150 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ July, 
and richly-flavoured variety, well worth adding to every collection. Strawberries 
are here grown in quantity. Planted on well-manured ground, that has been 
trenched to a depth of three feet, these are in splendid condition and promise 
full crops. The old Grove-End Scarlet is grown here for preserving, and Mr. 
Gilbert speaks of it as the very best for the purpose, being of a fine sprightly 
flavour, and of an excellent colour throughout. At present this appears very 
limited in its distribution, but deserves the attention of all Strawberry-growers. 
Cherries, especially Morellos, are a full crop, and I noticed a very nice sprinkling 
of fruit on the Burghley Park variety, which was described and figured in a 
former volume of the Florist, 
I notice that insect pests are especially abundant in many gardens in the 
Midland Counties, doing serious damage to both Plums and Cherries on walls, 
notwithstanding that in many cases they have been dusted with tobacco-powder, 
and repeatedly washed with the garden engine. Pears and the finer Apples on 
walls seem to be abundant and of excellent quality. Apricots are looking 
remarkably well, fruit being plentiful, while in one or two gardens Figs are 
bearing well, the fruit being already nearly full-sized, so that there is plenty of 
time for it to be ripened by the hot suns of July and August.-—F. W. B. 
FEUIT CROPS IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 
® HE spring of 1874 will long be remembered for its severity. Our fruit crops 
have suffered, but not to the same extent as those of many of our neighbours. 
f This circumstance may be owing partly, if not exclusively, to the high 
situation of our garden, where the atmosphere is always drier than in 
low localities. There may be the same amount of cold at a higher elevation, 
but it is not so destructive as where the air is saturated with moisture. The 
following is a slight sketch of our condition during the past spring—a statement 
of results, after one of the most promising seasons I can remember, even although 
the summer of 1873 was cold and wet, by no means calculated to ripen the wood; 
indeed, we could hardly have anticipated such a profusion of blossom as we had. 
On to the 11th of March we had nothing to complain of in the way of frost, but 
on the 12th and 13th there were respectively 9° and 12°, accompanied by a bleak, 
drying north wind ; it so happened that several of our peach-trees were then in 
flower, and strange to say, although they were fully exposed, they escaped with¬ 
out damage. Throughout the early part of April the weather was all that could 
be desired, favouring the idea that there would be an abundance of fruit. The 
crucial trial was yet to come, for on the 17th the wind changed from the south 
and south-west to the north and north-east, blowing bitterly cold and dry, rob¬ 
bing the tender foliage of its moisture, while the roots were yielding but a scanty 
supply. No apparent injury was done, nor have I found the damage of any 
consequence. According to the reading of Negretti and Zambra’s maximum and 
minimum thermometers, the 27th was a day of extremes; the heat rose to 85° 
in the shade—the warmest day in April during the past 20 years—and sank the 
preceding night to 42°, 
