222 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 7, 1882. 
Beurrd d’Anjou, Beurrd d’Aremberg, Dana’s Hovey, and Nouvelle 
Fulvie. Beurrd de l’Assomption Las some fine fruit of excellent 
flavour, much superior to any I have previously tasted. Such 
freaks of flavour-development are peculiar in a season remarkable 
for poverty of flavour ; and, strange to say, I have never had such 
excellent fruit of Early Albert Peach from an open west wall 
before. The fruit is remarkably handsome, and is equally fine in 
size, colour, and flavour. Early Beatrice Peach was very good 
from an open wall, so also are Boyal George and Belle Bauce. 
Early Bivers was ripe a fortnight sooner than usual ; its fruit was 
large, poor in flavour, and had the stones split almost without an 
exception. 
Nectarines are very plentiful on open walls, Lord Napier having 
rather the smallest crop, but the large size of the fruit well 
atoned for this. Rivers’ White Nectarine, Stanwick Elruge, 
Violette Hative, Balgowan Pine Apple, Pitmaston Orange, and 
Downton are all good, and the frees have fully recovered from 
a severe spring attack of blister; I ought to have said the usual 
attack, for they rarely escape it. 
Both Red and Black Currants had heavier crops than I had 
ever seen here before ; Gooseberries, too, were very plentiful, and 
Prince of Wales Raspberries were remarkable for size and abun¬ 
dance. American Blackberries are just ripening, and are much 
valued as a preserve, a row some 70 feet long affording several 
bushels of fruit. They are planted in very rich soil, and are well 
worthy of it, for there is no wasted vigour among Blackberries— 
the stronger the growth the finer and more plentiful the fruit. 
Strawberries in compact rows 2 feet apart had plenty of fruit, 
but much of it decayed before it could be picked. Single plants 
kept well apart certainly proved most useful this year. Both 
systems of culture possess peculiar advantages, the rows giving 
most fruit, but that of solitary plants ripen earlier and is not so 
liable to suffer from decay. In striving to accelerate and prolong 
the season of this favourite fruit plant early sorts upon steep 
sunny sheltered slopes, as well as out upon the flat open quarter 
of the garden, and late sorts upon north borders and under the 
shade of trees.— Edward Luckhurst, Sussex. 
A WEEK IN BELGIUM. 
[THE SIXTH DAY— Completed.'] 
Last days are often busy days—days of rush and bustle ; much 
has to be seen and done in a little time. In this instance it was so. 
A rush round three nurseries, attending a funeral in one city, a show 
in another, and catching a steamer in a third, in the meantime travers- 
ing a distance of sixty miles, rendered it necessary to keep moving. 
A year has elapsed since then, and the holiday season has come 
round again. My notes, therefore, however long retarded, of the last 
day of a holiday trip will scarcely be unseasonable. After having 
referred briefly to the different establishments visited, it were un¬ 
generous indeed to omit the last; and on the principle of better (or 
worse) late than never, I will record something of what I saw during 
HALF AN HOUR AT PYNAERT’S. 
Pynaert-Van Geert is the complete patronymic of this gentleman— 
under certain circumstances the wife’s name being added to the hus¬ 
band’s in Belgium—and under that compound his business is known 
throughout the civilised w'orld. Still his establishment is not large ; 
on the contrary, in comparison with our large English nurseries it is 
small: but mere extent of territory is not always an index of position, 
of which our own country, which is represented by a mere speck on 
a map of the world, forms a sufiicient illustration. 
Mr. Pynaert is not a nurseryman exclusively, but is a “ garden archi¬ 
tect ” of great repute, or what we should call a landscape gardener. 
He is also, with M. Rodigas, an editor of an important monthly 
horticultural publication, the “ Revue de l’Horticulture Beige.” Thus 
Mr. Pynaert is a busy man—one of the working bees in the great hor¬ 
ticultural hive of Belgium. He is frank and most pleasant withal, 
and gives an English brother of the craft and pen a warm welcome, 
greets him in his own tongue, makes him at home in a moment and 
feel as if he would like to stop longer and then go again. This is 
one of the penalties that all Belgian horticulturists incur, and is also 
why their recent visit to this country was so much enjoyed by all 
who had the pleasure of their company. 
The nursery under notice is situated near the Porte de Bruxelles, 
Ghent, within gunshot of Van Houtte’s, De Smet’s, Dalliere’s, 
D’Haene’s, and some others, for there appears to be a nest of them in 
this horticultural suburb of a horticultural city. And what is the 
nursery like ? It is just like a fish. Imagine a huge fish laid on its 
side, about a quarter of a mile long, and of fish-like proportions, the 
flattened tail resting on the public road, a canal running round every 
other part, and you have the structural character of Mr. Pynaert’s 
nursery, the north side being sheltered by a very high hedge. It 
would be like a fish out of water but for the life and activity prevail¬ 
ing. But what is there in it ? Just where the tail narrows the com¬ 
modious residence stands, and in the space in front a number of 
splendid match pairs of standard and pyramid Bays of various heights 
and sizes are arranged, admirable in symmetry and excellent in health. 
These Bays are fine ornaments for terraces in towns where refreshing 
green trees are wanted and space is limited. They tone down the 
harshness of masonry where it cannot be clothed with vegetation, 
and impart repose to the surroundings of private homes and public 
squares. In the grand open space round St. George’s Hall, Liverpool, 
a number of specimen Bays in tubs are arranged, and they add greatly 
to the appearance of the noble building, and render the square highly 
ornamental. But the position is too cold for them. The rough winds 
driving up the Mersey whistle through the comparatively narrow 
streets, and the beautiful Bays cannot endure without injury blasts 
so keen. This is a misfortune. Specimen Hollies would be better at 
Liverpool, and the Bays safer further inland. They require shelter 
in winter, and at Mr. Pynaert’s the largest house is devoted to them, 
this building being of course empty in summer. But other houses 
are not empty. 
Several structures are devoted to Palms, splendid decorative plants 
in exuberant health and rich colour. One house is filled with Areca 
Baueri, a second with Phoenix reclinata, a third with Geonoma gracilis, 
a fourth with Kentias in the different forms and so on—all the kinds 
in demand being represented. One span-roofed house was filled wfith 
Gloxinias planted out on ridges, as if they had been earthed up like 
Potatoes. Another large structure was devoted to Olivias (Imanto- 
phyllums), the finest and most complete collection of these plants I 
ever had the pleasure of inspecting. Their leaves were of the deepest 
green, and a few solitary trusses w'ere 18 inches in diameter, the 
petals being 3 inches across. The varieties are numerous, Mr. Pynaert 
having devoted special attention to them, and during the flowering 
season the house must be grand. Other houses are filled with 
Dracaenas and decorative plants of all kinds usually found in nur¬ 
series, and we must pass them to pause at the Begonias. 
Ornamental-foliage Begonias are steadily increasing in public 
favour. They are amongst the finest of town and room plants, and 
the new varieties are beautifully marked. Mr. Pynaert has 150 varie¬ 
ties, several being planted out in side beds in the houses, and thou¬ 
sands in the course of propagation. A few striking varieties in this 
great collection were Madame Bichol, much mottled reddish veins ; 
Pluie, marbled red veins ; Margaritacea, dark leaves blotched with 
silver; Madame Banchotte, dark, wavy, silvered, free; Argentea 
picta, silvery green, mottled margin, distinct; Teneque, dark centre, 
wide silvery band, clearly defined, velvety margin, effective ; Robert 
Schumann, dark centre, broad silver band, edge composed of two 
distinct shades of green, good; Juliette Raulin, silvery centre 
splashed with black, band red with white spots, edge maroon ; Lustre, 
dark ground, colour densely spotted with white, silvery band; Ed. 
Pynaert, fine leaf, dark centre with clear silver marbling, edge still 
darker spotted with white ; and Madame Dehee, compact, velvety 
leaves marbled with white, distinct. These are quite dissimilar from 
the familiar rex varieties, and the rich velvety and metallic lustre of 
their leaves command attention. 
In frames were large numbers of Tuberous Begonias, Cannas, Aspi¬ 
distras, and other plants in great demand ; in beds, Azaleas of the 
indica, pontica, and mollis types (fine plants in good varieties), also 
healthy Camellias, Choisias, and Rhododendrons. In the open ground 
every inch was occupied with evergreens and ornamental trees (varie¬ 
gated and weeping), Thuias, Retinosporas, Cupressuses, Weigelas, 
the walks being margined with Deutzias, variegated Spiraea japonica, 
and hardy herbaceous and alpine plants. In fact, every part of the 
fish-shaped island was turned to the best account, indicating a brisk 
trade, and the order gave evidence of skilled supervision. 
CONCLUSION. 
And now having told something, but not all, of what I saw during 
my week’s holiday, I will tell what I did not see. I did not see the 
wonderful examples of fruit culture on the railway embankments 
which we read about in books, for the best of all reasons—that there 
were no “ embankments ” worthy of the name, for the country is flat, 
while there is scarcely any margin of ground between the rails and 
the fence on the lines I traversed. Perhaps the culture in question 
is further south, and perhaps also it has been made the most of—on 
paper. 
But while I saw little of fruit, forest tree culture was apparent 
enough. There are long lines of Poplar trees almost everywhere. 
By the sides of roads and ditches these trees abound. They are 
planted (5 or 8 feet apart, and grow rapidly. The Canadian Poplar is 
the variety selected. It is the most productive of trees in Belgium, 
and its value increases at the least one franc per year. In about 
thirty years the tree is fit for sale, and fetches generally from thirty 
to fifty francs. The wood is chiefly used as boards for packing cases, 
and m some instances for the manufacture of wooden shoes. The 
administration of many villages in the country plant Canadian Poplars 
on the public roadsides, and derive a good part of their income from 
them. In the Waes district between Antwerp and Ghent the pro¬ 
prietors abuse their privilege of tree-planting by surrounding every 
piece of land with Canadian Poplars, and the tenants are willing to 
pay a franc per year and per tree to get them away—so much amongst 
other things of the “ paradise of small holdings.” 
I have found more than once that a week can be spent pleasantly, 
profitably, beneficially, and inexpensively along the eastern shore of 
the German Ocean. I wish more gardeners could enjoy such a holiday 
and experience such a change as they would find there, with strangers 
