstances conduce to success or failure. However, I 
merely wish to remark that at our late show here, referred to in 
a recent number of the Journal, the three judges and your corre¬ 
spondent, who was deputed to assist them, all agreed, from every 
point of view, the specimens of Beurre Clairgeau were the best in 
the show of a large number of varieties. The admitted best at 
last year’s show was Doyenne Boussoch. Though there is not 
much difference in the climate, &c., neither of these are included 
in “Sussex’s” twelve.—W. J. M., Clonmsl, 
Pears not Keeping.— I noticed what “G. A.” said on page 494 
under this heading. In regard to Bergamotte Esperen, a Pear 
which I have been accustomed at the beginning of former years 
to place in artificial heat, I am at this time eating it direct from 
a cold fruit-room in a perfect state of delicious ripeness. Though 
I never knew it come to table so early, I also never knew it in 
better condition for the dessert dish. Its usual time is from 
February to April, and it was therefore only by mere accident 
that I found it was ripening fast. I make no complaint, as all 
my crop is, though earlier, excellent. I have, however, been 
utterly “done” by another Pear—viz., Josephine de Malines. As 
its proper time is always from February to May I did not pay it 
the-attention of any notice at all. Why look after, or examine, a 
Pear not likely to be ripe for months? However, when I went 
and examined the Josephine de Malines, the fruit off two pyramids, 
the other day, I found them gone too far—from ripeness to rotten¬ 
ness, only a very few being eatable. Not all Pears are thus pre¬ 
mature, for Soldat Esperen, a November fruit, is not quite ripe, 
and will last through this month of December ; neither is Napoleon 
over-ripe. I would note of this fruit that as to flavour it has been 
overpraised. It is very juicy indeed, but then it is not rich but 
watery juice. Apples are keeping, as naturally they would, better 
than Pears, but they are in an unduly forward state of ripeness. 
In regard to the Malines Pear going off so very soon, I must say 
that I think part of the reason is that by mistake it was gathered 
a little too early, whereas those keeping better had their full time 
on the tree. I should like to know if other cultivators find tbi3 
true of their Pears. “ Hang long keep long ” is, I think, a good 
motto in regard to late fruits.— Wiltshire Rector. 
Renovating Old Apple Trees — Useful Varieties.— 
My experience amongst fruit trees in Cheshire was that of ob¬ 
taining a satisfactory result from old trees on a clay soil. We 
first thoroughly drained it and then applied manure heavily near 
the roots. These measures produced a complete renovation. The 
best old sorts were Golden Russet, Lord Suffield, Manks Codlin, 
which we always took care to thin-out freely to induce fresh 
growth of healthy wood (this year I have seen fine specimens in 
London offered for sale as Newtown Pippins) ; Nonpareil, “ Winter 
Virgin,” a large rosy-coloured Apple, strong tree with a bushy 
top, which grew tangled and intermixed across, inside, naturally. 
Fruit large, very red, which about May turned to a russetty 
yellow pale colour, most beautiful to eat. We called it Winter 
Virgin, but it is very similar to Ball’s Golden Reinette. Goose¬ 
berry, New Hawthornden, and Hawthornden. All standards. 
Since then, in Montgomeryshire, I planted some of the old sorts. 
On clay soil Lord Suffield planted with some pieces of charcoal 
and lime under formed a fine tree—only four years after grafting 
being loaded with splendid fruit. Hawthornden similar, and 
Manks Codlin and Stirling Castle were surprisingly fine. I 
tried other sorts which promise well. Royal Pearmain, Oslin, 
Wellington (Dumelow’s Seedling), John Apple or Northern 
Greening, and Greenup’s Pippin. Golden Winter Pearmain is 
remarkably fine grown near Tenbury on a red clay soil. I have 
seen rows of trees covered with splendid fruit—a grand sight.— 
J. C. Antrobus. 
HOMELY HINTS ON CHRYSANTHEMUiM CULTURE. 
Of the popularity of Chrysanthemums there can be no doubt, 
nor is it difficult to tell why. Opening into full beauty in Novem¬ 
ber, when so much of vegetable life has assumed the bare aspect 
of winter, amid gathering mists and muiky skies the)'’ serve to 
brighten many a home that would otherwise be bare of flowers, 
and when brought together m large quantities for exhibition we 
have a scene so bright as to form no unworthy rival of the gayest 
gatherings of summer. The large exhibition plants are apt to be 
regarded by the owners of small gardens as a phase of gardening 
quite beyond their scope. They see the magnificent cut flowers 
and ask, “ What sort of plants are they cut from ? How are they 
managed ? and would it be possible for us to produce anything 
like them in our little conservatory without the aid of a pro¬ 
fessional gardener ? ” Assuredly it would, as I have seen it done 
for several years in a small garden not far from here—so well 
done, that there are always plenty of flowers at this time of year 
of the highest excellence both of size and form. 
Now in this garden there is no skilled gardener—only an ordi¬ 
nary labourer—nor has the owner much technical knowledge of 
gardening. He therefore wisely confines his efforts to the manage¬ 
ment of a few flowers of easy culture, and of which he has sufficient 
variety to render his little conservatory gay throughout the year. 
In this he is most successful, as I have often seen. The stages are 
always filled with clean healthy plants, but they are never crowded, 
and the only season of the year when the neat trim aspect of the 
house is broken up is when the huge Chrysanthemums are brought 
in, some three or four dozen in number, and are ranged in single 
