850 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 23, 1890. 
Stapelias, for in colour as well as odour the flowers in certain 
instances depart so widely from our floral ideal that they are too 
suggestive of putrid meat, and attract flies in plenty. Great as 
this defect must be considered Stapelias have found some culti¬ 
vators, students, and even admirers. Probably Mr. N. E. Brown, 
of the Kew Herbarium, is one of the most enthusiastic in this 
matter, and I know he has for a number of years been growing the 
plants and investigating their characters closely. It was said at 
one time that we might expect an elaborate monograph of the 
group from his pen, but the task is a heavy one, and he has 
contented himself with a contribution to Hooker’s “ leones 
Plantarum,” dealing with the species of Stapelias collected by Sir 
Henry Barkly, when Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, from 
1873 to 1877. In this work, which was only published a few months 
ago, about thirty illustrations are given of the most distinct 
forms, together with descriptions of many others, and analytical 
botanical “keys” to the genera and species. Some remarkable 
plants are represented—not only Stapelias, but Carallumas and 
Huernias, while species of Piaranthus and Hoodia are described. 
In notes on peculiar plants, Hoodia Gordoni, a near relative of 
the Stapelias, must not be omitted, and the first plant which 
flowered in England was sent by Sir Henry Barkly to Kew. It has 
large, columnar, fleshy, ribbed stems, resembling some of the 
Euphorbias, the ridges being rows of strong yellow prickles. The 
flowers are 4 or 5 inches across, rounded, somewhat concave or bell¬ 
shaped when first expanded, pale sulphur yellow, with a central 
circle of rosy dots. 
Returning to the Stapelias again, a few of the more noteworthy 
are S. asterias, “ The Star Fish,” very dark, nearly black, with 
livid transverse lines ; S. Bufonis, yellow and black ; S. Hystrix, 
small, sulphur, with purple dots, and numerous fleshy projections 
from the surface ; S. variegata, an old inhabitant of English 
gardens, known as Asclepias aizoides africana to the earlier writers ; 
S. barbata, S. hirsuta, S. verrucosa, S. reticulata, and S. campanu- 
lata—some of which are placed under other sections or genera— 
ate all distinct and peculiar, while their floral structure is well 
worthy of a little study. Most of these are easily grown, their 
chief enemy being damp or stagnant moisture. They prefer a dry, 
warm, sunny position in a house, and an open well-drained compost 
of loam and sand, with careful supplies of water at all times, but 
especially in dull weather. 
The list of peculiar plants might be greatly extended, but 
enough has been said to show that all the interest of plant life is 
not found in the groups for decorative use.—L. Castle. 
GROWING AND SELLING FRUIT. 
C Continued from page 334.~) 
Fruit Trees for the Walls of the House. 
All walls of houses and outbuildings may be used for fruit 
growing, and will bring in a good return of money if properly 
attended to. . What kind of fruit will pay best depends upon the 
aspect, that is the direction, or point of the compass, which the 
wall faces. I shall therefore treat of them accordingly. 
South Walls. —The most profitable fruit these will grow are 
Peaches and Apricots, but in the coldest parts of the country these 
fruits are very uncertain croppers. In all such places Pears should 
be planted instead, or Yictoria Plums. 
West Walls. In districts south of London Apricots will 
succeed, but if north of London Pears or Yictoria Plums should 
be planted. 
North Walls— Morello Cherries. 
__ hAsT Walls, Pears and \ictoria Plums. Walls that have a 
N.E. or N.W. aspect should be planted with Morello Cherries in 
cold districts, but if south of London Marie Louise and Pitmaston 
Duchess Pears will succeed, those facing S.E. or S.W. same as 
for west. 
Planting. All should be planted in October if possible. If 
the ground near the wall is good and has been under cultivation no 
extensive preparation will be required, in fact nothing beyond 
that recommended for orchard planting; but if an old road runs 
by the side of the wall this should be taken out so as to form a 
border 10 feet wide and 2 feet deep, the bottom below this being' 
well broken up to allow of the water escaping, or if it is very wet 
the soil must be taken out 6 inches deeper at the back and 1 foot 
at the front, where a drain pipe should be laid to take the water 
away. The floor is then to be rammed hard and 6 inches of broken 
bricks or rough stones put in, putting some small pieces on the top to- 
prevent the soil working down through the chinks and thus blocking, 
the drainage. Rough angular stones should always be used, not flat, 
ones like slates or tiles, as these become fixed together with soil and 1 
prevent the water from soaking away ; over this drainage turves- 
should be placed with the grassy side downwards, or if this cannot be¬ 
got a good layer of straw will be better than nothing. The border- 
should then be filled up with good soil from a garden or field, and 
allowed a fortnight at least to settle down before the trees are 
planted. All such work as this must only be done when the 
soil is dry, or it will bind firmly together and the roots of the trees 
will not thrive in it afterwards. Apricots should always have a 
firm soil to grow in with plenty of stones in it, and for all fruit 
that have stones inside it is a good plan to mix old mortar rubbish 
with the soil, unless there happens to be plenty of small limestones 
in the soil, when nothing else is required. All fan-trained trees 
should be 12 feet apart. 
Pruning and Training. 
Apricots, Peaches, Plums, and Morello Cherries should 
be trained dwarf fan-shaped—that is, the main branches must start 
from the stem like the spokes of half a wheel do from the centre. 
They require too much care in their very young state for the 
ordinary cultivator to bud and train them, and are best purchased 
as dwarf fan-trained trees from a respectable nurseryman. The 
price varies from 3s. to 5s. each, according to size and variety. 
Early in spring after planting the branches should be cut back 
about half their length, and any weak shoots cut clean out, leaving 
three or four branches on each side of the centre one, which 
should be cut back farther than the others to get more branches 
to start, and also to keep the centre of the tree always 
open like the letter Y, until the side branches reach the top of 
the wall and the trees next to them. After pruning the young 
shoots the first year they may be secured to the wall by nails 
and shreds of cloth as usual, keeping their points spread out at 
equal distances from each other, and leaving a greater distance in 
the centre. As the tree grows larger year by year the width 
between the points of these main branches will increase, and 
there will be room for more of them, which should therefore be, 
laid in during the summer, pruning from the sides of the older 
branches, as they are then easily bent into their proper position. 
They should always start from the upper side of the main branches 
—that is, the side nearest to the centre of the tree. When the 
leaves are all off the trees each season the young shoots may 
have their points taken off, about two-thirds of their length being 
left if properly ripened. This will induce the buds to grow at their 
sides and form fruiting spurs, and when the young growths are about 
an inch long in the spring all those starting from the front and 
back of the main branches should be taken off, leaving those spring¬ 
ing from the sides, as they can be nailed in easily. In about a week 
some of these may be taken off, and in another week all which are 
not required may be taken away, doing the whole of this disbudding, 
as it is called, in three times, that the tree may not be checked in 
its growth, as it would be if all were removed at once. As those 
shoots lengthen which are left, they should be trained towards the 
wall in their proper places by placing young twigs about 9 inches 
long (cut from Privet hedges, or similar plants) behind one of the 
older branches at each end, so as to bend the young shoots towards 
their proper position and to keep them there. This is a very easy 
and simple operation, but does not appear so on paper. It is much, 
better than nailing the young wood when in a growing state. The 
foregoing remarks as to disbudding apply only to Peaches, which 
bear best on strong shoots made the previous season. The shoots 
on other kinds of fruit trees should be left until about the end of 
July, and then all those not required for extending the tree should 
be shortened back to four or five leaves. It should always be borne 
in mind when pruning Peaches and Morello Cherries in the winter 
that the best way to get fine fruit is to cut out the old wood and 
train in the young, and to keep the tree of the same size, not to 
reduce it while doing this. 
Apricots should be pruned soon after planting in the same way 
as Peaches and Morello Cherries, and spurred back in the summer, 
pruning to four or five leaves, to be shortened to about 1 inch at 
the following winter pruning, preserving those shoots entire at the 
ends of the main branches if hard and ripe, or taking about one- 
third off if doubtful. 
Pears should be grown as “ cordon trees ” on walls, and on 
wire fences. These are trained to one or two main stems, and 
the side branches spurred in to 2 or 3 inches in length. If the soil 
