December 15, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
523 
well, enhancing its value. Golden Noble is a bright yellow skinned 
Apple of great beauty, even in outline, and having rich, clear 
white flesh when cooked. These last named three make fine 
orchard trees, worthy of general cultivation. 
Very Late Keepers.— Dumelow’s Seedling, otherwise Wellington, 
Normanton Wonder, &c. This makes a fine orchard tree, rather 
drooping in habit, having peculiar speckled wood ; requires con¬ 
siderable pruning to prevent overcrowding ; fruit medium size, 
very firm, yellow in colour, with a rosy cheek on the sunny side ; 
flesh very white when cooked, but singularly acid ; one of the very 
best sauce or jelly Apples. Flanders Pippin, an invaluable late 
Apple, chiefly so on account of its saccharine properties, suitable 
for dyspeptics who cannot enjoy Apples, requiring raw sugar to 
make them palatable. The tree is suitable for the orchard only, 
and does not bear until attaining a fair age. Newland Sack, a 
local kind, but possessing valuable properties as a long keeper ; 
makes a splendid orchard standard tree that lives to a great age ; 
bears regularly ; fruit dull green and russetty ; of medium size, 
but not striking in appearance ; trees get very thick unless system¬ 
atically pruned. For very latest use nothing beats the old Ironsides 
or French Crab, which may be kept sound for two years. 
The above varieties do not by any means exhaust the list of 
good and desirable Apples, but they will be found sufficient for 
general requirements. The most common error is in planting too 
many sorts, but there is yet room for our raisers of new Apples to 
give us very late kinds of better quality. 
Colour is a great desideratum for market purposes, although it 
never entirely represents flavour. At the same time I think there 
can be no question that fruit of any kind grown on trees, kept 
thin and open to the influences of sun, light, and air, must be 
better coloured and preferable to those grown in the shade of a 
thickly crowded tree. I have never yet seen an over-thinned tree 
where the roots were right. In my opinion the stock exercises a 
certain degree of influence in the production of colour in Apples. 
In addition to my own experience on Madresfield soils, aspects, 
climate, and other cultural details, I saw this practically demon¬ 
strated most clearly last September at Kempley, Gloucestershire, 
where samples of the finest and highest colour of Worcester Pear- 
main and Peasgood’s Nonesuch I had ever seen were grown and 
shown by an intelligent amateur in that village. These grand 
fruits had been grown under ordinary circumstances on trees 
supplied from our home nursery, worked on our favourite Crab 
stocks, and raised from pips of high-coloured cider Apples. Such 
evidence was extremely pleasing and encouraging, as foreshadowing 
what we may expect when the thousands of trees we are planting 
come into full bearing. 
I do not deny but that good fruit can and is produced on 
Paradise or other dwarfing stocks ; but personally I see no neces¬ 
sity for an alien stock when the indigenous Crab gives us all we 
require under proper management. 
Methods of Culture. 
We have yet to deal with the important question, How best to 
grow Apples ? So, following the familiar precedent on hare-cook¬ 
ing by first catching the hare, we will first deal with the tree. My 
favourite shape of tree is that commonly called the open or pyra • 
midal bush, having branches furnished with fruiting spurs from 
stem to extremity, regularly situated branches at not less distance 
than 2 feet apart, and trees planted at least 9 feet asunder. 
It may well be asked here, What is the fundamental part of a 
tree ? The roots. What part of a tree is most out of sight—yes, 
and mind too, and consequently receives least attention ? The 
roots. What part produces or fails to produce the success or dis¬ 
appointment the cultivator is entitled to ? The roots.. Now, being 
of such importance, what are roots and what their functions ? 
Roots are of two kinds—the deep or tap roots, and the surface or 
fibrous roots ; in short explanation, the former produce wood and 
the latter fruit. The natural tendency of the Crab stock is to 
strike down deeply at first, making tap roots, and the. aim of the 
skilful cultivator should be to convert these tap roots into fruitful 
fibrous ones by early careful digging up, and replanting them in a 
horizontal position near the surface, instead of the perpendicular, 
as in nature. Such an operation dispenses with, what is called 
root-pruning, on the same principle as “ Prevention being better 
t,k an cu^6. ,, 
Why allow trees to make deep tap roots and the certainty of 
unfruitful wood, both of which have to be cut away with the 
knife, saw, and spade ? The worst part of it is that when a tree 
has been going on for some time unchecked in this manner and 
root-lifting is attempted the tap roots are found to be too strong 
and stubborn to be brought up near the surface, consequently they 
have to be cut off, which frequently throws the tree into a state of 
chronic debility, and from which it seldom recovers. It may be 
taken as an axiom that an abundance of fibrous roots always 
complete the ripening of the wood and fruit buds made, but wood 
made by tap roots never ripens ; moreover, so few fruit buds are 
formed whilst the tree is exhausting its energies to grow, gross 
wood. It will, therefore, be plain to see the importance in pur¬ 
chasing trees to select only those which have had several removals, 
consequently plenty of fibrous roots. Once the balance is struck 
and the fibrous roots are formed there is little fear of unfruitful or 
tap roots again forming; moreover, pruning will be reduced to a 
minimum, and thinning of the fruit will take its place, although 
possibly a more painful operation to properly accomplish. I have 
an idea that nine out of every ten growers are actually afraid or too 
timid to take these advantageous liberties with the roots of trees ; 
but let anyone try the experiment to test this by carefully lifting a 
small tree and as carefully replanting at once, treading the ground 
solid. The work should be done in November, and a mulching 
placed on the surface. In the case of orchard standards the position 
is reversed, because a tree presenting an increased surface to the 
wind will need a few deep roots as a kind of sheet anchor, which 
is one of the reasons of their being longer in coming into bearing. 
For small areas the cordon system is recommended, and doubt¬ 
less the finest fruit may be obtained in this way, especially when 
trained against buildings, walls, fences, wire trellises, or over walks, 
to form a kind of ornamental and useful avenue. Espaliers seem 
to have lost caste of late years, as much better results are obtained 
from the same space by planting rows of single cordons trained 
diagonally. 
The substance which I have intended to convey is to plant 
numbers of Apple trees, but of few kinds, selecting those with 
short firm wood and fruit spurs and abundance of fine fibrous roots 
on prepared Crab stocks principally. Plant shallow on firm ground, 
mulch heavily, instead of mixing manure in the soil ; give water 
and stimulants according to weather and crop. Keep the trees 
thin, and aim at quality before quantity. Apple growing will then 
become both a pleasure and a profit. 
LARGE APPLES. 
I send specimens of Peasgood’s Nonesuch Apples. I have a 
dozen bush trees of the variety on the Paradise stock. They 
were planted in the open fruit garden with other kinds in 
February, 1890, being then small trees. They were cut back when 
planted ; but beyond cutting out any cross shoots, and stopping the 
points of strong growths about the last week in June, they have 
had little done in the way of pruning. Soil, a strong, clayey loam, 
with a clay subsoil under-drained. The site had been used for a. 
vegetable garden, and being in good condition no manure has been 
needed yet. . 
There were a little over 3 bushels of various sized Apples on 
eight of the trees only, the smallest being the size of a good 
Blenheim Orange which they very much resemble. Position 
south, sheltered on the south-west by a wood. The trees are now 
6 to 7 feet high, growing strongly and forming fruit buds freely, 
and will, I think, give some good fruit next year if the spring is 
favourable. . . 
Most fruit trees here are grown on the extension principle, and if 
any grow too strong the spade is run round their roots. There are 
a number of trees on the free stock, and the dwarfs are planted 
between to give a quick return, and from the heavy crops some of 
them give they cannot last many years. Such sorts as Stirling 
Castle, Eeklinville, the Saltmarsh Queen, Lane s Prince Albert, 
Duchess of Oldenburg, Domino, and Small’s Admirable are like 
ropes of Onions. Whilst some varieties do well others scale and 
canker, then out they go and are replaced with others that are 
found more suitable. 
Most of the Peasgood’s weigh from 1 lb. upwards. They 
have not been thinned out, or had any water or stimulants of 
any kind, or no doubt they would have been much larger, 
—W. Salcombe, Gardener to the Dr. Newington , Ticehurst. 
[One of the Apples sent is the largest we have seen grown in the 
open air. It was 16J inches in circumference, and weighed, when 
gathered, 26 ozs. "We congratulate Mr. Salcombe on his notable 
cultural achievement.] 
EDUCATION IN GARDENING. 
Silver Medal Essay. (Continued from page 499 ). 
Methods to Pursue. 
All study requires method, perseverance, and determination. 
There is little to be gained from continually jumping from one 
thing to another. Whatever subject is studied it ought to be 
followed up steadily and persistently, for a time at least; then 
