September 3. 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
199 
Duchesse d’Angoulome in the same soil and situation, and the 
latter is bearing a fine crop. It is somewhat curious how erratic 
the former is in regard to fruiting in certain districts. Mr. 
Luckhurst, we believe, found it very difficult to manage at 
Oldlands, and yet all other varieties succeeded admirably there. 
It was at the latter’s wish that we tried it, but after three years’ 
experience we are not very favourably impressed with it. It is 
undoubtedly a grand Pear where it can be grown successfully. 
A friend from Liverpool told us the other day that it succeeds 
well in that neighbourhood. A northern latitude may perhaps 
be more favourable to it than down south. Durondeau, Brock- 
worth Park, Beurre Bachelier, Gansel’s Bergamot, Thompson’s, 
Emile d’Heyst, Olivier des Serres, Madame Millet, are a few of 
the heavily cropped cordons. When we write heavily cropped, 
we do not mean that the trees are overcropped, as every tree, 
according to its variety, had its fruit thinned in its infantine 
stage. A new Pear, Directeur Alphand, sent out by Messrs. 
Veitch a year or so ago, is fruiting, but the tree is not a vigorous 
grower. 
Our pyramids are all carrying grand crops. These trees are 
fine well-trained examples, but had for years very meagre crops 
of fruit. In the spring time the trees would be a mass of 
blossom, but no fruit would set, in spite of an elaborate system 
of protecting the blossom from frost by means of a framework of 
wood and tiffany. The trees were a perfect thicket of wood 
and fruit buds, the latter far too numerous in fact. A careful 
thinning out of the branches was done the first year; the second, 
thinning out the fruit spurs, with judicious disbudding in summer 
and root-pruning in autumn; and the third and present season 
good crops of fruit. Although we rubbed off a vast number of 
the fruit buds while dormant, yet so numerous were they when 
in blossom that we decided to still further reduce their number. 
As the greater part of our pyramid Pears are planted two of a 
sort, we thought it would he interesting to try the effect of 
thinning the blossoms, and the young fruit afterwards on one of 
a sort only, leaving the others to Nature. The crop is decidedly 
more even, and the fruit in greater si/.e and quantity where the 
thinning had been practised than on the unthinned trees. 
It was a tedious task to thin out so many Pears in such a 
small state, but we are convinced that it more than paid for our 
trouble. We give great attention to the thinning of our Grapes 
and Peaches, and why not of the choice Pears, Apples, Plums, 
and Cherries ? The thinning requires a certain amount of 
judgment, and must be performed as soon as the young fruit 
has set, and it can be seen which of the young is likely to take 
the lead, and not when the fruit has attained the size of a 
walnut. By this means an even and handsome crop of fruit 
can be secured, whilst if left unthinned the chances are, that 
although there might have been the early promise of a good 
crop, fully three-fourths would, in a dry season like the present, 
have dropped prematurely, or have been considerably under the 
average in size. An espalier-trained tree of Winter Nelis set a 
heavy crop We thinned the fruit on one-half of the tree and 
left the other untouched. The thinned fruits are much larger 
and better shaped, as well as in greater quantity, whilst the other 
half has lost two thirds of its crop. 
Such is the result of our experience of the timely thinning of 
the young fruit, and although it would not be practicable in the 
case of large trees, yet in the case of pyramids, espalier, and 
wall-trained trees, we are fully convinced that this simple opera¬ 
tion, judiciously performed, will effect more good towards keeping 
trees in a healthy bearing condition than any amount of the 
severe winter pruning to which trees are often subjected. 
Sufficient importance is not always attached to the value of 
summer pruning. We do not mean the pernicious system of 
allowing pyramid and espalier-trained trees to develope a large 
quantity of growth, and then suddenly remove it in a wholesale 
manner in July and August, but the timely and judicious dis¬ 
budding extended over nearly the whole period of growth 
Trees that are subjected to the first-named process are the 
reverse of fruitful. We have seen trees a perfect thicket of 
wood, the “spurs” left at the time of the wholesale pruning 
being only capable of producing a crop of gross and useless 
shoots the next year. Too often the situation, the soil, or the 
variety is condemned, when the real cause is too apparent in the 
mismanagement of the trees. The intelligent gardener has long 
been aware of these facts, and carries them out in practice, but 
there are still numbers who fail to see, or neglect to make use of, 
the benefits of timely and judicious disbudding. 
Of Plums and Damsons there is a heavy crop throughout the 
country. Damsons are a very uncertain crop in some localities. 
The finest crops we have ever seen are growing on trees on the 
limestone formation in Worcestershire, and this year after year. 
| This fact induoes us to come to the conclusion that the presence 
of lime in the soil is an important factor in the successful 
culture of Damsons. Farmers and cottagers in the west of 
England find the latter a paying crop, as in addition to supply¬ 
ing the various markets in the kingdom, a vast quantity is 
purchased for dyeing purposes. We are not quite so sure 
whether the orthodox plan of nailing in closely the shoots of 
the Plums in summer and winter is a sound practice. On a west 
wall we have two very old trees of Green Gage and Victoria 
Plums, which owing to many years of neglect had ceased to bear, 
and indeed appeared to all purposes only tit for “ grubbing ” up 
and consigning to the fire heap and replacing with young trees. 
These were allowed to make what growth they could last summer, 
which was not very extensive, without disbudding, &c. We were 
too busy with other matters in the autumn to “ grub ” them up, 
and the time went on until March, when on examining the shoots 
which were protruding from the main branches, we found them 
well furnished with fruit buds. These in due time developed 
into flower, and finally into fruit. The foliage sheltered the 
young fruit, and now the old trees have a marvellous crop from 
the tip to the base of the shoots. The non-nailing of the shoots 
in summer and winter had evidently given them a better chance 
of becoming more thoroughly ripened than if they had been 
nailed in and crowded with foliage. We shall therefore give our 
old friends another chance, and see what can be done next 
season. The Peach crop out of doors has not been so good this 
season, although the wood had such an excellent chance last 
year of getting well ripened. Just at the time they were in 
tiower cold easterly winds prevailed, with a few sharp frosts, and 
this in our own neighbourhood was the primary cause of the 
failure. The trees are promising well for next year. 
Apricots have been a fair crop, but many trees have suffered 
from that mysterious phenomena, the sudden dying of the 
branches. In our own case a fine young tree of Moor Park lost 
two-thirds of its branches. Cherries have borne abundantly. 
Biittner’s Black Heart, Bigarreau Napoleon, and May Duke, 
cordon-trained, have borne fine fruits. Last spring we planted 
a new north wall upwards of a hundred yards long with some 
splendid maiden cordons of Archduke, Governor Wood, Florence 
Bigarreau, and the old Bigarreau, Black Tartarian, and other 
Cherries, which are making fine trees. On the same wall are 
growing similarly fine cordon Kirke’s, Jefferson, Coe’s Golden 
Drop, McLaughlin's Gage, and Angelina Burdett Plums. Many 
will, perhaps, be of opinion that these varieties will not succeed 
on a north aspect. Of course we do not expect an early crop, 
but we have good hopes of having good fruit of the excellent 
varieties above referred to coming in for use when those on 
warmer aspects are gone. At any rate we are giving the plan a 
good trial. 
Bush fruit has been very good indeed. Gooseberry trees have 
not as yet suffered from the depredations of the caterpillar of 
the Gooseberry moth. Our latest fruit to gather was the sweet 
Champagne class of Gooseberries. A good variety of very much 
the same type is the Ironmonger — sweet and dark-skinned. 
Raby Castle and the old White Dutch Currants are still supply¬ 
ing us with fine fruit from a low north wall. Raspberries were 
very abundant for a time, but the continued drought checked 
the" supply some time since. Out of several varieties we have 
found Carter’s Prolific the best. We make it a point to cut 
away the old fruiting cane3 as soon as they have ceased to bear, 
to give the young canes the benefit of the light. 
Strawberries have been very fine—the Vicomtesse Hericart 
de Thury being our earliest, and Bicton Pine and Loxford Hall 
our latest crops. The Hautbois have fruited better this year, 
the variety known as the Royal being the most prolific. Of the 
red and white Alpines we have had an incessant supply since the 
beginning of June. We have the runnerless type, the red and 
white Gallions of the Belgians, and Quatre Saisons, a large red 
type of Alpines, but these do not supersede the old forms from 
which we hope to gather daily until November. These we grow 
between the fruit trees and on sloping banks where little else 
would grow. Finally, a word as to the value of glass copings 
for protecting fruit trees in spring. We have tried it for three 
seasons, and find it of the utmost value both as a protector and 
in hastening the ripening of fruit of Pears, Apricots, Plums, and 
Cherries, and very considerably improving their flavour. A 
simple and inexpensive glass coping, with moveable panes of 
glass, will soon pay for itself by the protection it. affords to the 
fruit trees when in blossom, and the greater certainty of a crop 
in adverse weather.—A Kentish Gardener. 
VERBENA CULTURE. 
As this is one of the most beautiful of all bedding plants, and perhaps 
one of the oldest, a few hints on its culture may possibly be of service to 
