September 1, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
185 
has been practically nil. We have heard the rumblings of thunder in 
the distance, and seen dark clouds away above the hills discharging 
their contents on the parched land, but somehow our particular corner 
has never been visited with other than showers insufficient in amount to 
penetrate further than the dry surface soil. So trying has been the 
drought that shrubs planted for nearly twenty years have had water 
applied to their roots in order to tide them over the worst period. Still, 
so far as the garden and its products are concerned, we have had slight 
cause to grumble. 
Taking vegetables first, we have had difficulties with Spinach, Let¬ 
tuces, and Cauliflowers, while Globe Artichokes are the poorest crop we 
have ever had. Still, we have always had a supply of each of these. 
More Cabbage Lettuces have been grown than usual, and these have 
been a great help. In the hottest of the weather Spinach was sown in 
the trenches in which early Peas had been grown, and with the help 
afforded by a dressing of Mushroom-bed refuse and a good sousing of 
water a fair crop resulted. We depend greatly on the Erfurt Mammoth 
Cauliflower, and although much damaged by the drought, no water 
having been given, even the very smallest plants produced heads which 
were presentable and of value. Of other vegetables the most important 
are Potatoes and Peas. Potatoes have been much better than last year, 
Myatt’s, though not a great crop, beine of good size and excellent as to 
quality. White Dons are very fine with us, flesh of purest white and of 
the finest flavour. Some of the newer kinds are attaining ripeness, but 
as yet we have not had an opportunity of trying these. 
Of Peas we had William the First, very fine. Stratagem was fairly 
good, but too sweet ; Telephone not so good ; Veitch’s Perfection, a big 
crop and excellent; and Ne Plus Ultra has been, and now is, extra fine. 
None, of our Peas approach this in flavour, and, of course, as a late kind 
it is indispensable. These have been produced without watering, and 
are. all sown deeply in trenches. French Beans, though later, are fine, 
Onions and Carrots better than last year, Celery smaller than usual. 
Brussels Sprouts—the earliest of which are ready—are very strong, 
though planted on undug ground. Nonpareil Cabbages have been fine all 
through, and wc have now a good batch ready for cutting. Turnips have 
been better lately than the earliest lots were. Autumn Giant Cauliflower 
has been a failure so far as the earlier plants are concerned ; the others 
are later than usual. Early Broccolis are strong and looking well. All 
our late sown seeds have brairded well, the precaution having been 
taken to sow deeply, and previous to putting in the seeds soaking the 
rows with water. The main batch of winter Spinach is just through the 
ground. It is much better to sow in August than wait till September, 
as many of the late plants do not gain strength before winter. 
As to the fruit crops, Strawberries and Raspberries were most dis¬ 
appointing. Other crops have, however, exceeded the expectations 
formal of them, having improved wonderfully during the last week or two. 
The fruits named above showed exceedingly well, and yielded two fairly 
good pickings, but in the case of each the fruit seemed to stop growth 
as it were, at a day’s notice. Neither mulching nor watering seemed to 
have any effect in this district, as the complaint of a short season has been 
quite general. President Strawberry was particularly fine while it 
lasted, other sorts not so good as usual. Runners have been so poor, 
that instead of planting out into the permanent fruiting quarters, we 
have been obliged to lay them in nursery lines and protect them with 
mats until established. It may be noted here, as the question has been 
mooted, that we have not found Loxford Hall Seedling adapted to our 
garden. During the time it was grown here we never saw one ripened 
fruit, and concluded that, like Dr. Hogg and some others, it could not 
be cultivated in every garden with success. In my experience with new 
Strawberries I have found them disappointing. 
Pears are next to the above the least satisfactory, the crop of 
blossom was less abundant than usual, and the fruit is not swelling to 
so large a size as in some seasons. However, on the whole the crop is 
fairly good, Williams’ Bon Chretien, Souvenir du Congres, Winter 
Nelis, Easter Beurre, and some others being good crops, and have 
required a good deal of thinning. Standard trees set an enormous crop, 
and trees of Williams, Green Yair, Hessle, Ac., are now all that can be 
desired. Plums were rather uneven as to bloom, but there are fair crops 
on all, and on some trees quite enormous quantities of fruit set. On all 
these the fruit was well thinned at an early stage, and we have now fruit 
of most excellent quality. Jefferson and Green Gages were never finer. 
The kitchen Plums are this season of dessert quality, Kirke’s Purple being 
especially good. 
Apricots, as they have for the last few years, set extraordinary crops, 
the spurs and shoots being covered closely all round. We thinned early 
and severely, and have a large crop of fruit not quite so large as usual, 
but of very fine quality. On the 22nd of August we made the fourth 
general picking, the first having been made three weeks earlier. We 
have not pinched in the young growths this summer, but will do so 
when the fruit is all off, so that there may be no fear of the flower 
buds being healthy next season. The border in which these trees are 
growing is to all appearance perfectly dry, yet the trees are making good 
growth, and, as already stated, have done well. The kind I like best is 
Shipley, the fruit being large and of good flavour, and the tree making 
a rapid growth. Kaisha is also an excellent sort, quick in growth, the 
fruit large, easily ripened, and the flavour fair. D’Alsace proves very 
rich in flavour, and I think will prove a useful kind. Moor Park is, of 
course, as to size and flavour the most excellent, but with us the tree 
grows very little, and even in the case of quite young trees there is 
much loss through the branches dying. Peach has the same fault. 
This has been a most interesting season so far as Apples are con¬ 
cerned. The trees bloomed well, but during the time the flowers were 
open the weather was cold, dry, and comparatively sunless. The set of 
fruit was, in consequence, not so large as the show of blossom would 
have led one to expect ; still, there was sufficient to ensure a good crop 
throughout, and with some kinds the crop set was very large, causing 
a good deal of labour in thinning. Ecklinville and Warner’s King are 
examples, which set a sufficient crop and no more. Duchess of Olden¬ 
burg, Keswick Codlin, Lord Suffield, and Rymer set extraordinary 
crops. Outstanding features with Apples this year are the good shape 
and fine colour of the individual fruits. Warner's King has been much 
larger, but never so well shaped, and never before coloured as it is this 
year. Lord Suffield is this season quite free from blemish and the 
exposed portions slightly coloured. Some of the Ecklinvilles are beauti¬ 
fully coloured, while Duchess of Oldenburg, Red Astrachan, Cox’s 
Pomona, Reinette du Canada, Mere de Menage, Cellini, Manx Codlin, 
Ribston Pippin, and others are more like fruit grown in the south than we 
have ever seen them. The following are larger than is usually the case— 
Ribston Pippin, Court of Wick, Cox’s Orange, Duchess of Oldenburg, 
Blenheim Orange, Wellington, on old trees ; Manx Codlin, Hawthornden, 
and Hormead Pearmain. The following are the average size, but of a 
finer quality—Early Julien, Lord Suffield, Ecklinville, Northern Green¬ 
ing, Cellini, Red Astrachan, Margil, Cox’s Pomona, King of Pippins, Old 
English Codlin, Claygate Pearmain, Mere de Menage, Kentish Fillbasket, 
Tower of Glamis, Alfriston, and Irish Peach. These are smaller—Devon¬ 
shire Quarrenden, Wellington, young f.rees ; Warner’s King, Stirling 
Castle, Keswick Codlin, Rymer, Reinette de Canada, Margaret, Yellow 
Ingestrie, Cobham, Downton Pippin, Cockle Pippin, Kerry Pippin, 
Early Harvest, Fearn’s Pippin, Bedfordshire Foundling, and Court Pendu 
Plat. The above are some of the more popular kinds. Of newer sorts 
on trial we have not seen enough of yet to risk an opinion. It is per¬ 
haps necessary to state that trees requiring to be thinned of fruit on 
account of too thick a set were so thinned at an early stage. Our trees 
have not been watered, but they are all in deeply cultivated ground, and 
those from ten years old downwards arc regularly attended to at the roots. 
The few Peach trees grown out of doors have done very well, but our 
one solitary example of the Fig not so well as usual. Bush fruit carry 
very big crops. Another opportunity must be taken to refer to flowers. 
—B. 
AROUND NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE. 
Gardeners travelling northwards this j ear will find Newcastle a 
convenient centre for visiting a number of good gardens, and so many 
horticultural visitors have been attracted by the Jubilee Exhibition this 
week that a few hints as to what is especially worth seeing in the dis¬ 
trict may prove useful to those unacquainted with this part of England. 
There is a combination of attractions in the present season, for the 
general exhibition, opened in the spring and to be continued until 
October, possesses much interest, and the attendance of visitors has been 
very large ; it was therefore a good idea on the part of the Committee 
of the leading Horticultural Society in the north of England to make a 
special effort in rendering their autumn show worthy of the Jubilee year. 
They were fortunately met in a good spirit by the Council of the other 
exhibition, and sufficiently liberal terms were obtained to induce the 
Horticultural Society to hold their Show in the exhibition grounds, and 
as a part of the attractions provided for the public. This alone added 
to the importance of the Show, and a very liberal schedule having been 
compiled, much attention was attracted to the Society’s effort to obtain 
a creditable exhibition, and Newcastle became the centre of horticul¬ 
tural interest for the present year. 
Entering the great coal city from the south does not give a good im¬ 
pression to the stranger who is desirous of seeing picturesque gardens 
and examples of the best culture ; and striking as is the first view ob¬ 
tained from the high level bridge in crossing from Gateshead to New¬ 
castle, it does not give the slightest indication of the natural beauty of 
the surroundings, nor even of the architectural beauty of the chief 
streets in the city itself. The Tyne is seen far below with its quays and 
shipping, the steep banks on each side being covered with factories, 
warehouses, or dwellings, in the construction of which utility has been 
the chief object studied. There is also a sufficient quantity of smoke to 
cause an unpleasant obscurity even in bright sunny weather. It is, 
however, a remarkable scene, full of interest to the observer as repre¬ 
senting a mighty industry. But in another respect of more importance 
to horticulturists Newcastle is remarkable—namely, in the number and 
varied character of its parks. In these it is unequalled by any provincial 
town, and London itself cannot claim all the honours, extensive and 
well-kept as are “ the lungs ” of the metropolis. It is strange, too. that 
until within the past fifteen years Newcastle was unprovided with public 
parks or gardens of any kind ; it was, indeed, inferior in that matter to 
the neighbouring town of Sunderland, which had been provided with a 
park for nearly twenty years before the importance of such places of 
public resort was recognised in Newcastle. Very much of the improve¬ 
ment effected within recent years is due to the liberality of Sir William 
(now Lord) Armstrong, who has presented the city with the greater 
portion of the land employed for the purpose, and still maintains at his 
own expense the most picturesque of them all. Newcastle owes a con¬ 
siderable part of its importance to this gentleman, whose wonderful 
foundries at Elswick employ from 10,000 to 1.1,000 men constantly, and 
his endeavour has always been to improve the city with which he has 
been so long connected. Well merited indeed was the honour recently 
bestowed upon him, and at his beautiful Cragside estate in the heart of 
