150 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 17, IWJ. 
LiELIA TENEBROSA WALTON GRANGE 
VARIETY. 
A VERY beautiful and noteworthy Orchid was exhibited at the 
last meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society by Mr. Stevens, 
gardener to W. J. Thompson, Esq., Walton Grange, Stone, Staffs. 
It was a form of Laslia tenebrosa with yellow sepals and petals, 
and attracted a good deal of attention and admiration from the 
orchidists present. It is without doubt a fine and imposing variety, 
the flowers being of considerable size and the colouring harmonious. 
The sepals and petals are clear butter yellow, the lip white, the 
throat deep crimson. A first class certificate was awarded, 
and fig. 22 represents the form. Mr. Stevens informs us that the 
flowers came on the current year’s growth from an imported piece 
that was purchased early this year — a fact which should be a 
further encouragement to those who buy importations mainly in 
the hope of something unexpected and valuable appearing amongst 
them. 
THE SUMMER MANAGEMENT OF WALL FRUIT TREES. 
The first important step to be taken in the building up of the 
healthy fruitful fruit tree is to give it adequate root room, needful 
drainage, and suitable soil, following with a skilful manipula¬ 
tion and distribution of the summer growths, and keeping them in a 
clean condition. The latter essential is not so much a question of time 
as it is a want of prompt action. Assuming that young trees were duly 
planted on the lines indicated soon after the fall of the leaf last autumn, 
and that in training the shoots to the trellis or wall in the spring no 
hard and fast cutting back method of procedure was practised, but on 
the contrary, the five, seven, nine or a dozen growths of the previous 
year were spread out widely and evenly apart over the space allotted to 
each tree, there will be ample room for laying in sufficient shoots of the 
current year’s growth. 
The summer management of fruit trees consists in keeping them in 
a healthy growing condition at the roots as well as above ground. If 
the soil is dry about the roots, as is generally the case with wall trees, 
even in the winter months, no amount of manipulating and syringing 
of the branches and leaves will bring about the same results that 
would he obtained from trees growing in moist soil. 
Root and branch must be kept in a healthy state from the time 
the first sign of growth appears, that is, the soil should be kept 
uniformly moist about the roots, top growth being judiciously dis¬ 
budded and pinched, and kept free from the attacks of insects. 
Aphis and red spider speedily make serious inroads on the leaves if not 
promptly dealt with. A solution of clear water and tobacco juice at the 
rate of 1 quart of the latter to 4 gallons of the former applied with 
the syringe to the trees affected with green or black fiy in the afternoon 
after the sun has gone off the trees, in the case of trees on south and 
west walls, will not only rid them of the insects then on the trees, bat, 
as a rule, will render the foliage distasteful to future attacks. Peach 
trees being well washed with clean water from the garden engine every 
bright afternoon during the summer and early autumn months will 
prevent them being attacked by red spider. 
Where Peach and Nectarine trees have not been properly disbudded 
earlier in the season no time should be lost in reducing the number of 
young growths, retaining those nearest to their bases to produce fruit 
next year. Lay them in between the shoots from which they proceed 
with small twigs—say at 3 inches apart, afterwards pinching out alll 
foreright shoots or secondary growths as they appear. Remove the 
points from any extra vigorous young shoots at about 2 feet, so as to 
direct the flow of sap into the weaker, and thereby conduce to an evea 
growth in the tree. Apricots, Pears, Plums, Apples, and Sweet 
Cherries should’have the leading young shoots trained in position to 
cover the wall space, pinching at 2 feet 
or so for the purpose indicated, and stop¬ 
ping the foreright growths or breastwood 
at about six leaves from their origin. 
Morello Cherries should be treated the 
same as Peach and Nectarine trees. A 
judicious course of pinching and stopping 
of the shoots being pursued during the 
summer months tends to the plumping 
of wood buds, the formation of spurs or 
fruit buds, and a promotion of balance 
of growth in the trees operated on. It. 
also tends to the swelling of the crop 
to greater dimensions than would other¬ 
wise be attained, and prevents the forces 
of the trees being wasted, as is the case 
when breastwood 15 to 24 inches long is- 
allowed to grow before being cut back 
in autumn, as is too often the case. Pigs 
may be treated in the manner recom¬ 
mended for Peaches, only the shoots 
should be given more room to develop. 
All young retained growths should be 
secured to the wall or trellis in due time, 
leaving room in the shreds or ties for the 
enlargement of growth.—H. W. WARD. 
0 
SWEET PEAS. 
Last summer, in the course of some 
remarks on Sweet Peas, I referred to 
the bad germinating quality of English- 
saved seeds of the previous year. If 
anything last autumn proved even more 
disastrous, so that those only who were 
judicious in their treatment of the seed 
are likely to have had a satisfactory 
growth. The weakly appearance of the 
seeds of several varieties impressed me 
so unfavourably that I sowed none in 
the open ground, but took the precaution to sow the seeds thickly 
among light sandy soil in ordinary cutting boxes, from whence in 
due time the young plants were transplanted into the garden. I 
have quite 150 yards of Sweet Peas, the plants having been raised as 
above, and every foot of the lines is covered with healthy flowering- 
plants. In practice the operation is not so absorbent of labour as 
might appear. When the seedlings had grown 6 inches in height 
they were planted in the following manner :—After a line had been 
stretched along the ground a cutting was made with a spade to a depth 
sufficient to allow the roots to be spread out therein. Then while one 
man put the plants in their places another followed with a spade and 
filled in the soil. All earth was shaken off the roots before being 
planted. According to sort each plant was from 2 to 6 inches apart. 
A few Spruce Fir branches were placed on each side of the row of plants, 
these forming an efficient protection until longer sticks were required to 
support the lengthened growths. New varieties, and a few intended for 
seed-producing purposes were brought forward in small pots. These 
were planted at a foot to 2J feet apart. I am hopeful of obtaining 
a supply of good seeds from these specially treated plants ; always, 
however, entertaining a dread that sparrows and finches may leave 
but few. 
I have sometimes heard it remarked that the improved forms of 
Sweet Peas when compared with common strains are not so telling as 
garden flowers. Possibly that is so. As cut flowers, however, there can 
be no doubt as to the immense superiority of the former, and with 
regard to effect in mass that is very much a matter of opinion. It is 
the same in reference to new sorts. I have heard the beauty of 
Venus disparaged by one person while another upheld it as a charming 
flower; so also with Countess of Radnor. The same diversity of 
taste is apparent in present day Carnations, more especially in those 
peculiarly tinted forms which are sent over by French and German 
cultivators. 
I thought I would like to test the value of a selected number of 
Sweet Peas commercially. The variety most “ run on,” in the words of 
the salesman, is Mrs. Gladstone, but Her Majesty is also good. These 
two varieties are also very floriferous, the latter, owing to the large size 
