October 15, 1885. ] 
OURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
833 
for dessert purposes against walls, when fan-training is the form 
usually adopted Only grow the earliest or mid season varieties 
of Pears in the open, unless the situation is favourable, as varie¬ 
ties in use from November onwards are best grown against walls 
with a south-west or south aspect. 
The cordon system of growing fruit trees should be generally 
adopted in gardens, especially in those of a small si e, and I am 
glad to see that cordons are being favourably commented upon 
by gardeners and amateurs generally. Apples, Pears, Plums, 
and Cherries may be grown on this principle, but it is for Pears 
that the system will be carried out generally. 
Select Varieties. — Apples, Dessert —Irish Peach, Mar¬ 
garet, Mr. Gladstone, Kerry Pippin, King of the Pippins, Margil, 
Cox’s Orange Pippin, Adams’ Pearmain, Ribston Pippin, Pine 
Golden Pippin, Scarlet Nonpareil, Duke of Devonshire, Ked- 
dleston Pippin, Court Pendu Plat, Mannington’s Pearmain, 
Sturmer Pippin, Hubbard’s Pearmain, Golden Russet. 
Culinary .—Keswick Codlin, Duchess of Oldenburgh Warner’s 
King, Blenheim Pippin, Lord Suffield, Stirling Castle, Small’s 
Admirable, Golden Noble, Cellini, Greenups Pippin, Ecklinville, 
Northern Greening, Loddington, Rymer, Dumelow’s Seedling, 
Wormsley Pippin, Minchall Crab, Alfriston, Winter Quoining. 
Pears.— Beurre d’Amanli-, Comte deLamv. Beurre Superfin, 
Louise Bonne of Jersey, Beurre Hardy, Marie Louise, Doyenne 
du Comice, Pitmaston Duchess, Marie Louise d'Uccle, Beurre 
Diel. All the above Pears succeed well in the southern part of 
England when grown in the open. The following should be 
grown on walls—Beurre d’Aremberg, Winter Nelis, Josephine 
de Malines, Glou Mor^eau, Emile d’Heyst, Marie Benoist, 
Knight’s Monarch, Passe Crassane, Bergamotte Esperen, 
Nouvelle Fulvie, and Olivier des Serres. 
Plums, Dessert .—July Green Gage, Bryanston Gage, Green 
Gage, Jefferson, Kirke’s, Coe’s Golden Drop, Reine Claude de 
Bavay, Oullins Golden. 
Culinary .—Early Rivers, Diamond, Victoria, Prince of Wales, 
Pond's Seedling, Prince Engelbert, Belle de Septembre, White 
Magnum Bonum, Yellow Magnum Bonum, and Autumn 
Compote. 
I have named a good selection of Plums, as I have found 
some varieties succeed better than others in different seasons. 
Some Apples bear good crops of fruit annually, and when this 
is the case it should be planted in quantity if it prove to be a 
good keeping variety.—A. Young. 
THE ROSE CATALOGUES. 
Looking over the catalogues adds force to Mr. G, Paul’s 
latest remark in his own—“ There is much need of a good lot of 
first-class new Roses.” I hardly ever remember such a lull in 
the announcements. Mr. Bennett makes no sign as to either 
offering Her Majesty or Mrs. John Laing to the English market, 
and for the rest there is nothing that stands out really prominent. 
I had hopes from Gloire Lyonnaise, but it seems doubtful whether 
this will be an exhibition Rose at all; most people seem to have 
found it single. It may possibly have been pushed on too fast, 
as I see M. Guillot, the raiser, vouches that on established plants 
it will be found good and double. 
The admirable and exhaustive article of Mr. Girdlestone on 
the new Roses really leaves only little to be said. As far as my 
observation goes, the Honourable Edith Gifford T., almost a 
Devoniensis, has been increasingly winning favour, and Grace 
Darling and Madame de Watteville are also fully approyed. 1 
have been greatly pleased with Comtesse de Paris, a most lovely 
soft rose colour, which I think is not much known; and equally 
disgusted with Madame Isaac Perriere, whose promising robust¬ 
ness verges close upon coarseness. Pride of Reigate, on the 
other hand, has been very beautiful, and is still a solitary variety. 
I observe another seedling, from the Gloire de Dijon, Etendard 
de Jeanne d’Arc (there ought to be a law that no Rose shall have 
more than two names), is favourably reported on by Mr. Girdle- 
stone, and as a pure white Tea must be worth possessing. Cer¬ 
tainly Madame Gloire may well be proud of her youthful progeny. 
“ Mater pulchra Jilia pulchrior” may be said of several of them, 
they will soon require a class if not a box to themselves. This 
would be an excellent idea for a prize at the National. My last 
remark shall be the consolation to be derived from two hot 
summers. A vast quantity of seed must have been successfully 
ripened, and in two or three years we may expect great results.— 
PEN-Y-BYD MARROW—CUCUMBERS. 
Now that the Marrow season is about over, and taking into con¬ 
sideration what an important part they play in the summer and 
autumn vegetable supply, I venture to give my experience on the 
merits of Pen-y-Byd. 
Our Marrows were all sown early in March and planted out under 
handlights about the middle of May, including, besides the above, 
Moore’s Vegetable Cream and the Long White. The last week in 
June the first Marrow, a Pen-y-Byd, was cut, and since that time up 
to a week ago this variety has given us a supply of Marrows which 
have been preferred to either of the others named. It is a most 
prolific variety, in several instances carrying a couple of fruits 
from one joint, not large, but of such a size that they can be cooked 
whole, a mode of cooking this vegetable which is said by many to be 
preferred to any other. As to quality, I may state that my 
employers think so highly of it that when having visitors they have 
asked for the best Marrows, adding, “ The long ones will do some 
other time.” For a gentleman’s table I consider it a decided 
acquisition, and should, I think, be grown in every garden where this 
vegetable is esteemed. I congratulate Mr. Muir, the raiser of the 
variety. 
Cardiff Castle Cucumber, which I have grown since it was first 
sent out, has again proved a sterling variety. I can only find one 
fault, and that may be the grower’s fault, as with me it grows rather 
long-jointed ; in other respects I consider it the best. Since Rollis- 
son sent out Telegraph so many people have sent out Improved 
Telegraphs, and some much more improved than others, that a few 
remarks may not be out of place on the subject. During the last 
few years I have tried several of these so-called Improved Tele¬ 
graphs, and this season I have found what I consider the finest. I 
was strongly advised by a friend to try Roffey’s Improved Telegraph, 
and did so, and have found it to be the best I have as yet grown in 
every respect. I had occasion to be at Croydon a few weeks ago, and 
having half an hour to spare, I went to see Mr. Roffey, who was 
busy amongst his Cucumbers, and a fine sight they were. Two 
houses about 40 feet long were hung with Cucumbers for seed, vary- 
from 18 to 25 inches in length. In many instances two fine fruits 
hanging from one joint, and in one instance three. Mr. Roffey is 
evidently an adept at Cucumber-growing. I remarked that they 
appeared to be growing in pure loam. He at once told me that he 
did not use much manure, adding “ hoofings is the best for 
Cucumbers, the sweepings from a blacksmith’s shop,"—W. W. B. 
FRUIT AND PLANT HOUSES. 
Since 1850 there has been a rapid increase of horticultural 
erections, showing great improvement in the quality of their 
construction. The impetus was due in a great measure to the 
repeal of the duty on glass and the increased prosperity of the 
nation ; but the greatest impetus was given by the diffusion of 
horticultural information. In 1850 the late Mr. Thomas Rivers 
published “ The Orchard House,’’ in which was shown exactly what 
was required by many—viz. (in Mr. Rivers’ own words) “ a place 
requiring but little expense to erect, but little experience and atten¬ 
tion to manage, and yet giving most agreeable results.” To Mr. 
Rivers belongs the credit of marking a new era in the construction 
of horticultural buildings. His plan of cheapening construction 
caused the erection of houses much better adapted for fruit and 
plant culture. Instead of conservatories with stone or brick 
mullions, leaded lights of tiny panes, little or no provision for 
ventilation, and opaque roofs—plant dungeons—we now have panes 
of plate glass as large as hundreds of the displaced pigmies, a roof 
remarkable for its flood of light, little wood or less iron, and venti¬ 
lation we have in dome, cupola, or lantern. In plant and fruit 
houses the revolution is quite as striking as it has proved beneficial. 
Instead of heavy rafters supporting framed lights with many sash- 
bars, glazed with small panes with wide dirt-holding laps, and a 
clumsy system of ventilation, we have houses constructed with less 
than half the strength of rafter, one-third the number of sashbars, 
and the frames are gone altogether, so that we get fully two-thirds 
more light. Fixed roofs, a maximum of light, and thorough venti¬ 
lation are the prevailing features of the new system, which in some 
modified form or other embodies the principle enunciated by Mr. 
Rivers, in a majority of the fruit and plant houses of the present 
time. 
Though the system introduced in 1850 is very generally followed, 
we still have houses constructed upon the old or frame-light system. 
It is of these two systems that I propose to offer some remarks, 
especially on their construction, as it appears to me to relate to 
successful practice. I think that whenever a house is to be built 
the gardener who will have to answer for the crops that by its 
means are to be produced should be consulted upon the subject by 
his employer. It would at least give him an interest which other¬ 
wise he does not feel. Gardeners, I may be told, do not as a rule 
study plant or fruit-house construction. Then they should do so, 
for, whatever may be stated to the contrary, they ought to know 
