AUGUST. 
165 
ROSEMARY RUSSET APPLE. 
WITH AN ILLUSTRATION. 
The subject of our present illustration is one of those fruits, of which 
there are many, that have never acquired the notoriety which appears to 
be necessary now-a-days, before anything good is appreciated. It is not 
because it is new, neither is it because it has been hitherto unknown, that it 
is so little cultivated ; but simply because it has not been fortunate enough 
to meet with some enterprising trader to make it his own, and to benefit 
himself thereby. We have looked through the lists of our leading fruit-tree 
cultivators in vain to find it; and except in Ronalds’ “ Pyrus Malus Brent- 
fordiensis ” and Hogg’s “British Pomology,” there is no record of it to be 
found. What was the origin of this admirable Apple we have never been 
able to ascertain, neither can we discover when it first became known. The 
earliest notice of it is by Ronalds, who published a figure and short descrip¬ 
tion of it in 1881 , and who had cultivated it for many years previously. As 
a dessert Apple it is one of the very best. Its size, form, and colour, as 
faithfully represented in our plate by Mrs. Dix, strongly recommend it, and 
it only requires to be known to find a place in all good gardens where only 
the best fruits are grown. The following description from the “ British 
Pomology ” will, with the engraving, convey all the information we possess 
respecting it:— 
“ Fruit below medium size, ovate, broadest at the base and narrowing 
obtusely towards the apex, a good deal of the shape of a Scarlet Nonpareil. 
Skin yellow, tinged with green on the shaded side ; but flushed with faint 
red on the side exposed to the sun, and covered with thin pale brown russet, 
particularly round the eye and the stalk. Eye small and generally closed, 
woody, with erect segments, set in a narrow, round, and puckered basin. 
Stalk very long, inserted in a round and wide cavity. Flesh yellowish, 
crisp, tender, very juicy, brisk, and sugary, and charged with a peculiarly 
rich and highly aromatic flavour. 
“ A most delicious and valuable dessert Apple of the very first quality; 
it is in use from December till February.” 
H. 
SALYIA PATENS. 
What a splendid bed this fine old plant makes ! Large beds when well 
filled soon become masses of intense blue, and are then very striking 
objects. This is one of those sterling plants that ought to be in every 
garden. Though not quite hardy, it is one of those plants that can be pre¬ 
served through the winter by every one. Towards the end of October a 
dry day should be chosen for lifting the roots, all the old flower-stems 
should be cut clean off, and all the loose soil shaken off the roots. They 
should then be laid for a few days to dry ; and afterwards be packed away 
in a box, putting some dry sandy soil between the roots. The box may be 
put away in any convenient place where the frost cannot enter, and may 
remain there without further care until the following spring. Early in 
March the roots should be taken out of the box, potted, and placed in a 
warm pit or vinery, where they will speedily begin to grow, so as to furnish 
cuttings if an increase of stock be desired. Cuttings strike very readily in 
heat, and if potted-off as soon as rooted, and stopped and shifted into larger 
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