April 12, 1883. 
JOUnXAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDEXER. 
£01 
ground, we seldom risk tender wares through the post office. The 
method now adopted in transmitting 1‘eaches, which has always proved 
satisfactory, and by a proper arrangement to have the packing material 
returned, little expense is incurred. Firstly, we have boxes of wood or 
tin in sizes which hold from a dozen to three dozen fruits, and about 
2 inches deeper than gooil sized fruits. Over the bottom is placed a thin 
layer of fine paper shavings, moss, or hay, the latter silky and soft as 
wool, but the shavings being easily procurable they are the most often 
in use. On this a sheet of wadding is then pressed firmly with tissue 
paper spread evenly over all to prevent the fruit receiving any bad 
effects from it. Pieces of wadding about 2 inches wide are cut, also as 
long as will wrap round the largest Peaches. The pieces of wadding 
are neatly encased in tissue paper, forming bands which encircle each 
fruit (the tops and bottoms of the fruits are not covered), placed as 
tightly as the condition of the fruit will allow. A sheet of tissue paper 
is placed over the fruit, and another sheet of wadding over that. The 
lid fits evenly over all, so there is no shifting of the fruit, which is sent 
off before quite ripe. ^Vhen the lid is remdved with the wadding and 
the sheet of paper all the fruits are half exposed. They can be unpacked 
with great ease, or may remain in the liox until they are used, just in 
the same manner as they arc exhibited in baskets in fruiterers’ windows 
for sale. The bottom layer of package we often allow to remain 
undisturbed for weeks. After each box is relieved of its load of fruit 
the strips of waddin*- remain inside, and are ready for future consign¬ 
ment. We have had lessons at Covent Garden on fruit-packing, and 
adhere more or less to our earliest tuition. We noticed on an obscure 
street in Liverpool a basket of Peaches for sale, packed as above 
described, which might have been a good lesson to some exhibitors we 
saw unpacking at a great show.—M. T. C!. II. 
JUDGING WELL-KNOWN FRUIT BY APPEARANCE. 
Sir C. W. Stkicki,.\nd is quite right in saying that the quality of 
known varieties of both Apples and Peare may be first-rate one year, 
and perhaps indifferent the following year. This is the experience of 
fruit growers generally when a bright and warm summer and autumn 
are followed by seasons the reverse of these, the fault being attributable 
to the climatic conditions under which the fruits were grown, and not to 
the apparent fickleness of admittedly good anil well-tested varieties. 
If the inconstancy of the Beurrtl Bose Pear mentioned is not occasioned by 
the circumstances indicated, then to what cause must the fact of his 
fruit being sometimes of fine quality, and sometimes fit only for stewing 
be attributed, always assuming that the tree from which the fruit 
was gathered received the same cultural treatment ? Sir C. W. Strick¬ 
land says, “ If the object of judging fruit at shows be to promote 
quality in fruit, and not sham and show, I do not see how it is to be done 
without tasting fruits.” Has not the quality of all the best varieties of 
fruits shown in competition for prizes been determined years ago by 
eminent pomologists. the quality of some being settled, perhaps, in the 
manner indicated I Therefore, assuming that the gentlemen who make 
the awards are thoroughly acquainted with the qualit}'—the established 
quality—of the several varieties which they have to judge, all they have 
to do is to give the prizes to the finest examples of properly ripened 
frsit, the process of cutting and hacking the fruit not being neces,sary. 
\ survey of the fruit tents of a well-known west of England Show, 
where the disfigurement of Peaches, Apples, Pears, and Plums is tolerateil 
Iiy the Committee, and practised by the local judges on the plea of test¬ 
ing flavour is not agreeable to the exhibitors nor edifying to the public, 
and it is highly distasteful to gentlemen to whom the mutilated fruits 
belong. In conclusion, I may say that the quality of all fruits worthy 
of being cultivated in this country having been carefully settled, the 
object which show committees have in view in offering prizes to be com¬ 
peted for at their shows is to encourage the culture and staging of the 
fine.st ripe sjiecimens of the respective high quality fruits, and the 
prizes being awarded to the largest and handsomest fruit, nobody nee<l 
feet that these are produced at the expense of flavour.—H. \V. Ward. 
SIZE versus quality. 
The minority of cases where such handsome Lady Downe’s are met 
with as were staged in the any other black Grape class at the Crystal 
Palace last September is far more important than a majority of such 
Muscat Hamburghs that were staged in the same class. Had they been 
competing for flavour alone, the results might have been different; but 
when better cultivation has to be considered, as it no doubt was in this 
instance, alters the case materially, and makes the verdict, in my 
opinion, a correct one. I may save Mr. Ward trouble if I say that I 
have exhibited worse coloured Muscat Hamburgh as well as better, but 
the bunch and berry have been double the size, and the bunches quite as 
compact ; therefore I consider the term ‘‘moderate” correctly applied in 
my note on page 82 when alluding to the Muscat Hamburgh at the 
t'rystal Palace. I am curious to learn how these cutters and tasters of 
fruit manage the home dessert. 1 guess they have to trust the eye in 
common with the rest of us. and if they will only cultivate the eye, it 
can be made almost as reliable as the palate, and can be as safely 
trusted at shows as at home.— J. H. Goodacre. 
ACACIA CULTRIFORMIS. 
Several of the Australian Acacias are little known in gardens, though 
they are useful and distinct plants for greenhouses, and mostly flower, 
profusely in the spring months. One of the rarer species—namely, 
Acacia cultriformis (fig. 40), was recently exhibited from the Royal 
Gardens, Kew, and is peculiarly distinct from most of those with which 
cultivators are familiar. It has flat, somewhat triangular, silvery white 
phyllodes, and racemes of small, globular, bright yellow flower-heads 
freely produced along the branches, and when a good sized specimen is 
in flower it has a very remarkable appearance. An example of this kind 
may be seen planted out in the Winter Garden at Kew, where an 
extremely large collection of Acacias is grown. In pots, plants of 
moderate size flower readily, requiring a compost of peat and sand, 
with the same care in the supplj' of water as is needed for hardwooded 
plants. During the past few weeks some of the florists’ shops in Covent 
Garden Market have displayed bunches of Acacia cultriformis appa¬ 
rently obtained, with others now in demand, from continental growers. 
OUR COMMON WHITE BUTTERFLIES. 
From talks with gardeners, I find that some amount of igno¬ 
rance, or at least confusion of ideas, prevails regarding the habits 
and economy of our two very familiar and abundant ■white butter¬ 
flies. As the season is fast approaching when the first flights of 
these insects will be appearing, it may be of utility to outline the 
chief facts of their history. It should be premised that of all our 
British butterflies only these two can be accounted seriously destruc¬ 
tive to cultivated plants. A few other species have been referred 
to as possibly injurious some seasons to certain plants, but they are 
seldom abundant, or else they usually prefer a different food. 
Others are now scarce, the black-veined white (Pieris crataegi), for 
instance, still common upon Hawthorn on the Continent, and 
