306 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 2, 1884. 
blooms, yet tbe fruit fails to set, or if setting drops’ otf before taking the 
first swelling. This is a consequence of last year’s imperfect develop¬ 
ment of the buds and immaturity of the wood.” This state of things 
“ An Old Gardener” appears not to be acquainted with. He has not seen a 
case of this kind after a cold sunless season preceding as that of the 
autumn of 1868. He states, at page 235, “ Hard firm ripe growth I will 
readily grant are conducive to the formation of blossom buds, and also, I 
willingly concede, to the perfect development of the flowers,” and “ I 
always have endeavoured and always shall endeavour to do all that is 
possible to mature the growths of fruit trees, because that is a safe course 
to pursue for the production of blossom ; ” yet we are told that fairly well 
matured wood only is necessary, for he “has seen” the finest blossom 
and fruit too on those parts of shoots that are not the hardest and 
ripest.” Immature wood, imperfectly developed blossom buds, have 
nothing to do with the failure of our fruit crops—all is due to frost. 
Following up the line of argument we come to the phrase “ripened or 
stunted wood,” as if wood to be ripe must be stunted, and that the growth and 
resulting crops of trees in orchards in comparison with those in the richer 
soil of gardens and under the manipulation of the cultivator,” “cannot 
mean anything but that immature wood in autumn is more fatal to the 
crops than frost in spring.” Further, your correspondent asserts that 
stunted trees are not the most fruitful. “ There are thousands of them 
fruitless now, while younger healthier trees under the manipulation of 
cultivators are bearing fruit, but I can see any leafless fruit trees in an 
orchard on gravel, the wood is as hard and stunted as can well be 
imagined ; but trees in the garden are still green, yet the growths being 
thin will be sufficiently ripened, and, frost permitting, the trees will yield 
better crops than the starved and hardwooded orchard examples.” Surely 
stunted trees casting their leaves by the middle of September have neither 
ripened wood nor perfectly formed fruit buds. The garden here is on 
gravel, and I have not a standard tree, nor is there one in old orchards 
about here that is in such a pitiable plight as those described. They have 
the foliage still fresh and green, and in an orchard that knows no “ culti¬ 
vation,” only that of the depasturing of the grass by sheep, are some trees 
with their ten to fifteen bushels of Apples. The trees, however, are an 
exception, as the fruit crops are a general failure in Hunts as elsewhere. 
The standard trees bristle with buds, not only on spurs from last year’s 
wood, but that of the current season is terminated by a fruit bud, the 
growth being from 6 to 12 inches or more in length, and I have young 
trees under cultivation that have shoots on those extending a yard and 
more in length, and not a fruit bud on any of them as regards this year’s 
growth, whilst the wood of last year of a similar length is a mass of 
blossom buds. I mention this to refute “An Old Gardener’s” assertion 
that I may mislead by appearing to be an advocate of “ starvation.” 
Now I want an answer to the question, that since frost is the cause of 
the failure of the outdoor fruit crops, why the trees in orchards are fruit¬ 
less, and younger healthier trees in gardens are bearing fruit. Surely 
“ An Old Gardener ” does not mean the latter are proof against frost, 
whilst the blossom on orchard trees is susceptible of injury. I thought it 
destroyed all alike. 
With regard to Kent versiis Northumberland, the former is as 
remarkable for its fruit gardens as the latter is for the extent of its sheep 
pastures. Compare the two counties in the matter of fruit-growing. 
There may be a more plentiful crop of fruit in the north than the south 
this year, but that there are places in Kent with fruitful orchards the 
following extract from a letter of one practising there may not be devoid 
of interest. It is dated September 23rd :—“ We are having beautiful 
weather, bringing on the fruit crops, which are good, especially Apples, 
also Pears, Williams’ Bon Chretien being very fine, and there are plenty 
of Filberts.” Is this an evidence that the trees there were less mature in 
wood than in other parts of Kent, and consequently escaped frost by 
blossoming later? Perhaps your correspondent may know that Kent is 
not nearly so elevated as Northumberland, and that localities at an 
elevation of some hundreds of feet are less liable to spring frosts than 
those that are several hundred feet lower. It makes all the difference, 
not only on the score of immunity from spring frosts, but in the hardier 
kinds of fruit; trees grown in cold localities, as those of Northumberland, 
must be compared with those that will succeed in the warm ones of 
Kent. 
The most unhappy deduction drawn by “ An Old Gardener ” from 
my article on page 191 is bringing forward an extract from an article by 
Mr. Luckhurst, to be found on page 63, July 22nd, 1869. I never said that 
this year (1884) being hot and dry the crop in 1885 would be abundant 
unless the elements were favourable, and that they were not in 1869. 
This proves exactly what I have been contending for. “ An Old 
Gardener” may say, “Failure of the fruit crops is all due to frost in 
spring. Immature wood has nothing to do with it.” Now turn to the 
Journal of Horticulture, vol. xvii., page 65, where we have an excellent 
article by Mr. Luckhurst, and begin where “ An Old Gardener ” stops 
quoting, and we read “ Standard Plum trees in most instances have a 
miserable crop of abortive bladder Plums, stoneless and deformed ; while 
Cherry orchards, whose trees were ‘ clouds of bloom,’ have shed their 
fruit to a ruinous extent, to the great loss of many fruit speculators. A 
custom prevails in most parts of Kent, as soon as the blossom of orchard 
trees has fallen and the young fruit are visible to sell the fruit by auction. 
This year the prices obtained were generally very high, and consequently 
it will probably prove a disastrous season to the buyer. In one case so 
abundant and promising was the crop, that although that of last year 
was good, yet the highest bid of last year was almost doubled.” On the 
same page is an article by “ C. M.,” in which it is stated that “ I had the 
pleasure of seeing Mr. Rivers and his garden this spring, and was 
surprised to observe the almost total failure of his Peach crop. He 
attributed the loss of this fruit to the extreme moisture of the atmosphere 
while the trees were in flower. This made the pollen into paste.” Then 
f Hows “ C. M.’s ” view of the failure. “ I am convinced that last year 
was anything but favourable for the ripening of Peach wood. The trees 
suffered from the extreme dryness of the soil throughout the summer, 
and were not improved by being stimulated into growth by the autumnal 
rains. The mischief then done did not show itself until the spring.” 
And there also occurs this statement—“ The fact is our fruit trees are in 
too many instances left to take care of themselves. If they bear fruit, 
well; if not, it is the season—the wet or the dry, the winds, or the scarcity 
of bees, or the multiplicity of birds, or the flight of insects—anything, in 
fact, except the true cause,” and “ frost ” is not so much as remotely 
hinted at. Then turn back to pages 56 and 57 and we find Mr. Pearson 
is credited with stating at page 421 of the previous volume “ That the 
failure of the Peach crop were due to a total absence of sun and a cold 
damp atmosphere whilst the trees were in bloom.” “ There was no frost 
sufficient to do any injury. In April the weather from excessive cold 
became unusually warm for the season, and it was then the fruit fell.” 
This latter extract is that of the writer of the article—viz., “ Archam- 
baud.” 
Whatever consolation “An Old Gardener” can obtain from those 
extracts he is quite welcome to, as they show that there are other things to 
reckon against in the culture of fruit besides frost.—G. Abbky. 
THE READING BEGONIAS. 
I CAN endorse all that was said on page 172 with regard to the 
beauty of these Begonias grown by the Messrs. Sutton at Reading. 
Begonias, it is said by some, are rapidly falling into the condition to 
which the Calceolaria and Cineraria have come—viz., that growers will 
no longer care to buy named varieties, but that as they come so good 
from seed will content themselves by growing plants from seed. One 
can recollect well when long lists of named Cinerarias used to appear, 
and when with considerable trouble and expense a collection was per¬ 
petuated by cuttings; the same was done, but with greater difficulty, 
inasmuch as they were more “ miffy,” with Calceolarias ; but by degrees, 
as seed was carefully and honestly harvested and distributed by firms of 
well-known respectability, growers were contented with what their seed¬ 
ling pans produced, and so it is said it will be with Begonias, Perhaps, 
but at any rate now it is well to know the names and characters of a 
few good ones, and there are those of Messrs. Sutton, which, being out 
of the run of the usual strains, are peculiarly useful, their pecu¬ 
liarity being, I imagine, that they have more of the B. Pearcei blood in 
them, and that therefore the foliage is very ornamental. 
Sutton's Reading Beauty ,—This is apparently a distinct strain of 
dwarf habit, into which the blood of B. Pearcei has been largely infused. 
I have in my own greenhouse a pure white one, which is very beautiful; 
and there are also of the same strain plants with the flowers of various 
colours—citron, coral, salmon, magenta, scarlet, crimson, &c. To those 
who think flowers 6 inches across the perfection of beauty these will seem 
for their size insignificant ; but they are very pretty, more useful for 
cutting, and neater than the larger-flowered ones. Then there is 
Meteor .—This has flowers of a bright orange and reddish-orange tint, 
produced in great profusion from the crown of the plant, with a beauti¬ 
fully marked foliage, the ground being dark green marked with white 
veins ; its habit also is very dwarf and very suitable where many Be¬ 
gonias are grown for a front row, where its beautiful foliage would show 
very well. 
Pearcei grandiflora is a larger form of the species. It has the same 
beautiful velvety foliage, with large clusters of yellow flowers. Its 
foliage alone, even if it had no flowers, would be sufficient to make it a 
desirable plant, but its profusion of yellow flowers adds greatly to its 
value. As I haze not seen these varieties in many places where Begonias 
are grown, I am, I hope, doing good service in bringing them under the 
notice of lovers of this favourite class of flowers.—D., Deal. 
ORCHID NOTES. 
The Ditnlop House Orchids. —The extensive collection of 
Orchids formed by the late T. D. Cunningham Graham, Esq., 
Dunlop House, Dunlop, Ayrshire, which subsequently became 
the property of the gardener, Mr. D. Kemp, was sold by Mr. J. 0. 
Stevens at his auction rooms, 38, King Street, Covent Garden, 
on Thursday, September 25th, the total amount realised being 
£740. Some of the principal prices obtained were the following: 
—Ccelogyne cristata, Chatsworth variety, thirty growths, £5 10s.; 
Cypripedium grande, two growths, 10 guineas; C. selligerum 
majus, four growths, 14^ guineas; C. Sedeni, 2 feet across, 
6 guineas ; C. Dominianum, fine specimen, 11 guineas ; C. albo- 
purpureum, three growths, 10 guineas; Dendrochilum filiforme, 
90 flower spikes, 12 guineas; Odontoglossum vexillarium Cob- 
bianum, £7 ; Vanda suavis, 21 guineas ; Vanda Lowi, 16 guineas; 
Sobralia xantholeuca, £7 10s.; Laelia anceps Barkeri, nineteen 
pseudo-bulbs, 7 guineas; Cattleya intermedia, 100 pseudo bulbs, 
31 guineas; Vanda suavis, Veitch’s variety, 30 guineas; Masde- 
vallia Harryana splendens, 14 guineas; Angraecum sesquipedale, 
15 guineas, and another 4 feet high, one of the best plants in the 
country, 18 guineas ; V nda tricolor, 16 guineas; Vanda suavis. 
