382 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October £8,1S86 
good growth, which was duly stopped about the end of June to 
cause the formation of fruit spurs, and the leaders pruned back 
early in October last. The bushes were kept well open to sun 
and wind. This has not been generally a good Apple year, but 
these bushes have been pictures of fruitfulness, the admiration 
of all who saw them. Summer pruning was carried out as last 
year, and although they have yielded a splendid lot of sound 
large fruit, they have made strong short-jointed growth, much of 
which shows embryo fruit buds on the current year’s extension. 
Several fine fruit were also forme 1 and well matured on the 
growth made last year. Notably on Lord Grosvenor bushes 
fruit was borne by the wood of the year before, and this princi¬ 
pally at the terminal buds of rather long spurs, other fruit buds 
forming behind the bearing bud during the present summer. 
All the bushes carried a fine show of Apples, but those which I 
wish particularly to recommend to planters of small gardens 
are Lord Grosvenor, Lord Derby, and Peasgood’s Nonesuch. On 
three bushes of each of the three sorts above named the yield 
was as follows:—Lord Grosvenor ninety-seven Apples, all of 
good size, most of them very large baking fruit; Lord Derby 
sixty-five, all large fruit, the largest Apple weighing 14.^ ozs.; 
Peasgood’s Nonesuch fifty-four, none small, some large, and many 
weighing about 1 lb., the largest turning the scale at 18 ozs 
Some will think that such a crop must exhaust the trees. 
Such is not the case, the wood is thoroughly ripened, even that 
which has been made since the branches were stopped early in 
July. Some growths started again since that date being 8 to 
10 inches long and well ripened to the points. The culture has 
consisted of keeping the bushes well open by a judicious thinning 
of the growth, and a few applications of liquid manure over the 
mulch during the swelling of the fruit. The trees are planted 
8 feet apart, and the ground was cropped with Potatoes between 
the rows of bushes and kept firm, but hoe-weeded within 2 feet of 
the trees throughout the season. The great amount of pleasure to 
be got by those who love their gardens from a plantation of such 
dwarf fruit trees must be apparent to many readers of this 
Journal, and this is why I have written these few lines in order 
that others may be induced to plant in places where the natural 
advantages are not all that could be wished for fruit-growing. 
Fruit, certainly inferior to many borne by these bushes, was 
selling in Brighton for lid. and 2d. each. The bushes of Cox's 
Pomona and of Cox’s Orange bore less fruit than those specially 
mentioned above, but the Apples were all fine specimens of their 
kind. Pomona well deserves its description given in Messrs. 
Bunyard’s catalogue, “ Very prolific and handsome. - ’, Its shape 
i3 very attractive, and the lovely colouring on the sunny side and 
rosy streaks on the soft yellowish ground to my mind render it 
the queen of Apples so far as appearance is concerned. I have 
yet to test its quality as a good Apple, both for K and T, as the 
list puts it. I need not speak of the worth of Cox's Orange 
Pippin ; to taste one is ever after to esteem this delicious variety, 
and it is so much easier to grow than the Ribston Pippin, the 
Apple of our boyhood. 
I cannot conclude this letter without putting in a word for 
my friends the bees. It is an article of my faith that I owe to 
them a very great part of the success I ever obtain in the various 
products of my garden. I well remember how they crowded out 
during the few short bursts of sunshine which we had during 
the blossoming season of last spring, and who shall say how 
many of the big Gooseberries which I pluck each year would 
have fallen in their babyhood, had not the busy little sprites 
visited them at their birth ? What small agents does not a good 
Providence employ to work His wonders and to crown the year 
with plenty! —P. H. P. 
AMBURY. 
After reading the note on ambnry or Cabbage disease by Mr. Tho*. 
Record, I thought the following might be of use 1 1 some-one. as it has 
enabled me to have Cabbage plants entirely free from disease or clubbiug. 
There is some trouble connected with it, but that is as nothing, when tho 
success of a crip depends >n having plants healthy and free from 
blemish. The beds are made to the required size, the soil being fine, 
trodden down firmly, and the suiface made ev.n. We then take three paits 
of wood ashes and one part of burnt earth, mix together, and spread them 
on the surface of the beds, half an inch thick. Then sow the seeds, 
and rake in with a long-toothed iron rake, making all firm with the back 
of the spade. The plants come very strong through the wood ashes, 
being well supplied with potash and ammonia imbibed by the burnt 
earth. They lift with roots, more like small tufts of gras? than Cabbage 
plants, and are very little checked by removal when t an?planting them 
to other beds, or their final quarters, the holes being made an inch deeper 
than the plant requires, some of the mixture being put in them, 
and pressed round the roots. The same applies to Cauliflowers when 
planting them out of boxes or from frames with a trowel. Stir 
up some < f the mixture in the bottom of the hobs, then place in the 
plftut, cover toe roots with it, and up the items, which I have found to 
ktep tin m fr<e from grubs, and they make additional roots from the 
stem, where the ashes come in contact with it, in all producing & mass of 
fibrous roots. This is most effectual in residing drought on light Open 
soil, —John Swan, Kilmalcolin, Renfrewshire. 
COMMON FLOWERS FOR CUTTING. 
Those who lack the means of providing the finer flowers for 
cutting might easily cultivate any of those noted in this article. 
We use quantities of such flowers, and take the opportunity of em- 
bodying remarks suggested by experience as to the best methods of 
culture, and also the uses to which the flowers may be put. We 
shall take annual flowers first, as being at once the easiest to grow 
and the cheapest to produce in quantities, and of course of these 
hardy annuals ought to be the commonest. 
It might be thought that Sweet Peas should require no note 
further than the bare mention of the name to commend them to 
everybody, but there are a few thoughts about these which may 
be useful to many. First of all, if one can grow only a few of these 
it is as well to get the best, and the best for the purpose in view 
are pure white and crimson-flowered varieties : the whites especially 
are very useful for many purposes. Then the season when these 
can be had may be considerably lengthened by attention to a few 
little points. By sowing about this time flowers may be had much 
sooner in the year than if sowing be deferred until spring. Thin 
seeding is also of importance in so far as it renders it much easier 
to carry the plants through a much longer blooming period than if 
the plants are too thickly in the ground. But the main point to be 
observed in order to secure a continued bloom is to remove two or 
three times during the season all seed pods by cutting plenty of 
flowers, and by seeing that the plants do not suffer for want of 
nourishment. Small Peas when cut are useful in various ways ; 
they are capital for wreath-making, may be used in good bouquets, 
and for furnishing vases are very good indeed, only they must not 
in the latter case be stuck thickly and evenly together, but gathered 
in long branchlets, leaf, flower, and bud, and arranged as naturally 
as possible. With a few flowers of a heavier form added they make 
a very acceptable change, and they are also very suitable for mixed 
arrangements with other flowers. 
Another extremely good annual is the white Sweet Sultan. 
This may be sown in spring for autumn flowering, each plant 
having a clear space allowed of at least a foot each way. These 
are also useful for wreath and bouquet-making, and are first rate 
for dotting among other flowers, either in small or large vases, using 
them with long stalks so as to stand well out from the others. 
They last well for weeks, are very sweet scented and pretty. The 
yellow Sweet Sultan is even prettier, but lacks the odour of the 
white one. The purple is not worth growing. The light coloured 
varieties of the common Cornflower are useful for variety, and we 
always grow plants of the blue branching Barkspur ; these are 
sown in spring and given plenty of room, and furnish for several 
months a supply of deep blue flowers at a season when that colour, 
is rather scarce. 
The Alpine Poppies, of which we have three varieties, are so 
extremely useful, and it is strange they are so little grown. The 
white form is the prettiest, and for filling small glasses is quite 
indispensable. The seeds are sown here in the beginning of April, 
are sprinkled over the surface of the ground, and then firmed with 
the back of a spade. 
(Lnothera Lamarckiana is properly a biennial, though by sowing 
in a frame and planting out when big enough the plants flower 
the same year. With us chance seedlings come up wonderfully 
freely. The flowers are a soft smooth yellow, extremely pretty, and 
are best cut in long spikes, the flower buds opening quite freely in 
wSitcr 
Chrysanthemums are quite a host of themselves. The common 
C. segetum, although grown so much of late years, is the finest 
yellow for some purposes we have. The tricolor varieties are ex¬ 
tremely showy, gaudy perhaps, but nevertheless they cannot be 
overlooked as cheap and abundant producers of available flowers. 
Burridgeanum is perhaps the showiest; Lord Beaconsfield, W. L 
Gladstone and atro-coccineum are all good sorts. 
Single Anemones are so easily grown from seed that they may 
be classed as annuals. Sown thinly on a warm border in March 
they will bloom the same year, and produce quantities of most 
lovely flowers for cutting. The common Honesty (Lunaria biennis) 
is so useful that a few plants at least should be grown. \V ith us it 
takes care of itself, any number of seedlings putting in an appeal- 
ance in various positions. 
Of half-hardy annuals none surpasses the Aster for general use¬ 
fulness. For all purposes the treatment we give to Asters is simple 
