440 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ KoreTiber 15,18*8, 
u?, and it is to be hoped always will be—namely, the depth of 
covering the seed. This may be buried 4 or 5 inihes deep in late 
spring and early summer without any ill effect: but it is very 
unwise to act similarly in November. A simple plan proved sound 
by a generation of experience is to cover the seed an inch deep, or a 
little more if the soil is light and porous, then spread an additional 
inch of ashes on the surface exactly over the rows and extending 
a couple of inches on each side wider than the drills. This cover¬ 
ing serves three or four good purposes—its porosity, admitting 
water and air ; its sharpness, making a good barrier against mice in 
winter and slugs in spring ; and its dark colour absorbing more of 
the sun’s rays than the soil can possibly do that is many shades 
lighter in hue ; or, in other word-!, the Peas lie warmer under the 
ashes than they would without them, and growth is quicker after 
the winter has departed, because the earth is warmer through 
their influence, and in obedience to the same law that makes 
black coats and hats warmer than light ones when the sun shines 
on them. 
All this is very simple, no doubt, to many, and mere rudimentary 
truth ; but there are others who have not thought about the great 
influences of little things, and are seldom led to do so by the teach¬ 
ing of their elders. Yet is it not correct to say that men who 
become the most competent in their calling are those who take the 
greatest pains in their work, no matter what it may be ? No item 
is too small for them to consider, no work too simple for them to do, 
and it is because they digest the items and master the simplicities 
that they accomplish avith apparent ease the fame that is their 
reward. “ It must be easy to paint a picture like that,” observed 
an on-looker to a famous artist, who with quick and easy freedom 
was displaying his skill. “ Oh yes, quite easy,” was the comforting 
reply, “ You have only just to mix the right colours, and put them 
on in the right places, and the work is done.” That was easy to 
the artist, who, we may be sure, had overlooked nothing however 
small, that had contributed to the education of the eye and band. 
And so it is with others, including gardeners, and in none more 
than those who have good crops of Peas by sowing in the autumn, 
good crops of Peaches on open walls, not to mention the men who 
win the first prizes with Chrysanthemums in the best competition 
in November.— Expeeientia docet. 
APPLES AND PEARS IN WALES. 
Wales was not well represented at the late Chiswick 
Conference. I know one at least who worked hard to reverse this, 
but it was not so much the unwillingness of growers as their 
inability that prevented exhibics being forwarded. As viewed 
from Wales, or indeed from anywhere, Chiswick is a great place. 
Growers in Wales who have any respect for themselves and their 
country do not care to send specimens for exhibition to London 
unless they are representative of the average production, and as a 
rule Apples and Pears have been much below the average in 
quantity and quality in the principality this year. At the best of 
times Wales is not a first-rate fruit country, but this, be it fully 
understood, is not so much due to want of skill in culture as to a 
marked deficiency of natural adaptabilities. In many cases there 
is no overcoming these, as the soil and climate—not the natural 
climate, but that produced by the development of different forms 
of industry—are so antagonistic to Apples and Pears generally that 
all attempts have proved futile. There is no class of people more 
anxious to grow good fruit and plenty of it than the Welsh, and I 
have often felt sorry after I recommended amateurs to plant trees 
to find that they failed prematurely or nearly so from canker and 
other causes that are unheard of in many of the best English grow¬ 
ing fruit counties. 
Small fruits are abundant, and it would be difficult to surpass 
them. In good Apple and Pear years many gardens in Wales will 
hold their own in the production of fine fruit, but this year, besides 
being deficient, they are below the average in size, and they do not 
display much quality. A good indication of this was noticed at the 
summer and autumn shows, where Apples and Pears were worse 
than I have seen them for a dozen years. Glamorganshire is one 
of the poorest Apple and Pear counties, but Carmarthenshire is 
better, and so is Pembrokeshire, as neither of these counties is so 
much overrun with works and the consequent vapours as Glamorgan, 
and I do not know of any reason why Carmarthen and Pembroke 
should not be as profitable fruit counties a3 Hereford, Gloucester, 
Somerset, or Devon. The climate is favourable, so is the soil 
generally, and judging by the fine crop? in small gardens in 
Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire I think fruit culture might 
be extended there to advantage if proper varieties were selected 
and carefully planted. 
There is abundance of room for improvement on the present 
system of culture, as this chiefly consists of retaining old trees that 
have long passed their best, giving them little attention and showing 
but small inclination to introduce new and improved sorts. I hope 
that the movement that is awakening English landowners to the 
advantage of improved fruit culture will have some influence in 
Wales ; but it is not so much professional gardeners that will be 
benefited by it as amateurs and farmers. When I go from home 
and pass through some of the English counties where many of the 
hedgerows and fields are studded with Pear and Apple trees n 
profitable system of culture is indicated which we could not see 
imitated during a week’s travel in Wales. I should like to see 
many of the existing Apple and Pear trees destroyed. They are 
too old, cankered, and debilitated ever to produce fruit that would 
be regarded as good at any future conference. Their place should 
be taken bj r healthy young trees of sorts noted for their free bear¬ 
ing and good qualities everywhere. I would not have those who 
have proved Apple and Pear culture to be a failure under their 
circumstances attempt it again, on an extensive scale at least, but 
where the situation is away from the influence of the works, and 
there are many such, Apple and Pear culture should be begun and 
energetically followed up at once. At present the bulk of the 
Apples and Pears used in Wales are imported from the western 
counties of England, the demand for them is very great, and the 
prospect of every Apple and Pear that anyone cares to grow in 
Wales being readily and remuneratively bought mp is as bright and 
encouraging as could possibly be desired. 
Of late years I have induced some farmers to plant rather 
extensive orchards in various parts, and it may interest others who 
are inclined to do likewise to know that so far they are delighted 
with the results, and I have every confidence that in years to come 
they will be still more so. Those which are doing best are in cases 
where considerable attention was given to selecting and preparing 
the ground and buying good trees. The varieties I have noted 
as doing best in Wales are, Apples—Lord Suffield, Kerry Pippin, 
Hawthornden, Stirling Castle, Peasgood’s Nonesuch, Golden Noble, 
Warner’s King, Dumelow’s Seedling, King of the Pippins, Northern 
Greening, Keswick Codlin, Court of Wick, Cellini, and Cox's 
Orange Pippin. Pears.—Bonne d’Ezee, Beurre d’Amanlis, Beurre 
Diel, Beurre Ranee, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Souvenir du Congrea, 
Passe Colmar, and Josephine de Malines.— Cambrian. 
PLUMIERIAS. 
I was much interested in reading the article in the Journal 
upon the Plumieria, and possibly, as you say that the plant is not 
much known, a few remarks may be acceptable to some of your 
readers. I was, however, under the impression that there is a fine 
specimen of the plant at Kew, as some years since my brother-in- 
law, Sir J. F. Dickson, whilst resident magistrate at Anaradhupurn 
in Ceylon brought me some cuttings which, if my memory serves 
me well, my late gardener, Mr. W. Wright, identified from the 
plant in the Kew collection. It is really a tree and not a bushy 
plant, and being held as sacred to Buddha is usually planted in the 
enclosures of the Temples, from which it derives the name by 
which it is ordinarily known—Temple Tree—and the flowers are 
presented as offerings to the god. The flowers furnish also the 
scent known as Frangipani. The habit of the plant is to flower 
before the new growth commences, and after blooming the branch 
divides into three shoots. The flower stalk is produced from the 
central axis of the branch as a strong single growth for about 
2 inches, which divides into three or four smaller stalks, each with 
a row of buds on the upper surface, and the buds open successively 
on the stalks, so that it seems rare to find more than two at a time 
open on the same stalk. I presume from seeing the full cluster 
that is shown on Mr. Cannell’s plant that it may be some different 
species to ours, of which I enclose a photograph, and I understand 
that our plant is decidedly flowering out of season, as it has 
bloomed immediately after making growth. Sir Frederick Dickson 
tells me that he believes the botanical name of our species is either 
P. longifolia or lancifolia, but he does not remember which.— 
C. M. Major, Cromwell House, Croydon. 
[The photograph received is very good. So far as we remember 
the flowers produced by the plants at Cromwell House were not 
quite so large nor so intensely yellow as those sent by Mr. Cancell 
